Winter problems
 

so, now we enter our first winter with the 3. any problems you're finding since it got colder, or because of snow and ice?

I own a 3 Sedan
-wipers sit in a cold zone on the windshield, nowhere near the defrosting vent
-rear defrost works great, except that all the melted snow and ice water runs down to the trunk lid to build up and freeze again
-excessive belt noise on cold mornings (not real uncommon in cold climates though)

I too noticed two of the same problems...the windshield wipers and the trunk lid getting frozen shut. My belts are nice and quiet though...i live in wyoming so it aint exactly warm! :doh: One thing i do notice though is if you got the sport package with the side flairs(or whatever their called), they get pretty beat up by road debris(gravel, rocks, etc). I dont go looking for the stuff, but when it snows and they throw the gravel down, it really hammers the sides. Ive only got about 3000 miles on mine and they are already pitted up a bit. :squint: And my heater doesnt blow hot...its warm and after its been on for 20-30 mins its can get a to be a little much, but it never gets to the point what i would called HOT!

I find it hard to find time to wash mine! It's just so cold and my little car is so dirty :tear:

Mazda 3
 

I'm a new 3 owner just got an 05' about a week ago and we got slammed with some snow and ice. All of a sudden when I go over speed bumps my struts make a little noise and the ride doesn't seem quite as smooth. Anyone else gettin this in cold weather? Thanks

I have almost 6k miles on my 3... so far i have had the issue of the crappy wipers as well as my windows freezing up. For some reason I just couldnt get any of them down even after warming the car or even driving it for an hour! Luckily I have EXPass because i would've been pissed to pay tolls by having to open my door. Everthing else seems to be working perfect.

no problems
 

I live in the snowbelt in NE OH. I have noticed that other people on some boards I have read are complaining about how the 3 drives in the snow. Mine has driven fine. It is just like driving any other car in the winter. My hatch hasn't frozen at all either.

I completly agree...my last car was a 99 Camaro Z28...v-8 , rear wheel drive and a stick dont go well together in snow!! :shift: The 3 does just fine!! ;)

i'm a little worried because this is my first winter with a manual... any advice?

Just drive in the lowest gear possible and keep the RPMs low...if you start to slide, dont jam the gas or brakes...just let off the gas and slowly and smoothly correct. If the roads REALLY slick, start off in second gear.

The worst things for me so far in the snow is the lack of grip in the tires. I have the sport package and the car came with Goodyear Eagles. I figured they'd be good, but they are worse the then Dunlops I had on the Protege. The handling is great, but my tires spin when starting up or the abs goes off when coming to a stop.

My carbon fiber hood shakes up and down like crazy when I get on the highway. The wind make it impossible for me to speed without me being scared that my hoods gonna pop up. I never noticed that before when I had my stock hood... I wonder if hood pins would help, because its only shaky near my front windshield.

Hello Guys... Im new here owner of hybrid M3 i+s :)
and the only winter problem I had so far is ice :( Recently got stuck several times in places where 4x4 car will dig out w/o problems... in other ways car is just great :bt:

First post from stevej in the UK. Have a Mazda 3 Sport
The only problem I've had during cold weather (UK cold weather is doesn't compare to the US), is that the in dash clock lost 30mins?? - Looks like I opted for the time machine pack and didnt realise.

Had and currentlyhaving major problems with wipers freezing over as i drive due to the snow build up. I'm planning to find some of the Trico Winter blades that have the boot around the metal internals to eliminate the freeze up problem. worked well on my old toyota.

replaced my GY Eagles with Kumho Ecsta ASX big difference in handling on the wet roads around here in Philly. better as well in the snow. I'll never buy GY eagles again tho they did come on the car to beginwith. :-(

i live in florida none of that crap happend here jajajaja
lol