Mazda 6 Forums banner

Italian Tune up by mistake

5K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  TitaniumVT 
#1 ·
So last weekend I ended up giving my car an unintended Italian tune up when I shifted to manual mode 2nd gear in slow stop and go traffic on I-95. By the time the traffic eased up I forgot I was in manual mode and pressed the gas hard and drove until I heard this really really loud whistling+whirring sound. Rolled down the windows to see where it was coming from and realized it was from my car. Immediately looked at the dash and to my surprise it was redlining 7000 rpm. I think I must have driven at the red line for about 5-7 minutes before I realized and put it back in auto mode. I was concerned I may have damaged the engine and after reaching my destination checked the engine oil. There was a lot of carbon and oil was significantly darker compared to a week before that I checked the oil. I am sure it came from the high rpm I subjected it to and luckily it did not break anything.
 
#2 ·
Holy crap man! No offense but are you a little hard of hearing? How do you not know you're beyond redlining a car at 7000 rpms for 5-7 minutes? I mean your car is screaming and it's not shifting. The feeling alone should have been enough to alert you. I certainly would not want to buy the car after you. I would suspect you did some internal damage as 5-7 minutes is a very long time. There is really nothing you can do but replace the oil immediately (and I mean immediately) and check for excessive oil consumption every few hundred miles. You've likely burned up your piston rings but time will tell.

Or is this a big joke?


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#3 · (Edited)
@my95tsi, I have excellent hearing. You are way too judgemental and learn to comprehend what I wrote.

I never said it was redlining at 7000 rpm for 5-7 minutes. I said 'I must have driven at the red line for about 5-7 minutes" which means from where redline starts (i.e @ 6000 rpm) till I noticed it at 7000 rpm.

Why I missed the sound initially is a combination of factors - Loud music + Animated conversation with passenger leading to decreased attention to surroundings + high AC blast. When I first heard the high pitched squeal I thought it must be from some other vehicle on the road because I never heard that before in my car so I waited for about 30 seconds and when it didn't go down I rolled down the windows to see where its from and then I realized it was my car and immediately put it in auto and it went back to normal. I think the real high squeal came when it was nearing 7000 not at the beginning of redline.

I drove another 400 miles after the incident with same oil till I reached home, it drove absolutely fine. I got the oil changed today and it is purring like new. I did some research on the internet and most folks say that cars have rev limiters that prevent them from going dangerously high. Even the redline rpm it seems is well within the danger zone but if you drive at red line for a very long time it could cause damage.
 
#5 · (Edited)
how did you manage to hit 7000RPMs? unless you have a tune the engine is limited to 6200RPMs. also if you still have the oil I would send it in for an oil analysis to see how much if any damage was done.

I would mention though at freeway speeds when I do push it to the redline there is enough sound deadening and road noise where the engine is just a fairly light hum and with enough distractions, it can potentially go unnoticed. the is many times where i have left it in 3rd or 4th for a long time before i glanced at the gauges to realize i forgot to shift, it happens, especially when busy merging or in high traffic
 
#6 ·
@Jerrycobra, I don't have a tune, it is stock. I had put it in manual mode and downshifted to 2nd gear in the slow stop and go traffic and forgot. When traffic eased I started pushing the gas to speed up and since it was in 2nd gear and not speeding up quick I must have pressed the gas pedal extra hard leading it to reach 7000. The redline ranges from 6-8k so it allows it I guess.

I think it can handle that high rpm for short bursts else I would not have been able to drive another 400 miles in hot summer with AC on and most of it at 80 mph. I don't have the old oil but I will keep an eye on it and check oil every week to see if there is an increased consumption.
 
#7 ·
I dont know about Mazdas, but most superbikes and sportscars are factory dyno'd before they reach the customer, meaning they pull the motors to redline in every gear right out of the box ! I wouldn't fuss too much about it. I have seen cars babied right from day one burn oil, and i have seen cars being driven as if stolen every day and doesnt drink any oil !

Btw, i remember reading somewhere in the owner's manual that the gearbox shifts to auto mode even if it is in manual if the computer thinks you are either over stressing the engine or the transmission.
 
#8 ·
Chances are you are fine. Things may break down a couple thousand miles earlier down the line, but a couple thousand miles when your engine is above 100,000 miles is a very small number. Don't worry about it. I would say drive the car normally, and that does mean floor it sometimes and take it to redline sometimes. You DO NOT want to baby the car because you're scared it may blow up. If you're just keeping it below 3,000 rpm from now on, you may not know that the car has problems until much later...when you're out of warranty already.

Again, just drive it normally. Floor it and have fun when you feel like it. If there are issues, take it to the dealership but of course don't just tell them that you think it's due to you keeping the car at redline for 5+ minutes. Just let them figure it out. No big deal.
 
#9 · (Edited)
...You DO NOT want to baby the car because you're scared it may blow up. If you're just keeping it below 3,000 rpm from now on, you may not know that the car has problems until much later...when you're out of warranty already.

Again, just drive it normally. Floor it and have fun when you feel like it. If there are issues, take it to the dealership but of course don't just tell them that you think it's due to you keeping the car at redline for 5+ minutes. Just let them figure it out. No big deal.

Seems doubtful Mazda would honor any damage as a warranty issue, so the advice to drive it hard to uncover any long-term damage doesn't seem well considered. Even if he doesn't disclose it to them, it'll be apparent when they pull the engine logs.


Crazy something like this could have happened without the OP realizing the engine was straining.
 
#11 ·
I thought auto shifters had a safety feature that up-shifted if you stayed at redline too long in manual mode? I doubt you did any damage, its called a rev limiter for a reason, but, id still have the compression checked at a minimum.
 
#12 ·
I thought auto shifters had a safety feature that up-shifted if you stayed at redline too long in manual mode?
I was thinking the same thing. I have definitely driven shift-tronic cars where it auto up-shifted if the RPMs got within 500 of deadline or so. Then again, I have only ever owned manual cars so I'm just speaking on my few encounters with the so popular 'manual-mode.'
I would do an oil analysis a a couple of hundred miles AFTER you do an oil change. Your current oil has to be burnt already..
 
#14 ·
You did zero damage. The car has a rev limiter and spinning fast does not damage the engine. That's what it does, it spins. You just wasted some gas. The oil is dirty because it is a week old. If you feel better change it.

If this would damage the engine then everyone who wanted a new car would just drive around in 2nd gear for a week.
 
#15 · (Edited)
... If this would damage the engine then everyone who wanted a new car would just drive around in 2nd gear for a week.





...Because then, the New Car Fairy would just bring them a new one?

I don't get your logic. In what world would it make sense for anyone to trash their car in order to get a new one? And how does it follow that manufacturers somehow make it impossible for people to cause mechanical damage to their cars?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top