I do not know what to do I am so upset at this newer car i was talked into, it cost over 5K to replace first engine I am too afraid to let another mechanic replace second one when I still owe over 5K
The odds of this being the car’s fault is about as close to zero as it can get. This is the fault of the person behind the wheel.
Provide some details about the car and maybe we can help separate the wheat from the chaff.
“Engine blows” usually denotes a lack of oil. So, how often do you check the oil level and is lack of oil what caused this engine blowings?
Im 24 and single first time my fault although was just at jiffy lube a month before and said all fluids topped off and no engine light or any light came on. 2nd time last week fluids checked and filled by my father once a week. With labor first engine was over 6 and tht is a rebuilt with one year warranty. Got mazda after being rear ended in my beloved 4runner. Due to gas prices climbing got talked into this 12K car.
One other thing that could cause an engine to “blow up” to use that phrase is a broken timing belt.
It’s still murky as to what the cause of these engine failures are but it should not be hard to figure out; lack of oil, broken timing belt, etc.
Jiffy Lube being involved kind of raises a red flag though.
Yup, there is a definite “red flag” here with the name of Jiffy Lube being part of the picture.
But, before we speculate any further, the OP needs to give us some hard facts.
Saying that “the engine blew” is like saying that someone died.
How or why did the person die?
How or why did the engine “blow” in each of the two cases?
We need details on both engine catastrophies, as well as the model year and the odometer mileage of the car.
Why don’t you check your own oil? That’s part of owning a car.
Um is this a character check? I am trying to see if anyone else has had problems with a 2004 Mazda 3.
First time it just made a strange noise no check engine light and I took it to my mechanic right away. The second time which was about 10 days ago my dad checked it that morning and I was on my way home and (a week before the check engine light went on and then off the next day)made a bad noise and saw smoke and that is all she wrote.
I’m sorry but that information does not qualify as hard facts.
Please tell us:
The model year of the car.
The odometer mileage of the car.
The maintenance history of the car–in detail.
The diagnosis for the first engine failure.
The diagnosis for the second engine failure.
What type of “strange noise” did you hear before the first engine failure?
What type of “bad noise” did you hear before the second engine failure?
I will do my best. I have had the car less than 2 yrs bought at a dealership with carfax report only had done reg. tune ups w/oil change and had to do roters? that is when my mechanic said this car has def been in an accident. the odometer was in the high 80’s (I dont exactly remember) he went to order a reg rebuilt for a Mazda3 4dr hatchback 2004. Said he could not order a reg. engine he said it was not run of the mill engine had a hard time finding it and it was over 4 just for engine. That is all I know. This time head gasket but my other mechanic said foolish to fix the head gasket best to order new or rebuilt engine. That is all I can tell you. The car was always maintained and not driven hard I just go back and forth to work. I wont even let my brother drive it because he is too rough.
this time 106K
Unfortunately, this car and its many problems will probably remain even more of a mystery to us than it apparently is to you.
My best guess (and we can only guess in the almost total absence of details) is that the first catastrophe was from a snapped timing belt. Since this component is supposed to be replaced on most cars at anywhere from 90k to 105k, we need to know if you ever replaced the timing belt. If not, and if the timing belt snapped, then you only have yourself to blame, unfortunately. This is known as owner negligence.
If–as I surmise–the second catastrophe is head gasket related, we need to know whether the engine was ever overheated.
Do you normally monitor the temperature gauge? On the day of the second engine failure, just before the “bad noise”, was the temperature gauge registering a high temperature?
Was the oil pressure warning light illuminated? Is it possible that the “smoke” was actually steam from an overheated engine? Is it possible that you continued to drive the car while it was overheating? If so, that is also known as owner negligence.
However, all of this is just speculation and projection.
You were there and we were not.
Surely you can fill in at least some of the details alluded to above.
well I have never known anything about timing belts, I never had a gauge show hot or anything out of the norm and that is why I could not understand why if I lost oil why a light did not come on the first time. I always drove 4runners and just maintained them with good mechanics so i thought my mechanic would know what your telling me about the timing belt. I just moved back home due to MS and having to be part time in a chair but even when living on my own I went in for reg things at my mechanics. I was upset to find out it had been in an accident alhough I dont know if that matters. Thank you for your help.
Mazda does not use timing belts on the Mazda 3 model.
The head gasket blown never equals replacing the entire engine unless it was running in an overheated period for an extended period of time or the oil and coolant were mixing.
Find another mechanic’s opinion. A head gasket repair is around $1000-$1500 and no where near the $5k figure.
If you owe $5k get it fixed the cheapest way possible and drive on. I would never spend $5k on a car I owe $5k on with 106k miles that is likely a $6k car.
I wish you the best of luck with the car and MS too. I hope it works out better than the mechanics spouting off think.
I still don’t know what’s been going on with this car at all.
Yes. Unfortunately, both of these catastrophic failures (or whatever they were) are still mysteries to us, based on lack of diagnoses from whoever told the OP that the engines were “blown”.
The first question I have is this:
Is this a Mazdaspeed 3?
Is it the turbo engine?
Now that that question is out of the way, TAKE THE CAR TO A DIFFERENT MECHANIC.
Anyone who says you should replace the whole engine instead of just the head gasket DOES NOT have you best interests at heart.
Finally, never take your car to Jiffy Lube for any reason.
If you need directions, and you’re lost as heck, go somewhere else.
BC.
My point is that if you rely on other people to check your oil, it’s very likely not getting checked as often as it should.
Jiffy lube sort of says it all.