Mazda 3 Sport 2.2D 185 Hatch - 18 month/ 25k miles review...
Discussion
Hey all, female here (so not great with all the technical jargon!) who has a Mazda 3 10 plate and having issues with the engine oil light coming on intermittently, think it relates to the DPF problem as oil level is nearly at the "X", haven't taken it to dealership yet as don't particularly want a huge bill for this, only had car serviced in March so abit p'd off that this has happened after just a few months ..... Am I right in thinking I can ask for the DPF to be removed to avoid this happening again? Sounds like it could be pricey though and given this is a known problem can I get Mazda to do this under warranty as the car is only just over 3 years old and only just finished paying off th HP!!
Had a 2.2 185 from new. Ran it for two years with a plug-in box on it which was tuneable. No problems whatsoever.
Dealer then offered me a good deal on an new MPS. I was never a Diesel sort of guy (I am 60 & this was my first) so I went for it.
Remapped this is pushing out 300 ponies & lets say its very interesting with FWD
Paul.
Dealer then offered me a good deal on an new MPS. I was never a Diesel sort of guy (I am 60 & this was my first) so I went for it.
Remapped this is pushing out 300 ponies & lets say its very interesting with FWD
Paul.
I bought a nearly new Mazda 3 Sport 2.2 Turbo Diesel (185BHP) in 2009 from an Authorised Mazda dealer. Here's what I've learned/observed.
Pros: Great sound system. Streaming high quality audio over bluetooth from iPhone is Fab (and you can skip tracks back and forward from the steering mounted controls). Great car to drive. Quite nippy. Handles pretty well (maybe a bit of under-steer on corners). I can get an average of about 47mpg on urban driving if I don't cane it too much. It's comfortable up to 120mph and probably beyond. Hands-free calling is good quality (once it's set-up). It has auto headlights too, which is nice.
Cons: Satnav is rubbish. Even when it's working properly it wants to send me via the strangest routes. I often have to ignore what it's telling me. It was already out of date even in 2009 when I bought it (new roads not recognised). in my car it occasionally gets completely lost - perhaps loses its GPS signal or something. I've seen it tell me I'm travelling in completely the opposite direction and after 30 minutes of driving it can be 50 miles out of position! I hardly ever use it now. Instead I just use Google Maps on my iPhone to give me turn-by-turn directions through the car audio system (via bluetooth).
Setting up the bluetooth hands-free is so tedious and laborious that I consider it unusable. I found that the time when I most want to program someone's number into the car is when I'm stuck on the M25 in traffic jam and need to call someone to let them know I'll be late. One of the annoying "safety" features of the car that effectively prevents you from doing this is that it will not allow you to program numbers in whilst you're moving.
The car has auto windscreen wipers but, in my experience they are "lazy" - my windscreen can be covered with a layer of fine drizzle (dramatically obscuring visibility) before the wipers automatically kick in.
About the DPF. Disclaimer - I'm not an expert! The owner's manual provides very little insight on this matter so everything I've learned is through conversations with dealers and reading stuff on forums like this. So please feel free to correct me if I've got any of this wrong.
The DPF removes harmful particulates from the exhaust gas and hence is good for the environment. Removing it may be considered by some as selfish and irresponsible.
The DPF lives in the exhaust system and filters out particulates. Occasionally (perhaps every 200 miles) these particulates have to be "cleaned" out of the filter. This is typically referred to as a "regen cycle". In the 2.2 engine this happens by injecting diesel directly into the filter, where it ignites and causes the particulates to be burned off at high temperature. This process DPF regen cycle happens automatically and seems to last around 10-20 minutes. During this time the engine will sound a lot more "throaty" - a bit like it might sound if your exhaust were blowing - and your fuel consumption will significantly increase. Other than that, you're likely to be largely unaware of it (until it breaks of course).
In some models (I think maybe the older 1.6 diesels??) it seems there is some kind of fuel additive that is fed into the DPF filter and this needs to be topped up from time to time but this is not the case on the 2.2)
If the regen cycle terminates early - for instance if you reach your destination before it completes - the un-burnt diesel fuel that is still in the filter will drain into the engine oil sump. As incredible as this seems, this basically has the effect of diluting your engine lubrication oil. Also, if this happens, it seems that the engine will attempt to begin a new regen cycle the next time you drive it. If you use the car for a series of short journeys it's not difficult to imagine a sequence of regen cycles progressively building up the level of diesel that gets dumped into your engine oil each time it fails to complete.
Over time, the level of fluid in the engine will build up to a dangerous level. The engine oil will become more diluted with diesel and less effective in lubricating your engine. In the extreme this could lead to a phenomenon called "Diesel Runaway". This happens when the contaminated oil level rises to such a point that oil starts to be sucked into the combustion chamber, causing the engine to run on its own oil and an uncommanded increase in engine RPM. The engine will rev up to its maximum RPM and you will not be able to stop it - even by turning off the ignition.
If this ever happens to you, it seems like the best thing to do is get out of your car and keep to a safe distance while your engine self-destructs!
Another, perhaps less catastrophic but still very expensive, consequence of the contamination of your engine oil could be that the poor lubrication of your engine causes your timing chain to stretch. Ultimately it might need to be replaced (this happened in my car at 50,000 miles and cost me £1100 to fix!)
If your DPF becomes blocked you may see a "DPF" indicator illuminate on your dashboard. If this is a continuous illumination it means you need to force a regen cycle by driving the car at a certain speed and RPM for a certain length of time. Check your owners manual for details. If you are successful in completing this cycle the light should go off. If it happens often, it may mean you need to replace the DPF (expensive). If your mechanic tells you the DPF needs replacing, it's worth investigating other options like having the DPF cleaned, or even buying an "after-market" DPF.
If your DPF light is flashing, this could mean a number of different things, including (but not limited to):
1 You haven't had an oil change for a long time (e.g. 13 months).
2 Your Oil has become contaminated with too much diesel and the level is too high (check the dipstick)
3 There is a problem with your DPF (take to dealer immediately)
4 Your timing chain deflection has gone out of spec (i.e. it has stretched and will need replacing)
It seems that it IS possible to remove the DPF and remap the ECU so that the engine will function adequately without it and will even pass emissions tests in current MOTs (because the tests don't typically test for the particulates in question). However, this may be costly and may risk invalidating your warranty.
Considering all of these factors I think it's unlikely my next car will be a diesel!
I hope this information is helpful
Pros: Great sound system. Streaming high quality audio over bluetooth from iPhone is Fab (and you can skip tracks back and forward from the steering mounted controls). Great car to drive. Quite nippy. Handles pretty well (maybe a bit of under-steer on corners). I can get an average of about 47mpg on urban driving if I don't cane it too much. It's comfortable up to 120mph and probably beyond. Hands-free calling is good quality (once it's set-up). It has auto headlights too, which is nice.
Cons: Satnav is rubbish. Even when it's working properly it wants to send me via the strangest routes. I often have to ignore what it's telling me. It was already out of date even in 2009 when I bought it (new roads not recognised). in my car it occasionally gets completely lost - perhaps loses its GPS signal or something. I've seen it tell me I'm travelling in completely the opposite direction and after 30 minutes of driving it can be 50 miles out of position! I hardly ever use it now. Instead I just use Google Maps on my iPhone to give me turn-by-turn directions through the car audio system (via bluetooth).
Setting up the bluetooth hands-free is so tedious and laborious that I consider it unusable. I found that the time when I most want to program someone's number into the car is when I'm stuck on the M25 in traffic jam and need to call someone to let them know I'll be late. One of the annoying "safety" features of the car that effectively prevents you from doing this is that it will not allow you to program numbers in whilst you're moving.
The car has auto windscreen wipers but, in my experience they are "lazy" - my windscreen can be covered with a layer of fine drizzle (dramatically obscuring visibility) before the wipers automatically kick in.
About the DPF. Disclaimer - I'm not an expert! The owner's manual provides very little insight on this matter so everything I've learned is through conversations with dealers and reading stuff on forums like this. So please feel free to correct me if I've got any of this wrong.
The DPF removes harmful particulates from the exhaust gas and hence is good for the environment. Removing it may be considered by some as selfish and irresponsible.
The DPF lives in the exhaust system and filters out particulates. Occasionally (perhaps every 200 miles) these particulates have to be "cleaned" out of the filter. This is typically referred to as a "regen cycle". In the 2.2 engine this happens by injecting diesel directly into the filter, where it ignites and causes the particulates to be burned off at high temperature. This process DPF regen cycle happens automatically and seems to last around 10-20 minutes. During this time the engine will sound a lot more "throaty" - a bit like it might sound if your exhaust were blowing - and your fuel consumption will significantly increase. Other than that, you're likely to be largely unaware of it (until it breaks of course).
In some models (I think maybe the older 1.6 diesels??) it seems there is some kind of fuel additive that is fed into the DPF filter and this needs to be topped up from time to time but this is not the case on the 2.2)
If the regen cycle terminates early - for instance if you reach your destination before it completes - the un-burnt diesel fuel that is still in the filter will drain into the engine oil sump. As incredible as this seems, this basically has the effect of diluting your engine lubrication oil. Also, if this happens, it seems that the engine will attempt to begin a new regen cycle the next time you drive it. If you use the car for a series of short journeys it's not difficult to imagine a sequence of regen cycles progressively building up the level of diesel that gets dumped into your engine oil each time it fails to complete.
Over time, the level of fluid in the engine will build up to a dangerous level. The engine oil will become more diluted with diesel and less effective in lubricating your engine. In the extreme this could lead to a phenomenon called "Diesel Runaway". This happens when the contaminated oil level rises to such a point that oil starts to be sucked into the combustion chamber, causing the engine to run on its own oil and an uncommanded increase in engine RPM. The engine will rev up to its maximum RPM and you will not be able to stop it - even by turning off the ignition.
If this ever happens to you, it seems like the best thing to do is get out of your car and keep to a safe distance while your engine self-destructs!
Another, perhaps less catastrophic but still very expensive, consequence of the contamination of your engine oil could be that the poor lubrication of your engine causes your timing chain to stretch. Ultimately it might need to be replaced (this happened in my car at 50,000 miles and cost me £1100 to fix!)
If your DPF becomes blocked you may see a "DPF" indicator illuminate on your dashboard. If this is a continuous illumination it means you need to force a regen cycle by driving the car at a certain speed and RPM for a certain length of time. Check your owners manual for details. If you are successful in completing this cycle the light should go off. If it happens often, it may mean you need to replace the DPF (expensive). If your mechanic tells you the DPF needs replacing, it's worth investigating other options like having the DPF cleaned, or even buying an "after-market" DPF.
If your DPF light is flashing, this could mean a number of different things, including (but not limited to):
1 You haven't had an oil change for a long time (e.g. 13 months).
2 Your Oil has become contaminated with too much diesel and the level is too high (check the dipstick)
3 There is a problem with your DPF (take to dealer immediately)
4 Your timing chain deflection has gone out of spec (i.e. it has stretched and will need replacing)
It seems that it IS possible to remove the DPF and remap the ECU so that the engine will function adequately without it and will even pass emissions tests in current MOTs (because the tests don't typically test for the particulates in question). However, this may be costly and may risk invalidating your warranty.
Considering all of these factors I think it's unlikely my next car will be a diesel!
I hope this information is helpful
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