My First Mazda and First Car in Canada

[kuttan]

Hello All
Very happy to be a part of this forum. I bought my 2013 Mazda 3 from Erinmills mazda last week. It has done 22k.

[r0mund0]

Congrats and welcome!!!!

[staax]

Welcome! You'll love the car.

If ya ever need any help with it you've come to the right place.

[kuttan]

Missed the picture in first post. Here is it. Wanted to add it as my avatar. But couldn'thttps://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103723071279839873896/albums/6071892052390623569/6071892055170643378?pid=6071892055170643378&oid=103723071279839873896 figure it out so far.

[kuttan]

Im not able to upload any picture to the thread. The insert link option is asking for URL. It doesnt allow me to upload from my Computer. IS this the way its designed or its that Im new and i need a mod approval ?

[fruitloops]

Im not able to upload any picture to the thread. The insert link option is asking for URL. It doesnt allow me to upload from my Computer. IS this the way its designed or its that Im new and i need a mod approval ?
Go to imgur.com, upload the picture, then take the forum link on the right side and you don't even need the sites coding.

[FD22]

Welcome aboard!

[boyracer]

welcome

[g-dizzy]

:welcome smiley

[Timotee]

Welcome to TM3!

[Lmmorden]

Howdy howdy

[Kiewan]

Congrats on the purchase. Welcome.
Based on the title: you will be even more happy with your purchase come January or February :P

[MickiWasHere]

Welcome!

[unknown]

Welcome! You may want to consider some winter tires. Winter is pretty but such a pain to drive in this country.

[Raf_C]

:welcome smiley

[kuttan]

Thanks for the advice. I did purchase Michelin Tyres and Rim from Dealer. Cost me 1399$
Infact they already put the tyre into the Car. My usage is low, so i feel its ok to put in now rather than going to them again, They may charge for it.

[kuttan]

Congrats on the purchase. Welcome.
Based on the title: you will be even more happy with your purchase come January or February :P

Sorry i didnt get what did you meant by Jan/Feb.

[Cab0oze]

Welcome, where abouts are you from?

[fruitloops]

Sorry i didnt get what did you meant by Jan/Feb.
im guessing because more snow and bad conditions then. But it's usually November to March lol. Is here at least.

Welcome!

[Kiewan]

Sorry i didnt get what did you meant by Jan/Feb.

Not walking to a bus stop in 8inches of slush or -20°C wind chills. Sitting down in a nice warm car is very nice in January.

[kuttan]

I have a few queries.
The Traction control by default is always on. Will cause the car to burn more fuel ? Can i switch it off ?
There is a nob on the left hand side (Same as the Trip meter nob). Any idea what for it is ?
Its approaching winter and do i need to mix any anti-freeze with any of the fluids used inside the engine chamber ?
Iam with Personal Insurance and they send me a device to be attached. Will that cause considerable drain of battery ? (My running is very less)

Thanks

[staax]

1. No your car will not consume more gas with traction control on. If you want to turn out off, hold the button until you see the yellow light on the dash illuminate.

2. The knob youre describing sounds like the brightness adjustment for your dash. When you're lights are on, you can control the brightness of the screen on your dash.

3. No, as long as your coolant is at the proper level leave it alone. You will not have to worry about it until 96,000 kms or 4 years.

4. With the car off, their is no power running to the auxiliary ports so if the device you speak of is plugged into one of these, then no it will not drain your battery.

Hooking up something directly to the battery would drain it eventually, however this is highly unlikely.

[kuttan]

Rostra precesion Controls
Im getting a Bluetooth and Rear view camera getting installed by the Dealer. They said its from Rostra.
When i took the delivery 10 days back they have fitted only the camera. they haven't given me any manuals or warranty papers for it.
When i called now they are still waiting for the remaining parts. Rear view camera + Bluetooth they charged me 1000$

Valuable members have any experience with Rostra devices ?

[kuttan]

Query on Tire Pressure.
In my Mazda 3 next to the left driver door the manufacturer stamp says 35psi on all 4 tyres.
Dealer has kept the Tire pressure around 30 psi. Im using Michelin Winter tires.
Please advise whether i should top up all 4 tires to 35 or leave it at 30 psi.

[staax]

Honestly its a preference thing. When I bought my car they were all 31 psi. When I bought new tires the shop also set them to 31 psi.

On all my vehicles but 1 I have usd 35 psi.... As long as you don't go above the maximum the tire is rated for you'll be fine.

35 is a commonly used number though... It truly is up to you the difference between 30-35 isn't all that much, but 35 adds a little more room for error in case you have a nail in your tire you're unaware about.

[Noobster12]

:welcome smiley:welcome smiley

[Cab0oze]

If you're adding the air in a warm garage or on a warm day, add a couple extra PSI. When it gets colder out (or once your car is outside) the air becomes more dense and you will "lose" pressure.
Rule of thumb is 1psi extra for every 10°C
E.g. adding air in a warm 20°C garage --> -30°C outside = up to 5 PSI extra required.

Anyway, you should be following the target the pressure shown on the manufacturer stamp unless you have changed tire sizes. Bigger rims = more pressure required. In the winter people often go down rim sizes, so that would be one explanation for the lower pressure that the garage is giving you... however garages are also frequently wrong ;)

[Canadianbacon]

I pumped all my summer tires to 45-50PSI because 1 was leaking air every 3days. Getting new set in summer

[kuttan]

A Loonie felled from my hand and slipped inside the Gear box. Couldn't imagine such a thing could happen.
Any idea how we can open the cover in the gear shift knob and remove the coin ?

[Canadianbacon]

A Loonie felled from my hand and slipped inside the Gear box. Couldn't imagine such a thing could happen.
Any idea how we can open the cover in the gear shift knob and remove the coin ?
Meh i wouldn't worry not worth the time for a $1. Now you just added $1 increase in resale value.

[Cab0oze]

Meh i wouldn't worry not worth the time for a $1. Now you just added $1 increase in resale value.
Unless it rattles.

Open armrest, lift up on the plastic lip at the front and all the center console plastic comes right off. Its really easy There are a bunch of how-tos written, just do some searching

[staax]

Unless it rattles.

Open armrest, lift up on the plastic lip at the front and all the center console plastic comes right off. Its really easy There are a bunch of how-tos written, just do some searching

Meh he should leave it, something else will be rattling shortly :P

[kuttan]

Unless it rattles.

Open armrest, lift up on the plastic lip at the front and all the center console plastic comes right off. Its really easy There are a bunch of how-tos written, just do some searching

Thanks a lot Cab0oze. I got the link from the forum and could remove it. I know its not going to trouble. But wanted to keep things clean.
Great forum.