Name this part...
 

I found this sitting loosely under the hood, in the small pocket above the grill. Just had it in for my 60K mi. service. I'm assuming it's a part that the mechanic just left there, and it's not a part of my car...but can someone help identify it??

--
http://mazda.antonycasale.com/Images/part1.jpg
--
http://mazda.antonycasale.com/Images/part2.jpg
--
http://mazda.antonycasale.com/Images/part3.jpg
--

looks like the throttle position sensor, but i don't see how your car would run without it. (unless they replaced it, and thats the old one)

search the p/n?

flux capacitor

Ha, no wonder nothing happened once i hit 88 mph...

Searching the part number? Brilliant!

Its the neutral safety switch! So i went out and tried to start my car in reverse or drive and it didn't work...so i guess they replaced it.

But isn't that odd that they'd do that without either telling me or putting in on the receipt? Maybe they broke it somehow and replaced it without telling me?

I guess now I'll have to give them a call.

that doesn't look like a NSS...that looks like the TPS. What is the part number you have off the part?

damn you beat me to it lol

P/N is FN1121444. A search on onlinemazdaparts.com says its the NSS.

What's a TPS?

can you get a better picture (not blurry) of where you found that "part number"?

TPS = Throttle Position Sensor

use the macro mode on your digicam to get clearer focus

Here's the macro shot:

http://mazda.antonycasale.com/Images/part4.jpg

I'll be going in to pick up my fiancé's car today, so I will ask about it then.

well i'll be.... looks like "officially" its an "Inhibitor Switch" according to my parts manual - i would definitely ask them why you found it just lying there

Mystery solved!
 

Mystery solved! Weeks before the 60K serivce at the quicklube, it was in for serivce at the dealer. They replaced what they kept calling a 'sensor', but since the p/n search came up as 'switch' or an 'inhibitor', my brain never made the connection.

What I found was the old part. I could see the new part in plain sight (below my coolant overflow tank/intake filter area)

When I asked the quicklube place about it, they were immediately defensive and pissy with me. (Sure, it wasn't their fault, but they always seem so shady!)
When I asked the dealer about it, they recognized it immediately and were very apologetic.

Lucky it was a big part and not a bunch of loose screws!