[byron]

I just had my car into the dealer for the first service and to check the CEL that showed up last weekend. When I gave them the car I ask them to check the left side engine/trans mount, that there had been a couple of cars that had had problems with them. The service writer actually went online and checked as many blogs, web sites and forums as he could find and after confirming there was a known issue called the factory and asked what he should do about it.

Their response was that there had been only 2 reported engine mount failures as of 1/15/07 in both cases they had determined that the failure had been due to the bolt, that runs through the rubber mount on the chassis and threads into the aluminum mount on the transaxle, had either worked loose or was left loose at the time of assembly. After it had backed out until there were only a few threads left engaged it finally stripped those few threads and the engine/trans assembly fell. They have recomended that all MS3's that come into dealerships have this mount checked and tightened if needed. The two cars that had problems were so far apart in build date that they don't believe it was an ongoing problem just a random mistake.

This is not a TSB or a recall yet and they assured me that it was not a design problem just an assembly error.

BTW my car was built 8/06 and my mount was tight (I had already checked it 3 weeks ago, but I did not tell them that) I wanted them to check it and have it on a work order just in case.

 

[Oatmealboy]

Thanks for the report. The less known failures, the better. However, I'll still check mine when I get the chance. I've had mine for two weeks, and things seem okay. However, I've only put like 160 miles on it.

 

[byron]

The dealers are have been told to check the mounts during the PDI now .

 

[CosmicBlueMS3]

very good to know, and go think.. such a small world we live in both of those incidents happened to members of this site.

 

[dutchie3]

[quote author=CosmicBlueMS3 link=topic=67373.msg1158542#msg1158542 date=1169248921]
very good to know, and go think.. such a small world we live in both of those incidents happened to members of this site.
[/quote]

yeah, go figure...wonder if there are others who arent on the site. there are 5000 some of these cars being made...I am guessing there are maybe 10% of them on here.

 

[mattleegee]

Bryon where did you buy your car?

 

[byron]

Lee Johnson in Kirkland

 

[bani]

how was your service from them?

 

[mattleegee]

You bought yours there two didnt you bani?

 

[byron]

So far so good, they have been fighting the dreaded CEL on cold days problem but have been trying their best to take care of me. They just put in the new acctuator last week but now the temp is up so we might not know if it really fixed the problem until I go skiing or the temp drops again.

 

[Sr20 B12]

[quote author=Byron link=topic=67373.msg1158372#msg1158372 date=1169243648]
I just had my car into the dealer for the first service and to check the CEL that showed up last weekend. When I gave them the car I ask them to check the left side engine/trans mount, that there had been a couple of cars that had had problems with them. The service writer actually went online and checked as many blogs, web sites and forums as he could find and after confirming there was a known issue called the factory and asked what he should do about it.[/quote]

That's BS. They can check on their intranet to see how many services were done to what parts in a model's line up. Just for the record, there are more than 2 engine mount service reports on record. All have been fixed under warranty.

 

[brake engineer]

I just read this thread for the first time, and the response the dealer gave you about the bolt not being torqued at the plant sounds like a load of crap. I work for and OEM as an engineer, and we go to great lengths to make sure things like that do not happen.

For instance, for safety critical joints (for which I have to believe this joint applies), if the bolt is not torqued on the assembly line, then the assembly line stops, and alarms start going off. The torques are recorded for each vehicle, and if the proper torque is not reached the assembly line is stopped and the joint is checked. If there is a problem with the joint, then the vehicle is flagged to go to the repaire bay. The vehicle cannot be shipped until it is fixed and signed off by the appropriate line supervisor.

That being said, does anyone have the torque spec for this bolt...I'd like to check mine immediately.

 

[betelgeuse]

[quote author=brake engineer link=topic=67373.msg1165860#msg1165860 date=1169609254]
I just read this thread for the first time, and the response the dealer gave you about the bolt not being torqued at the plant sounds like a load of crap. I work for and OEM as an engineer, and we go to great lengths to make sure things like that do not happen.

For instance, for safety critical joints (for which I have to believe this joint applies), if the bolt is not torqued on the assembly line, then the assembly line stops, and alarms start going off. The torques are recorded for each vehicle, and if the proper torque is not reached the assembly line is stopped and the joint is checked. If there is a problem with the joint, then the vehicle is flagged to go to the repaire bay. The vehicle cannot be shipped until it is fixed and signed off by the appropriate line supervisor.

That being said, does anyone have the torque spec for this bolt...I'd like to check mine immediately.


[/quote]

You do know that at least 2 people(if I remember right) on this forum found bolts that weren't all the way in right? One guy took a picture of a bolt sticking up as if someone forgot to screw it in. And I'm pretty sure this car was not even 2 weeks old. If it was torqued correctly at the plant in Japan then somehow it came loose during the trip here which is as far fetched as one can get.

 

[jflash]

this is for the standard 3 but i think it would be the same for the speed.
is it the one on the drivers side thats coming loose?

 

[dutchie3]

this may be a stupid question, as I am not an automotive engineer, but why wouldn't they make the bolt a little longer and put a nut on it, with some sort of locking mechanism? I am assuming because it is easier to assemble on the line without it?, but it seems like you are putting a lot of faith on that connection...

 

[brake engineer]

[quote author=dutchie3 link=topic=67373.msg1166341#msg1166341 date=1169648523]
this may be a stupid question, as I am not an automotive engineer, but why wouldn't they make the bolt a little longer and put a nut on it, with some sort of locking mechanism? I am assuming because it is easier to assemble on the line without it?, but it seems like you are putting a lot of faith on that connection...
[/quote]

If the joint is designed properly, you don't need all of this to make it stay together. In fact, I would hate to rely on some sort of locking feature to keep the joint together. In many cases, loctite and other locking features are just insurance policies that add extra safety factor. The fact is that in most cases, these extra precautions are not necessary.

 

[Raider]

It seems that the biggest source of the broken mounts are coming from abuse. Heard that a local guy tell the dealer (yes, he must be stupid) his mount broke after redlining it and dropping the clutch. According to a master tech at Mazda, the cars are also being reported to have signs of abuse, like bald tires on the front after 5K miles.

It is justa matter of getting better motor mounts. That is where aftermarket comes in. I know the SU mounts will be here shortly.

 

[desperado callado]

[quote author=raiderms3 link=topic=67373.msg1172855#msg1172855 date=1170000457]
It seems that the biggest source of the broken mounts are coming from abuse. Heard that a local guy tell the dealer (yes, he must be stupid) his mount broke after redlining it and dropping the clutch. According to a master tech at Mazda, the cars are also being reported to have signs of abuse, like bald tires on the front after 5K miles.

....
[/quote]

Sounds like BS. He can't be talking about the MS3, unless there have been a lot more broken mounts on the MS3 than we know about. The 3 guys who posted on this forum don't fit that profile at all. If there are more cases of broken mounts, I'd sure like to hear the particulars from the owners, not the dealership.

 

[Raider]

I am just forwarding the information. Sorry. yes, he was referring to the MS3. He contacted Mazda about it for an update, when I told him there was a recall coming. He has been looking for it, and that is what he told me. There is a thread on the streetunitforum.com about it if you go there. I am simply passing on the information he told me.

 

[bani]

[quote author=raiderms3 link=topic=67373.msg1172855#msg1172855 date=1170000457]
According to a master tech at Mazda, the cars are also being reported to have signs of abuse, like bald tires on the front after 5K miles.
[/quote]

err. the potenza re050a's have an extremely low wear rating. these are the same tires as the mazdaspeed6, and it's quite normal to find them extremely worn after only 5k miles of regular (non-abusive) driving. that master tech is an idiot.