Front bumper a little off.

[DTK]

Is it possible to fix this by just reclipping the bumper?

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/1544/img0066vz.jpg

And if so, where can i buy the clips for it?

[The Wolf]

the clips are molded into the bumper and fender I think..

[cwp_sedan]

Female style clips are on the fender and male are on the bumper.

They don't normally pop out on their own so either someone took your bumper off and then replaced it incorrectly or someone hit you/vice versa.


Be careful pushing the clips back in as they can end up folding over and breaking. Once you do that you can't fix or replace them without getting a new bumper.

[peterm15]

Mines the same way. Learn to live with it. Lol.

[The Wolf]

It actually looks to me like your fender is dented in? The way the reflection warps

[cwp_sedan]

Mines the same way. Learn to live with it. Lol.

I could never live to learn with it like that lol.


It actually looks to me like your fender is dented in? The way the reflection warps

+1.

[Mazdy]

+1

Me too...everytime i clean my car nice and shiny...when i look at my bumper it changes my mood..

I should fix it soon LOL


I could never live to learn with it like that lol.



+1.

[bluemazda3]

mines the same way.... my male clips are almost broken tho...

[peterm15]

It is a PITA and annoying as hell.

I plan to take a close look this summer and try and fix it.

[DTK]

I bought the car like that (it was in an accident apparently) and the salesman said it may have been put on incorrectly.

[DTK]

Oh and i believe the reflection is angled like that because that area of the fender is angeled (or so it looked like on both the left and right side). Is that normal?

[cwp_sedan]

There are a a couple screws you need to unscrew before you can push the tabs back in.

This is for a hatch but the screw are in the same place.
http://krystmsgarage.com/?p=15

1. Remove the plastic plugs/screws in the wheel well and the screws underneath holding the splash guard to the bumper.

2. Remove the screw up and inside the fender holding the bumper to the fender.

At this point that side should come loose enough for you to CAREFULLY pull out that that side of the bumper (only a little bit/not completely) and examine everything. You may have bent or broken clips causing the issue. If they aren't carefully push them back in as you go and replace all of the hardware when you are done in the reverse order.



Oh and i believe the reflection is angled like that because that area of the fender is angeled (or so it looked like on both the left and right side). Is that normal?

It's only normal if there is no dent and that's just how the reflection is occurring. :)

[silverstarmazda]

a LOT of 1st gen mazda 3 have this problem for some reason... every normal 3 i c on the road here is like that, including mine

[TheMAN]

just replace the mounting block behind the bumper... it's bolted to the fenders... the clips in it break if you pull the bumper off or it got hit
cheap part anyway

[DTK]

Yah i did a google search and apparently lots of others are having this issue as well.

[silverstarmazda]

could it be a temperature thing?

[cwp_sedan]

No, it's an accident or mis-installation thing.

[Impressive]

I recently got this problem on my 3 and I can definitely tell you some (like my dads) really do happen by themselves...but mine is of my own fault :(

[Reddie1337]

No, it's an accident or mis-installation thing.

Even after we get a new bumper, and new clips from an accident, this happens. We haven't been able to find a solution. It's a combination of the fender retainer and the bumper, they just do not want to sit flush, it's a Mazda design flaw.

[TheMAN]

mine has been fine ever since I replaced the mounting blocks on both sides with the latest/updated parts (knocks on wood)
yeah.. my car had been in a wreck before, so....