Engine light started to come on and off during the start of our Canadian winter. I brought it in when the light was on and was told it was to do with the drive-by-wire throttle position sensor. My guess is that when the throttle plate is cold and stiff, there must be a micro-second lapse from the gas pedal hitting the floor board, and the throttle plate snapping open. I'm almost 90% guaranteed to activate the 'engine light' when I floor the gas pedal on a cold day. A couple of hours or days of easy driving, and the light turns off. Not a big deal for me now, but my Speed3 will receive every imaginable software update once spring rolls around, free of charge from the dealership obviously.
I read the horsepower and torque figures in my Toronto newspaper, and made a dash to the Mazda dealership to grab one of the 200 Speed3's destined for Canada in 2006. I thought I would be getting V8 Mustang performance with I4 fuel economy and station wagon practicality. Only one of three is correct.
Firstly, everyone speaks of the power limiting computer gimmickry that makes the car manageable with it's shortened 1st and 2nd gear ratios, but I'm surprised nobody speaks of it's drawbacks. I hate the disconnected feel of my foot slamming down on the gas, and the engine bogging down. What makes it worse is that you can't turn these limitations off! I pray there is an after-market outfit that can disable the ECU power reductions. When 280 lbs/feet of of rubber shredding torque starts to wear thin on my nerves, let ME be the one to pull the plug on the fun!
I was following my buddy's Chevy minivan in dense traffic, when suddenly a lane opens up. He floors it and takes off, so I nail the gas too... but I've got three problems; turbo lag, power reduction in 2nd gear, and further power reduction 'cause the wheels are turned. By the time I complete the lane change and straighten the wheels, my friend is now 15 car lengths ahead! I almost paid a big price during a left turn at busy intersection. You think with 280 lbs/feet of torque you could just turn left through an intersection in a blink of an eye. I floor it and turn the wheel... but there's no boost, just meddling nanny controls that ensured I cleared the intersection as slow as possible. NOT COOL! Now I second guess myself in my 'so-called' road rocket!
As an urban hooligan ride, this car falls flat on it's face, but on the highway this car is AMAZING. Even in 6th gear, the 280 lbs/feet of unrestricted torque will shoot this car from 120km to 200km with ZERO effort. Even to this day I find myself reaching for the shifter, wrongfully thinking that I'm still in 5th!
To my chagrin, this car guzzles a surprising amount of premium fuel. What makes things worse is that it's nearly impossible not to blow past these punks in their loud civics and neons.
Surprisingly, people don't pay any attention to me. This car is really low-key, even the majority of other Mazda 3 owners don't know I've got 100 more horses under my bulging hood. Even with the bright red paint job, this car as been unmolested in public parking spots for days at a time. My paranoia of thieves bending over backwards to steal my very limited edition Speed3 hasn't materialized just yet... KNOCK ON WOOD! Oh... and my insurance quote for the 3 and Speed3 were the same! Hopefully they won't catch on.
You've gotta love the praticality of this car. Humans, as well as big furniture items from Ikea get in and out of this car with ease. The WRX wagon is the next car that can match the Speed3 for practicality and performance, but with a $5000 price difference, and a lot less styling and finesse, this Speed3 can't be beat.
I too have a 3 MPS, however I don't seem to have the problem that you do WRT the "electronic nanny". I can also turn the nanny off by pressing the DSC button. Do that and you have to be carefull with the right foot otherwise you will end up in a wall of tyre smoke!! With the nanny on I notice the power reduction in 1st and 2nd with the wheel turned, however when straight it doesn't seem to retard it too much. It is no where near dangerous or dissapointing as you describe. The turbo lag you mentioned seems to be lacking in mine as well. True it doesn't start to really boogie until 2500-3000 rpm, but I wouldn't call it laggy compared too many other turbo cars I have driven/owned. I also find the fuel economy to be fantastic for the type of car it is. I have not yet had the economy go above 10L/100km for a tank yet, which included some spirited driving. I can easily get mid to low 7L/100km on the highway which is not much different to our Auto Mazda 6 2.3 (both cars are about the same weight). The open road performance of this car is awesome and if you drive it correctly, there wouldn't be many cars around that could beat it on a nice mountain road without paying big $$$$$$
I also have a 3 MPS, and haven't felt the need to switch off the DSC, although the power reduction in 2nd can be a bit too severe if there's any significant steering angle.
On the whole though, you have to say Mazda have done a remarkable job in making a front-wheel drive car with this much power and torque driveable. A few minor compromises are inevitable.
Just wanted to say; you suck!
I want this car so bad, but the adult in me does not want to know the difference in insurance compared to my Impala. As I am 21 and already paying way too much, the last thing I need is speeding tickets.
Wish you luck, Keep us updated. Thanks.
Quick update from the guy who did the original post. It's summer in Toronto, and the check engine light hasn't appeared at all! The car is still running flawless, and the air-con doesn't seem to rob any power from this torque beast! I stopped beating up on the car though... it just doesn't seem to be as much fun as I'd thought it would be! Civics and GTI's don't disappear in the rear view mirror like the engine specs suggest, and the severe axle tramp/wheel hop on hard launches have my nerves on end! The "I'll give you power when I feel like it" limiters have really sucked away my enthusiasm. There needs to be a update to the ECU which factors in the added weight of passengers and cargo. A heavy ladened 2.3l four banger doesn't need power limitations in a low RPM point-n-shoot situation! A huge oversight! Regardless of these gripes... this car is pure fun on the highway!
To the original poster. If you already haven't been told by your dealer, there is an ECU re-program fix that stops the CEL. Apparently the ECU, mostly when the weather is cold, has trouble reading the tumble flaps in the intake runners. The ECU thinks they are not working properly when in actual fact they are. This causes the CEL to illuminate. The ECU re-program is supposed to fix this problem. I hope this helps!!
Original poster here, at 25,000km the rear suspension COMPLETELY FAILED!!! I woke up one morning to see a huge oil slick on my driveway. I had to get two rear struts replaced at the dealer's expense, but it took over 3 weeks because they can only be transported by land 'casue of Hazardous Material issue! I didn't even get a loaner, and I was quite annoyed bouncing around in my new Speed 3! I didn't feel safe at all! The dealer casually tried to hint to me that suspension isn't covered under warranty, but when I told him that I'm not paying for suspension components that fail under 30,000km, he didn't seem so certain of himself. He's been really cool with me so far! I'm crossing my fingers! Now I have 2 recalls to do with emission control equipment. I hope this isn't going to be a big deal.
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