korre
04-02-2014, 03:37 PM
Car: Mazda 3 GX 2010
Mileage: ~51000
1.5 weeks ago I tried to start my car in the evening and it wouldn't start. At first I thought it might have been the battery but there was no dimming of lights, wipers worked, headlights, etc. Had a friend come and look at it as well and he said it wasn't the battery either. We tried giving the engine some gas while starting and it almost went, but gave out shortly after.
Yesterday, I had a guy from CAA come over to get ready to tow the car to the shop and he wanted to try a few things before we hooked it. Checked the battery, good again. He tried to start it, didn't work initially. Then he switched it into neutral and floored gas while starting and it seemed to do the trick. Car started without issue this time. His theory was that something was clogged and by flooring gas in neutral, it cleared it out a bit. I moved the car out of my garage and tried to start it again before the CAA guy left just to confirm it wasn't a fluke, and it worked again without issue. Out of concern I took it to a shop to have them take a look. They said nothing was wrong and my car looked fine. While I was at the shop I had them do a tire rotation and oil change since I was due. Later in the evening, I noticed the same issue once again. Car wouldn't start in park. I shifted gears around and then tried to start again, and voilla, it worked. I'm wondering if the car thinks it's in the wrong gear and shifting gears around is doing the trick?
I did a bit of research on forums and online and did see a recall on the 2010 model in the past, so I checked with Mazda Canada to confirm but they said I wasn't affected. I found threads indicating there are issues with the shifter, which was something the guy who runs the shop also told me, but it was my understanding that this issue was mostly prevalent in the 2000-2009 models. Am I wrong? Could the 2010 also be affected?
I found this thread, but am unsure if this applies to me. It does sound related though:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?74440-Car-won-t-start-in-Park-but-will-start-in-neutral
I'm looking for advice as to whether the issue might in fact be with the shifter, if it's something else entirely, or if there is anything else I can do to diagnose. The guys at the shop said nothing was wrong when they looked...
Mileage: ~51000
1.5 weeks ago I tried to start my car in the evening and it wouldn't start. At first I thought it might have been the battery but there was no dimming of lights, wipers worked, headlights, etc. Had a friend come and look at it as well and he said it wasn't the battery either. We tried giving the engine some gas while starting and it almost went, but gave out shortly after.
Yesterday, I had a guy from CAA come over to get ready to tow the car to the shop and he wanted to try a few things before we hooked it. Checked the battery, good again. He tried to start it, didn't work initially. Then he switched it into neutral and floored gas while starting and it seemed to do the trick. Car started without issue this time. His theory was that something was clogged and by flooring gas in neutral, it cleared it out a bit. I moved the car out of my garage and tried to start it again before the CAA guy left just to confirm it wasn't a fluke, and it worked again without issue. Out of concern I took it to a shop to have them take a look. They said nothing was wrong and my car looked fine. While I was at the shop I had them do a tire rotation and oil change since I was due. Later in the evening, I noticed the same issue once again. Car wouldn't start in park. I shifted gears around and then tried to start again, and voilla, it worked. I'm wondering if the car thinks it's in the wrong gear and shifting gears around is doing the trick?
I did a bit of research on forums and online and did see a recall on the 2010 model in the past, so I checked with Mazda Canada to confirm but they said I wasn't affected. I found threads indicating there are issues with the shifter, which was something the guy who runs the shop also told me, but it was my understanding that this issue was mostly prevalent in the 2000-2009 models. Am I wrong? Could the 2010 also be affected?
I found this thread, but am unsure if this applies to me. It does sound related though:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?74440-Car-won-t-start-in-Park-but-will-start-in-neutral
I'm looking for advice as to whether the issue might in fact be with the shifter, if it's something else entirely, or if there is anything else I can do to diagnose. The guys at the shop said nothing was wrong when they looked...