New to club and ??? about pinging....
 

Hey all. I'm new to the club. I bought a used 2000 Protege LX Auto (ugghh I know, but it's my work car) in Feb. This is the third Mazda I've owned. My first two were an 87' RX-7 NA and an 88' RX-7 NA both of which I still own (the 87' doesn't run, though).

I chose the Protege because I wanted a car that got good gas mileage and something that was newer and easier to drive in traffic (hence the auto). I've put on about 7k miles since I bought it (now at 35k), and hadn't had any problems until recently.

It seems that now my car has started pinging. It seems to happen much more when it's hot outside. (i.e.-- doesn't ping in the morning on the way to work <90degrees, but pings pretty bad, even with AC off and babying the throttle in the afternoon >100degrees) I didn't have this problem in the winter so it definitely seems temperature dependent.

The car is under warranty, but is there something common I can check before having to screw with the dealer? I've read that the EGR valve might cause this as it cools the temps when it is functioning properly. Any gurus out there?

I have tried 91 octane gas and Techron which helped a little, but it's still not good. Nothing else unusual with the car, temps are fine, emissions smell clean, gas mileage is still excellent.

when it's hot out? sounds like gas to me. :[ even if you get 91.. you could still be getting shitty gas from a gas station. stick with diamond shamrock, and those places.

I have tried three different gas stations Texaco, Mobil and Chevron. I never get gas at the "cheap" places. It could also be due to the reformulated gas here in Phoenix, they change it between summer and winter, but I can't do much about that! :(

Re: New to club and ??? about pinging....
 

I have the same problem with my car. I've taken it to the dealer several times but they just say they can't hear it or 'it's normal'. Try running 93 octane gas. I did and it helps a lot. I couldn't hear it any longer. I had the same symptom you did - only does it when it is hot outside.

Don't the 2000's have a knock sensor? I know the 2001+ 2.0L's do. If it does, something isn't working correctly. Also, pinging is hard on a motor and there is absolutely NO way that it's 'normal'. Take it back to the dealer and have it fixed. It's probably running lean and this can be caused by a couple things. Dirty injectors (try running a couple bottles of Techron additive through it @ 1 per tank) or you have a bad 02 sensor giving your computer bad data or your MAF is not working properly and is doing the same thing as your oxygen sensor. In any case, don't let the dealer tell you that it's 'normal' because it isn't.

Seems like so many people have problems with pinging... and their cars are only a few years old... i have an 01 Protege and I have pinging too in hot weather only when i step hard on it. :( Makes me maddd. The owners manual says just use 87 octane or higher, so 87 should be ok, these cars shouldn't need premium cuz they dont really have that hi-compression engines. I'll try Seafoam thru the engine and maybe get cooler plugs. Ughghg...