ProtegeMaster

Hey guys--

The other day I got a phone message from Mazda North American Operations regarding the letter of complaint I sent to them about the engine rattle and several other things about the Protege that I think weren't cool (minor things like the high RPM issue, door lock placement, etc.).

The guy, William, basically just said, "Just wanted to let you know that we received your letter of recommendations and issues with the vehicle, and we have documented it for our corporate records. The design team does read issues of suggestion for future models and we'll take them under advisement. Thanks for your input. If you have any other questions regarding Mazda products, please call 1-800-blah, blah, blah...".

So there was no mention of knowledge regarding the engine rattle issue whatsoever, no suggestion of remedy, and no indication that "We're working on the issue". It was simply an indication that they received my letter and would file it (probably in the trash can).

It seems it will take a lot more of us complaining about this issue for them to do anything about it, if they will at all. My theory is they indeed know about it, but want to try and shove it under the rug because it will cost them a butt load to fix everyone's FS-DE Pro (thousands of them, I'm sure). They're probably also hoping everyone will drive over the 36k mile warranty so they can say they don't have to fix it because the car is out of warranty.

Anyway, that's the scoop as it is right now. Dammit.

Sweedenhouse

Well at least its a start man, good for. I'm fittin to hop on that goddamn bandwagon myslef right now.

azrakain

I'm not sure if mine rattles but mine came with a standard 50K mile warranty...didn't yours??

ProtegeMaster

Whoops, you're right! I meant 3 years for the warranty thing that Mazda is probably hoping will pass. All Pro's come with a 3 year/50k warranty, and with something like that it's most likely that the 3 years will pass before the 50k does. Mazda knows that, so they're not really going out on a limb by offering the 50k thing. Personally, I'd rather they offer a *5* year/50k warranty. Now THAT'S an improvement over the industry standard. In fact, there are quite a few manufacturers now offering warranties longer than the old 3 year/36k that they always used to. Hyundai, Volkswagen, to name a couple.

Anyway, I stand corrected. Sorry about that!

sunbyrne

Actually, I'm pretty likely to pass 36k before I pass three years on my car. My wife's car is not quite 3 years old yet, and it has 42,000 miles on it...

craigrrrp

yea i bought mine in august and already have 11k on my pro

samueh01

I started this thread on the Maintence/Problem section of this forum and there is no question that the noise results from a timing issue and comes from the engine and is not a harmonic from another component. You can also feel that the engine is not as smooth as when it warms up. Here is what the Mazda Service M-TIPS said as of Sept 2001:

"Confirm noise only occurs within the VTCS(Variable Tumble Control System) operation "valve closed" period (when ECT is below 149 deg f).

This noise is currently believed to be caused by a timing issue between the VTCS plates "opening", and an ignition spark advance command. Field repair are under study at MC. Until field fix is available no repair attempts should be made except to advise customer of cause".

Again, Mazda has known about this problem for at least 7 months. I hope that they don't think that we will ignore it and let them off the hook since the fix (an ECU reprogram) may be costly. Although there is a 3 year/50,000 mile waranty, the timing problem could lead to an engine problem after that time and Mazda will be off the hook. No one knows the long term effect of the timing problem on engine longevity. We should all complain to Mazda Customer Service in writing about this problem to document it and bring your car to the Dealer to document the problem. Only those who have had the problem documented by the Dealer will be notified about a fix.

Also, I've been thinking of telling Mazda that I'm considering contacting Consumer Reports about this problem. That might get their attention.

azrakain

where do you read the Mazda Service M-TIPS? I have never heard of these...sounds something like GM's Service Bulletins.

samueh01

The M-TIPS are information from Mazda to the Dealer about problems and what action to take. Dealers can print them out. That's how I saw one.

azrakain

ok great so they are like GMs service bulliten then. I will go and check those out one day...

hihoslva

I have the same cold-engine rattle in my P5 that my 93 Miata had forever - I'm not so sure it is a big deal.

I sold that car at 80,000 miles, and it had never seen a shop. And the guy who bought it changed the timing belt (precautionary maintenance) and has had no trouble. This is one reason I bought another Mazda.

From my end, I just remote start my baby every morning to warm her up for a few minutes, and i don't get the rattle.

Oh, purchased my P5 in June, and I'll hit 20,000 trouble-free miles this week.

Mxyzptlk

I have the 5 year 75000 mile warranty. It says in the warranty book that if after like 3 attempts on getting the problem resolved through the dealer to contact the regional peeps. Im trying to remember what it said. I think there was a number too. but don't know if off hand.

hihoslva

Good luck getting in touch with the regional reps.

My P5 was 2 months old, and some paint started to flke off of the front bumper. The dealer said they had to get a regional guy to look at it before the repair could be approved.

Well, three months and tons of phone calls later - still no rep. And this guy is supposed to come out once a month to check up on issues like this. Well, the dealer "pushed it through" without the rep seeing it - they just approved it, and only because I was a pain in their *** about it.

Maybe your regional guy is better, but the one for my area seems to be a slacker.