Mountain Mazda - left me stranded on the side of road

**rwatt** · 03-01-2009, 12:18 AM

So I had my 24K service done today at Mountain Mazda. The service was fine.
However, driving home tonight, the oil light flickered on, and I smelled oil coming through the vents. Stopped at a nearby gas station to take a look, and I noticed oil dripping rapidly from the underside of the vehicle.
Called Mazda Roadside, froze my arse off for an hour and a half waiting for CAA tow to show up, and they towed it over to St. Catharines Mazda. Of course the dealerships are closed tomorrow, so now I'm going to have to skip work on Monday to get my car back!

Obviously they either stripped the drain plug or installed the oil filter incorrectly. How many vehicles do these guys service in a day? I mean it's not bloody rocket science to change a car's oil and filter. I bought a brand new car so I would not be left stranded on the side of the road. Needless to say, I AM NOT IMPRESSED.

I am not an aggressive person, and would rather get resolution than just sit here shouting, but either way - Careless service technicians = Mountain Mazda has just lost a customer.

**rwatt** · 03-01-2009, 12:30 AM

my bad for the double post.

**Gizzmo_jr** · 03-01-2009, 12:43 AM

OH god, I'll take a stab that the plastic housing for the cartridge failed. Let us know how things work out and hope all the best and you can get it all sorted out.

**condor888000** · 03-01-2009, 12:59 AM

Odds are you're right, over torque that plastic cap and it'll crack, leading to the oil leak. Could talk to the guys at MOT about the conversion kit, that lets switch out the shitty plastic filter housing for a proper metal spin on filter.

**Malcolm991** · 03-01-2009, 08:30 AM

Same thing with me 2 weeks ago! It seems to happen more and more!

**gonzo25** · 03-01-2009, 10:04 AM

I would not switch to the spin on filter. If there was ever a problem with the engine who knows if it could be traced back to you modifying the oil system. Bye Bye warrany

**MAZDA Kitten** · 03-01-2009, 10:24 AM

Aw thats sad to hear. Mountain Mazda is really good I am sure they will resolve it ASAP for you. I've had nothing but amazing service there

That is ironic because it was Mountain Mazda who I went to when Ontario Mazda ****ed up my plastic oil housing. Then again. They know I am a picky bitch and they get senior tech's to work on my car.

**rwatt** · 03-01-2009, 11:04 AM

Thanks, at least I know what is most likely the problem now. Kind of sucks because as of next weekend I've owned the car for 1 year, it's been great and I haven't had any problems at all until now.
If St. Cath. Mazda charges me (and I'm expecting so, since I use synthetic oil), I'm hoping that Mountain Mazda picks up the bill because I can't afford to have the oil changed twice in a weekend, and it's not my fault that they broke it.

I actually stopped for lunch earlier and was noticing a wet spot underneath the car. I disregarded it as ice because it was bloody cold out there yesterday. Guess I should have looked at it closer, then I would have gone right back to the dealer while they were still open.

**aris** · 03-01-2009, 07:29 PM

That sucks..hope everything works out for ya

**Thrizzl3** · 03-01-2009, 07:37 PM

sorry to hear that..hope it all works out for you

b · 03-01-2009, 10:33 PM

Don't knock out the fact that it could be a stripped drain plug. That happened to me in the fall 08. Had an oil change. Got home parked it. Next day oil all over the drive way. Limped it back into the dealership. They fixed it on the spot. Still made me worry...

**rwatt** · 03-02-2009, 09:17 AM

Just called St. Catharines Mazda, they say it is the plastic housing. They say there was no oil showing on the dipstick and they pushed it into the service bay.
All that oil is probably all over the QEW and in their parking lot. I also left a huge mess at a Petro-Canada off the QEW

**Gizzmo_jr** · 03-02-2009, 09:35 AM

Thanks for the follow up, as of late, been alot of reports of the failure of the plastic housing your now familiar with.

**rwatt** · 03-02-2009, 11:58 AM

Situation has been resolved, pending the pick up of my car after work.

The o-ring was not properly seated, and the housing was cracked. It took 3.3L of oil to top it off. They pressure washed the underside of the car to get the oil spray off, did a highway test to make sure there were no engine issues, and checked it for codes, and a P0012-camshaft code showed up, but not sure what caused it (it was a 'pending' code (?) ).
It is a good thing that I have owned enough old and beater cars, and know when to shut down before something goes seriously wrong.

The fix was covered by Mountain Mazda, so they are good in my books for customer service, and good on St. Catharines Mazda as well for a speedy repair, and making sure everything is working properly.

**Gizzmo_jr** · 03-02-2009, 12:15 PM

Great, keep them in your good books for future issues should they arise from this happening.

**Go_Habs_Go** · 03-02-2009, 12:36 PM

crazy stuff! will definitely keep my eyes open for oil leaks next time I go in for an oil change.

glad to hear it worked out for you in the end but what about the 'P0012-camshaft code' that showed up?!!

**rwatt** · 03-02-2009, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by Go_Habs_Go

glad to hear it worked out for you in the end but what about the 'P0012-camshaft code' that showed up?!!

A quick google to this site: http://www.thaimazda3.com/svmanual/e...200001W02.html

Shows that a possible cause is low oil pressure...which makes sense since there wasn't much in there!

**rwatt** · 03-02-2009, 07:11 PM

Last update to put this one to bed:
Got the car back, engine runs smoothly (maybe even smoother than before), no leaks, and the undercarriage is squeaky clean

Oil pressure is 50psi at idle and 90 at 3000rpm so no damage done. It says that the oil filter housing was loose and leaking. Would have cost $220 incl. tax to repair, but Mountain Mazda took care of it.
I am happy now.

**bunchi** · 03-03-2009, 09:23 AM

when I went to MoT to have my 24K service done, I was told that I had an "oil leak under the engine". could this be the same case? if yes then good thing I brought the car there at the right time and they saw it, maybe just starting to leak, because I never saw any oil in my garage, and was fixed under warranty. mine's an '08 as well. I had it for just over a year.

**aris** · 03-03-2009, 10:07 AM

Thats good to hear that everything worked out for ya

**silentRAGE** · 03-04-2009, 11:01 AM

sorry to hear about your story glad everything worked out in the end..

**kcmazda** · 03-04-2009, 11:14 PM

Sorry to hear that but you are lucky if you lost all oil pressure you would be into a new engine, see it done before by losts of shops....thats why Burlington Mazda is the way to go.......

kcmazda
Burlington Mazda Tech...

**MAZDA Kitten** · 03-08-2009, 10:47 PM

Yayyyyyyyyyyyy

I'm glad they covered the bill. I know Mountain Mazda are really stand up guys so I'm glad everything worked out

Thread: Mountain Mazda - left me stranded on the side of road

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