1997 Mazda Millenia S from North America - Comments

I've had my 1998 milleniaS for about 2 months, and like most of you above I absolutely ARORE her dispite the upkeep problems. she's the closest thing i'll have to the '72 chevelle I've been dreaming of for a long, long time. the cornering, accelleration, handling, sound system are all perfect, it's the little things that are expensive, but important that seem to go wrong. when I put on a new set of racing tires I found out I had to replace the side control arms on the front axel ($500), then about 2 weeks later the alternator, belt driver and battery (just under a grand), I'm thinking the O2 censor went by the way she's been losing gas economy, (but can get a used one online for $50,and replace it myself with a little help) and now just like the 97 or 98 milleniaS mentioned above, I just hit 122K and need to replace the cat. I want to put in a flow cat and a nice new 'X' muffler anyway... (both of those parts will run me around $250 all together) but for a perpetually broke 19 year old the upkeep is rediculously expensive. I just so happened to luck out because my mother's boyfriend is a 2nd generation hotrod builder, drag racer and classic car restorer, so as far as re-doing my exaust I just have to order the parts and kiss his ass a little so we can 'bond' and re-do it together. honestly I think the majority of the problems I've had are due to the way her last owner neglected her, so I'm just glad I own her now because she's a gorgeous machine, and still after 2 months I smile every time that supercharger kicks in! plus for a car we got at auction for $1000 that's listed on kelley blue book as being worth between $7900 and $9300 the 3 grand we've put into her (including everything listed, the new tires and a new set of front brakes) still means we got her for much less than she's worth. and honestly, the high-maintence is well worth being the chick that can smoke just about anyhting on the road. havn't lost a race yet (shhhhh!) and as soon as I get up the money to re-do the exaust the flow-cat'll up my horses by at leat 70, plus I'm going to shorten the pulley system and put a nice new intake in so I can start taking her out on the quarter mile and hopefully win back some of the money it takes to keep her running well.

Another note, (since everyone just seems to beranting about the bad stuff, thought i'd be the optimist) dispite the other problems, I've never seen transmission fluid looking so beautiful. for a 10 year old car, her transmision fluid is still as pink (PINK not even red) as the day she rolled off the line! miller cycle engines will run forever if taken care of, and the whine of that supercharger sure turns heads!

Ps-

I've taken her up to about 130 so far, as you all know the millenia S's needle burys at 160... I know that a lot of imports have a sneaky little censor in them that keeps them for passing 135 mph. (my boss is always complaining about his mercades having it) and I know that it's fairly simple to take it out, but doese anyone know if the S has it? or do I need to test her myself?

Plus, is there anyone else around the central/northern/jersey shore area with an S who'd like to hang out and compare notes? maybe race a little? I've seen very vew millenias and only 1 other S, ever...

Allie, NJ.

Divinityzcreture@aol.com

www.myspace.com/justanotheruselessdreamer.

Hit me up if you don't get annoyed when chicks talk about cars...

I bought my 1997 Millenia S in 1999 with less than 70,000 miles. In 2002 I replaced the converter at $694, 02 sensor $199, rear catalytic converter $161. In 2004 replaced right front CV axle for $200 and this is the year the check engine light problem starts that the mechanic claimed was due to a faulty gas cap which I replaced at $25, but the problem continues today. I spent another $1,384 to replace catalytic converter and three more 0-2 sensors. In 2005 I spent $328 on diagnostics and replacing the left front CV axle; $438 on a throttle switch; and $2749 on a new transmission. In 2006 $295 to replace the starter motor. Just when I thought not much else could go wrong, I am now faced with a $2,400 bill to replace the right front upper control arm and link, oil filter adapter o ring, engine cam and crank seals, and timing belt covers. I too love my car and enjoy its upscale look. When I bought it, it was held as one of the best kept secrets because of its styling, engine, and standard amenities. But, I feel like my car is now a money pit and I am now asking myself, when is enough enough? If I buy another vehicle used, who knows what you are getting. I can't afford to buy a new car and make payments for the next five years. On the other hand, how much more am I going to have to put into my Millenia not to mention the bills are getting larger and more frequent.

Our Millenia is a 96 and we got it used with about 20 k on it in 98 maybe. I guess you could say that it's been OK since we still have it, with 110 K miles, but it's mostly been city driving. Our problems with the car have been cooling system and ball-joints.

The final frustration is the factory alarm which has been going off at random. We were away for a weekend and the neighbors were not amused. My local mechanic couldn't fix it and now the Mazda Dealer says he can't fix it so I think this may be the last straw. Does this sound familiar to anyone.

Man, I wish I had found this site before buying. I just purchased a 1996 Millenia. Car is in great cosmetic shape, and the gentleman I bought it from had all the service records.

I have only driven it about 100 miles since buying it, and while driving down the road today the TCS light came on and the check engine light came on, and it started doing the sputtering thing. I stopped and then started again, it was OK for maybe 5 minutes, then stopped. I am not feeling too good after reading all the comments here.

I guess I will have to take it in and get it checked, see what my mechanic suggests. I did see a bill from the prior owner where the recommended a couple of new gaskets and such. Hopefully that might be the answer, but not sure.

To the guy that posted most recently about the TCS issues, there are a MILLION discussions with good explanations and solutions on the mazdaworld forums. I hope you have already found them by now and your problem is solved.

I had that problem and it was making me crazy for a couple of months until I found that site. The solution for me was changing the ABV solenoid valve set, that I did myself in about 10 minutes and cost a little over $200 from the dealer.

Before I did that I checked and replaced all of the vacuum hoses and tee connectors, as this is cheap and normally the actual cause. (Although it was NOT fun trying to keep all the hoses organized in the 100+ heat in my driveway.)

DO NOT let any mechanic or dealer try to sell you thousands of dollars in parts and labor for this job until you have eliminated the vacuum lines and solenoids as the cause. It seems that this is very common with the Milly and it is about 99.9% of the time linked to those items. (Vacuum system)

1997 Millenia S, bought in Y2000 with 40k miles on it. Now has 140k on it. Great car. Too expensive to maintain and way too expensive to fix. During the course of ownership of this money pit, we have replaced the timing belt ($600), spark plugs ($Oh My gosh! since they have to take half the car apart to replace them), rebuilt transmission ($2800) at 125k miles, O2 sensors on 2 occasions at $150 each time, precat 1 time, a cracked wheel, CV joints at 125k miles, water pump at 115k miles, plastic pan under engine 2x ($120 each time). Steering wheel adjustment motor broken... too expensive to fix so I did not do it.

The other precat and O2 sensor is now bad. Both are connected to exhaust manifold. Also vacuum leak. (quote by dealer to fix both...$1600). Starting to blow smoke at startup which means supercharger is going bad...$1650 for rebuilt part, not including labor to remove/install. $4k if deal does it with OEM new part.

The car only left me stranded 1 time, and that was when the waterpump went bad.

Great car, but not worth the repair costs and headaches. By the way, it still looks great, inside and out. Black exterior with tan leather interior. Cannot complain about style, fit and finish. Mechanicals are the problem.

Should I buy one???

Hello All, Well I would like to say that I'm the proud owner of a 97 Milly S. My mechanic has had it now for SIX months today. I only had it six months prior to that! Replaced the timing belt, ABS, ball joints, fuel injectors 2-3 of them, plugs, valve guides (smoke on start-up) alternator/starter and re-built S/C. And of course all the "other" belts/hoses. Now today I went to pick it up and, guess what? It's "stuck" in Drive! So hopefully the solenoid for the tranny is on the "outside" where we can un-plug it and/or replace it with ease. I guess if I could go back in time, I would have stayed with Nissan Maximas, my car of choice. Much cheaper for parts, easier to work on, and not nearly the "problems" this car is known for. If I had done some research on it, I probably would NOT of bought it. But right now, I guess you could say I'm getting "buried" in it. Now I plan on giving it a brand new-hyper black paint job, already have the new wheels/tires. Looks great, but WOW!,so expensive to maintain! I think my BMW, no make that I KNOW my BMW is cheaper to work on than this little "tiger"! I love the looks, but will probably pass on the next one! I even heard Mazda has problems with their Mazda 6 model, so go figure. If these cars are properly maintained then you may be OK. But sooner or later...

My 97 Milly has had 4 superchargers (1 rebuilt & 2 used) and now needs another one + ABV valve. Great car to drive but I would never buy one again. Only has 111000kms. I'm claiming it as a dependent on my income taxes. Sucks.

All I can say is WOW!!

I never would have expected soo many problems from a Japanese 4 dr "gramma" car!

I bought mine as a "beater" for $1000, and so far no "major" problems.. Mine has a salvages title due to a solid hard impact to a ditch full of mud or something. So I expected to make some repairs (radiator and center links in suspension)

Good side: it drives very well! Smooth, power, quiet, even with the lower front mangled and A/C components trashed, yet somehow still working!!.

This thing takes a licking and keeps ticking..

And the bad (whether caused by wreck or on its own): some dash lights intermittently don't work, clock does not light up, key fob works intermittently, power antenna is broken off.

I don't drive it to hard yet until I feel comfortable with its behavior.

So far.. good car for $1000 heheh.

I just bought a 97 Millenia S, and I'm scared after reading all of these comments... I have only had the car for one day, and I paid 900 for it. There's a new water pump, tune up and oil change, and a brand new inspection on the car... are there any things that I should be aware of??

What is a fair charge for replacing the timing belt and water pump assembly? I was quoted $900. Seems high to me. I thought it was about a $500 repair.