[GraqZ]

Was planning on getting an SP23 soon and from reading other reports on this site from overseas, noticed they had a couple of repeated problems. The main ones being rear brake squeal/dust and tires. Does anyone have any reports if the aussie version suffer from similar problems?

 

[shaund]

i know they have diffrent brakes than the states. to fit in with the safety standards. i will let you know in a few weeks if you like

 

[aok28]

We get Bridgestones not Goodyears, that should make some difference, hopefully I get mine in a couple of weeks, mine's probably parked next to shauns on the boat :lol:
Rob.

 

[shaund]

hehe. maybe... i will make sure there is no yellow dings on my paint work.

 

[olorin]

just how different is the australian model from the american anyways?

forgive the ignorance but i don't know if all the US models were made in japan and shipped there or they have a processing plant somewhere in the states. in this way, one can predict how closely the cars will exhibit problems?

apart from the cosmetic differences and safety standard differences what else have they changed? shaund mentions different brakes, aok states different tyres...

the other problem i've read mentioned was the airbag sensor malfunction *crosses fingers that doesn't happen here*

 

[dinu01]

ALL 3s are built in Japan, so it's possible some of those that are coming to Australia will exhibit the ABS light and rotors issue.

Mechanical differences aren't many. Most differences stem from different option packages.

 

[malebastard]

All the problems the US are experiencing is due to the temperature there reaching below -20 degress. i.e. Their tyres slipping, electrical problems, fuel pump etc...

We here in Australia Don't get anywhere near these temperature's so i think we can safely say we won't experience many of the issue that are happen in the US...

So can can rest assured there...

 

[fiordland]

Don't expect to replicate the "problems" that have occurred in the northern states of America in the middle of winter down here in Sydney in 27 degrees of summer, you'll need to take your new Mazda 3 to Charlotte Pass skifield and wait for the worst day of winter before trying to reproduce these problems.

I've been skiing in NZ and have had numerous car problems in various makes due to extreme cold. For instance I once lost all gears except 2&3rd in a Mazda 626 going up the Cardrona ski road. When I got it back into Queenstown the mechanics were unable to reproduce the fault. The gearbox was completely disassembled and they found some small rock fragments that were completely not a problem down at lower elevations in less cold temperatures. I had crunched the gearbox on a bad driveway weeks before on another ski trip on the other island whilst skiing the volcano Mt Ruapehu.

On another occassion the auto choke got jammed on a Toyota corolla, the point is the extreme cold of some of the USA states causes mass carnage on motor vehicles, these are not design faults as the vehicles are not designed for conditions that can be 20 degrees colder than the inside of an Australian freezer.

There are no problems requiring a recall in the USA and there are several after market accessories that can be purchased in the states to minimise the impact of these big freeze ups.

 

[malebastard]

yeah...

Basically exactly what i said....

 

[zookeeper]

Are there any potential problems we should look out for considering the very high temperatures we get here in Australia? Apart from the air con going, of course

 

[Steve-o]

I haven't heard or read anything bad about heat effects on the MZ3.

I do recall a motoring magazine saying that Japanese cars don't have good air conditioning because they're not designed for 40 degree Australian conditions.

 

[malebastard]

Guess we'll just car to wait and see...

But all the other Jap cars that are curently in Oz atm seem to be doing ok in our heat...

Might have to just wait and see..

 

[olorin]

the climate control seems to be holding out well so far. it produces a nice level of comfort fairly quickly (1-2min) despite sometimes having the car parked outside in the heat during the day.

now just have to wait for those 30+ days to really test it out...

 

[Steve-o]

Head out to west this Saturday...it's supposed to be 43 degrees!

 

[fiordland]

Extreme heat will severely test an air con system, particularly in traffic thats ground to a halt. If your in this situation the best thing to do in any car is to nurture the aircon by only using it to keep the interior of the car at say 26-27 degrees rather than trying to force it to provide a 20-23 degree temp. If you do thrash the air con in this situation you may end up with an overheated engine. I'd suspect your more likely to develop this problem in a non Japanese production car such as European, Australian or American built car which generally speaking have inferior reliability. I've only had one instance of that problem and it was driving a mates 1994 falcon in Perth. I certainly haven't had this problem in a Japanese car, in saying that I'd only buy from Nissan, Mazda, Honda or Toyota and Subaru (excluding their tinny-tiny impreza's) the rest I'm not a fan of, particularly Mitsubishi after their checkered past.

 

[olorin]

36 deg today in sydney - and the car held up well with the a/c in traffic. Sometimes i wish the a/c had a simple on/off switch without needing to go into auto mode (or at the very least a big button to push for a/c and not just auto).

Fans are ok - does anybody have a gripe about not being able to change vent settings without the darned thing going out of auto mode?

 

[malebastard]

There seems to be alot of minor issues that are beginning to surface on the Mazda 3.

1) 6cd changer - when in random mode and you press for the next track it would stop the random mode and play the next track on the CD it was currently playing.

2) Wheel mounted controls - no control to change discs

3) Auto climate control - When changing the vent mode, auto climate control switches off. (as pointed out be olorin)

There may be more, but thats all i know for now...

Mazda seemed to have spent their time/money on other more important factors such as the styling and performance of the mz3.

Which is bloody awesome!!!!

 

[fiordland]

Ha ha - you guys are funny, if those are problems then Mazda has given you such great cars that your now imagining issues.

I guess its like all people that the more they get the more they want, I do it myself.

The simple truth is you end random on many jukebox/changers by manually skipping ahead, on my xtrail climate control only works in a single mode which is frustrating but for a reason (that reason is the auto climate control is optimised generally to control temperature via the main vents only.

The real concerning issues such as engine malfunction, suspension issues, loose parts, simply are rarities on what are effectively Lexus build quality for a smidgeon of the price.

Long live Mazda, theyr'e a terrific vehicle manufacturer, and don't be fooled into thinking they can not overtake Mitsubishi, Honda and Toyota if they keep up their head of steam, after all look at Toyota 30 years ago.....

 

[olorin]

we are quite funny aren't we?

nono.. don't get me wrong. i'm very glad that the ride and build quality of the car is so good that i have all this time (and quiet!) to pick on all these little things. as with all things in life there have to be compromises, and quite frankly, there is nothing major about the 3 that i dislike, and quite a number of its key features that are outstanding when compared to cars of a similar or even higher price bracket.

very satisfied with the car choice! now i'm almost regretting the plan i had (before the search and buy) to get rid of the car after 3-4 years! i want to keep it!!!

 

[Steve-o]

I guess if you want all the refinement then you have to pay an arm and a leg to get it (BMWs, Mercs, etc). I think for the price of a MZ3 it's a pretty high spec'd car and craps on the similar priced Nissans, Toyotas and Korean cars.