I have a madza 3 (106694) miles, bought it used - great running car, the engine light (service engine soon) came on - I went to the Madza dealer - he told me that the engine was not getting enough air, and possibly had some bad fuel, may need to drain the fuel. I figured, crap there is a butt load of money that is going to cost me - ok, I needed an oil change so I went to jiffy lube for the oil change, I asked them to change the air filter - the guy asked if I wanted the Air Intake Filters changed, I told him I didn't see anything in the book about that, nor did the Madza people tell me about them. The service guy at Jiffy Lube took them out and showed me, they looked really bad!!!! He (jiffy lube) said that my car probably wasn't getting enough air, and that if it ran crappy, it would probably run a hell of a lot better - Oh man did it, plus the engine light went out.... I don't understand why the Madza Service people didn't suggest the Air Intake Filter ??? I have found that I am now using the forums to get the information I need and anything I have to pass along, I will.

If you are close to needing an oil change/air filter change, if you go to a shop, ask them if they will look to see if you have an air intake filter (2 of them - one on each side), if you have them, more than likely they will need to be changed....

 

This is part of Basic "Preventative maintenance".

Changing the filter is key just like changing your engine oil and oil filter, checking fluids every 4-5k or so (with Synthetic).

Your on the right track!



~Mud