I may be a little bitter, but I hate this car. My brother bought this car with my request in Dallas. I had new tires put on, an alignment, and a new wheel bearing. So before I even drove it, I had 800 spent on top of the 5500 I spent. It has 94k miles or something like that. I bought it with 87k, and in the span of a year, I haven't driven it much. Basically because every time I drive it something else breaks. My commute to work is tripling (from 5 minutes to 15 minutes), so now is the time to fix it. On to the issues...
the radio display has never worked properly. The fix I'm hopeful will work involves pulling all the covers off, and resoldering all of the joints. Or spend 200 on ebay for one that will last for a bit. Its a really common issue. too common. this isnt a 1988 Buick Reatta, its a 2004. Get your displays right mazda.Also that cubby hole above broke. I ended up ripping it apart in a fit of rage, when the glue I tried to use failed. It actaully looks okay now, so that one doesn't bother me. The Radio not working does bother me. Ive tried a new antenna, so not sure how to fix it yet. but it needs to be fixed.
2004, and we still cant get headliner glue right. I replaced it, and used adhesive instead of contact cement. it didnt work.
see that trunk release button? as of last week it doesnt work. Really car? as if I didnt hate you enough as it is?
The drivers side window decided to fail when I took the car on vacation in the mountains, in 20 degree weather, in the snow. I replaced the entire unit, but it back together, and it does this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD7Uc4Etq04&feature=youtu.be
Lastly, I figured out the groaning noise in the front is suspension related. Since I want to spend as little time working on this heap, I purchased Monroe complete shock assemblies, and will swap those this weekend. The idea of spending a few extra bucks and not dealing with spring compressors was too good to pass up.
The Mrs has a 2012 3 hatchback. It is kind of a pile as well. I am getting ready to tear it apart to replace the blower motor. 2nd time the entire dash will be out of this car at 40k. Front seats were replaced by warranty because they are falling apart, AC is a joke, bluetooth is sketchy at best, mileage is in low 20's, plastic is failing all over. She cries everyday that she bought it (did it without telling me) and traded her LS400 that at 250k miles was more solid.
dang, i loved my '03 6s. sorry yours hasn't been as good to you as mine was to me.
Former 2006 Mazdaspeed6 owner chiming in here:
The window issue sounds like a power window motor - after a while, the clutch built into the motor wears out. Replace that, and you should be fine.
The radio display - some have reported that putting it into a 170-200 degree oven for 5 minutes softens the solder enough to have it flow back into the broken connections on the LCD. I had mine replaced under warranty (obviously a long time ago).
Your groaning noise in the front end is most likely a lower control arm. I replaced the driver's side when it started making noise, and the passenger side evidently felt left out, and starting making noise immediately thereafter. They're something like $85 each on Rockauto. The ball joints are what fails, and they aren't replaceable, you have to R&R the entire arm. Use a ball joint separator, not a pickle fork - you'll thank me later.
-Chris
All I know about the 6's is don't buy one. Too many teacher friends of the wife's went and bought them in the 04-06 era and every one of them spent more time in the shop than an 80's GM FWD car.
Really just sounds like you bought a car with issues.
There is a switch in the glove box that disable the trunk release button, maybe that got pushed accidentally?
I've had my 2012 Mazda 3 2.5 hatch since I bought it new in October of 2011. I drive a loit, and it has about 85k on it right now. Only issues I've had so far are the following:
-I broke the driver's seat. It's a known issue. One of the welds snapped on the seat track. I had it fixed and reinforced so it won't happen again in about an hour with a friend (Thanks Pseudosprt yet again).
-Transmission mount is making noise and clunking around. This is my fault. I installed a solid rear mount, and it destroyed the tranny mount. Mounts in these are notorious for going bad, but I accelerated the process greatly.
-Front end shakes at some speeds and under braking. Again, my fault. I cheaped out on my brake job and got cheapo Centric rotors. This happened after 20k miles:
That looks like a casting defect to me. There is rotor material just missing from the rotor face, and on both front rotors. Again, not Mazda's fault.
Other than these issues (two of which are due to my actions), it's been the most reliable car I've had since my 1989 Nissan Maxima SE, which only rust and a non-attentive college student slamming into it could stop it from world domination. Sounds like you got a bad one.
1kris06 wrote:
Really just sounds like you bought a car with issues.
There is a switch in the glove box that disable the trunk release button, maybe that got pushed accidentally?
I paid too much for a car that has issues, so it stings a little more. That's definitely a button I didn't know existed. trunk fixed!
thewheelman wrote:
Former 2006 Mazdaspeed6 owner chiming in here:
The window issue sounds like a power window motor - after a while, the clutch built into the motor wears out. Replace that, and you should be fine.
The radio display - some have reported that putting it into a 170-200 degree oven for 5 minutes softens the solder enough to have it flow back into the broken connections on the LCD. I had mine replaced under warranty (obviously a long time ago).
Your groaning noise in the front end is most likely a lower control arm. I replaced the driver's side when it started making noise, and the passenger side evidently felt left out, and starting making noise immediately thereafter. They're something like $85 each on Rockauto. The ball joints are what fails, and they aren't replaceable, you have to R&R the entire arm. Use a ball joint separator, not a pickle fork - you'll thank me later.
-Chris
When I push the window button, there's a 1/2" of play in the assembly which is causing the bind. I have to help it with my hand to make it all the way up. I'm not sure how there's the play, but I need to take everything apart and figure it out.
I really hope you are wrong on the lower control arm, since I just spent 200 on the shock assemblies. I'm pretty sure it's something in the shocks, maybe a spring seat. When I push down on the front, it feels crunchy and groans with the slightest push.
NOHOME
UltraDork
4/9/15 8:56 a.m.
Are you sure the front end noise is not swaybar endlinks? Mazda sway bar link lifespan is measured in hours once installed. We at one point had 6 Mazdas in the family and I could not get over how reliably they failed.
NOHOME wrote:
Are you sure the front end noise is not swaybar endlinks? Mazda sway bar link lifespan is measured in hours once installed. We at one point had 6 Mazdas in the family and I could not get over how reliably they failed.
Forgot to mention this - but it is definitely true.
lnlogauge said:
I really hope you are wrong on the lower control arm, since I just spent 200 on the shock assemblies. I'm pretty sure it's something in the shocks, maybe a spring seat. When I push down on the front, it feels crunchy and groans with the slightest push.
My experience is that if it makes noise on compression, it's the control arm. If it makes noise while turning the wheel, it's most likely still the control arm, but could be the upper mount.
I had 3 different suspension configurations on the car, reusing the factory top mounts every time, and they never made noise in 95,000 miles of use and abuse.
For your sake, I hope it is the shock assembly, as it's easier to replace. Good luck!
Wow thanks for the info, I'm always interested when I see a 6 wagon or hatch cheap from that era, guess I better cross that off the list. Good luck
In reply to thewheelman:
gahh, I really really hope you are wrong. I just watched the video on how to replace it. My brother replaced the wheel bearing for me, and it was an absolute nightmare getting the ball joints separated. you might have just ruined my weekend.
