RPMs, Deceleration, Braking, OH MY!

[super_vixen]

So, those who know about my mileage issues in one of the other threads, know that I've had that problem for about a year now. I have recently been taking the car to Scarboro Mazda where they are being amazing at trying to figure this out by doing tests and trying parts out (I live in Oshawa and Whitby Mazda has screwed me over with this problem a few times). It's been a pain because I live 30+ minutes away, so I have to take a day off work everytime I bring it in (that's about 4-5 times now). But I can't complain. My warranty is up in about 18 days, so they are doing what they can and leaving the work order open if necessary.

On Friday they had my car all day and ran tests and I believe he replaced something (air flow related). He has also ordered a new fuel pump which I will have to go back for. I drove the car to Burlington and back on Sat. with no problems. I drove it today to work for the first time since Sat. night and my car is seriously messed up. When I take my foot off the gas, it won't decelerate. It just stays at a constant speed as if I'm on Cruise control. Sometimes it'll drop after a minute and then when the RPM's hit 1000 they go nuts and jump to 2000+ and back down and up and my car surges back and forth violently. Then when I try and brake, I can tell that my car doesn't want to brake, and is resisting, thus making it difficult to come to a clean stop.

At one point while braking, my car felt like someone slammed it from 3rd gear into 1st gear (its an auto), and my car downshifted hard and something clunked and it stopped way too quickly instead of a steady deceleration.

Call me silly, but this just ain't normal. I will be calling Scarboro tomorrow, but because I can't keep taking days off work, I don't know how this will get fixed. Has anyone heard of anything like this before or know what might be causing it? I'm a bit nervous to drive it because the brakes are not doing what they should be.

[m_a_t_r_i_x]

wow....if i were you i wont be driving your car, have it towed to the dealership and have it fix...just get a loaner car from them if they will keep your car all day or more. dont take any chances....

[super_vixen]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing...problem being that I can't afford to pay for towing there, and I also can't get to the dealership early enough to make it back to work on time....

I'll see what the Service Manager says tomorrow.

[Xerox]

A little off topic but just a little curious.
You say that your warranty ends next month (Aug 2007) but your signature says you have extended warranty.
Is it extended warranty on the mileage but standard 3 years?

[mazda lover]

If what you are going through happened to me I would be close to putting a gun to my head. Ask the dealer if they have a portable scanner. If so have them hook it up and drive the car, in fact they can put it up on a hoist and drive it like you would on the road. When the car acts up they might be able to determine what the problem is as the code(s) would be stored. I am not sure it is possible to do but its a thought. Maybe you have a defective cruise even though it is not on or it is being used. Good luck,
let use know how you make out.

[super_vixen]

A little off topic but just a little curious.
You say that your warranty ends next month (Aug 2007) but your signature says you have extended warranty.
Is it extended warranty on the mileage but standard 3 years?

Extended warranty only covers certain things (its really limited and Mazda usually finds a way around it)...as it stands I have about 3 weeks of solid guaranteed warranty left. I don't want to mess with their loopholes after.

[super_vixen]

If what you are going through happened to me I would be close to putting a gun to my head. Ask the dealer if they have a portable scanner. If so have them hook it up and drive the car, in fact they can put it up on a hoist and drive it like you would on the road. When the car acts up they might be able to determine what the problem is as the code(s) would be stored. I am not sure it is possible to do but its a thought. Maybe you have a defective cruise even though it is not on or it is being used. Good luck,
let use know how you make out.

I've thought about putting a gun to my head! They have already used the scanner during the original testing due to my mileage problems. Everything keeps coming back normal. They have run more tests than I can keep track of over my past 3 visits, including the technician driving my car home with him one night to test it out on the scanner. This latest issue just started after I brought it home Friday after he replaced parts. I hope to hell this keeps up because I want them to see this. I will be taking my digital camera with me tomorrow on the way to work to record what it's doing.

[rktsci]

What I would do if they can't seem to fix it is to look at the Canadian Vehicle Arbitration process ( http://camvap.ca/eng/consumers_guide.htm ) and try to get Mazda to assume responsibility for the defective vehicle. This is the exact situation that this system was set up for.

Just a suggestion.

[PlatMS6]

What I would do if they can't seem to fix it is to look at the Canadian Vehicle Arbitration process ( http://camvap.ca/eng/consumers_guide.htm ) and try to get Mazda to assume responsibility for the defective vehicle. This is the exact situation that this system was set up for.

Just a suggestion.

That only works if you are under ~12000km/1yr I believe.... after that you are on your own.

[Fuman]

doesn't the dealership have courtesy shuttle?

[S.F.W.]

doesn't the dealership have courtesy shuttle?
courtesy shuttle's have a limited distance. She mentioned in her first post that it's a 30+ minute drive from where she lives Oshawa to the dealership Scarborough. Can't see them going that far..

[super_vixen]

Ok.....car was towed to the dealership today, and I have a rental car until this is fixed (all covered by Mazda under warranty). They have no clue what's wrong, so I guess we wait it out to see. I just don't want to drive a car that feel unsafe even if it's not happening all the time.

And they gave me a Yaris for a rental...I miss my 3 already!

[super_vixen]

That only works if you are under ~12000km/1yr I believe.... after that you are on your own.

Not true actually. I just read it and its 160,000 and I don't see anywhere for a time limit (except under lease it has to be 12 months or longer). So technically, from what I read I'm eligable. However, they talk about taking test drives in the defective car during hearings, and well..if the car isn't doing it all the time, then it will be hard to prove because it's my story vs. their test results (which are all coming back ok apparently).

[Low_Ets]

Sorry to hear of this experience - Ask the Shop Foreman [Russel?] to confirm if there is unmetered air entering into the Air Intake. Essentially, this condition suggests a vacuum leak [the fuel injection simply cannot compensate for] and has nothing to do with the MAF sensor that was replaced [it may involve a leak at the base of MAF sensor but not a miscalibrated sensor]. The surging and hunting of RPM is a response from the management system attempting to a correct a condition it was NOT designed to address.

A simple vacuum guage will confirm if this condition exists and its even easier to find with a fresh can of carb cleaner [LOL].