Mazda 3 hard starting problem - HELP

[Peyupsrf2]

Hi sirs/mams, need your inputs.

For the past three weeks when I do a cold start, my car produces choking sounds and vibrates more than usual. What I do is turn the engine off then start it again after minute. Usually it the engine will go back to normal on the third try.

I called MQA and reported th issue, then scheduled a checkup. Upon arrival i was told I need to leave the car there so they can replicate the problem. I said I need to use the car that day (not knowing I need to leave the car at the casa) so I will observe then if the problem occurs again, i will give them a call. I left, went to caltex to refuel, then went to Trinoma. arrived at the parking around 1pm, then went back to my car around 4pm. Now for the first time, my car won't start at all. After 5 minutes of trying to start the car it did start, then I drove staight to MQA. left my car there to be observed.

I gave them a call today (Monday Apr 18) to ask for updates, then to my surprise they said most probably they need to do something with the fuel tank but nothing specific yet They gave me an estimate of around 9K+ for the service/repair/fuel. But my car is only 9 months old, i brought it to them last Feb for it's 6th-month checkup, and been using the car almost everyday with an average daily run of 15km. BTW I use Caltex Silver/Gold 80% of the time, Total unleaded 20% of the time when i there is no Caltex station nearby.

Question is, how do I deal with this? My car is still under warranty, I have religiously took care of it, and am sure that gasoline will only go stale if it's stuck in the engine for 25 days and up.

Anyone who encountered the same problem? Or anyone who could suggest how to deal with this? Please advice. Thanks.

[ghosthunter]

You can insist with claiming it against the car's warranty, depending on the part that is causing your problem.

If your service adviser says otherwise, you can ask to talk to his manager.

[Peyupsrf2]

**sorry double post**

[Peyupsrf2]

*ghosthunter
sir thanks for the input. i did some research and most of them says that the problem could be on the fuel pump.

anyone else encountered the same hard-starting problem? Hay sakit sa ulo, bumili ka nga ng bagong kotse, ganito naman..

[ghosthunter]

*ghosthunter
sir thanks for the input. i did some research and most of them says that the problem could be on the fuel pump.

anyone else encountered the same hard-starting problem? Hay sakit sa ulo, bumili ka nga ng bagong kotse, ganito naman..

I had a similar problem but with an older car ('99 Corolla). Blocked fuel line due to accumulation of dirt.

[desert fox]

*ghosthunter
sir thanks for the input. i did some research and most of them says that the problem could be on the fuel pump.

anyone else encountered the same hard-starting problem? Hay sakit sa ulo, bumili ka nga ng bagong kotse, ganito naman..

walang pinipiling sasakyan ang breakdown ng fuelpump,bagong kotse o hindi kapag yan ang nagloko, palit na talaga....Most probably sa fuel pump na nga.buti nga hard starting pa lang, yung iba,biglaan ayaw na talaga umistart,panay lang redondo ng starter,pero ayaw magtuloy ang gasolina....siste, hatak na.

insist mo sa warranty bro,gaya ng sabi ni broGH, kapag ayaw ng SA,sa manager ka magpunta.....

[orly_andico]

This happened to my '07 at around the 10k kilometer mark.

Try this: when the car starts up and is shaking, give it a lot of gas so that the RPM goes up. The shaking should go away. Leave the RPM at 2000+ for maybe 20-30 seconds. When you release it, the RPM (hopefully) will be stable again.

I ignored the problem (hard starting) until one fine day.. ayaw na mag start. Was parked at the Philippine Band of Mercy (near SSS on East Ave). Had to have it trucked to the casa. Buti nalang may roadside assistance (na libre! yung 1st-year free roadside assistance ni Mazda). Pero ang tagal dumating yung truck (past 8pm) galit yung manong na nagbabantay ng parking kasi di siya makauwi.

In my case it was due to carbon buildup in the intake. Mazda had to take the cylinder head off and clean it. Not covered under warranty as well since they said it was due to dirty fuel and poor usage (low revs all the time, short trips so the engine didn't warm up enough).

After the carbon removal I used Petron fuel exclusively and things seem to be ok now. It still shakes a bit sometimes (maybe 5% of the time when it starts) but giving it the gas makes the shakes go away.

[paulgozon]

Last week, my customer was a mazda 3 with 31,000 km mileage on it. The problem is fuel pump. Also fix his Stop light switch, due to poor contact.

[caloyski5]

wow. that should be a warranty issue. have you tried other gasoline brands? go petron xtra.

[parakitoJDM]

bago pa pala ser ang kotse nyo. you should have it done under warranty.

[uginsj]

got similar problem din.happened siguro around 11k ng odo ko.pero i know,somehow,what caused the problem.nag fill ako ng petron blaze kasi.tuwang tuwa pa ako kc ganda talaga ng hatak eh.after 3 weeks using blaze,problem starting the car occured.so ginawa ko,inubos k fuel ko by not refuelling until yung malapit n tlga mag empty.then nagbalik loob na ako sa extra unleaded.problem solved.

[metta]

Gud day sir,i want to share w/ you a similar problem,i got a 09 mazda3 seldom used.the problem you mentioned is so similar,but i got it corrected by changin my fuel to shell v-power after 4x of refillin,its almost 2mos now said problem didnt recur again, since i started using v-power,and based on my research in the net i found out that using ethyl alcohol based fuel e10 is corrosive to the fuel pump especially if its seldom used and gum/varnish formation occur easily cloggin the fuel sys too,if a car is not in used for a peroid of time.Hope this info helps.

[orly_andico]

resurrecting this ancient thread

well Mazda Makati's "fix" and recommendation to change fuel didn't work for long. The hard starting came back eventually but since I wasn't using the car much I ignored it.

now the fuel pump has completely died.

the complete assembly is over 30k pesos.

there are some stand-alone pumps (5k to 10k range depending on whom you ask) which can be transplanted into the fuel pump basket of the Mazda3. Some people have had success with this.

however in my case there is physical damage to the fuel pump basket. which means replacement of the entire assembly.