Hey TrueRED, that would be a yes, but I either have the radio up too loud or the engine is too loud or the road noise is too loud so that I rarely hear it. I think it's a creaky drivers seat; sounds like it's near the floor or in the frame of the lower section.
I used to hear soething that sounded like it was in the heater fan, but it went away after th few days. Maybe I'll investigate the seat creak tomorrow if it's not raining tomorrow.

VASpeed3

 

i am hoping when i pick my car up on friday that i can luck out and not have to deal with any of these small problems, purge valve, unwanted noises. but am glad i know some things to look out for.

i dont drive fast cars all that often, but i have test driven a lotus elise, SLK 55 AMG, and a STI and those were all small rocket ships. I am sure that it will be a lot of fun to have a car of this capability to drive every day.

 

Congrats! You will really enjoy this little car. After you get used to the shifter and clutch, it is actually quite easy to drive. I have the black also.

Well so far, the only real problem across the board, has been the purge valve. But that's not a big deal. They are replacing mine next week. But actually, since they cleared the code that 1 time, the CEL, has not come back on. For a brand new model, there are not many issues.

 

I liked the clutch right from the first time I drove it. My shifter hassmoothed outin quite a bit in the something like 5500 miles I have on it today, but I don't expect to be really smooth like a Honda. No other problems at all. I might notice the seat creak or whatever once every 2 weeks.
I have to remember to wipe the soot off the tailpipe at each fillup, though. You'll probably want to use gas stations that can actually be bothered to keep paper towels stocked in the dispensers next to the pumps.

VASpeed3

 

Is there anyone here that can confirm their area is'nt on winter fuel, and state the status of the soot.

 

having had a 2006 mazda 3 4 door that was totalled in an accident, I am hoping that the cluth on the MS3 is sportier and a little bit more firm. i used to have an Audi A4 and one day i got to drive a friends S4 and you could tell a big difference in the clutch. you could feel a more precise area where it would release and that way it was easier to get big starts. sorry about my description, im not a professional driver or anything.

is the purge valve issue something I should discuss with the dealer tomorrow morning when i go to pick up my car?

 

also are all the mazdaspeed parts on their website different then the parts that are already in the MS3. I am interested in the CAI , catback exhaust and the short shifter. I was not sure if these are all upgrades from what is stock in the MS3 b/c the way it is explained is as if they are upgrades for the regular Mazda3 ???

 

I wouldn't worry about the purge valve issue. It may never happen. But if the CEL comes on, you can be reasonably sure that is what caused it. It won't hurt anything to drive the car.

 

the mazdaspeed stuff that is available for the mazda 3 is not for the mazdaspeed3. they have not be released yet.



mike

 

thanks for the answer, that will be very exciting when the mazdaspeed parts come out for the MS3. any idea of when?