Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice

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Sat 24 Nov 2018 10:05
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - catsdad
When servicing and Mot'ing his Mazda 3 in September the main dealer reported a crack in the clutch cylinder. They tooped up the reservoir and said it would be OK for s few months. There were no Mot advisories.

Last night the dash brake light came on and the reservoir needed topped up. The fault cleared. The thing is the Mazda only has one reservoir shared by brake and clutch systems. Probably a common arrangement but not one I had ever considered

I assume a leak in the clutch cylinder can therefore result in brake system failure? If so surely it should have been an advisory or advisedunder the service as an urgent issue. Or is there still a safe degree of separation?

Needless to say it will now get urgent indie attention.

Edited by catsdad on 24/11/2018 at 10:15

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Sat 24 Nov 2018 10:40
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - FiestaOwner

On the fluid reservoir, the pipe which feeds the clutch will come out higher up than the feeds to the brake master cylinder. This means that the clutch circuit would fail, but not the brakes (as you would still have fluid in the reservoir above the feeds for the brake master cylinder).

However as brake fluid is flammable, I wouldn't leave it leaking.

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Sun 25 Nov 2018 17:45
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - Andrew-T

However as brake fluid is flammable, I wouldn't leave it leaking.

Not all brake fluids are flammable; the amount which can leak and catch fire is small, and the source of ignition would need to be very hot to start a fire, so brake failure is much more serious risk. On the plus side, shortage of clutch fluid on a shared-cylinder system gives good warning of imminent brake failure.

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Sat 24 Nov 2018 20:08
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - Engineer Andy

IMHO (as a Mazda car owner for nearly 13 years and a member of a Mazda3 forum) one of the major failings of Mazda (other than their diesel engines) is the very hit and miss (Ford-esque) quality of their UK main dealerships, at least as regards post-sales customer service.

From my own experience and of other Mazda owners forum members (not just the 3), the vast majority are either good or absolutely rubbish, and I think one of the reasons why they don't sell as many cars (even before their diesel woes) as they should, given how nice they look, well they handle and how reliable their petrol engined cars (perhaps RX-8 aside [though partly due to how they're used]) are.

Even two car owners using the same dealership can experience widely varying customer service and quality of maintenance/repairs. The response from Mazda UK (from reading stories about people's bad experiences) has on many occasions been less than stellar as well, sometimes as if they aren't interested at all.

Someone needs to come from Japan and sort out the UK arm's customer service/PR - from gleening experiences from the US, Canada and Down Under, they seem to fair much better in that regard than we do - some of them also get standard 5 year warranties as well.

Edited by Engineer Andy on 24/11/2018 at 20:09

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Sat 24 Nov 2018 21:58
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - catsdad
Thanks for the comments.

I am reassured to an extent by the clutch going first although as you say the fluid is flammable. Also the warning light points to the brakes only - no mention of clutch - so he was a bit concerned when it came on fifty miles from home.

Andy, he has only had the car a bit over a year and its been faultless otherwise so only has this experience of the dealer to date. I do wonder if the dealer was playing it down to avoid a warranty claim.

Anyway off to the indie as the warranty has expired.
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Sun 25 Nov 2018 10:46
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - Falkirk Bairn

Quality of Mazda Dealers.

My experience was mixed -

Arnold Clark - a large chain & on the 2 occasions used did a poor job.

A Glasgow Mazda dealer, no longer in business, taken over by AC were good.

The best was in Falkirk, SDM a family owned firm, they were excellent on a few occasions I used them - 2 x for timing belts & a couple of minor issues - a bit in the expensive side trying to buy a car on 2 occasions - a Nissan & a Toyota.

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Mon 26 Nov 2018 00:04
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - Redcar01

I bought a Mazda 6 new in 2006 great car, never had to talk to dealer except one time rear window wiper motor failed and even that was painful when I changed I didn't buy Mazda

Maybe Mazda need to take notice of customers but saying that I will not by a BMW again which I have now because as long as they have idiots diagnosing issues and computer says no and they have no idea what's wrong........ give me a proper mechanic not a technician who uses a computer

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Tue 27 Nov 2018 09:34
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - Andrew-T

Maybe Mazda need to take notice of customers but saying that I will not by a BMW again which I have now because as long as they have idiots diagnosing issues and computer says no and they have no idea what's wrong........ give me a proper mechanic not a technician who uses a computer

If you have problems with 'improper mechanics', that is not necessarily a reason to write off Mazdas or BMW's. After doing that a few times you may have nowhere else to go. Find another place which has proper mechanics - they may even charge less.

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Mon 26 Nov 2018 14:02
Mazda 3 - Poor (dangerous?) dealer advice - Engineer Andy

Quality of Mazda Dealers.

My experience was mixed -

Arnold Clark - a large chain & on the 2 occasions used did a poor job.

A Glasgow Mazda dealer, no longer in business, taken over by AC were good.

The best was in Falkirk, SDM a family owned firm, they were excellent on a few occasions I used them - 2 x for timing belts & a couple of minor issues - a bit in the expensive side trying to buy a car on 2 occasions - a Nissan & a Toyota.

This tallies with the accounts I've read. The best dealership in my 'region' (a bit of a stretch - its 2hrs drive away - I'm 'sort of' in the East) is Wrights Mazda (another family-owned one for decades) in Norwich. Regularly wins awards for customer service and seemingly very well regarded amongst fellow 3 owners on that forum.

Such owners forums can be a good source of intel, as members are just as likely to say how good a garage/dealership is than dissing the bad ones, as they are there to make their ownership experience better, and being honest about experiences will help everyone. Those few who blow smoke or who troll tend not to last long as word gets around.

Edited by Engineer Andy on 26/11/2018 at 14:03

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