Hello, all.

I have a 2014 Touring and I have noticed that periodically, the car will shudder under acceleration. It particularly is noticeable when moderately accelerating in the 3000-4500 RPM range (not stepping into the kickdown switch, but at 80% throttle or so).

It can be felt mostly in the gas pedal and generally in the vehicle itself (the wheel doesn't wobble). It almost seems like the engine is quickly surging.

It does not do it every day, and I have not found any pattern to it yet.

Has anyone else experienced this? It is the AT model.

 

Does this only happen on cold days? I noticed that there can be a small vibration through the gas pedal until the trans warms up a bit.

 

It's decently pronounced, but does do it worse when cold. It's especially evident when getting on an on ramp which has a pretty sharp uphill bend to it. It seems in all cases worse when turning.


I'm not sure if it has to do with the tires or not. I can't really test it in first gear because it would just spin.


Took it to the dealer and they said it was characteristic of it, although they could not reproduce it.

 

I don't have this issue with mine. I don't think it's normal though. Check your tranny fluid level.

 

Took it to the dealer and they said it was characteristic of it, although they could not reproduce it.

Don't they always say that?Did they take it up the same ramp that you take?

At least they should check fluid levels and see if all the COP's are properly seated and such basic stuff. Keep documentation. That vehicle is under warranty.

 

I agree. How long have you had this issue, since day 1? I think you have to be persistent with the dealer. Dealers always try to do this first and hope you just go away. They just don't want to spend the time to diagnosis this issue. Dealers nowadays are parts replacers, not true mechanics.

 

Yes, unfortunately they all say that. I even took it to another dealership and got the same line from them, too.

I did call Mazda and voiced my concerns. I went over in detail what happened and what the replies from the respective technicians were. He stated that the techs were following Mazda recommendations for troubleshooting and diagnosis. I did ask if the technician had the capability of data logging and submitting this to a resource at Mazda for comparison to a 'properly' functioning car and the Mazda customer service rep stated that Mazda typically does not allow circumvention of protocol in order to submit a case like that.

From this conversation, I pretty much gather that I have to go through the motions on this one. Since it's only been two visits so far there's not much of a trail given that they had no cel and couldn't duplicate it through their short test drive.

Anyway, the dealer I purchased the car from will have their tech drive it home next Thursday overnight. He has a 30 mile drive each way so hopefully it pops up the. (It should - I hope). We'll see.

In 2004 I had a Subaru WRX automatic (I know... I know...) and it was having issues shifting where the revs would hang for a few seconds in between shifts. I ended up having to push it to the regional service rep after 6 visits. I was even able to get the technician to experience it while he was in a ride-with. He later stated that he said he thought I could have been inducing it inadvertently by moving the gas pedal. I requested that he watch the throttle angle on his diagnostic tool so he knows I'm not messing around with the pedal. He declined.

The rep ended up meeting with me and asking what I thought the issue was. I stated that I thought that there was an issue within the valve body (solenoid/casting) and that the unit should be replaced. They did that and the problem went away. This was at 25,000 mikes and last I heard the car had 178,000 miles on it and was still going strong on the original transmission.

Persistence pays off most of the time. Unfortunately you have to jump through a lot of hoops.

I'll follow up when the tech gets done with his overnighter with the car.

 

Let us know what happened. I sent you a PM earlier.