Mazda 3 Sport 2.2D 185 Hatch - 18 month/ 25k miles review...
Discussion
After a PM from a forum member asking me what I thought of the car, I thought I'd post my ramblings here.
It went back to the lease company on Friday with 25,500 miles on the clocks.
Great car! Lovely spec (heated seats, BOSE, sat nav etc). Pretty quick when on the move.
It takes practise to accelerate hard through the gears as the box doesn't like to be rushed, not lifting completely off the accelerator during shifts seemed to work well. Only an issue when really pressing on
Satnav is a bit clunky but always gets you there. Input is though the little toggle switch and arrows on the steering wheel, so best only used when stationary. Phone works well when its set up, a bit tedious as you have to save individual numbers into the system by voice commands, and it will only display the number of the person calling. A Parrot kit is infinitely more intuitive, but the fitted kit is better than nothing. It also streamed bluetooth music from the iPhone without problem, although there is no way of skipping track etc without touching the phone.
The boot is a bit stingy, especially because the Bose reduced the depth by about 4". More than enough for the weekly shop.
Seats weren't the comfiest (I'm 5' 11" and 21st!), and they didn't go low enough for my liking. They are supportive though.
You can average about 45mpg over mixed driving, it would cruise at 120 leptons all day long and still get 32mpg! Motorway / Autobahn performance is staggering, although from 125mph it feels strained to be honest, although I had 140mph out of mine on occassions. Mid range is what this car is all about, noticably quicker than a GT TDI 170 Golf/Octy vRS/Audi TT diesel etc. Fastest diesel in its class. Nice and smooth in its power delivery, it really is a peach of an engine.
Handling is pretty amazing when you get the confidence to throw it around. Very predictable on the limit.
No faults at all in the 18 months/25k I had it. Needed front tyres at 9k and 18k, although rears still had plenty of life. Only niggle would be the heated drivers seat got unbearably hot, even on setting 1, but Mazda couldn't find a fault.
Its a stunning looking car and turns heads for sure. Rare enough to feel a bit more special than a Golf or Focus.
It does however have a couple of annoying "features". ECU isn't remappable (Denso not Bosch), as its such low volumes most tuners can't be bothered, although there are some plug in boxes that should make a difference.
The DPF! Fecking thing drove me mad. It works by injecting extra diesel to get the DPF really hot. It lasts for about 20 mins every 200 miles or so. During that time economy nearly HALVES, the exhast gets boomy, and the throttle gets really twitchy. If you turn the engine off during a regen then the extra diesel gets dumped into the sump. There is an 'X' mark on the dipstick about an inch higher than full, because the diesel will make the engine oil level go up. If it reaches the X mark it needs an oil change. If ignored the extra oil level could cause turbo seals to fail allowing the engine to run on its oil, it will run at fatal RPMs and wreck the engine. Highly unlikely, but a bit scary. Mine needed an extra oil change between each service as the Mrs did a lot of very short journeys in it. Real life mpg would be be closer to 50mpg if it wasn't for this thing, and an extra "intermediate" oil and filter change at £100 odd is a significant running cost. If you do lots of short journeys I wouldn't recommend this car. Plus I'm not sure on the lubricating properties of diesel, but I wouldn't think its great for long term longevity. Lots of earlier Mazda 6 diesels had a similar set up and have chomped through big end bearings at 120k miles... I wouldn't let it bother you if you get rid of a car after a few years though!
If there is a way to remove the DPF it would make the car stunningly brilliant, but it ruined the ownership experience a bit for me.
Overall its a great car! 8/10 for me, and looking back I can't think of anything (in its class ) I'd rather have done 25k commuting miles in.
Hope this helps anyone considering one.
Tom.
Lots of pictures from when Baker21 of Detailing World detailed it for me on this thread - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...
It went back to the lease company on Friday with 25,500 miles on the clocks.
Great car! Lovely spec (heated seats, BOSE, sat nav etc). Pretty quick when on the move.
It takes practise to accelerate hard through the gears as the box doesn't like to be rushed, not lifting completely off the accelerator during shifts seemed to work well. Only an issue when really pressing on
Satnav is a bit clunky but always gets you there. Input is though the little toggle switch and arrows on the steering wheel, so best only used when stationary. Phone works well when its set up, a bit tedious as you have to save individual numbers into the system by voice commands, and it will only display the number of the person calling. A Parrot kit is infinitely more intuitive, but the fitted kit is better than nothing. It also streamed bluetooth music from the iPhone without problem, although there is no way of skipping track etc without touching the phone.
The boot is a bit stingy, especially because the Bose reduced the depth by about 4". More than enough for the weekly shop.
Seats weren't the comfiest (I'm 5' 11" and 21st!), and they didn't go low enough for my liking. They are supportive though.
You can average about 45mpg over mixed driving, it would cruise at 120 leptons all day long and still get 32mpg! Motorway / Autobahn performance is staggering, although from 125mph it feels strained to be honest, although I had 140mph out of mine on occassions. Mid range is what this car is all about, noticably quicker than a GT TDI 170 Golf/Octy vRS/Audi TT diesel etc. Fastest diesel in its class. Nice and smooth in its power delivery, it really is a peach of an engine.
Handling is pretty amazing when you get the confidence to throw it around. Very predictable on the limit.
No faults at all in the 18 months/25k I had it. Needed front tyres at 9k and 18k, although rears still had plenty of life. Only niggle would be the heated drivers seat got unbearably hot, even on setting 1, but Mazda couldn't find a fault.
Its a stunning looking car and turns heads for sure. Rare enough to feel a bit more special than a Golf or Focus.
It does however have a couple of annoying "features". ECU isn't remappable (Denso not Bosch), as its such low volumes most tuners can't be bothered, although there are some plug in boxes that should make a difference.
The DPF! Fecking thing drove me mad. It works by injecting extra diesel to get the DPF really hot. It lasts for about 20 mins every 200 miles or so. During that time economy nearly HALVES, the exhast gets boomy, and the throttle gets really twitchy. If you turn the engine off during a regen then the extra diesel gets dumped into the sump. There is an 'X' mark on the dipstick about an inch higher than full, because the diesel will make the engine oil level go up. If it reaches the X mark it needs an oil change. If ignored the extra oil level could cause turbo seals to fail allowing the engine to run on its oil, it will run at fatal RPMs and wreck the engine. Highly unlikely, but a bit scary. Mine needed an extra oil change between each service as the Mrs did a lot of very short journeys in it. Real life mpg would be be closer to 50mpg if it wasn't for this thing, and an extra "intermediate" oil and filter change at £100 odd is a significant running cost. If you do lots of short journeys I wouldn't recommend this car. Plus I'm not sure on the lubricating properties of diesel, but I wouldn't think its great for long term longevity. Lots of earlier Mazda 6 diesels had a similar set up and have chomped through big end bearings at 120k miles... I wouldn't let it bother you if you get rid of a car after a few years though!
If there is a way to remove the DPF it would make the car stunningly brilliant, but it ruined the ownership experience a bit for me.
Overall its a great car! 8/10 for me, and looking back I can't think of anything (in its class
) I'd rather have done 25k commuting miles in.Hope this helps anyone considering one.
Tom.
Lots of pictures from when Baker21 of Detailing World detailed it for me on this thread - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...
Interesting - a car I had never considered so it's all new to me.
Rode in a petrol 3 recently and was impressed by the satnav screen and Bluetooth functions - but hearing the reality of the situation from you has made me rethink. The petrol was loud - really loud, so it sounds like you may have made the right choice with the diesel. Looks good to. Do these models of 3 have the abs, or is it ESP, failure problem?
Rode in a petrol 3 recently and was impressed by the satnav screen and Bluetooth functions - but hearing the reality of the situation from you has made me rethink. The petrol was loud - really loud, so it sounds like you may have made the right choice with the diesel. Looks good to. Do these models of 3 have the abs, or is it ESP, failure problem?
Pentoman said:
Interesting - a car I had never considered so it's all new to me.
Rode in a petrol 3 recently and was impressed by the satnav screen and Bluetooth functions - but hearing the reality of the situation from you has made me rethink. The petrol was loud - really loud, so it sounds like you may have made the right choice with the diesel. Looks good to. Do these models of 3 have the abs, or is it ESP, failure problem?
No, these do not have the problematic Teves ABS controllers.Rode in a petrol 3 recently and was impressed by the satnav screen and Bluetooth functions - but hearing the reality of the situation from you has made me rethink. The petrol was loud - really loud, so it sounds like you may have made the right choice with the diesel. Looks good to. Do these models of 3 have the abs, or is it ESP, failure problem?
The petrol is pants on petrol too, 30mpg if your lucky I understand!
Olivera said:
I had to google your statement about the DPF causing diesel to drain into the sump! Can't actually believe that an engine could be designed in such a way that would dilute the lubrication properties of your engine oil. Sounds totally ludicrous to me.
I'm not making it up! It is an unbelievable design.It wasn't a problem when I was commuting 50 miles each way to work, but when SWMBO took the car over it was rarely more than 3 miles.
Just had the DPF go on my early diesel sport. It is only the 2.0 litre, still a pokey little number all the same!
The DPF light came on at 6:30 in the morning whilst driving round the M25
No notice, just limp mode! Stop at the nearest Mazda Dealership and wait for them to try and run a regen...not possible
Then then tell me it will cost £2600 to replace it!
I found a company on the net however that can do the unit for £400
I was tempted by the DPF doctor, he advertises on eBay. He removes the unit and then sticks in a couple of bypass boxes. It sounds a brilliant idea as you've already mentioned it uses fuel to do the regen, and drops the power. However being he was a taxi driver and this was a part time profession...call me a snob, but he didn't fill me with confidence!
Anyway....The car is at the garage, due to have the new DPF fitted, along with a full set of Powerflex bushes and a set of GAZ golds Poor little girl has done 112k miles and so needs a little bit of loving
The DPF light came on at 6:30 in the morning whilst driving round the M25
No notice, just limp mode! Stop at the nearest Mazda Dealership and wait for them to try and run a regen...not possible Then then tell me it will cost £2600 to replace it!
I found a company on the net however that can do the unit for £400
I was tempted by the DPF doctor, he advertises on eBay. He removes the unit and then sticks in a couple of bypass boxes. It sounds a brilliant idea as you've already mentioned it uses fuel to do the regen, and drops the power. However being he was a taxi driver and this was a part time profession...call me a snob, but he didn't fill me with confidence!Anyway....The car is at the garage, due to have the new DPF fitted, along with a full set of Powerflex bushes and a set of GAZ golds
Poor little girl has done 112k miles and so needs a little bit of loving JontyR said:
Just had the DPF go on my early diesel sport. It is only the 2.0 litre, still a pokey little number all the same!
The DPF light came on at 6:30 in the morning whilst driving round the M25 No notice, just limp mode! Stop at the nearest Mazda Dealership and wait for them to try and run a regen...not possible
Then then tell me it will cost £2600 to replace it!
I found a company on the net however that can do the unit for £400 I was tempted by the DPF doctor, he advertises on eBay. He removes the unit and then sticks in a couple of bypass boxes. It sounds a brilliant idea as you've already mentioned it uses fuel to do the regen, and drops the power. However being he was a taxi driver and this was a part time profession...call me a snob, but he didn't fill me with confidence!
Anyway....The car is at the garage, due to have the new DPF fitted, along with a full set of Powerflex bushes and a set of GAZ golds Poor little girl has done 112k miles and so needs a little bit of loving
Can the DPF not just be removed in a similar way to CAT's ? Not sure how it goes on the Mazda, however on the 2.0 TDI 170 Vag engine, it seems to be the case of removing the DPF with a bypass pipe then remapping - the map taking "out" the DPF.The DPF light came on at 6:30 in the morning whilst driving round the M25
No notice, just limp mode! Stop at the nearest Mazda Dealership and wait for them to try and run a regen...not possible Then then tell me it will cost £2600 to replace it!
I found a company on the net however that can do the unit for £400
I was tempted by the DPF doctor, he advertises on eBay. He removes the unit and then sticks in a couple of bypass boxes. It sounds a brilliant idea as you've already mentioned it uses fuel to do the regen, and drops the power. However being he was a taxi driver and this was a part time profession...call me a snob, but he didn't fill me with confidence!Anyway....The car is at the garage, due to have the new DPF fitted, along with a full set of Powerflex bushes and a set of GAZ golds
Poor little girl has done 112k miles and so needs a little bit of loving Im not sure.....Im not sure what the capabilities are on tuning the standard Mazda ECU are either. I spoke to a couple of Ford Specialists and they were saying that there is no way round the issue other than to replace it.
Would be good as it surely would give better power without it!
Would be good as it surely would give better power without it!
JontyR said:
Im not sure.....Im not sure what the capabilities are on tuning the standard Mazda ECU are either. I spoke to a couple of Ford Specialists and they were saying that there is no way round the issue other than to replace it.
Would be good as it surely would give better power without it!
Yeah, I'd read on a Mazda forum about the ECU being "locked" and as such any mapping, could only be by those add on tuning boxes. Would be good as it surely would give better power without it!
Bit of a ball ache being landed with replacing the DPF outside warranty as I've seen on various forums its basically a lottery to how long they last.
SB10 said:
Yeah, I'd read on a Mazda forum about the ECU being "locked" and as such any mapping, could only be by those add on tuning boxes.
Bit of a ball ache being landed with replacing the DPF outside warranty as I've seen on various forums its basically a lottery to how long they last.
Mine is within warranty and still not covered! It is a wear and tear item! Bloody Greenies!! If it wasnt for all the fuss about stupid emmisions, we wouldnt have to have these stupid items put on our cars! Bit of a ball ache being landed with replacing the DPF outside warranty as I've seen on various forums its basically a lottery to how long they last.
JontyR said:
Mine is within warranty and still not covered! It is a wear and tear item! Bloody Greenies!! If it wasnt for all the fuss about stupid emmisions, we wouldnt have to have these stupid items put on our cars!
Oh, so they are probably classing this the same as an exhaust / cat then. b
ds!If it's still within warranty, and going by the price you quoted, I for one would be wanting some sort of goodwill jesture from Mazda.
I now have had it will Mazda's pricing!
As if the DPF wasn't expensive enough....I managed to get a pattern version for about £400....however getting the sensors out was a different matter! So much so we snapped 2 of the temp sensors. Result......£450+VAT to replace them! They are 2 k-type sensors, simple as! Shouldnt cost anymore than £30 each really! Do they just stick a "0" on the end of their prices as there is no other choice?
Anyways....Ive made a straight through pipe and found someone who can remap the DPF out of the system! Happy days!!
As if the DPF wasn't expensive enough....I managed to get a pattern version for about £400....however getting the sensors out was a different matter! So much so we snapped 2 of the temp sensors. Result......£450+VAT to replace them! They are 2 k-type sensors, simple as! Shouldnt cost anymore than £30 each really! Do they just stick a "0" on the end of their prices as there is no other choice?
Anyways....Ive made a straight through pipe and found someone who can remap the DPF out of the system!
Happy days!!JontyR said:
I now have had it will Mazda's pricing!
As if the DPF wasn't expensive enough....I managed to get a pattern version for about £400....however getting the sensors out was a different matter! So much so we snapped 2 of the temp sensors. Result......£450+VAT to replace them! They are 2 k-type sensors, simple as! Shouldnt cost anymore than £30 each really! Do they just stick a "0" on the end of their prices as there is no other choice?
Anyways....Ive made a straight through pipe and found someone who can remap the DPF out of the system! Happy days!!
Any chance you could post up the results of the map and if its all working fine afterwards?As if the DPF wasn't expensive enough....I managed to get a pattern version for about £400....however getting the sensors out was a different matter! So much so we snapped 2 of the temp sensors. Result......£450+VAT to replace them! They are 2 k-type sensors, simple as! Shouldnt cost anymore than £30 each really! Do they just stick a "0" on the end of their prices as there is no other choice?
Anyways....Ive made a straight through pipe and found someone who can remap the DPF out of the system!
Happy days!!I quite like this car, however the potential big bill for DPF failure is keeping be back from a purchase. If someone can bypass and "map it " out then I'm all for it
Well the ECU has now been hacked! We have worked with a company and believe we are the first to hack the Denso ECU
Unfortunately the car still isn't off the ramp, due to consequences of the abuse Ive given the poor thing! The rear chassis arms were shot, the stabiliser arms for the ARB...gone, and the top mounts for the standard dampers....dead
Box from Mazda arriving on Monday..so hopefully we can have it down on its legs then.
Unfortunately the car still isn't off the ramp, due to consequences of the abuse Ive given the poor thing! The rear chassis arms were shot, the stabiliser arms for the ARB...gone, and the top mounts for the standard dampers....dead
Box from Mazda arriving on Monday..so hopefully we can have it down on its legs then.
Wll probably go back to petrol.I have a 6 sport 185, covered 98,000 miles, been having DPF issues for the last 2 months, its been in the garage this week and they have found that its totally blocked.
They are removing the dpf and taking out the references in the ecu, including a remap.
I havent got the car back yet, but I am sure it will be totally different, they promise more power and better mpg.
They are removing the dpf and taking out the references in the ecu, including a remap.
I havent got the car back yet, but I am sure it will be totally different, they promise more power and better mpg.
Mazda have a diagnostic procedure for measuring DPF soot/particulate levels, over 11 (I think, been a while since I left..) then 'official procedure' is replacement... Chemical company Tunap do a really, really good DPF cleaning kit, and I've seen really bad Mazda DPF's clean out..
Its a two part liquid cleanser sprayed into the DPF, then reset fault codes so out of limp mode, hold revs over 2500rpm for 15 mins then take for a drive (helpful to have scanner plugged in for fault code clearing etc)... I've seen DPF's on Mazda 6's come down from over 25 down to 2 or 3 and happy as larry!
Magna Mazda in Southampton can do DPF cleaning with Tunap kit, and Tunap DPF cleaning kits at a lot of Vauxhall and VW dealers now.
Bus companies known to do theirs with Viakal or similar and a steam cleaner...
Its a two part liquid cleanser sprayed into the DPF, then reset fault codes so out of limp mode, hold revs over 2500rpm for 15 mins then take for a drive (helpful to have scanner plugged in for fault code clearing etc)... I've seen DPF's on Mazda 6's come down from over 25 down to 2 or 3 and happy as larry!
Magna Mazda in Southampton can do DPF cleaning with Tunap kit, and Tunap DPF cleaning kits at a lot of Vauxhall and VW dealers now.
Bus companies known to do theirs with Viakal or similar and a steam cleaner...
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