If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In the past, that motto has worked for me. Beyond very basic maintenance, I only learned about systems when they broke. My Miata slave clutch slave cylinder had been replaced a couple times when my B2300 slave also went out. Only then did I learn that the stupid slave was internal to the bell housing, and very expensive to replace.
Today I learned the same thing for my Mazda3. I was seeing videos online talking about the PCV valve, recommending replacement at 30,000 miles. I have gone 190,000 without replacing it. So, now I hear that the labor to replace it is $300, because it sits under the intake manifold.
When I am looking for it, I realize that there a lot of other gadgets under the hood that I don’t understand because they haven’t broken. My question is this: I go to a good shop with experienced mechanics. Are all cars similar these days so that they would quickly identify and understand these, or if they do more Volvo’s than Mazda’s, would they be learning on my car. I am asking this in the broader sense than just the PCV.
Not as similar as they were the the 1960s. More like the middle 70s when everyone had their own emissions control features. Things got a bit more common in the 90s but diverged again in tbe early 2000s until now.
I’d be more comfortable with a shop that services Mazdas than one that has mostly Volvos or BMWs waiting for service.
These days? The difference in technology and serviceability between today and 2007 models is quite large. Think of the difference between a 1970 Impala and a 1986. A lot changed/was added in those 16 years, the same is true for 2007 to 2023.
Cars today are exponentially more reliable than they were 30 years ago. And while the basic technology of the internal combustion engine and automatic transmission remains the same, there have been many changes to how we control the systems and how they interact with each other. And each brand is free to develop their own methods. That’s the challenging part, and that’s why indy shops and major chains have trouble keeping up, there’s just so much tech to keep abreast of.
Any shop can replace your pvc valve. But if your car fails to start one day, a mechanic familiar with Mazda will be a better choice for you.
Suggest to ask Mazda owning friends, relative, co-workers which shop they use, then interview each shop and choose from that list. As far spending $300 for a pro-active PCV valve replacement, suggest to defer on that idea until either PCV related symptoms develop, or next time your mechanic has to access that area of the engine. On all of my cars, replacing the PCV valve is a 10 minute job. Even so, I don’t replace PCV’s proactively. Only when it fails the common testing, or a symptom develops.
I’ve been thinking what I should do for my corolla is make some sort of electronic display so I can monitor the car’s functions as I drive
- o2 sensor voltage
- egr temperature
- egr disable signal
- intake air temperature
- throttle-up signal
etc etc
There’s some parts shared with the Volvo S40 since they were developed at the same time on a platform shared between Volvo/Ford/Mazda. Co-worker has an older Mazda3 with 250K on the chassis and a tested and inspected used engine with 90,000mi and a 1yr warranty. New Clutch and flywheel while he was at it. The goal is to put another 100,000 on the car and then figure out what to drive in retirement.
We pulled the shop that serviced the 90 Protoge from 30K to 194K out of the phone book in 1993, 30yrs later they’re still the preferred shop for the 2010 Prius that replaced it along with the other vehicles we’ve had them work on.