Can you recommend a good warranty shop in San Diego?

[eluviis]

Mainly for Brian, or others in the know, in San Diego.

I confirmed that my 2011 MX5 with 3,800 miles has some tranny noises that might be the pilot or throwout bearings. It's a rattle that occurs between 1,800-2,200 revs in most gears. You can read more about it here:

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=467199

Now it sounds like my transmission will have to be dropped in order to get it fixed. I can take it straight to the dealer I bought the car from (Bob Baker Mazda in Carlsbad) - But I was wondering if there is a particular Mazda warranty shop in San Diego area (or even LA) that you guys can fully recommend.

I consider dropping the tranny quite a bit of a job, so I want to make sure the people doing it are good and will get it right the first time.

By the way... I didn't break the tranny. It's been doing this since day 1. All my cars have been manuals.

[Brian]

My preference is Mazda of Escondido.

[jboemler]

Don't sweat too much, Danny. The transmission R&R is pretty easy on these cars. Good luck with the fix.

[eluviis]

@Brian, thanks... I'm going to give them a call now. @Jim, I figured it wouldn't be too hard. They might have to drop the transmission to access the clutch (it's where I'm guessing the problem lies), but it's not like they have to take the actual tranny apart.

[jboemler]

The dealer would probably never take the transmission apart regardless -- more likely just replace with a new unit if required. If they don't find anything wrong inside the clutch housing, that's probably what they'll do.

[eluviis]

Well, I called Escondido a couple of times and wasn't able to get a hold of the service manager. During that time Bob Baker Mazda in Carlsbad (where I bought the car) called me and were really nice to me. The conversation went well so I went ahead and scheduled and appointment for 7:30am.

They say that Mazda sometimes will send a tech from Irvine when the problem on a new car is a drivetrain problem. They say they take it really seriously and they find those to be very rare. Dunno if they are just trying to make me feel good or not, ha, but at least it was reassuring.

Nice thing is, the noise happens all the time, so it's easy to replicate. It's not like it won't do it tomorrow morning. So I'll report back later when I have more info.

[eluviis]

So, I just heard back from dealer about my car.

Basically, both the dealer and Mazda corporate are on the fence on what to do. They can tell that there is a noise and they have compared it to another car. They tell me that since the noise is minimal, they don't really want to drop the transmission and prod in there if they don't know what they are looking for or what they are replacing.

They tell me to continue driving the car and if an issue or a fix is discovered they'll take care of it later. Or if it gets worse, then they'll drop the transmission and look for the problem.

I do understand their position of not wanting to take the transmission down for a little noise. The car drives fine otherwise. Of course, I'd rather the transmission not be dropped. However, at the same time, after having driven another car and confirmed that it's smooth and quiet when pulling away from stop lights and driving through parking lots, I really would like my car to be like that. So it's a little disappointing having to drive away from the dealership without this small issue fixed. It hasn't been so terrible that I haven't been able to live with it, but it's obviously been enough of a concern to have been a nuisance and a bit of an embarrassment when I have passengers aboard that ask me "what's that noise?"

In fact, my wife test drove a Golf Gti the other day and said, "I like this one better. It's easier to drive and does not make those scary rattly noises yours does. I feel more confident driving it this stick."

But I guess that at this point, it is what it is. At least it's documented and I can carry on with the case in the future.

[jboemler]

"It is what it is" is pretty unsatisfying, though. I'd say go flog the hell out of it. Maybe it wears in, maybe you decide the low RPMs aren't as interesting as they are now, maybe it gets worse or fails entirely. Regardless, you win. But having it in the back of your mind forever just isn't good.

[eluviis]

^^^ Thanks for the advice. Not forever, just until I figure out my next move. But right this second, I can't just ask them to drop the transmission and poke around.

I drive spiritedly and have fun with the car. No question there.

But the bottom line is, when I'm pulling out of a parking lot, a stoplight, in heavy traffic, or driving in my neighborhood or on the way to the shops, or by the beach, or with my mum in the car, you are going slow. There are plenty of situations where you HAVE to go slow. I don't want a rattle coming from my drivetrain in those situations.

BTW, funny you say that Jim. The tech tried to tell me the same thing. To which I ask, "How are you going to drive through this parking lot full of brand new cars? At 4,000 RPM?"

He was driving at a little over 2,000 at the time, just like anyone would in an unsafe situation. Of course the noise was there.

[jboemler]

BTW, funny you say that Jim. The tech tried to tell me the same thing. To which I ask, "How are you going to drive through this parking lot full of brand new cars? At 4,000 RPM?"

Downshift into second!

[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.

[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.

[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]

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

[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! Ugh