"Gurgling" Sound at Low Revs

[drperogie]

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...-and-cheap-fix

This fixed my problem, at least temporarily. Replaced the stock tensioner pulley with the Dayco 89015 this morning. As soon as I took off the belt I could tell the pulley wasn't rotating right, it felt stiff and wasn't turning well.

My problem was engine noise, almost like a diesel engine chugging sometimes with a whine between 1500-2000 RPM only under load when the gas is pressed. It was most obvious when the gear changes and the RPM dropped from 2500 to around 1700 at highway speeds. It also seemed to be worse the colder the temperature is.

I have a 2010 Mazda 3 sedan with 42500km on it and I noticed the sound around the 41k mark.

Hope this fixes the problem with the rest of you too

[Dany]

Replaced the belt after replacing the tensioner. Noise is gone. But, for how long...

[proDJtege]

I seem to have this same issue in my car. really low RPMs and only really notice it in the morning when it's all cold. I'm eager to see what the summer brings for this.

[Paul17]

I've had this issue since week 1 and I only have one year with the car, i got the tensioner pulley, drive belt, ac clutch replaced months ago and noise still continued. I brought the car to dave wood today and they heard the noise, replaced the belt again and noise is gone. hopefully it wont come back again

your right i have a 2011 mazda 3 gx it was making that bubbling sound took it in the dealer replaced the belt and the tensioner noise whent away now 3000km
later its back at it bubbles none stop worse then before happens around 1,500RPMS to 2500 rpms very pissed off going to take it back to the dealer AGAIN
and see if they can replace it under warranty PARTS WARRANTY

[Paul17]

Replaced the belt after replacing the tensioner. Noise is gone. But, for how long...

not long my lasted 3000k lol

[paulabreu]

so i was having this problem since i got the car new in november 2011. Last month, the dealership found that the noise was coming from the alternator bearing, so they replace the alternator and the noise is now gone

[sharvei]

I have the exact same problem, this noise can be heard
between 1600 and 1900 RPM in almost any gear and temperature,passenger side 90% sure.
My car is a 2.0L 2011 mazda 3 sedan GX everything stock.
It is driving me crazy, I feel like i'm driving
a beat up old car even though I only have 25000KM
Went to the dealer ralready once he was sure it was a heat shield
plate, told me it was loose, I was sceptic, I was disapointed to be wright!
So I tywrapped a recorder under the hood, went for a small drive
and it didn't took more to clearly record the culprit noise.
Here it is to share. Any ideas anyone? Any fix so far?

[sharvei]

Here is a more kinda permanent version link for the recording of this noise. This file is there because I realized after numerous search on many forum that many
owners seems to have the same problem only we d'ont know for sure if we're talking about the same thing as there is not a lot of recordings of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY_up...ature=youtu.be

As paulabreu suggested I will go have my alternator checked out and let you know the results.
I hope this help's

[sharvei]

Well folks, just came back from my mazda dealership where I had excellent service, In short : they drove with me for a while, heard the noise, where positive about the tensionner pulley and belt which they changed under warranty without any problem. I can say positively this was MY problem! I know feel like I drive a new car again which is what I paid for! Mechanician told me they know about this problem but MAZDA has not issued any recall so far. There is definitevely a problem with this assembly and I hope MAZDA will fix it because I know it will come back in time unless they correct this! I hope they are making enough profit to stand by their costomer! I would assume they can do it... wright?! I love my car, I've been a Mazda customer for almost 15 years and always stood by! MAZDA, BE AS LOYAL AS YOUR CUSTOMER AND WAKE UP PLEASE!

[TheAnswer_03]

Well folks, just came back from my mazda dealership where I had excellent service, In short : they drove with me for a while, heard the noise, where positive about the tensionner pulley and belt which they changed under warranty without any problem. I can say positively this was MY problem! I know feel like I drive a new car again which is what I paid for! Mechanician told me they know about this problem but MAZDA has not issued any recall so far. There is definitevely a problem with this assembly and I hope MAZDA will fix it because I know it will come back in time unless they correct this! I hope they are making enough profit to stand by their costomer! I would assume they can do it... wright?! I love my car, I've been a Mazda customer for almost 15 years and always stood by! MAZDA, BE AS LOYAL AS YOUR CUSTOMER AND WAKE UP PLEASE!

I got the same issue. I had the belt and tensioner pulley replaced and noise is still there. Did you have the entire tensioner replaced or just the pulley (round black plastic part). I only had the pulley replaced not the whole tensioner.

[sharvei]

I had everything replaced not just the pulley! Everything is brand new (belt, tensioner and pulley) and according to my mechanician the problem is a bearing INSIDE the tensioner! Just came back from a drive this morning and I love my car again it's like a new one. Extremely surprising that such a small part can make sush a huge difference but it is! I hope MAZDA will eventualy have a recall on these
because it clearly is a misconception and problem will come back. I beleive that as customers we have the right to have decent product even after warranty. I don't see mylself changing this assembly every year or so under warranty or not!

[sarujo]

So the Mazda dealer replaced the belt, tensioner and pulley free under warranty?

[sharvei]

Yes they did! I've never had any problems having any of my previous mazda cars fixed under warranty, including this one! The delearship has to get approval from mazda before doing so but in the end thay get paid and it's business for them. I never could understand peoples having trouble with their dealership and always feared to face the same issue but it did not happened. One thing helped though, they heard the noise, they knew what it was.

[TheAnswer_03]

I had everything replaced not just the pulley! Everything is brand new (belt, tensioner and pulley) and according to my mechanician the problem is a bearing INSIDE the tensioner! Just came back from a drive this morning and I love my car again it's like a new one. Extremely surprising that such a small part can make sush a huge difference but it is! I hope MAZDA will eventualy have a recall on these
because it clearly is a misconception and problem will come back. I beleive that as customers we have the right to have decent product even after warranty. I don't see mylself changing this assembly every year or so under warranty or not!

So the bearing your mechanic was talking about is inside the tensioner (silver part in the picture) and not the tensioner pulley (black wheel in the picture)? Because if noise is from the bearing inside the pulley and I replaced it and noise is still there, then replacing the entire tensioner assembly should not make a difference.

Sorry for all the questions. I want to make sure before I call Mazda as my car is no longer in warranty and I would have to pay out of my pocket to get the entire tensioner assembly replaced. I've dealt with this annoyance for about 2 years and I'll be very relieved if I can get this fixed.



I get this sound under 2,000 RPM under engine load, especially driving uphill; therefore, the belt tension would increase under heavy load causing the noise I presume?

[sharvei]

Exactly, according to him it's inside the tensioner, the silver part which they also changed. Don't be sorry for all the questions I beleive these forums are there to help each other
and I understand you want to make sure before you shell out the money! Here is an actual picture of my tensioner, belt and pulley just 10 minutes after it was changed.

[ptgrad2012]

Yeah I am heading over to MoT this weekend for oil change and inspection for this belt tensioner too.

I mentioned this issue to the service lady on the phone, hopefully they know what's coming, and fix it without much complication.

[TheAnswer_03]

Okay, I'll call Mazda for an appointment as I also have to change back to summer tires and oil change too. Thanks for the help again sharvei and everybody else

[mazda3zoo]

I have the exact same problem and can't get the dealership to do anything about it! (2010 Mazda 3 GS Automatic)

At around ~1.75K RPM, there's this odd noise like you described ('gurgling', diesel-like). Whenever I stay constant at this RPM, I hear it all the time, no matter what the weather.

The dealership took a few times to figure out what was causing this and finally found out it was the exhaust system. They couldn't do any repair on it without finding the exact cause to they sent a report to Mazda Canada, who later forwarded the report to Mazda Japan. I've been waiting for 7 months now for an answer and nothing so far.

Has anyone else had a similar experience in the past where the dealership simply refuses to do any work until they hear from higher up? 7 months+ wait time is just getting ridiculous at this point.

I had the same issue so the dealer ship replaced my tensioner pulley and belts the noise was gone that was back in november of 2012 and i noticed the noise is back again it almost sounds like a standard when you have it in to high of a gear for the speed you are going my mazda is a 2011 mazda 3 sport automatic. anyone with ideas

[mazda3zoo]

So the Mazda dealer replaced the belt, tensioner and pulley free under warranty?

they replaced mine for free when under warranty

[mazda3zoo]

i had mine also replace and about 6 months later the noise is back again kindive geting tired of the noise and replacing how is yours working out for you now

[ptgrad2012]

they refused to change mine as they claimed "it's normal".

[loosecannon]

Anyone know any lawyers? Perhaps make this into a class action.

[mazdabetty]

FYI, for anyone is hearing a sound similar to this: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...cking-rattling

It's such a hard sound to explain, it sounds like a bubbling/gurgling from inside the car but turns into a knock under the hood... it only seemed to happen at low revs for me too, oddly... Turned out to the be the clutch on the AC compressor. Cut the belt and it's fine now. Grabbing a used compressor today at a junk yard for $250 (better than $700 new lol)

Hopefully that helps some people try to figure out that odd noise!

[TheAnswer_03]

After paying for a new belt tensioner + labor, the noise continues. My sound is only heard when the car is in gear and moving. Sound is mainly activated when the car upshifts and the RPMs drop below 2000. I've had this problem since I bought the car used in May 2011. I have brought the car to a local mechanic and dealer and both claimed they could not replicate the sound.

Fortunately I have a very good job right now and plan on getting rid of this Mazda ASAP and replacing it with a Scion FR-S instead. I only drive the car when I have to, which is to work and back, as I'm too discouraged to drive every time I hear the gurgling diesel sound.

[generalsaint]

I've been suffering for the past 2 years with this