1 Year Long Term Test

[bmelbourne]

Good afternoon all,

Wanted to share my experience with anyone considering the Mazda 6. After 1 year, I put 22,000 miles on my car. The only out of pocket expenses for the car have been routine maintenance. Any issues were taken care of under warranty.

Issues that came up were minor inconveniences, but here they are:

*~10k, a check engine light came on. Brought the car to dealership. Technician traced light to engine misfire in plug #5. Reset light, and problem never came back.

*~12k, car had to be brought in because seat frame on driver's seat was sticking through the uphoulstery and jabbing me in the back. Seat replaced under warranty.

*~15k, brought car in because it would make terrible squeeling noises any time the wheel was turned all the way to either lock. Problem traced back to a faulty retaining clip on the brake wear indicator on the front brake pads. Replaced under warranty. No way for me to verify, but a friend who is an engineer at Auto Alliance (where the 6 and Mustang are built) indicated that this problem has been fixed on all 6s built from Jan, '05 forward. Otherwise, you may have to bring your car in for this service if it was built before 1/05. I am pretty sure there is a TSB out on it.

That is it. Otherwise, the car has been very reliable, starting without issue in subzero Michigan weather and 120+ heat when I visited friends in Arizona. Overall, I am very happy with the car. Here are the pros and cons I saw, after 1 year.

PROS:
*Styling:
*Freeway gas mileage: (note: If you start getting into the throttle at all, the MPG will plummet quickly). I have gotten MPGs as high as 26 MPG and as low as 15 MPG. If you stay off the throttle on the highway and leave the cruise on, mileage is downright respectable for a 6 cylinder.
Handling:Even with the stock suspension, I am pretty impressed with the way the car takes onramps and slices in and out of traffic.
Ergonomics:In between the super adjustable seats, adjustable steering wheel, and the display and controls for the stereo, it is very easy to get comfortable in this car.


CONS:
*Clutch: The clutch takeup is too long (zoom zoom?) and reminds me of the clutch on a U Haul cube van. Additionally, the clutch shudder first thing in the morning is embarrassing and annoying.
*Complete lack of low end torque: You have to really wail on the engine, and even then, not much happens below 4000 rpm. It is a fun engine, but only if you like wringing it out at high revs.
*"Disco" mirrors: Maybe I am nitpicking, but it is kind of irritating the way that the side mirrors and rear view mirrors vibrate like crazy when the stereo is turned even half way up.
*Quality of interior materials: Besides the problem I had with the front seat, the plastics in the car look somewhat cheap, there are a number of rattles from the dash, and the cloth interior looks very worn and frizzy after only one year.

That is all I have got...

[Dans6]

Originally posted by bmelbourne@Jul 13 2005, 01:59 PM
Good afternoon all,

Wanted to share my experience with anyone considering the Mazda 6.* After 1 year, I put 22,000 miles on my car.* The only out of pocket expenses for the car have been routine maintenance.* Any issues were taken care of under warranty.

Issues that came up were minor inconveniences, but here they are:

*~10k, a check engine light came on.* Brought the car to dealership.* Technician traced light to engine misfire in plug #5.* Reset light, and problem never came back.

*~12k, car had to be brought in because seat frame on driver's seat was sticking through the uphoulstery and jabbing me in the back.* Seat replaced under warranty.

*~15k, brought car in because it would make terrible squeeling noises any time the wheel was turned all the way to either lock.* Problem traced back to a faulty retaining clip on the brake wear indicator on the front brake pads.* Replaced under warranty.* No way for me to verify, but a friend who is an engineer at Auto Alliance (where the 6 and Mustang are built) indicated that this problem has been fixed on all 6s built from Jan, '05 forward.* Otherwise, you may have to bring your car in for this service if it was built before 1/05.* I am pretty sure there is a TSB out on it.

That is it.* Otherwise, the car has been very reliable, starting without issue in subzero Michigan weather and 120+ heat when I visited friends in Arizona.* Overall, I am very happy with the car.* Here are the pros and cons I saw, after 1 year.

PROS:
*Styling:
*Freeway gas mileage: (note: If you start getting into the throttle at all, the MPG will plummet quickly).* I have gotten MPGs as high as 26 MPG and as low as 15 MPG.* If you stay off the throttle on the highway and leave the cruise on, mileage is downright respectable for a 6 cylinder.
Handling:Even with the stock suspension, I am pretty impressed with the way the car takes onramps and slices in and out of traffic.
Ergonomics:In between the super adjustable seats, adjustable steering wheel, and the display and controls for the stereo, it is very easy to get comfortable in this car.
CONS:
*Clutch: The clutch takeup is too long (zoom zoom?) and reminds me of the clutch on a U Haul cube van.* Additionally, the clutch shudder first thing in the morning is embarrassing and annoying.
*Complete lack of low end torque:* You have to really wail on the engine, and even then, not much happens below 4000 rpm.* It is a fun engine, but only if you like wringing it out at high revs.
*"Disco" mirrors: Maybe I am nitpicking, but it is kind of irritating the way that the side mirrors and rear view mirrors vibrate like crazy when the stereo is turned even half way up.
*Quality of interior materials: Besides the problem I had with the front seat, the plastics in the car look somewhat cheap, there are a number of rattles from the dash, and the cloth interior looks very worn and frizzy after only one year.

That is all I have got...

[snapback]454983[/snapback]

I have got a 6i AT and notice the some of the same issues.
I have got just over 5k miles on mine and it handles great in city or highway driving, decent gas mileage about 27-29MPG average.
The 4Cyl 6i is the same way with the torque where the engine kicks in at 4K RPM.
The door mirrors rattle when cranking the stereo as well.
Got a few tiny chips in the silver portion of the inside doors to. It happens, I have a 3 year old who wants to pretend he is driving the 6!

Overall very satisfied though, it is fun to drive,and it is nice to still see so few 6's on the road, whereas you can't go anywhere without seeing a Taurus, Accord or Camry.