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Reaching 100k Miles in a 3rd Generation

29K views 73 replies 27 participants last post by  chillwildlife 
#1 · (Edited)
4 years; 100k miles. A milestone worth noting, even with modern cars.

Honestly, I purchased this car originally because I needed something to replace the gas-guzzling, oil-eating monster that my 2004 V6 Mazda6 had become. I know cars aren't investments, and I certainly know getting a new car is essentially throwing away thousands - but I didn't care because the 3rd generation Mazda 6 is just too good to pass up.

Looking back, the only thing I'd do differently is get the MTX, not the ATX GT.

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I got the car while I was still commuting 132 miles per day (~40,000/year), expecting to drive it into the ground. I knew this would be my first and last brand new car, so why not use it for what it was made?

A job relocation, a new job, marriage, vacations, founding a car club and hosting events all across New England, and 4 years later: here I am.

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I still turn around and look at this car every single time I get out of it. I still push it hard into corners when I need a smile on my face, and I still get excited to take it on long trips and show it off.

The Avg. MPG hasn't been reset for over 70k miles and it's stayed above 34mph the entire time. Real-world MPGs with a very heavy traffic commute are easily over 32. I can get 37+mpg any time I need to, but it's hard to not want to just cruise around in this thing.

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Below are the records I've been keeping of the car. I'm sure I've missed a few things, but hopefully this helps at least one person: which is why I do it :)

These images are fairly large, so feel free to right-click and "open in new tab" for the full size.




Please, feel free to make this thread into a discussion for preventative maintenance, questions, concerns, etc. That's why I'm putting this up here so people can talk about their experiences and new owners can see what to look for in their future :) - That's why i'm making this a sticky.

Edit: I know there are some typos and bad references in there - didn't have time to fix them up. Hopefully you know what I mean.
 
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#2 ·
Congrats! 100k miles is quite a milestone although it is now almost expected of any modern day automobile to reach that figure. I dont think there is another car in its price range with all the standard amenities one would expect from a mid-sized family econo sedan other than Mazda 6. Sure, there are GTIs, Focus ST, Civic Sis etc, but they are either too small, or too harsh or too impractical as a daily driver.

The terrible DC traffic does not allow me to rev above 3k RPM, so i consistently clock 33/34 mpg in mixed driving conditions and almost never below 27 mpg in cities making it the most economical car i have ever owned.

Here's to many many more trouble free miles on your Mazda6! Zoom Zoom!
 
#3 ·
Thanks for this. It saves me asking early adopters of the 3rd gen how reliable it has been.

Im in the same car as yours. A 2014 GT model purchased early 2013 but manual transmission here.
I bought used a few weeks ago with half the mileage as yours
I plan to run it to the 100k level and then as in the past, i usually feel the itch to bail before something major can come up
 
#7 ·
I keep going back k and forth about the overall tune. Concerned I'll light my front tires even more than I currently do. But I am interested in a bit more power. Also not sure if it's night and day

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
 
#15 ·
It's not the HP, it's the lower-range torque that's worth the money.

I can switch between stock and the OVT on demand (just need my laptop with me) and if you drove my car with the two you'd choose the OVT flash every time.

The difference is not subtle -- at all -- any more than nozzles were on my ALH Jetta.

I took the latter in for a recall and the guy who did the work came up to me and asked "what the hell did you do to that car?" when he gave the keys back to me.

When I had my "6" window seals done (under recall) the guy who worked on it asked me the same thing.

Yeah.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Anyone would choose the car with the OVT tune, but for free :grin2:

Also, it seems many people from the OVT tune thread are concerned with long term reliability with this tune. You can have the OVT dude claim all the wants about not seeing any problems or anything, but he ain't nostradamus and this tune hasn't been around for many years. Remember, he is trying to sell a service, you think he is gonna tell you bad things will happen? LOL We simply don't know if this tune will cut the engine's life in half or not. Why risk reducing the life of your vehicle for a little more speed?

Maybe, if you don't plan to keep the car for too long, but those $560 could be used towards a car with a bigger engine anyway. If you plan to keep the car for 10 years, is not worth the risk.
 
#19 ·
Does tickerguy owe mazda6suspension money or something?

Why in the world is he this concerned about how somebody he's never met (I assume) spends his money? If $560 makes the car more enjoyable to drive every time you get in it, why not do it?

As much as I have enjoyed my new to me 6, I have to admit the car would benefit from better low and mid-range torque. I understand it is designed with economy in mind and it is only an NA 4-cylinder engine pulling a fair amount of car around - you can only get so much from it. If this tune helps with that then it is an interesting proposition.
 
#20 ·
tickerguy is a well-respected forum member who has contributed in many places with his experience and expertise. He's an excellent example of the OVTune working exactly as it should, and being worth every penny if you're looking for low-end torque.

Mazda6Suspension has very strong opinions that never take into account other people's experiences ;)

Mazda6Suspension, Seiya, please give it a rest. If I want to spend $500 on a gold statue of The Rock to place on my dashboard, LET ME. It's MY car, it's MY money, and they're MY opinions.

I've heard nothing but good things about the low-end torque from OV's tune - and that's what it's geared towards. These cars are fine as they are, but if you're someone like me who came from the V6 Mazda 6, you miss that extra "oomph" when you get on it to pass someone.

Also - $500 towards a full engine upgrade/replacement is not going to get you too far.
 
#21 · (Edited)
It is simple. Mazda does not care that a few "tuners" want more power. They only care about sales. They know that the regular person is more concerned with looks, interior, technology, luxury trims, etc, which is why they redesigned the Mazda 3 and 6. They focused their whole efforts on improving looks, interior, technology, luxury feel rather than adding power. This allows you to have a sort of luxury vehicle experience at a fraction of the price, by sacrificing power. If they had added a turbo or v6 to these cars, it would've catapulted the price to the stratosphere. Everyone complains that it needs more power. Mazda heard those complain as early as 2013, you think they care? They continued producing the same design down to 2017 with only some minor looks and tech improvements, which proves my point. Now they have been annoyed so much, that they will come out with a turbo version. Good, but it will not sell very well and they know it.

At that price range, they would be competing with vehicles that destroy the Mazda 6 in every category. It simply cannot compete.

Manufacturers only care about making money. A big example of this, is the Toyota 86, previously known as Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ. It has been years since these cars have been around with people complaining and crying about more power, you think Toyota, Scion and Subaru give a crap that a few entitled cry baby kids want more power to this platform?

It would catapult the cost of the vehicle and it would compete with cars that would destroy it in sales. They are smart and chose to keep the FRS/GT86 a 4 banger with only 200hp and a simple interior to keep the price down, making it more affordable to their young target market, thus more sales.

We all bought the Mazda 6 3rd gen for the looks, interior and tech, plain and simple. We knew it lacked power. You could've bought a fairly used v6 camaro or mustang for the same price that your beloved GTs costed. For the same price, you could've bought a many v6 sedans on the market.
 
#24 ·
Congrats byakuya, on rolling to that milestone. Your experience, and that of tickerguy, give me hope that my 6 will see that mileage too - trouble-free!

My wife and I are relocating back to the east coast from No. Wisconsin and I'm looking at several 2500+ mile "commutes" back and forth over the next 8 months or so. (The miles pile up quickly going across the mid-west.) I think I have made a good choice with this car...great mileage and a good reputation. It doesn't hurt that its a stick, looks great, and is a ton of fun to drive!

My only "problem" is that the wife seems to like riding in her Jeep Grand Cherokee more. However, to my way of thinking, its nuts to roll a ton of miles on a $45k+ 22mpg SUV vs. a Mazda 6 that gets almost twice the mileage and cost almost half as much!

PS. I have the OVT tune too and love it. Best $500 I've spent on this car!
 
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#25 ·
Glad you're still loving it. let me know if you're in the area and we can have lunch or something - always up for meeting new enthusiasts :)
 
#30 ·
Well for me, my front facing camera failed, requiring replacement with ~8k miles and disabled the Smart City Braking System (SCBS) :(. Now, I don't see that as a huge problem as it was replaced under warranty and wasn't related to a major component that would stop it from going 100k miles plus, but would show up on stats to the negative. Perhaps others have had some electronic issues with more and more being added, but then all cars should get dinged for these safety features as well?
 
#33 ·
I had a leased 2016 6 Station wagon diesel with 150 HK and 380Nm. and an Automatic. In three years I drove 155,000 Kilometres which is about 95K miles, mostly Motorway, including German autobahns with no speed limits. My average mpg over the whole period was 38 mpg.
After a long session through Germany one evening with no traffic where I covered 500 miles in under 6 hours including a stop to tank up. The mpg fell to 31.7.
The only repairs apart from normal service was a sensor on the exhaust manifold that was apparently blocked by all the bio material in the diesel fuel. This caused the motor management to throw a fit. the instrument panel went into disco mode, with all lights blinking and the gearbox refused to change gear. This happened about three weeks before I was due to return the car.
I now have a 2017.5 diesel with 175Hk and 420 Nm it is noticeably quicker. I have had it for six months and drive about 26K kilometres. It's mpg from new to now is... 38mpg the same as the lower tuned version
 
#35 ·
Self reported as opposed to what? Taking every vehicle on a 200,000 mile test drive yourself?

CR has been around for many decades and has always been the golf standard. If they were accepting kickbacks, don't you think SOME ONE would have reported it by now? JD power taking money is common knowledge; car makers have to pay them to receive credit for their awards. But no one has accused CR of this except for pessimistic people pulling unsupported accusations out of nowhere.
 
#38 · (Edited)
Consumer Reports rates Toyota and Lexus very high and recommends almost all of their models.


Honda and especially Acura have dropped a lot from 5 years ago.

Mazda has good scores with the 3 & 6, CX-9 is still below average.
The Toyota myth lol

The biggest myth in the automotive industry. Maybe this was true back in the 80s, not anymore.

This is one of the many reasons why consumerreports shouldn't be trusted. They include Toyota always on their top lists, just to seem relevant and that they know what they're recommending, otherwise, nobody would trust them. They are feeding off the myth and giving the food to you already chewed.

Notice how brands like Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, among others, are always low on their list. Every now and then they will put a less popular brands up in there for variety.

Worst part is most people are sheep and repeat this myth without any basis to back it up except. All the Toyotas I've seen never had any problems. You cannot kill a Toyota. Trust me, you can kill it.

Toyota hasn't produced anything relevant since the 90s and their new designs prove this. They are living off a myth from the 80s while companies like Kia and Hyundai are probably just as reliable as they are right now.

Let's not forget the fact that many, if not most Toyotas are not even made in Japan.


This is a myth that will not die any time soon.
 
#39 ·
Statistics is like a bikini, it reveals everything but conceals the vital thing. That is was CR ranking does. Lumping together a maufacturer's all models of all years all kinds of problems from nits like window stripping came off to biggies like transmission/engine failure and producing a number out of it is wide off the mark, just does'nt tell the story. I had my colleague's Lexus 350 transmission go bad barely 2k miles after the warranty was up.

Secondly statistics based on self reporting is highly inaccurate. Its basic assumption is car owners of every brand report issues to CR with equal uniformity, which is so far fetched.
 
#40 · (Edited)
What's not to say that many car owners are affiliated with certain brands that have an agenda to push it to the top of the list?

How does CR obtain this data? Surveys, there is no other explanation.

What's not to say that certain car manufacturers don't pay consumers to positively report on these surveys?

CR may not be receiving money, but brands may be bribing consumers to leave positive reviews.

CR is one of the biggest ripoffs there are. You're paying for a membership just to read what some biased average person filled out in some survey. The average person sucks and doesn't know shit about cars.

If you need to pay or read these reports just to make sure you buy a "reliable" car, then I have some bad news.

You don't anything else but some common sense and make sure you buy from a proper dealer, ideally a new car or certified used with warranty left.

But then again, the average person only buys cars for point A to B. They want an affordable car, that last the longest, that gives the highest mpg, while never breaking down and doing little to no maintenance and all in all while spending little to nothing

Not gonna happen Jeff.
 
#41 · (Edited)
What's not to say that many car owners are not affiliated with certain brands that have an agenda to push it to the top of the list?


How does CR obtain this data? Surveys, there is no other explanations.


What's not to say that certain car manufacturers don't pay consumer to positively report on these surveys?
Because in the many decades they have been doing this, no one has come out and said that CR is skewing the results. No one from any car makers corporate offices have come out and said it. This isn't some conspiracy.

And anyone who thinks Toyota's legendary reliability is a myth clearly has never owned a Toyota long-term. They invented lean manufacturing. They perfected six sigma. They still keep up with those methods, and will always do so. They are the best in the industry by a wide margin, and have been for almost 40 years. Next time you see a tow truck driver, ask him how many Toyota vehicles he has towed due to them breaking down. Don't be surprised when the number is equal to or close to zero. Toyotas don't break down. They keep going until they get totaled in an accident, or junked because someone wanted a new one. I had a Toyota Camry for 15 years. Drove it 180,000 miles. Never changed any fluids besides the oil, ever. Drove it 10 miles without oil once. I treated it like crap for a long time. Got it up to 130 mph once because I was a stupid kid. My total repair bill for that car over 15 years was about $500. Got rid of it because I messed the bumper up and wanted something new it still ran perfectly.

Other cars can be reliable as well. But no one hits a home run nearly as often as Toyota.

But honestly, feel free to believe what you want. The more people that think Toyotas are unicorns, the cheaper my next used Toyota will be.
 
#42 · (Edited)
You can 'kill' a Toyota same as anything else. We're living in the 21st century, any one of the major manufacturers can produce a vehicle that you can kill.

What really bothers me is that Toyota is succeeding in dismantling the US auto industry and they're relying on the stupid American consumer in order to do it. How embarrassing (for us as a nation) and you know they think of us as complete fools as a result.

If Toyota or Nissan was better than Ford or Dodge, then why on earth do almost all of our law enforcements depend on a ford product ( Police Interceptor) to protect our streets, highways, schools... Why are 80% of our ambulances stamped with a Ford logo... if these products were unreliable then why do the people that we put the safety of our lives into their hands depend on and put their lives into the hands of a Ford/Dodge?

As far as mileage goes, start inspecting the odometer readings on the bazillions of crown victoria cabs and squad cars that dot the landscape. Putting down huge mileage is critical to the guys that own and operate those cabs as a business

Fact of the matter is though Japan is trying its best to drive Detroit into the ground and relying on the aid of the American consumer in order to do it.

I find it disturbing, but not unexpected, that many people that have children don't have the modicum of intelligence to realize that without American industry and American made products their progeny will have a service job at McDonalds for a future. But a large number of American's are in fact stupid and will believe anything to the point of idiocy
 
#43 ·
Fact of the matter is though Japan is trying its best to drive Detroit into the ground and relying on the aid of the American consumer in order to do it.

I find it disturbing, but not unexpected, that many people that have children don't have the modicum of intelligence to realize that without American industry and American made products their progeny will have a service job at McDonalds for a future. But a large number of American's are in fact stupid and will believe anything to the point of idiocy
So this begs the question why did you buy a Mazda and not an American made vehicle? Or do you not actually own a Mazda?
 
#47 ·
If you do not get 200K+ miles out of a 1998+ OBD II based car of pretty much ANY brand then you did something wrong.


My 2004 6 has 270K KM+ on it and it runs beautifully, never any noises. My only issue is rust, and even considering I live in the heart of Saltlandia, the rust is minimal.



Toyota has high ratings because they likely sell 10 Toyotas for every single Mazda. Same for GM, high ratings because of high volume.


Mustangs are extremely reliable. BMW's and Mercedes are the MOST reliable cars on the planet for the first 100K miles. They eat themselves quickly with HEAVY maintenance costs after 100K miles.


Drive what makes you happy, the best possible way to own a car is no payments. I own all my junkers, I fix them myself. I guarantee my costs are 1/3 or less of almost anyone around here because of this. The more sweat equity the cheaper to run it.
 
#48 ·
If you do not get 200K+ miles out of a 1998+ OBD II based car of pretty much ANY brand then you did something wrong./QUOTE]


Nice blanket statement, have mentioned this a few times already. There are bad vehicles out there, what could I have done differently to my bought new 2001 Impala that had the transmission planetary gear fail at 35K miles? Past 5 year power train warranty, why pay $3800 to have it replaced, I dumped it.
 
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