I heard a clunking sound (like metal hitting metal) that seemed like it was the suspension. Was driving the car to the dealership using downshifting on curvy road when there was a rattling sound (like screws bouncing) and the engine died. I pulled over and came to a complete stop. Put it in Park and tried to restart, and just heard rattling. Tried to start again and heard nothing. Opened the hood to check the engine oil and the cap broke off. I had it towed the rest of the way to the dealership.

Mechanic notes are the following: No power due to blown positive fuse blown 80 amp starter fuse and car battery failed the load performance test. Replaced car battery and fuse block to continue with further diagnostic. During start up after initial repairs found engine crank very slow indicating internal malfunction to engine block. Pushed vehicle to car lift and manually tested engine crank. Engine does not spin freely. Recommended replacing engine assembly with related parts. When I spoke to the service department about what caused the issue, they said they couldn't determine it without taking the whole engine apart. I asked about the engine oil and if that could've been the culprit (leak or something else) and first they said that the oil dipstick was missing and maybe it broke off into pieces and that's what caused the issue internally. Told them that I tried to check the engine oil and the cap broke off, but this was after the engine was already broken down. Then they said well if the dipstick fell off it would land in the oil pan. They still can't tell me a cause, though I suspect a bearing broke.

Previous maintenance: Regular engine oil and filter changes, air filter changes, tire replacement and alignment, brakes and brake fluid replaced, spark plugs replaced after 75,000 miles

They quoted engine replacement for $6500 and initially told me they would buy the car as a trade-in for $15,000 (which is also the low end of the average price I see it being sold for). I was surprised they would pay that much and confirmed with the salesperson. Then when I go in and start going through financing they tell me they can only buy it from me for $1,500. Unfortunately I still owe $6600 on the loan for this car. So now I'm torn between trying to sell it for parts or replacing the engine and then trying to resell it. Has anyone experienced something similar? This has really put me off of purchasing another Mazda since while the mileage is high, I've owned other cars that I've driven over 200K miles and never had this kind of a problem. I would understand if it was an oil leak or something, but the fact that I can't even get a straight answer about that from them makes me think something's not right. Thanks in advance.

 

One alternative is to buy a used engine and have it installed by an independent shop. You didn't post which engine your vehicle has, but here is one 2.0L engine that I picked out of a list at random. For your location, I'd guess at somewhere around $1000 for the shop to do the install, so that would be added to the price of the engine, for a total of around $1700. It might turn out to be a bit more, ore perhaps even less, but IMO $1700 should be fairly close to the actual. You might also find one or more shops that would source the engine for you, and take care of the entire job for roughly the same amount of $$.

Used 2.0L engine

 

Why did the OP fail to mention how many miles are on his CX? I assume that he purchased it used. Does he know anything about the maintenance done prior to his purchase? Was the CX always in Ca? Was it a flood damaged vehicle? What does CarFax say about it?

The price offered for a used vehicle which doesn’t run will of course be below the normal price range, why would the OP expect to get a running vehicle price for it? KBB shows a range of around $12,000 to $17,000 for a running 2014 CX. He could part it out for more than the $1500 the dealer offered, sounds like a bait-and-switch offer…or the OP misheard the salesman.

 

No, I originally leased it and bought it when the lease ended in 2018 and the mileage is ~110K. It's always been in CA and has no flood damage, no damage that would obviously cause this kind of problem. As for why I couldn't guess that the original offer was a mistake, well I confirmed the offer with the salesperson multiple times. It's quite a large difference to mishear. Her literal words were 'We can offer Fifteen hundred, no wait sorry, Fifteen thousand.' 'Fifteen thousand? Really?' 'Yes' 'Is that if I buy a new Mazda' 'Let me check with my sale manager again.... Yes, that's with purchase of a new vehicle.' Should I have been more skeptical? Probably, but when you're stressed and expecting the worse and they give you good news you want to believe them.

I'm skeptical of everything having to do with that dealership now, because I can't get a straight answer about the cause of the problem. I want to know so that if I do get a replacement, it's not just going to break again - especially if it was something I may have inadvertently caused. Their refusal to tell me anything - even to confirm that it wasn't an oil leak or that the oil was too old - seems disingenuous.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yea, at this point I'm really worried that something like this will happen again if I go with a used engine. I use this car to commute a fairly long distance and don't want to be stuck 50+ miles from home with another seized engine. I'm going to ask for an itemized quote and see if a warranty is included with a new replacement.

 

I don’t blame you for mistrusting that dealer - go elsewhere. From your clarifications it seems there are no obvious reasons for the engine failure - other than high mileage. I don’t know what to expect regarding the average life of an 2.5 engine of that vintage, but most modern engines are expected to last around 200k.

https://www.caranddriver.com/researc...es-a-car-last/