Mazda3 2006-2009: Learn Me

[jmvar]

Looking at a Maazda3 for daily duties for my fiancee. Considering the auto so that is my main point of interest? For some reason I have a negative view on auto trannys for smaller cars, I view them as grenades ready to explode.

Looking at a hatchback grand touring. What should I look out for? Any pitfalls or known issues?

[SSLByron]

Looking at a Maazda3 for daily duties for my fiancee. Considering the auto so that is my main point of interest? For some reason I have a negative view on auto trannys for smaller cars, I view them as grenades ready to explode.

Looking at a hatchback grand touring. What should I look out for? Any pitfalls or known issues?

They eat engine mounts. Other than that, the only major sticking point point with the Gen1 3 was fuel pumps on early models, but that was resolved by the 2005MY.

If you live in a rustbelt climate, make sure you wash the wheel wells out and keep it waxed. The paint isn't the best in the world.

[JOHNS92JETTA]

'07-'09 are the better years of the first gen 3. (less rusting issues)

Both the 4spd and 5spd autos are fine.

Like posted, look for the engine mount on the right side of the car for leaking oil.

Fun cars to drive.


My '08 GT (stick)

[SSLByron]

Like posted, look for the engine mount on the right side of the car for leaking oil.

And it's worth mentioning that this is crazy easy to replace. You just need a floor jack and a basic metric socket set. It's like six bolts and it's all accessed from the top (only 4 on the engine mount; the other two, and I may be wrong on that number, are so you can move the coolant reservoir out of the way first).

[AKADriver]

'07-'09 are the better years of the first gen 3. (less rusting issues)

Plus they got a bunch of detail improvements, cleaner-looking grilles, wider availability of safety equipment.

I got a chance to use an '07 3i Sport on my commute for a couple weeks back in 2009 (the owner's lease was running out and it was way under mileage, so he just let me take it ). If I needed a basic commuter car it'd be one of my top choices.

[2.0_Mazda]

My uncle just sold his 08 2.0 llitre with automatic with over 215 000 kilometers and had no issues with it. He replaced the shocks once, and a few other parts in the suspension, but that was it. He just got himself a new Mazda 3.

I would definitely get a 2007+ since they rust much less. Haven't heard of many issues with them at all, and would probably be my next car if I don't have the money for a new 3 in a few years.

[MkIIfreak]

make sure the tranny has been properly serviced or else you will have a time bomb on your hands. I know this cause mine died recently and ended up swapping it for a manual. aside from that, mounts and shocks (mine didn't last very long after replacing them for OEM ones. now i have KYB) they are very reliable.

[VWVan]

The 07's also have side curtain airbags, whereas the 06' dont. At least in Canada. My wife has put almost 75K KM's on her car and not a single problem.

[Dan92SLC]

I bought an 08 2.3 hatch new and have racked up 97k in 4.5 years.

The car has had zero real mechanical issues. Thinking about changing out the serp belt as its looking less than 100% and perhaps doing the tensioner/pulley for peace of mind at the same time.

The biggest flaws? The paint is atrocious. Every time I see the front of my car, I wince and mentally kick myself for not getting a clear shield or whatever when it was new. The hood, grill, and front bumper are monstrously sandblasted. I might have those areas painted.

The car still feels very tight in general, but it felt pretty worn out after having a brand new Fusion for a recent rental car. I think I will upgrade the suspension soon. Really curious about how the KYBs compare to oem or pricier solutions such as Koni. How durable are the kybs? I would be happy with stock+ dampening.

Shifting isn't as smooth (5 spd manual) and the engine rocks noticeably IMO...so perhaps I need to do that motor mount. I saw Corksport sells an insert. Is this recommended? If not, do I just do new oem mount or is there a good one out there?

The windshield is terribly pitted. I do lots of highway driving, esp up north in the winter. Not sure if others have had a similar experience.

I beat on this car like you wouldn't believe. Every corner, on and off ramp, back road. It's quite fun to drive, prob as fun as my old 91 GTI was. The 2.3 isn't the smoothest or economical engine in the world, but it's rock solid and has a superior power curve compared to my sister's 04 Civic SI, which is seriously deficient in low end torque in comparison.

The factory carpeted floormat is badly worn on the driver's side. Otherwise the interior has held up well. It's not the quietest car at speed, but far more so than say a Protege5.

I am either going to trade it in in the next year for something ranging from a Focus SE/ST to a Golf TDI/GTI...or try to get it to last me another 150k.

[ZombiePunk]

They eat engine mounts.

THIS.

I had the engine mounts replaced THREE times during the first 2 years of ownership.

The only other complaints I had were that the paint chipped VERY easily and gas mileage SUCKED when driving around town. My daily commute for work was only 3 miles, so I was lucky if I got 180 miles out of a tank of gas. Other than that, it was a GREAT car.

I had a fully loaded, 2006 3 S-Grand Touring with a 5-speed manual and it was a total blast to drive!

[Spray`]

my g/f has a 2006 with exactly 60K miles on it

No issues so far, good on fuel. I actually enjoy driving it from time to time, clutch takes some getting used to...engages kinda weird I found.

Only issue is the rust. I wish they had some sort of recall for this, it's really silly seeing every single mazda on the road rusting in the same spots. If it was my car I'd be pissed.

[SSLByron]

THIS.

I had the engine mounts replaced THREE times during the first 2 years of ownership.

Yep. I would say if you're driving on a lot of bad roads or driving the car hard, expect to replace the passenger-side mount to last no more than 50-75k, the transmission and dogbone mounts 75-125k (wider range as they tend to be more durable).

[ZombiePunk]

Yep. I would say if you're driving on a lot of bad roads or driving the car hard, expect to replace the passenger-side mount to last no more than 50-75k, the transmission and dogbone mounts 75-125k (wider range as they tend to be more durable).

I totally babied my car... avoided pot-holes like there was no tomorrow.... that's why it was more frustrating having them replaced so many times. Made absolutely NO sense.

After joining a few different Mazda chat forums/clubs, I discovered that MANY 3 owners had the same problems with motor mounts constantly needing to be replaced for the 05-06 model year.

[jmvar]

Great input, thanks everyone.

Sounds like all the issues are pretty easy to resolve so we are going to go for it as soon as we find a grand touring hatch we like.

My fiancee needs to decide if she wants the stick shift or auto since it will be her commuter. She is coming from a 2007 IS250 6 speed with sport package that had goofy clutch engagement and an average shifter but great suspension.

[retro_rocket]

I have an '08.5 i sedan with 61K miles and it's been a great car. The only unexpected expense so far was new pads and rotors up front at ~55K miles. I also just found out my passenger motor mount needs replaced eventually, so yeah, keep an eye out for bad mounts.

Mine has the 4-speed automatic. I just had it flushed at 60K and it's never given me any problems. I have a friend with an '05 s hatch with the 5-speed automatic, around 120K on the car and it shifts a little hard when it's cold, but then again he doesn't take very good care of his cars. Like any automatic-equipped car, be proactive about maintenance and care to prolong the life of the transmission.

Agreed about the crappy paint quality; the front of mine has a ton of rock chips, and I don't do an excessive amount of highway driving or anything.

Overall, though, I think they are great cars and I'm very happy with mine

[883sportster]

My wife and I bought our 07 model in October of 2006. We've got about 95k on it and the only major issue we had was the MAF/O2 sensor going bad. Other then that it's been an amazing car that I use as my daily commuter. With the 5 speed manual, 75%HWY I get 33mpg avg speed around 65.

Paint is very easy to chip and like someone else said the driver side interior floor wore pretty bad. We plan on keeping it for another 6 years so I might get the flooring replaced and start doing some other refreshers.

Love taking corners in the car, while it's no super car for a mid size commuter car it's pretty darn fun!

[SSLByron]

I totally babied my car... avoided pot-holes like there was no tomorrow.... that's why it was more frustrating having them replaced so many times. Made absolutely NO sense.

After joining a few different Mazda chat forums/clubs, I discovered that MANY 3 owners had the same problems with motor mounts constantly needing to be replaced for the 05-06 model year.

We deferred the replacement on our Focus (same mount design) for as long as we could stand the added vibrations, and finally changed it at about 85k. I won't go that long again.

[Oliver@triplezoom]

We have a loaded '07 automatic sedan. Fun little car to drive. Handles awesome. Auto is just ok in my books, I'd much rather it was a manual but I picked it up for dirt cheap (like 1/2 its value) so I can't complain too much. As mentioned above, gas mileage in town sucks. Decent on the highway though.

[matty_peppers]

Gas mileage sucks in town, car is fun though, I think with a RSB + summer tires it's GTI-esque in feel, very good brakes on the 2.3l. Bose is meh, 07+ is a must if it's in your price range. GT trim is my choice as well, HID's + heated leather + Bose + sunroof, its a pretty livable car you can enjoy every day.

[jmvar]

OK in an unexpected change of events, the fiancee actually likes the goofy smiley faced front of the 2010+....and looking at the 6 speed.

Is the 2010+ mazda3 as well received as the previous gen?

[SSLByron]

OK in an unexpected change of events, the fiancee actually likes the goofy smiley faced front of the 2010+....and looking at the 6 speed.

Is the 2010+ mazda3 as well received as the previous gen?

Yep.

[MK5golf]

In Montreal, everything will rust. I see so many on the roads with rust on the wheel wells, and on the trunk.
My cousins (Twins) have one each. One is a hatch, 2.3, the other is sedan, 1.8. Both automatic. No problems with either, and they drive them like they dont give a dam! Seriously, I feel so bad for those cars. Mechanically robust and fun to drive, but watch out for the rust!!!

[JOHNS92JETTA]

the other is sedan, 1.8

I think you mean 2.0L.

The rust issue is predominantly a '04-'06 thing.

[FlatGTI]

THIS.

I had the engine mounts replaced THREE times during the first 2 years of ownership.

The only other complaints I had were that the paint chipped VERY easily and gas mileage SUCKED when driving around town. My daily commute for work was only 3 miles, so I was lucky if I got 180 miles out of a tank of gas. Other than that, it was a GREAT car.

Something was wrong with your car, My MS3 doesn't get that bad of fuel mileage.

[MK5golf]

I think you mean 2.0L.

The rust issue is predominantly a '04-'06 thing.

Yes, 2.0, sorry.

[ZombiePunk]

Something was wrong with your car, My MS3 doesn't get that bad of fuel mileage.

I had it checked out by two different Ford/Mazda dealers... neither found anything wrong.

It annoyed the f*ck outta me.

[jmvar]

OK guys, I need a little help. My fiancee really likes the 2010 hatchback with leather and navigation with the 6 speed. We found a local Mazda3 sedan with all those features and drove it.

What a GREAT car, shifter, clutch, suspension, seats, features....I can't believe you get all this in a package that can be purchased for under $17k on the used market. The engine is a bit buzzy but nothing that we would think twice about.

We found ONE hatch grand touring with nav and 6 speed locally after driving the sedan. The first thing my fiancee said before even turning the car on...."this clutch is not right, way too stiff."

I drove it, sale guys drove it, I even went back to drive it tonight and the clutch is noticeably stiffer than the sedan we drove. I asked the sales guy to have the clutch bled and they said the service department said it was fine.

What would cause this difference in clutch feel? Can it be old DOT in the system?

When we had the IS250 I had to bleed the clutch every year or else it felt terrible.

[AKADriver]

Sounds like your Lexus had a leak allowing air into the clutch fluid reservoir. It should last for years in a sealed system.

Regardless, contaminated clutch fluid would cause a limp pedal, not a stiff one.

Causes of a heavy clutch in a car that's not supposed to have one... could be something sticking in the clutch fork/throwout bearing/throwout bearing retainer area, or could be a non-original "performance" clutch with heavier pressure plate.

Good luck. I test drove a first gen Impreza that was like that... the clutch pedal effort was ridiculous. The seller said it was normal and that his kids' nanny had been driving the car with no complaints. Original clutch in that one. I didn't buy the car because there was no way I could've lived with it as a daily driver.

[GTI 20v]

I put 70k miles on my 2008 Touring 5MT, great car.

[jmvar]

Sounds like your Lexus had a leak allowing air into the clutch fluid reservoir. It should last for years in a sealed system.

Regardless, contaminated clutch fluid would cause a limp pedal, not a stiff one.

Causes of a heavy clutch in a car that's not supposed to have one... could be something sticking in the clutch fork/throwout bearing/throwout bearing retainer area, or could be a non-original "performance" clutch with heavier pressure plate.

Good luck. I test drove a first gen Impreza that was like that... the clutch pedal effort was ridiculous. The seller said it was normal and that his kids' nanny had been driving the car with no complaints. Original clutch in that one. I didn't buy the car because there was no way I could've lived with it as a daily driver.

The car has been sitting on the lot for 40 days. I going to really push it and see if they want to make a sale. The issue now is that I will not initiate the purchasing process until they have resolved the issue and they won't want to spend $$$ fixing the issue unless I have signed papers.

I will keep you guys posted.

BTW, if anyone has a line on a 2010-2011 Mazda3 grand touring with leather and navigation 6 speed, any color BUT black in the DC/VA/MD area please send me a PM.

[TooFitToQuit]

H7 HID kit + clear lens = pretty good OEM projectors

[JCJetta]

With respect to those Grand Touring models that actually have factory HID - is there a way to tell if it has them? Especially when considering various Crapslist or Autotrader ads where the owners obviously have no clue.

[JOHNS92JETTA]

With respect to those Grand Touring models that actually have factory HID - is there a way to tell if it has them?

There is a headlight level switch on the left side of the dash with the numbers 0-3.

[SSLByron]

2.3L owners, what are you getting for real-world Mileage? Stick or auto, I don't care.

[883sportster]

07 Sedan With the 5 speed manual, 75%HWY I get 31-33mpg avg speed on highway around 65. If My wife is driving it to work it's all city driving she gets 25-26.