My new (used) Mazda 3 hatchback making a strange noise
 

Hi all. I just bought a new (to me) 2007 Mazda 3 grand touring hatchback with 25k miles on it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the car. It's gray with black leather. It's so awesome! I had a 2003 Mazda Protege 5 back in the day, and I feel like I'm a 20-something again. :)

Anywho, the car has been making an odd noise every time shortly after I start it. It happens about 30 seconds after I start the car and I can feel a slight rumble in the accelerator and hear a noise that sounds sort of like...Imagine you have something that has ridges on it that's spinning and you stick something on it to stop it from spinning. That's what it sounds like. It only takes a second for whatever is possibly spinning to be completely stopped.

It only happens once shortly after I start it and I haven't heard it at any other times. It usually happens when my foot is on the accelerator, however, one time I was going downhill and braking and I heard it.

Any ideas what is causing the noise? I tried to access the warranty that came with it but the dealership says it's not a powertrain issue and isn't covered. Should I take it to a shop and pay to have it checked out, or do you think it's something I can just wait and see if it progresses? My general inclination is to not do anything, but I did destroy a CV joint on a previous car by not getting the clicking noise checked out, so maybe I should?

Thanks for your thoughts!!!

Same issue
 

Hello,

We are having the exact same issue with my wife's new 08 Mazda hatchback with 20K on it. Did you get your car fixed? What was the issue?

Thanks,

Ry

I did some other searching online and found some people who said that noise was normal and that the cars made that noise when brand new. So I did nothing and the car has been ok.

Noise Fix
 

So I am taking it back into the dealer on Monday to have them check it out. I will let you know if they fix the issue what the problem is.

This is an old thread- just wondering if anyone figured out the issue. My 08 Mazda 3s is doing the same thing. It does it virtually every time its starts, about 10 seconds after I start it, and lasts for about 5 seconds. It doesn't seem to be impacting anything else. I'm wondering if maybe it is the starter??