I'm new to this forum so hello to anyone for reading my thread.

I'm having a number of issues with my 323F (1.5 1998 petrol, manual). It seems to be very jumpy and hesitant in 2nd to 3rd gear (and sometimes 3rd to 4th). I've had the spark plugs changed, the engine flushed out and it's had a full service only 3 months ago. Current mileage is only 70,000 miles.

All of this is causing it to use a lot of fuel. I'm getting about 25 miles to the gallon locally and about 30 on the motorway. The book is showing about 25% more.

I'm thinking of replacing the ignition HT leads. Not sure if it will help but it's my last resort.

Any other useful ideas would be most welcome.

 

Try going to this thread by Adam S dated 04-13-2009, 10:30 AM on the Protege forum and follow it through for some TLC things to do before you go on a buying spree. Additionally, for your info, the resistance of your HT leads should be between about 2000 to 8000 ohms, and the outer insulation should be crack free.
Once you've done this, an Mazda dealer OBD readout (with delivered hard copy) might be advisable.

 

Thanks for that oldeng. It was a good read. Now, weather permitting I'll have a look at those pipes and see if I can notice any leaks.

 

I couldn't find any leaks. Also, this problem is intermittent. Probably happens about 80% of the time when driving in 2nd or 3rd gear.