Mazda 3 car problems & warranty question

[imzi]

Hi,

I have a Mazda 3 2009 Sedan and bought it in May 2009.The km are about 16,000 on it. Can someone pls tell me if the dealership will charge me for the oil change as they did not charge for the first initial one.

Also few other problems. Need some advice on it.

1)My car's steering wobble's when i hit the brake even though i am not so fast on the road. I would say it even wobbles at 45-50 km.

2)I think my cars alignment is a little out. The car sways on one side if i leave the steering.

Will Erin Mills Mazda charge me for the oil change, alignment,the wobbling or lets say if something is wrong with the brakes and it has something to do with the wobbling.

I would appreciate a detailed answer. oh by the way. does my warranty cover all of the above.

Pls advise.

Thanks once again in advance.

[CFX]

From May 2009 to now, you've only had one oil change?! Regarding your first initial oil change, it all depends on the agreement with the dealership when you purchased the vehicle. Did the salesperson mention anything regarding free oil changes? If the wobble is only present while braking, it's possibly a bent rotor, which isn't covered under warranty. (I could be wrong though?) As for an alignment, if the car steers it's self (left or right), then you definitely need an alignment. Oil changes and alignments are not covered by warranty either, it's considered normal wear and tear.

[grex]

Those problems sound like they WONT be covered under warranty...especially if you go through erin mills mazda.


Seriously though the wobble sounds like theres an issue with your rotors...it happened to me in the past and it turned out to be my rotors.

and the oil change was probably an incentive for the first time around...not likely to be paid for again.

[dsichewski]

I thought brakes had a 1 yr 20 000km warranty? if the rotors are euchred after 7ish months i'd be pretty pissed....

if rotors turn out to be the problem, could the rotor have thrown the alignment out?

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Alignment issues also aren't warranty issues; vehicles become unaligned with usage, wear and tear - there's no avoiding it.


Actually, this is not entirely true, Lars. All new Mazda's come with a one year, 20,000km 'adjustment warranty'. This includes things like re-alignments and the OP should certainly take his car back to the dealer, explain the problem and request a realignment under the adjustment warranty.

Imzi,

The wobble when you brake is most likely warped rotors or sticking pads. The brakes are usually considered a wear and tear item, but a good dealer will replace these for you considering your mileage and that this is a relatively new car. A crappy dealer will not. Erin Mills is not typically known to be a 'great dealer', but I suggest you tell them you are from TM3 and ask to speak to the service manager.

As for your alignment being off, first thing you should check is to make sure that your cold tire pressure is equal on both sides. An underinflated tire on one side will cause the pulling you describe. The tire pressure needs to be checked when the tires are cold for the most accurate reading. So, ideally, take them in the morning before you drive the car, or after it has been sitting for an hour or so. Mazda recommends 32psi all around, and you can go higher than this if you want within the tolerances of the tire itself, but the important thing is that the tire psi is the same on each side. If your tire pressure is okay, then this is most likely an alignment issue and simply tell the service advisor you have pulling and tell them you want a realignment performed under the adjustment warranty.

As for charging you for the oil change, most likely yes. A lot of dealers provide a complimentary first oil change and then you need to pay beyond that point. Unless of course, you purchased an oil change package when you bought the car.
Best of luck.

[Burner]

Nine times out of ten warped rotors are a symptom of bad driving habits. It means that there's been excessive heat which is caused by riding the brakes.

The alignment issue is probably cause by the crown in the road.

[kimro]

Not sure about the Mazdas but Woodchester Nissan covered my bent rotors at around 30k although that may have been due to a TSB. They just grind it even.

It all depends on your driving habits but rotors being bent at 16k sounds a little immature IMO.

Some high end cars cover regular maintenance for 3-4 years but these are often cars that cost 40+ gs. You are essentially pre-paying for the services I guess :p I don't believe Mazda has such service unless a dealership does independently.

[cwp_sedan]

Your warranty won't cover the oil change. Unless you have a specific agreement with the dealership you bought your car at about oil changes being covered, those are not covered.

As for the alignment and anything else for that matter. EVERYTHING should be replaced under warranty up to 20,000KM/1 year. After that, most things will be covered but not all dealerships go by the same rules.



EDIT: Merged threads.

[newmazda]

My alignment on my 2009 with 19,000 km at the time was covered under the 20,000 km adjustment period warranty. I had unusual tire wear so they realigned it under warranty.

As mentioned its 1 year or 20,000km

[Go_Habs_Go]

Actually, this is not entirely true, Lars. All new Mazda's come with a one year, 20,000km 'adjustment warranty'. This includes things like re-alignments and the OP should certainly take his car back to the dealer, explain the problem and request a realignment under the adjustment warranty.


Absolutely correct, I had an alignment done free of charge on my car a few months after I bought it. As long as you are under the 1 year/20,000km mark it will be covered.

Also, an oil change MUST be done every 8,000 kms OR every 4 months, whichever comes first. So make sure to get your next oil change done very soon as you are approaching both the 16,000 km mark and the 8th month of owning your vehicle.

[imzi]

First of all thank you all for replying back!!!!!!

Ok. This is how it went when i took my car for my 2nd oil change yesterday along with the the other 2 issues i had.

1)The oil change was not covered so they charged me $41.00 for it.

2)Was told by the service advisor that there was a problem with the Brake Rotor and they will fix that which would eventually eliminate the wobbling of the steering. - Outcome - They fixed it and it does not wobble anymore and i can also feel the brakes are more stronger should i say when i hit the brakes.

3)Was also told that i need Alignment done as upon inspection and after my complaint that the the car sways in one direction, was informed that i might have hit the curb or something might have damaged my passenger side front rim. Was told that a rod or something was bent and they will also fix that and that was the reason the car was swaying and the alignment was out.
They charged me $124.00 for alignment plus $19.99 for wheel balancing stating that it is not part of the warranty.Also i looked up their website today and it states the following:

ADJUSTMENTS"
Service adjustment is covered for the first 12 months or 20,000 km, whichever comes first. Service adjustment means minor repairs not usually associated with the replacement of parts, such as wheel balance and alignment, tension adjustment of automatic transmission throttle cable and V-belt, fitting of engine hood, trunk lid, or rear hatch, etc.


Total Damage: $211.00

Any comment/advise would be greatly appreciated.

By the way another problem has come up.When the car goes on the speed breaker(hump), from the front side a sound appears.Can't really describe it.sounds something like cheeeeaaa...

Any thoughts????

[riceRocket]

1. $41 for an oil change is fair. I am sure you can find a cheaper place, but dealerships generally charge around $50.

2. Stronger brake is more of a psychological thing. Unless you have brake drums at the back. I think all they did was turning your rotors.

3. $124 for an alignmment sounds fair. But if you go to a local garage, you can get it done for $50-$100 (depending on whos doing it).

4. The sound you heard is probably dried up rubber bushing? I mean, most cars with sway bars make that sound. Not sure if its worth to even spend money on diagnosing the problem.

[imzi]

I was told that the alignment is not covered even under the service adjustment warranty.They have also posted that on their website.

To bad i had to pay for it. My after sales experience with Erin Mills Mazda has not been that great so far. I have a feeling that they do not want to replace anything and want their customers to pay for every single thing.

[imzi]

Also the new sound that has come up now from the front side is more like a spring noise everytime i get on the speed breaker. Any idea what that might be?? I am taking my car AGAIN this saturday to the dealer.

[newmazda]

As I already mentioned I brought my new 3 in for a tire wear problem and all they did was give me an alignment absolutely free of charge covered under warranty. It even said so on the invoice. Never payed a Penny.

I think I would find a new dealership to do your maintenance.

[CFX]

First of all thank you all for replying back!!!!!!

Ok. This is how it went when i took my car for my 2nd oil change yesterday along with the the other 2 issues i had.

1)The oil change was not covered so they charged me $41.00 for it.

2)Was told by the service advisor that there was a problem with the Brake Rotor and they will fix that which would eventually eliminate the wobbling of the steering. - Outcome - They fixed it and it does not wobble anymore and i can also feel the brakes are more stronger should i say when i hit the brakes.

3)Was also told that i need Alignment done as upon inspection and after my complaint that the the car sways in one direction, was informed that i might have hit the curb or something might have damaged my passenger side front rim. Was told that a rod or something was bent and they will also fix that and that was the reason the car was swaying and the alignment was out.
They charged me $124.00 for alignment plus $19.99 for wheel balancing stating that it is not part of the warranty.

From what I gather, everything sounds legitimate. You mentioned they found a bent tie rod, which might explain the $124 with the alignment included? If you're not satisfied, go to anther Mazda dealership.

[m_bisson]

Also the new sound that has come up now from the front side is more like a spring noise everytime i get on the speed breaker. Any idea what that might be?? I am taking my car AGAIN this saturday to the dealer.

I had a similar noise on my 06. It turned out to be the bushings on top of the suspension mounts. The guy lubed them up and in 5 minutes the lube was gone.