Engine Peoblem

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Hi everyone,

My car was parked in the yard for one month due to vacation travel. Yesterday I drived about 80 miles to SFO to pick up my friends. When close to SFO, soon after some noise coming from the engine it was dead on the road and cannot be restart with all function lights normal (temperature,etc). After towed to a AAA approved car repair center, they found there was no engine oil. However, after adding some engine oil, it still cannot be restarted. Pls give me some suggestion anout the possible problem and the estimates for repair. Thanks a lot.

2

It looks like you have a big problem. I’d say you motor is completely shot and you need to replace it. If your Mazda 6 is only a few years old it might be worth the several thousand dollars this is going to cost. If the car is about 10 years old I think you will need to sell it for salvage parts and buy yourself another car.

3

There are all kinds of problems here. Start with the statement that, “…they found there was NO engine oil.” This statement can be resolved by knowing how much oil was needed to refill the engine. If it was only three quarts, the engine was NOT out of oil. It was LOW on oil.
"…it still cannot be restarted." This condition doesn’t, necessarily, follow not having enough oil. Could this " AAA approved car repair center" not perform any diagnosis? They sound lame, to me. You could use another opinion from another shop.

4

Is it getting gas and spark?

5

Thank you for your advice. This used car is 2003 Mazda 6s. I just bought it in August 2009 at $5000. I donot know if it is deserved to fix.

6

Thanks first.

The car was towed to San Bruno Auto Center near SFO in Friday morning. I am at Davis. So I donot know what is the actual condition of my car. The mechanic called me and said there was no engine oil. After adding some engine oil, it still didnot work. She said there was some noise coming from the engine, and she think something in the engine was damaged and need to open the engine cover to check it, which would cost over $300. I didnot agree to open the engine before I get there to take a look on Monaday.

7

What you have been told is un-specific enough to not really give you (or, us) a clue. You know:

  1. SOME oil was added.
  2. When the engine cranks, there is a noise in the engine.
  3. There is no 3rd clue.
    There is not enough known, by you, to determine anything. Is it really necessary to open up the engine to get any better clues? Maybe. Maybe not. Come Monday, you might have more information, especially, after hearing the engine crank. Take a car savy friend with you.
8

I had the SAME issue with my 2004 Mazda6, 3.0l. Running fine, not burning any oil, and one day just died on the road. Mazda tells me I need a new engine, $6000 for a remanufactured engine from the dealer, closer to $4k using my own mechanic.Unconfimed at this point, but spun bearing/crankshaft is the likely culprit.
I have had extensive communication with Mazda HQ on this, and they deny a pattern of complaints, although there clearly is one. I always did oil changes at less than recommended intervals, used synthetic oil, never red-lined the car.
Mazda made it clear to me in a letter that they would not have covered this even if still in the warranty period, which explains many comments from people losing their engines at less than 40 k (mine had 81k).

The lesson? NEVER BUY ANOTHER MAZDA