Topic: Comparison Test: 2014 Mazda3 vs 2014 Toyota Corolla

[dkaz]

I prefer the fuel door to be on the passenger side because it's less waiting at Costco gas stations.

I appreciate my Sienna's driver side fuel door though. That's a huge lard of sheet metal to walk around to fill up.

[rho88]

The down side of the Mazda3 is the high maintenance cost. I know 2 Mazda 3 owners that had to get their engines replaced before the car was 4 years old and under 100,000km. The yearly maintenance was over   $600 not including 1 had a $1500 brake job. It was my first choice sporty with Japanese reliability but if the cost of ownership is so high I'll take a VW instead.

....mazda's engine's based on Ford Duratec.. (not the new sky active stuff, but until couple years ago) and i haven't heard that many ford's engine failure, so your friend either didn't maintain the car or that was an outlier.

I had a new 2005 Mazda3 HB and the engine was scrap at around 100,000km. All oil change done at the dealer at 6000 to 8000km. Tranny oil changed at 60,000. New spark plugs at 90,000. The 2.3 engine was notorious to have problems on the Mazda3. The 2.0 engine was rock solid though. I was an administrator for a Mazda3 forum for 6 years, and the 2.3 engine was really horrible. People with automatics seems to have done better with the 2.3. It seems to be hit and miss though. We were 3 cousins who bought new Mazda3s GT at the same time in 2005 and only 1 is left running at the moment.

As for rust, I hand wash my car once a week, and complete detailing twice a year (wash, claybar, Klasse AIO, Crystal Glo paint treatment etc). Paint began to chip off at the end of the 3rd year in the rear wheel well on my car... I don't think it's a problem for the newer Mazdas, but it definitely was very disappointing to have to fight to get it fixed under warranty.

[PJ]

Interesting.  I've known lots of people with Mazda3 and have never heard of engine problems.  So what fails on these engines?

[dirtyjeffer]

Interesting.  I've known lots of people with Mazda3 and have never heard of engine problems.  So what fails on these engines?

they throw rods...kids revving them to 12,000 RPMs like Fast and the Furious movies.

[dirtyjeffer]

I don't get why that's an issue at all. The little arrow next to the bowser symbol on your dash tells you what side it's on. Not buying a car because the fill cap is on the wrong side?  That's a new one!

reminds me of this commercial (trying to find an excuse NOT to buy a car):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASq2CYZlqD0

[sacrat]

great shot, Brendan!.


by any chance, are you a giant?   how did you get such high point of view?

Fantastic shot. The car looks ready to pounce at that empty stretch of open road. As for the angle, I'd assumed it was illegal to climb trees in Stanley Park 

[Frontier1]

Interesting.  I've known lots of people with Mazda3 and have never heard of engine problems.  So what fails on these engines?

Same here, they seem to go forever.  Rust was an issue, I would have no worries about that today.

[dkaz]

Interesting, I'm also part of a Mazda club BCMazda3 with several thousand members. I only know of two engine failures with the naturally aspirated 2.3, one for no good reason and one because he drove it hard all the time. I had the same 2.3 in my Mazda 5, 180,000km absolutely no problems. I was a bit of a race car driver with it too the first year I owned it.

Also a couple of Speed3 engine failures.

Only one member with a bit of rust, a 2005 with close to 200,000km on his car and he only washes his car a few times a year at most. Lol. And by a bit I mean you have to be inches from the car to see it.

[dirtyjeffer]

Only one member with a bit of rust, a 2005 with close to 200,000km on his car and he only washes his car a few times a year at most. Lol. And by a bit I mean you have to be inches from the car to see it.

that's because you live in BC...rusty Mazdas are pretty common in Ontario.

[Solstice2006]

Interesting.  I've known lots of people with Mazda3 and have never heard of engine problems.  So what fails on these engines?

Same here, they seem to go forever.  Rust was an issue, I would have no worries about that today.

 

[Northernridge]

I don't get why that's an issue at all. The little arrow next to the bowser symbol on your dash tells you what side it's on. Not buying a car because the fill cap is on the wrong side?  That's a new one!

Can explain this , bowser symbol ?

He forgot what continent he is on: He meant the fuel pump symbol.

And it's surprising how many people have never noticed that little arrow on the gauge. Or maybe it's not on all makes? I know my GTI has it, and all the Ford/GM/Dodge company trucks...

some cars don't have that arrow though.  and it's a myth that the pump symbols handle tells you which side the filler cap is on.


both our family german mobiles have fuel filler on passenger side..  it's been years like this and i STILL sometimes pull up on driver side.. 

I do the same...followed by the-drive-of-shame backing out and switching sides...and then becoming a Moron seen on the way to work.

[Brendan McAleer]

great shot, Brendan!.


by any chance, are you a giant?   how did you get such high point of view?

Fantastic shot. The car looks ready to pounce at that empty stretch of open road. As for the angle, I'd assumed it was illegal to climb trees in Stanley Park 

Oh, I just held the camera over my head and fired blind. The joys of digital photog.

As far as the fuel door thing goes, not every car has the little arrow by the fuel tank. As I drive something different most weeks, I often pull the fuel door release and check the side mirrors.

And if you think reparking the car makes you look like a moron, imagine what it's like when you repark the car, get out, try pushing on the fuel door, spend ten further minutes looking for the fuel door release, all the while a giant line forming behind you.  Embarrassing.

FWIW, my WRX has the fuel door on the passenger's side (because Japan), so did my Dad's old E28 (not sure why there), and I left the screw-off fuel cap of my 1976 Land Rover Series III behind on top of the fuel pump at least a dozen times when I was growing up. D'oh.

[rho88]

Interesting, I'm also part of a Mazda club BCMazda3 with several thousand members. I only know of two engine failures with the naturally aspirated 2.3, one for no good reason and one because he drove it hard all the time. I had the same 2.3 in my Mazda 5, 180,000km absolutely no problems. I was a bit of a race car driver with it too the first year I owned it.

Also a couple of Speed3 engine failures.

Only one member with a bit of rust, a 2005 with close to 200,000km on his car and he only washes his car a few times a year at most. Lol. And by a bit I mean you have to be inches from the car to see it.

the problem is even documented on the APA website. Titled "Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 Engine Failures". It's specific to the 2.3 engine from the 2004-2007 period. Can't seem to be able to put the link here... but it's on google.

[tooscoops]

http://www.apa.ca/MazdaEngines.asp

well.... i don't know... seems like a problem... but not one that i would really worry about that much. to get the oil low enough for it to cause the issue, you would have to not inspect or change the oil for quite a while... like everyone on here tends to say, if you just take care of the vehicle, you shouldn't have an issue. i'm sure if you are burning through 2 liters of oil, you'd smell something...

also, if it hasn't warranted them to actually pursue anything with mazda, it's not that big an issue (at least how i see it).

still.. something i'm sure to pay attention to.

[PJ]

Interesting, I'm also part of a Mazda club BCMazda3 with several thousand members. I only know of two engine failures with the naturally aspirated 2.3, one for no good reason and one because he drove it hard all the time. I had the same 2.3 in my Mazda 5, 180,000km absolutely no problems. I was a bit of a race car driver with it too the first year I owned it.

Also a couple of Speed3 engine failures.

Only one member with a bit of rust, a 2005 with close to 200,000km on his car and he only washes his car a few times a year at most. Lol. And by a bit I mean you have to be inches from the car to see it.

the problem is even documented on the APA website. Titled "Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 Engine Failures". It's specific to the 2.3 engine from the 2004-2007 period. Can't seem to be able to put the link here... but it's on google.

I read a lot of Toyota engines failed due to sludge problems.

Chrysler had failures on it's 2.7 and 3.2 V6 engines back then.

Honda transmissions failed regularly then too.

Lots of problems with the GM 3.6 V6 in those days.

VW's 1.8T  failed often too.

Nissan had lots of failures on CVT's from the mid 2000's.

Pick a brand, you can find people on forums talking about problems.    No car is perfect but the Mazda3 is one of the more reliable ones out there.

[quadzilla]

Why would new cars burn oil? I've never had a car burn any oil, even my GTI doesn't yet I read about all these people that lose 1L/5,000km all the time.

[rho88]

Interesting, I'm also part of a Mazda club BCMazda3 with several thousand members. I only know of two engine failures with the naturally aspirated 2.3, one for no good reason and one because he drove it hard all the time. I had the same 2.3 in my Mazda 5, 180,000km absolutely no problems. I was a bit of a race car driver with it too the first year I owned it.

Also a couple of Speed3 engine failures.

Only one member with a bit of rust, a 2005 with close to 200,000km on his car and he only washes his car a few times a year at most. Lol. And by a bit I mean you have to be inches from the car to see it.

the problem is even documented on the APA website. Titled "Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 Engine Failures". It's specific to the 2.3 engine from the 2004-2007 period. Can't seem to be able to put the link here... but it's on google.

I read a lot of Toyota engines failed due to sludge problems.

Chrysler had failures on it's 2.7 and 3.2 V6 engines back then.

Honda transmissions failed regularly then too.

Lots of problems with the GM 3.6 V6 in those days.

VW's 1.8T  failed often too.

Nissan had lots of failures on CVT's from the mid 2000's.

Pick a brand, you can find people on forums talking about problems.    No car is perfect but the Mazda3 is one of the more reliable ones out there.

Well not mine. It's based on personal experience and that of my family. I know enough about cars to know that any cars can have problems. But my experience with Mazda was not that great. And I'm not talking about the mazda3 in general, but specifically the 2.3 engine. I even modified the engine to accept the regular spin-on oil filter (like the Ford Duratec) instead of using the OEM oil filter cartridge. It's a major turnoff when the car starts to rust after 3 years and the engine starts falling apart before reaching 100k.

To built the 2.3 engine, Mazda simply increase the stroke but not the bore size from the 2.0 engine. The 2.5 engine is the real fix as they increase both.

I do hope Mazda makes a better car now and would buy another one. It was fun to drive and at a good price.

[rho88]

Why would new cars burn oil? I've never had a car burn any oil, even my GTI doesn't yet I read about all these people that lose 1L/5,000km all the time.

exactly, there were no sign it was burning oil on mine. Had a regular oil change one day and barely a month later (1000km later), the engine was done. Took out the spark plugs and plug number one was already filled with oil. 

[PJ]

Why would new cars burn oil? I've never had a car burn any oil, even my GTI doesn't yet I read about all these people that lose 1L/5,000km all the time.

All internal combustion engines burn oil.  It's the way they work.  How much is the difference.  Most modern cars don't burn a significant amount between oil changes so you never notice.

[tpl]

Only going back to 2000.

Audi 1.8T chipped ( so higher cylinder pressures.  ) 1/4 litre every 2-3000  km
BMW 330    about the same until 20,000 km and then none
GTI Mk V     about 1/4 litre every oil change ( 8000 km)
Fit               exactly zero oil between 8000 km changes
B-class         none so far at 6000 kms