Help! Right bank running rich!!!

[eguiyab]

So heres the rundown - I\'ve got a 2004 2.3L Hatch with an ATX, and I\'ve been having the whole CEL problem over the past little while. At first I thought it was due to having an CAI installed and MoT wouldn\'t really look at, granted I understand.

Got the car back to bone stock and still the same thing. The car bogg\'s down, hesitates and wont accelerate well from a dead stop. It will rev up to about 1000RPM, hesitate then will start picking up eventually. Its like the car wants to stall but then picks up. It happens about 75% of the time when the CEL is on and the other, the car runs fine.

Im really concerned because it is intermittent, and half the time when I need it to accelerate it boggs down and im a sitting duck. I get really concerned when trying to make a left. I turned left on time with more than enough space and the car bogged on me and before i knew it.. the oncoming car was barreling in on me. Imagine if I did that turn with less space?? I could be in far worse shape than just complaining.

Anyway got the car into Mazda of Toronto last thurs and they just reset the light.. I knew it would come back. As expected it did. Brought the car in last monday and Vincent (great guy) was kind enough to hook me up with a rental. They changed the Purge Valve, and the MAF. Got the car back Wed and on Thursday morning I was back at MoT with a CEL. They Reset it, \"told the computer i had new parts, and \"re-calibrated\" it\". It ran great all day then late last night... guess what?
I started to really get pissed off with the car now cuz in the pouring rain I could barely see, with construction all around me, no lines on the road and people in other cars all over the place... i couldn\'t get it to accel properly and I was pumping the pedal just to keep moving. The car felt so tight.

I took the car back to MoT this afternoon and now its up to them. They were nice enough to hook me up with a rental once again. The code that scanned was 22** and was a Right bank running rich... or something along those lines. I dont remember exactly. Fortunatley the guys at MoT are great and I know that Vince and Frank have both been the two people working on my car, So they know exactly what the issues are and up to date.

What else could it be or what could be done??? I\'ve been at MoT almost every other day. I really really want my car back! I know Frank mentioned if the car came back they would have to call Mazda Canada.... man I hate when the car is messed up. Anyone with a service manual shed somelight on this for me?? thanx.

[TheProfessor]

Sorry to hear dude, but glad MofT is trying to take care of you.....Vince is a great guy to deal with.

[nifty6]

I would get Mazda Canada involved now. This is also a safty issue and you should make a complaint with Transport Canada. I just wonder how many others are having the same problem and not reporting it. I belong to Car Help Canada and if you want I will ask them what you should do next. So let me get the right details, is the car at the dealer right now? For me if the car has been a problem many times I would not feel confident going long distance as it might break down or act up again. It will play on my mind.

[eguiyab]

Nifty6,

You nailed the issue right on the head. Yeah.. it is a saftey issue and I know im not the only one. I read somewhere that that same type of thing happened to someone else. The dealer MoT does have my car as we speak... and I actually dropped by today because I forgot my house keys in the car. They let me into the work area and they we working on it. I asked who I assume was the service manager (guy i always see in an office) and he said they were working on a fuel pressure issue.

I feel that they are honestly trying to help me with my problem and I dont have any gripes with the work that they have done. Its just frustating that they cant seem to solve it yet. I will see how the car works after I get it back this time and see.

Nifty6 - I would really apprechiate it if you could ask Car Help Canada for what the next steps would be. I know I\'m already assuming it wont work, but like you said - when you have a vehicle that is constantly functioning poorly it plays with your mind and you no longer have confidence in it.

[nifty6]

I will see what Car Help Canada say, Keep us informed when you get the car back.
I have an issue with the head lights and what I mean by that is the sharp drop off and lack of distance. Is this a safety issue? With the help of members here I have an alternate fix by replacing the bulbs. Why couldn\'t Mazda do this in the first place? I am sure the headlights have to have a certain brightness, illumination. But I think Transport Canada should also have regulation as for seeing distance. Driving at night on a dark sideroad is like driving in front of a black wall. Of course using hi beams help. Feel like informing Transport Canada just to see what they say but not going to make this a big issue. Going to change the bulbs so hopefully this will help.

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by nifty6


I will see what Car Help Canada say, Keep us informed when you get the car back.
I have an issue with the head lights and what I mean by that is the sharp drop off and lack of distance. Is this a safety issue? With the help of members here I have an alternate fix by replacing the bulbs. Why couldn\'t Mazda do this in the first place? I am sure the headlights have to have a certain brightness, illumination. But I think Transport Canada should also have regulation as for seeing distance. Driving at night on a dark sideroad is like driving in front of a black wall. Of course using hi beams help. Feel like informing Transport Canada just to see what they say but not going to make this a big issue. Going to change the bulbs so hopefully this will help.
Hey nifty, Mazda isn\'t the only car manufacturer with this issue. I\'ve driven Honda cars for the past 13 years and they always had weak headlamps. Now that HID\'s are out there, consumers now have the choice to add them. Pretty soon LED technology will be introduced for headlamps.

[eguiyab]

Update.

Just picked up my car, and its running okay. Only drove it home and I didn\'t really get a good chance to make it really work, but so far so good. Lets hope for the best. It does seem a little sluggish, but maybe thats due to me needing an oil change soon and I find it kinda runs slow in the rain. Maybe its a mental thing.

Ill keep everyone updated.

[nifty6]

Originally posted by eguiyab


Update.

Just picked up my car, and its running okay. Only drove it home and I didn\'t really get a good chance to make it really work, but so far so good. Lets hope for the best. It does seem a little sluggish, but maybe thats due to me needing an oil change soon and I find it kinda runs slow in the rain. Maybe its a mental thing.

Ill keep everyone updated.

What did the dealer do this time?

[eguiyab]

Ah yes. Forgot to say. From what I was told, they replaced the fuel pump. Apparently I was having intermitted problems with the fuel pump so it wouldn\'t always show.

We\'ll see how it goes.

[eguiyab]

Update Tuesday Sept 27

I was feeling pretty good that the car has been pretty solid all day yesterday. The car did feel a little \"slow\" or hesitant to accelerate when i really floored, but this only seem intermittent and i couldn\'t be sure if i just in my head.

Anyway, since it was a nice day and it appeared i may actually have my car back i decided to clean it up today. Went to the local gas station, vacuumed and the minute i turned on the car. CEL!!!
there was no real issue driving the car, except for the hard accelerating i mentioned but otherwise the car ran fine. Took it back to MoT right away... figured they just needed to maybe reset it or \"recalibrate\" it. Turns out that Frank (shop foreman) feels I could do with a new engine harness.

So parts are on order and the code was reset for now. I dont mind all to much cuz the car is drivable and not so much the saftey issue it was like previous. Maybe once the new harness is in it might accelerate even better?? I would hope so.. but im just glad that the car is drivable at least. Lets just hope that the new harness will be the end of it!

Ill keep everyone updated.

[1flycdnM3]

wow that\'s pretty crazy. props to MofT for taking good care of you. Hope this is all cleared up now and you can enjoy your car :)

Also glad you didn\'t run into any serious issues while turning...


\"Cars can be fixed/replaced. People can\'t\"

[eguiyab]

Originally posted by 1flycdnM3


Hope this is all cleared up now and you can enjoy your car :)

Well as an update... No, things aren\'t all cleared up yet. In fact they are getting worse. I was content waiting for a new harness, since the car was running fairly steadly. But as of just 10 mins ago im back to the whole stalling issue. Unfortunately the harness hasn\'t come in yet. What really angers me is that THIS IS NOT A RELIABLE CAR!!!! I could deal with the engine light blaring at me until I got the harness but when I need it most.. I started back to work today after a bad back injury, and for a special trip to montreal this weekend. The car is all messed up.

Can anyone help me with the process of contacting MAZDA canada?? I feel IF this problem works itself out, ill drive it through the winter and that will be it. Ill be looking to trade it in for a more reliable vehicle.

Extremely Frustrated.

[nifty6]

Sent an e-mail to Car Help Canada but no reply as yet. I will try again and up date them with your last problem. Have you asked to see a Mazda service area rep. Not sure what you call them, every manufacture gives them different names.

[eguiyab]

Thanks, I realy apprechiate it.

As far as speaking with someone at Mazda, Ill bring it up with Vince the next time I gotta take the car in and see what he says.

[eguiyab]

Not to happy this morning.

On my way to work I got the serious stalling issue. So bad that I was down to a crawl. I thought to myself.. F@#$ this! So as angry as I was I turned around and took it into MoT. I cant take it anymore. Im waiting on a harness that supposedly will come in this morning. (FLIP, any confirmation on that ??) On top of that even if the harness is switched out.. how can I be sure that the car will be fine? I\'ve got a really important trip to Montreal this weekend and I dont know if I wanna ruin it because of the 3. May just have to rent a car... for peace of mind, there goes a few hundred...
Funny thing was while I was waiting I heard Vince speaking with two other people who called in with the CEL issue too. Mazda should really look into all these CEL issues they are having. Bad word of mouth advertising is killer.

[FLIPDADY]

Hey man I just received the harness.

[eguiyab]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


Hey man I just received the harness.

First good thing to happen to me today... Thanks Flip!

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by eguiyab



Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


Hey man I just received the harness.

First good thing to happen to me today... Thanks Flip!
He\'s hooking it up as we type.

[eguiyab]

VUNDABAR hehehe :p

thanks for the update.. lets just hope that this works and fixes the whole problem.

[eguiyab]

Update. Oct 3. 04

So I got the car back from MoT. The new harness is in and the car does seem to be running perfect. Seems more responsive and \"peppy\".

Ill have to see, Ive read on other post that once the harness was changed that seems to be the end of there problems. I hope its the end of mine. I\'ll be driving it hard and testing it until friday. If all goes well Ill be risking taking it to Montreal. If not Ill have to cancel my trip and try for another time.

[eguiyab]

Hey Everyone.

So an UPdate. I did end up going to Montreal last weekend with the 3. No CEL during the trip or up to now. I did notice that it seems to be drinking gas thou. THe last two tanks seem to be getting better mileage, but I cant be sure. Not sure if its a mental thing or the way I was driving, or rather speeding.
All in all it was a safe, fun trip aside for one close call with another car. That I cant blame on the car.. the driver didn\'t check his blind spot.
So about 1500Km on it since the change and no issues yet. Lets hope it stays that way.

[awhoy]

Glad to hear your problem is resolved now. You should try to keep track of you gas milage though, just to make you are get consistent gas milage.

[zerogun]

Not to bring up a dead issue, but I seem to be suffering similar but less serious problems as you.

Mine is a 2005 Mazda 3 GT, and the CEL light just likes to turn on and off when it wants. I can't figure out what it might be, but the feeling of bogging on acceleration is definitely apparent when the CEL is on. It will occasionally turn off on it's own, and then suddenly turn on again.

I really don't want to bring it in and have it serviced like 5 times just to fix the problem. Damn, what a terrible decision it was for me to buy the 3 in the first place.

[Donutz]

Go get your codes pulled so you know what is setting off the CEL's. Some shops will check the codes for free.

[TheMAN]

sorry to hear about your troubles... this is the first I heard of such issues, but fact of the matter is, 04s (and very early 05s) had tons of silly little issues (the number of TSBs attest to that)... it's a first year car afterall, so don't be surprised that something stupid happens

[sas]

If your CEL is going out when you are driving it is not the emission problem.
For me its like as misfiring.

[zerogun]

Go get your codes pulled so you know what is setting off the CEL's. Some shops will check the codes for free.

any suggestions on which shops might do that for free? The shops I know don't have an OBD III scanner, so I'm often charged for the use of borrowing it :(

[Donutz]

Call Jimmy. His prices are very reasonable ;)