Looking at Mazda3 Again

ZeeOSix

ZeeOSix

$100 site donor 2022
Joined
Jul 22, 2010
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Location
PNW
Still on the hunt for a used car. The Chevy Cruze is off the list, and I'm back to the Mazda3. I learned the Skyactiv-G direct injection 2.0L engine with a 6-speed auto started in the Mazda3 in 2012 I believe. This is very clean well cared for 2010 Touring package with the 2.0L port fuel injected engine and a 5-speed auto. One owner, no wrecks reported on Carfax.

How good is the 2.0L port FI engine with the 5-speed auto for reliability?


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The last year the 2.0 MZR PFI engine was available was 2012. My cousin had a 2012 mzr 2.0 she recently traded in with well over 100k, no major issues.
 
I assume Mazda fixed the issue by '12, but the early 5A transmissions had issues with their TCM's. However, they're easy to swap and require no programming should replacement be necessary.
 
99Saturn said:
Just curious, what killed the Cruze for you?
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Looking at problem areas, it seemed the Cruze had more issues than the Asian cars. The Mazda 3 seems to be pretty problem free. I was looking around the 2010 to 2013 Cruzes since I only want to spend ~$10K to $11K on a used car with around 80K-90K miles with a clean title and no accidents. They are out there, but man it takes tons of looking.
 
blufeb95 said:
The Mazda MZR/Ford Duratech are among the "remember to change the oil every now and then and it'll last forever" don't know about the transmission. Maybe not a problem in the PNW, most of the problems I've seen with the Mazda3/Ford Focus is them rotting out from road salt.
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Does that engine have a timing chain or timing belt. I'm assuming a chain. What Ford models use the same engine? ... Focus, Fusion, ??

Yeah, not much salt used in the PNW, but they have been increasing that more and more because people here don't know how to drive in the snow and rarely put snow tires on their cars unless they are skiers and go into the mountains to ski.
 
They have a chain that should last the entire life of the engine, I'd only ever expect a problem if someone completely neglected the maintenance and ran it low on oil, oil consumption isn't usually a problem unless the engine has been very poorly maintained.
 
I have a 2010 with 2.5 MZR and 6 speed manual. It has a little under 150k now and burns basically nothing over a 5k interval. The rest of the car shows its age, but the engine and transmission work like new still.
 
14Accent said:
I assume Mazda fixed the issue by '12, but the early 5A transmissions had issues with their TCM's. However, they're easy to swap and require no programming should replacement be necessary.
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Our '12 had the (or maybe I should say, "a") TCM issue and it *did* have to be programmed. I had to practically beg my dealer to replace the TCM, but they insisted on replacing the trans first... It was a warranty deal and since it had 90k miles on it I didnt object, but I knew it wasnt the problem. Once they put the new trans in and I got a few miles away from the dealership the problems started all over again thats when I rather bluntly insisted on a new TCM. I even said I'd bring them a junkyard TCM to prove it was the problem, but they said they would have to program it and the Mazda warranty office would never let them experiment with used parts.

The MZR engines are well built, and the 5-speed auto (and the earlier 4-speed version which was very similar) are decent but they do need periodic fluid changes which luckily are easily done. The rest of the car is pretty solid. We had two of them and they were very trouble free, other than the TCM issue in the previous paragraph.
 
I had a Mazda5 with a 2.5 and the 5-speed auto. Part of the problem was the 2.5 was underpowered for that application but it was a rev-happy, smooth, and reliable engine - if the 2.0 is similar it should be a good engine. The 5-speed auto, which I'm assuming is the same 5-speed auto, was not the best and a little sloppy/clunky but didn't give me any problems. I also had a 2.5 Skyactiv with the 6-speed auto to compare that to and the Skyactiv powertrain was superior from a drivability/power/mpg POV with that being the one of the best automatics I've owned.
 
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GMFan said:
Rust/corrosion is something to watch on these. Otherwise a solid buy. My 2.5L has 185k on it.
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andrew_j said:
2010ish Mazda are rot boxes in New England. Just try to get history to see if a salt belt car.
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If there is a Carfax I always look at where the car lived. If I cant' get a free Carfax, I'll ask the dealership to see it ... I would never buy a used car these days without a Carfax or similar history. There's a 2012 with 94K miles (not accidents on the Carfax either) I have my eye on that never left the PNW, so should be rust free.
 
Rust, rust, rust…rear fenders behind the rear doors, rear spring mounts, sills…
Engine/transmissions aren’t the problems on these.
 
addyguy said:
Rust, rust, rust…rear fenders behind the rear doors, rear spring mounts, sills…
Engine/transmissions aren’t the problems on these.
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Car was in the PNW all the time ... no salted roads.
 
Do the early 2012 or 2013 Skyactiv-G direct injection 2.0L engines that are used in the Mazda 3 have any issues like major fuel dilution, sticking rings, sludge, major intake valve deposits etc?

Of course, how it's maintained has a factor, but does it have any inherant design issues?
 
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