Hello everybody - I assume most of you own a Mazda 3. I test drove one two weeks ago and just loved it. Is it, and has it been a reliable car for you? I leased a VW Jetta 4 years ago and it was awful. I never owned a car that had so many transmission problems and etc. in my life. I just want something that lasts several years at least without it going into the shop for silly problems. I know they say Hondas and Toyotas are the best, but can't find out much about the Mazda's reliability and I can't get over the sporty feel it had when I test drove it. Can you help me here?

 

I have an 06 3i w/2.0L automatic. i have had it since september of 05 and have not had an issue. I drive alot of miles everyday, the car has 10,300 miles now, and no problems. It is a very sporty car, handles well and likes to go fast. It is great having the tiptronic transmission for manual shifting, it gives greater control over the car which is very nice. Toyotas and Hondas are nice, but the Mazda 3 is a better value for your money in my opinion. My only regret is not getting any power options on the car, but that was for personal reason at the time. I could not ask for a better car.

 

Thanks Michael for your input. It seems for the most part it is reliable from most posts I read and a lot of you are really mechanically into this car. I,m an older female that just wants to have fun in her sporty car! This car really left an impression on me with all its power. I'm considering an automatic "S" model - 5 door hatchback. Do you think the way the transmission is set up (from auto to manual mode) will cause more problems with the transmission as it ages? Or has this type of thing been out for a while? I just never studied cars until now - since I have to be in the market for a good car.

 

i agree with michael91077 i have a 06 3i 2.3L automatic. ive had mine since november last year, about 5,000 miles. Handles like a dream, although i drive in manual since day one the tiptronic transmission is the best even though it has a 1sec delay while manula shifting, but i have only three problems with it: one; the reason why i drive in manual is because in auto it likes to shift to last gear while only going around 40mph and it feels a little weird when you slow down in heavy traffic and it downshifts to 2nd then suddenly goes into 4th at the slightest speed increase, two; lets say you wanna race and decide to race in manual depending on how long the race is and weather or not you decide to make perfect shifts (6500rpm) you will top out at 118mph while in 3rd gear making the 4th gear usless(the speedometer is misleading), last; not nothing major but im a racer so it bothers me, aftermaket companies are making most of the high powered stuff for the 6 first so it will be awhile b4 anything major comes out, but other than that the 3 is great (even though the Hatchback looks suspisiously like a PT cruiser) but it a great car for a great price.

 

The tiptronic transmission has been out for a while, and its very realiable also with the 3's very stubborn, complex, and smart ECU it ensures a very long life for the transmission.

 

Honestly, the car is great, just dont be someone who likes to drive to slow, or you may not like it, you gotta just mash the gas every once in a while and just go, its a rush really. the tiptronic transmission is a great feature to have, my only problem with it is when driving in manual mode, the car will downshift automatically, like in auto-drive, i dont know if that is a manufacturer problem, or its new with the year, but i will check on it.

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: michael91077

my only problem with it is when driving in manual mode, the car will downshift automatically, like in auto-drive.

[quote]

Yeah its a manufacture problem it should not be doing that in manual-mode.

 

Well thanks again for all your discussions. Not sure what to think though about your downshifting problem (that is, if it is a problem) Michael. I'm not too sure how to even use the manual mode side. Your automatic side works o.k. - right? I think I understand that in each shift the car will only go so fast until you manually change the next gear up? Wouldn't it automatically downshift anyway if you left your foot off the accelerator? - or does the car stay in that speed until you break to slow down? You can see that this car may be too high tech for me or I'm misunderstanding the downshifting part. The other thing I liked about the car was it was soooo comfortable to sit in and I felt like I was in a racey car.

 

When i drive in auto-mode it is fine, it supposed to down shift when slowing to a stop or even when revving the engine really high. When in auto, the car will shift thru all the gears, up to 4th (2.0L on has 4 speed), even in low rpm, so when you are cruising along at 45mph in 4th gear, and decide to give it gas, it will drop to 2nd gear and rev higher. In manual my car will shift from 4th to 3rd gear when I am doing 80mph, when it drops to 3rd, the car will get up and go. When slowing down while in manual, the car will not downshift until I am almost stopped, then it will drop to 1st. I have to check w/the dealership to see if they have had anyone else complain about that though.

 

It may be programmed to override the manual mode to avoid loading up (too slow for gear) the motor. (I have a stick, so I'm just guessing.)

Say for instance you are in manual mode - 5th gear and you're not paying attention as you pull up to a stop. You're not going to go anywhere pulling away from a stop in 5th gear. In a stick shift, you can usually pull away from a stop in 2nd gear, try 3rd and you stall. Same concept.

So long as it doesn't upshift automatically (shifting before redline at Wide Open Throttle) it sounds to me like it's working fine.