Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Miata Parts, Intakes, Superchargers, Headers, Exhausts, Shocks, Springs, Sway Bars, Brake Kits, Autocross and track mods.
eluviis
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:16 pm
Location: San Diego

Re: Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Post by eluviis »

I noticed something this weekend. I don't ever drive in heavy stop and go traffic. Well, last Saturday I got stuck in traffic for over an hour. It was in a bumper to bumper parking lot on the freeway going South on the 5 towards San Diego.

Well, the rattle was of course driving me nuts, since it's more prevalent and noticeable at low revs. However, I did notice something that might change my theory of it being the transmission or clutch. A couple of times, out of pure boredom, I rev'd the car while I had the clutch depressed. And lo and behold, I could still hear the rattle in some of those instances. It would do it 100% of the time, but half the time. And it was VERY noticeable. Much more so that it was on the service test drive - go figure.

That's when I started thinking... If the rattle almost sounds like a diesel engine, and I just noticed it happens even when the transmission is disengaged... Couldn't it be valve-slap? I'm sure the experts on here could probably figure that one out.

I wonder if there are any Mazda customer service reps that frequent these forums like Ford does on the Mustang forums. Maybe they'll read my threads (mazdatalk and miata.net) and realize I'm not bullshitting them and that there is really something going on with my car.

The explanation the service manager at Bob Baker gave me sounded a lot more polite and detailed than the actual reply from Mazda that's written on paper... That one basically says that what I'm hearing is gears meshing and that there is really nothing wrong with my car. Listen Mazda, this is my very first Mazda, but at least my 8th manual transmission car... I've never even had a used Mazda - and I chose to try you guys out NEW. Not the best time to fail a new customer.
My car: The 1995 RallyWays Miata
eluviis
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:16 pm
Location: San Diego

Re: Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Post by eluviis »

I spent most of the weekend under the car, adding insulation and foam bits to various panels and heat shields that I suspected could be the noise culprits. I even added insulation next to the exhaust manifold's heat shield under the hood. Needless to say, no matter what I did, the noise was still there. I must have jacked the car up at least 5 times and done at least 5 test drives. I concluded it must be the drivetrain and not any harmonic vibrations elsewhere in the car.

Yesterday I had an appointment at Mazda of Escondido. Call it a "second opinion" on my car's drivetrain noise. They were more polite, detailed, thorough and overall more helpful than my visit to the first dealership. They test drove my car and compared it to other cars they had on the lot. They drained a bit of oil out of the tranny to inspect for debris. They said all was well.

They told me that the noise it normal. According to them, they compared it to other Miatas and they said the quietest one was a brand new one they had on the lot. They said that after some miles they start getting noisy because it's a "very aggressive transmission." They said, they had a used one with some miles on it, and when they drove that it, the rattle was even louder.

When I bought my car, it was new, but it already had 40 miles on the clock. Not 15. Maybe that's why it was making that noise from day 1. Given what they say, it sounds like I can expect it to get louder as times goes on. Not sure I like that.

I noticed this weekend, the worst rattle comes in around 2,000 rpm in 2nd gear when driving steadily. Also, when driving in traffic and when pulling away from stop lights and stop signs at normal speeds.

At this point, I'm not sure what to do. I would guess that with all the people here with these cars, if this was really normal, there would be more talk about it since I find it to be quite an annoying noise.
My car: The 1995 RallyWays Miata
jboemler
Posts: 304
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:15 pm
Location: Mukilteo WA

Re: Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Post by jboemler »

25 miles on the clock shouldn't be making a difference -- if it did, the cars would be going downhill fast, and they don't. But people are sensitive to different things, and you may have a particular sensitivity to this noise. Why not have a few other owners swap cars with you for a few miles, so you can hear a "normal" MX5, and they can check out your noise?
Brian
Site Admin
Posts: 11307
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:44 am
Location: San Diego CA
Contact:

Re: Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Post by Brian »

Yeah, bring it down to our next autocross practice event and lots of knowledgeable Miata owners can jump in for a ride....and you might have so much fun you forget about the sound entirely.


http://vimeo.com/12067348
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
eluviis
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:16 pm
Location: San Diego

Re: Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Post by eluviis »

^^^ I will. I see the next one's in August I think. I'm pissed cause I looked at the calendar to attend the next event... I looked at it the Monday or Tuesday AFTER the most recent event a week or two ago! :x Ugh
My car: The 1995 RallyWays Miata
Tonssam
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:47 am

Re: Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Post by Tonssam »

eluviis wrote:I spent most of the weekend under the car, adding insulation and foam bits to various panels and heat shields that I suspected could be the noise culprits. I even added insulation next to the exhaust manifold's heat shield under the hood. Needless to say, no matter what I did, the noise was still there. I must have jacked the car up at least 5 times and done at least 5 test drives. I concluded it must be the drivetrain and not any harmonic vibrations elsewhere in the car.

Yesterday I had an appointment at Mazda of Escondido. Call it a "second opinion" on my car's drivetrain noise. They were more polite, detailed, thorough and overall more helpful than my visit to the first dealership. They test drove my car and compared it to other cars they had on the lot. They drained a bit of oil out of the tranny to inspect for debris. They said all was well.

They told me that the noise it normal. According to them, they compared it to other Miatas and they said the quietest one was a brand new one they had on the lot. They said that after some miles they start getting noisy because it's a "very aggressive transmission." They said, they had a used one with some miles on it, and when they drove that it, the rattle was even louder.

When I bought my car, it was new, but it already had 40 miles on the clock. Not 15. Maybe that's why it was making that noise from day 1. Given what they say, it sounds like I can expect it to get louder as times goes on. Not sure I like that.

I noticed this weekend, the worst rattle comes in around 2,000 rpm in 2nd gear when driving steadily. Also, when driving in traffic and when pulling away from stop led lights and stop signs at normal speeds.

At this point, I'm not sure what to do. I would guess that with all the people here with these cars, if this was really normal, there would be more talk about it since I find it to be quite an annoying noise.


This is very common problem but hard to sort out. I consulted my mechanic and he fixed all my problem especially with lights.
Last edited by Tonssam on Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
eluviis
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:16 pm
Location: San Diego

Re: Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

Post by eluviis »

^^ Somebody told me today that they had their clutch changed and that improved everything. At the same time, I've had enough people tell me their cars do the same thing, so it's fairly normal. I don't like the noise, but if it's normal with these cars I'm not going to stress about it much anymore.
My car: The 1995 RallyWays Miata
Post Reply