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First time Mazda owner/New forum member

2K views 23 replies 7 participants last post by  zero_gravity 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

As I understand it is considered courtesy if new members introduce themselves, here goes:

I bought a Mazda 3 2.0 Skyactiv 'Sport' in Snowflake white pearl a few months ago.
I imported the car from Germany to the Netherlands (saved a few bucks), with some nice options and a low mileage (20.000 miles).
Some of the options, which I REALLY enjoy so far are:
  • full LED headlights (gives plenty of light during the winter days)
  • heated steering wheel and seats
  • the color 'Snowflake white pearl', amazing color in direct sunlight!
  • Head up Display - I was quite skeptical in the beginning because to me it looks a bit odd to have an actual HUD opposed to the info being projected on the windscreen, but I start to like it more every time I drive the car.
  • Apple CarPlay - The car wasn't equipped with it, so I had the dealership install it a few days after I received the car.

Having owned mainly German brand cars like the Audi A3 (2011) and VW Golf (2013), and many VW Polo's I needed some time to get used to the 'Japanese way' of designing and building cars (although I am not exactly sure where this specific car was actually built).

Hopefully I bought a more reliable car then then the latter ones, we'll see :).

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#2 ·
Hi everyone,

As I understand it is considered courtesy if new members introduce themselves, here goes:

I bought a Mazda 3 2.0 Skyactiv 'Sport' in Snowflake white pearl a few months ago.
I imported the car from Germany to the Netherlands (saved a few bucks), with some nice options and a low mileage (20.000 miles).
Some of the options, which I REALLY enjoy so far are:
  • full LED headlights (gives plenty of light during the winter days)
  • heated steering wheel and seats
  • the color 'Snowflake white pearl', amazing color in direct sunlight!
  • Head up Display - I was quite skeptical in the beginning because to me it looks a bit odd to have an actual HUD opposed to the info being projected on the windscreen, but I start to like it more every time I drive the car.
  • Apple CarPlay - The car wasn't equipped with it, so I had the dealership install it a few days after I received the car.

Having owned mainly German brand cars like the Audi A3 (2011) and VW Golf (2013), and many VW Polo's I needed some time to get used to the 'Japanese way' of designing and building cars (although I am not exactly sure where this specific car was actually built).

Hopefully I bought a more reliable car then then the latter ones, we'll see :).

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View attachment 280223
Congratulations and welcome!
She’s a beauty.
Also, I have a few gaming buddies in the Netherlands. Unrelated, but you seem like a good bunch. 🙃
I think with the 2.0 and FWD you will definitely have some adjusting to do. But as far as reliability you made a better choice.
 
#4 ·
Hi there! Welcome! :) Is there anything you don't like about the car? :)

I have a 2017 Mazda 3 2.5, top grade in my country (called Astina) bought brand new and it has been very reliable. Currently at 50 000km. Many owners on this forum report the same reliability for this generation of Mazda3. The gen4 has quite a few recalls since its introduction....but still think its reliable.

The best way to find out about a topic is usually to use the search function before posting a new thread (since the answers may likely already exist).

Have fun! Its a great car. I have done many modifications to make it "my car" and better than it came from the factory.
 
#7 ·
Always interesting to see that the higher output engines aren’t sold in the EU, like the 2.5 in the Mazda 3... due to emissions probably?
Do your modifications include lowering of the car? I’m currently looking for the possibility of doing that without giving up too much comfort :).
 
#5 ·
Yes it's true that these cars have had several recalls and a lot of TSBs but so have others. The good news is that they've all been minor problems. Mazda has done a good job of fixing the problems so it's hard to complain.

I was affected by two recalls. One was the spare tire was under inflated. Well that's not much of a problem, put some air in it. The second was the coolant mix might not be correct so I got a free flush. The only big one I can think of was the faulty fuel valves. Media went nuts because it 'could cause a fire'. Reality, it wasn't Mazda's fault. It was the company that was contracted to build that part had a bad production run. Very few had the faulty valve and not a single fire or failure occured. Mazda stepped up and replaced these with an aggressive recall campaign.

I can think of a few other manufacturers that would have tried to ignore it...the infamous Ford Pinto equation comes to mind.
 
#8 ·
Yes it's true that these cars have had several recalls and a lot of TSBs but so have others. The good news is that they've all been minor problems. Mazda has done a good job of fixing the problems so it's hard to complain.

I was affected by two recalls. One was the spare tire was under inflated. Well that's not much of a problem, put some air in it. The second was the coolant mix might not be correct so I got a free flush. The only big one I can think of was the faulty fuel valves. Media went nuts because it 'could cause a fire'. Reality, it wasn't Mazda's fault. It was the company that was contracted to build that part had a bad production run. Very few had the faulty valve and not a single fire or failure occured. Mazda stepped up and replaced these with an aggressive recall campaign.

I can think of a few other manufacturers that would have tried to ignore it...the infamous Ford Pinto equation comes to mind.
I wasn’t aware of the TSB for the faulty fuel lines, I will definitely check it out! I see that there is plenty of knowledge on this forum, happy that I’m a member.

The only TSB I was aware of was one for faulty strut bearings, since mine are making noise already under certain circumstances. Unfortunately there isn’t any kind of warranty (not even after only 22000 miles) so I will probably fix it myself!
 
#11 ·
Welcome !
 
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