2004 Mazda 6 Wagon S 3.0 V6 from North America

Summary:

An 8 out of 10, But I want my 10 back

Faults:

No problems.

General Comments:

This has been a really nice car so far. It's a nice sporty alternative to an SUV. As far as handling is dose well fine. Not as good as the love of my life Audi A4 2.8 V6, But still really good.

The value and fit and finish as well as general usability is what set this car up high.

My only complaints are:

Even when driving in a very conservative manner, I only get 17 mpg in mixed driving. Is this the average for most Mazda 6 Owner with the V6?

The Transmission is to quick to upshift, and too slow to down-shift. There has been times when I am doing 40 mph in 5th gear, then need to hit the gas to drive defensive, but get nothing until its too late, then have to deal with bucket loads of power, and then slam on the brakes to keep for hitting the guy in front of me.

Is this typical too?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 26th February, 2006

15th Mar 2006, 09:32

I have a manual 4-door Sport Sedan, 2005. While test driving a wagon, which is only available in V6-Auto, I noticed the same lag in down shift. I figured it was due to some overdrive or perhaps just the weight of the vehicle, but after becoming more sensitive the manual, I realized the lag is still present, just not as noticeable.

Some internet research revealed to me that the Mazda 6 has an electronic "drive-by-wire" fuel system. The lag is simply due to the computer conversion of input to the pedal. Some the enthusiasts believe that "re-grounding" the engine have helped their performance. I don't know if its true, but it all comes down to driver perception.

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2004 Mazda 6 from North America

Summary:

Zoom, zoom, zoom baby

Faults:

There was some kind of kink in the wheels, but the manufacturer fixed it right away.

General Comments:

Love the color pebble ash.

Love the lighted titanium on the inside.

Handles well on turns.

Stops good.

Speed up very well.

Sound system phenomenal.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st December, 2005

2004 Mazda 6 S 6 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Excellent and a joy to drive

Faults:

Loose right rear tail light at 2k miles

Key fob wording wears off to easy.

General Comments:

I love this car, it is a great joy to drive in town or on the open road.

Took the car on a 2,000 mile trip trough the Rocky mountains and the car did excellent and averaged 30 mpg with the 6cyl.

I would highly recommend this car to anyone in the market for a mid size sport sedan.

My only wish is that the interior lights were able to be turned on all at once, instead of a button for each of the 4 lights.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th December, 2005

2004 Mazda 6 from North America

Summary:

Great car if you don't mind all the rattles and squeeks

Faults:

My new Mazda 6 wagon had a horrible rattling sound coming from the dash two weeks after purchase. Dealership kept vehicle for 5 days, but gave me a loner car. It turns out that Mazda makes a kit to silence the noisy dash. The dash had to come out of the vehicle in order to install this kit. This problem was resolved.

Two weeks after the first repair, the headliner devolped a loud squeek-like noise. The dealer had the car only 2 days this time and resolved this matter. The first and second incidents occured less than 2 months after buying the car.

Now, the front passenger door has a rattle in it and this rattle turns into an annoying vibrating sound when the radio is turned on. Mazda has had my vehicle for 10 DAYS now. They tell me they have replaced all of the moving parts in the door, but can't get rid of the problem because they are not sure what is causing it. The service people checked two or more new vehicles of the same model on the lot and they all make the same noise in the same door. Apparently, Mazda has been made aware of a few other cases such as mine nationwide, but has not figured out the problem. Problem has not been resolved.

General Comments:

Very nice looking vehicle that drives well. I have not had any problems with the car besides the rattling sounds in the dash, headliner and door. The dealership has been absolutely wonderful in taking care of me, but they are unable to figure out the problem with the door. It seems I will now have to deal with Mazda Motor Corporation directly regarding this problem. Because the car has been in the shop 17 days since purchasing it on 2/13/2005, I would not recommend buying this car until Mazda does something about their quality control. If you own one, let me know if you have any of these problems. THanks

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th September, 2005

24th Oct 2005, 08:24

If the door rattles when the speaker is on at high volume, then it is likely that the cause is a harmonic vibration. In fact, if the volume is turned up very high, this is not unusual, and since you are the driver, you would notice the rattle from the driver's side door, rather than the passenger door due to proximity.

There are a number of after market kits that deaden or dampen vibration from sound systems, and these are often needed in vehicles with newer more powerful sound systems.

A quick test would be to use a test CD that offers tone generator frequencies sweeping from lower to higher frequencies, or selected tone frequencies in order to isolate and pinpoint where the harmonic (and at what frequency it vibrates) is located.

Then and only then can the problem be resolved.

Frankly, although no one enjoys rattles and vibration, you seem unusually sensitive to these as your complaints all are based on "noise." These may be nagging, but they are not fundamental complaints related to the reliability, driveability or soundness of the vehicle.

A lot of people understand that even new cars have some imperfections and also realize that some problems or complaints must be resolved by the owners to their own satisfaction... particularly when the service department cannot duplicate the symptoms-- then you need a method of being able to demonstrate this clearly to their satisfaction. Then there is a better chance of the problem being resolved.

When a friend had a late model Pontiac Firebird and the doors and back deck rattled when the high power stereo was turned up loudly, he was advised (and I think correctly!) by the dealer "oh that? Yeah, don't turn the volume up that loud and it won't rattle!"

Somewhere there is "acceptable levels of noise" and then at some point one has unacceptable levels of noise during routine operation. Determining those differences is very important, and your complaint fails to satisfy by detailing the level of volume, type of music, bass output, etc.

Good Luck.

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