I need to take my car this week to Mazda (the car's still under warranty) as it misfires at times, but as it's an intermittent fault they might not detect anything. I was told yesterday by a friend of mine that I might have to PAY if they can't find any fault, I was astounded. Is this true ?
Also, any idea as to what it could be ? (HT leads ? spark-plugs ? the car's just under 3 yrs old and has only covered 25,000 miles)
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I was told yesterday by a friend of mine that I might have to PAY if they can't find any fault, I was astounded. Is this true ?
In short - yes. Diagnostic equipment isn't cheap, neither is a mechanics time. If they find nothing wrong, why should they be at a financial loss? Intermittant faults are the most difficult to rectify.
If they do find anything, more than likely the warranty company will pay. However, if it's a servicable item, such as a dodgy spark plug or HT lead, or even water in the fuel, then they may not.
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I don't see why catalyst should pay, your taking the car to them with a fault, its up to them to find and rectify it. Hopefully something might be logged in the ECU as a fault code, otherwise there should be a set procedure to sort it, perhaps changing components. Even if its a faulty spark plug or lead, I'd still push for them to cover the cost, or at the very least for them to cover the labour. If your car has been serviced or even purchased from them, I'm sure that will help.
The cost of the diags and mechanic is not your problem, your the customer! But I'm sure it won't come to that, Mazda's are very good and so are their dealers in general so I'm sure they would do a good will jesture or something.
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Don't see why a good-will gesture is needed as the car is still under warranty, and has a fault.
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if the car has full dealer service history you shouldn`t have to pay anything towards the cost ,that is what warranty is for. if on the other hand something has been missed at service in another garage for example ,then that would be another story
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Thanks Jimbo, very useful. Yes indeed I bought the car from them, so I'll push for some goodwill as the car is still under warranty.
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I'm sure you won't even need to go that far. If its something like a spark plug hopefully that should be covered, its not "fair wear and tear" for it to cause a misfire unless its perhaps not adjusted correctly, pattern or you've done high mileage. I'm sure you won't have any problems, best get them to check the cat, misfires can "kill" them or at least reduce the effectiveness. How long ago was it last serviced?
Do let us know how you get on...
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Thanks Jimbo, I have just checked on the Summary of Waranty cover and it appears that 'components that are replaced periodically are covered by a limited warranty of only 12 months. This includes spark plugs etc.'
The car is just under 3 yrs old and therefore spark plugs are not covered, I must say I am surprised at that but there you are. Thanks again Jimbo (and all of you) for your advice and suggestions, I will let you know what happens.
P.S= I will ask them to check the 'cat'. The car was serviced 11 months ago.
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Well, in the end, I left the car with them for 5 hrs today, they apparently did all the tests/checks and what have you, but couldn't find anything wrong (the problem is intermittent). Didn't have to argue with them about the cost as they did not charge me anything. I asked them about the cat, the bloke at the desk (not sure how qualified he is mind) just said: 'it only damages the cat if it constantly misfires'. I wonder what it could be then, any suggestions ?
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What car is it (6? 3?) and which engine ?
Does it misfire - or is it more a hesitation ?
Since there are no error codes, I would guess the problem lies on the actuator side of the ECU - coils, HT and plugs.
I would inspect this area (including removing the plugs) and check for any signs of tracking / general damage. If it's just 4 general spark plugs then I'd replace them anyway.
I'd also put the best fuel (optimax/ultimate etc) in until the problem is resolved, even though Mazdas are usually tolerant of poorer fuels.
These problems are very difficult to eliminate - the technician typically has to experience the problem, or find an ECU code - else it's just a parts replacement exercise.
You could ask to talk to the dealer's technician - (s)he may present you with a set of options.
It should be fixed under warranty, but it's worthwhie looking at opther options.
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Agreed, might be worth putting in a new set of plugs and leads, plus get them to change the air filter when its serviced although that might be part of it.
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Didn't have to argue with them about the cost as they did not charge me anything.
Sorry if I mislead you earlier. From past experience of having diagnostic work done and the garage finding nothing, I have had to pay.
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Thanks to everyone who's replied, it's much appreciated. Bizarrely, it's not misfiring anymore but I'll take your suggestions and advice on board, it might happen again !
PS: Dynamic Dave, not to worry, I'm sure dealerships' practises vary enormously from one dealer to another
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