You just hit the nail or that's it in a nutshell. Information that does not apply to your VIN and we see this so often on forums. The other fact is members that are reading them only read and respond wo the part THEY THINK applies to their vehicle Very few read let alone understand the complete "TECNICAL" document. I am sure these are also practicing if not full hypochondriacs in the real world. LOL

I know you read and follow my responses than you will see I often recommend that when a member feels that there may be a problem to go to a dealer get it check and have that information logged with thier VIN in case something actually does happen then they are covered. BTW while it is not posted much on forums those that do this often times even when they go out of warranty will get at least partially if not 100% covered. However, this only works if on the TSB your VIN is listed or specific model and years and that is in the listed effected on the TSB. Not a random TSB with people thinking that the TSB applies to them. In which case it is extremely doubtful the service check would get entered specially on the VIN as such but coded as a customer concern only and nonspecific findings. I should also mention that dealers are fully in their right as a private business to CHARGE a customer for that service that is not under the service agreement warranty and service terms agreed to when you purchased the vehicle. (Health care professionals will still charge for examination even if nothing was found wrong with you as does many automotive service shops. Read the service information before your sign!)) So better be carefully tossing around TSBs you really don't understand their full content. LOL

Its called CRY WOLF In English, the phrase “cry wolf” originates from the fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” It means to give a false alarm or to constantly warn others about an imagined threat, resulting in people not believing you when a real threat eventually arises1. Essentially, if you cry wolf too often, others may stop taking your warnings seriously when you genuinely need help2. It’s a cautionary tale about the consequences of dishonesty and exaggeration.

 

What you said above has NOTHING to do with what I said. It should be obvious if one is looking at a TSB to see what model, year and VIN's it applies to so that they know it is applicable to their car. This is on the person reading the TSB. This in no way implies an owner shouldn't have access to read the TSB and see what it contains. As I said previously, knowledge is power and having a TSB which applies to your car can be quite useful when a dealer tells you what you are experiencing is normal, or that they "have never heard of the issue". When you pull the TSB out, or mention the number to them to investigate, it can be quite helpful in my experience. If you don't have the info, it's your word against the dealers, and we all know how that turns out...

 

ROLMAO

It obvious you really have no clue how the world of dealerships works.

You still do not understand the concept that dealership is independent business do you. LOL

I suggest you for sheets and giggles apply for a dealership license and then for the fun of it pick an auto manufacture and apply for a contract with them to sell their vehicles. Then after you have gotten the real world experience return with more educated responses instead of the obvious armchair worrier that you are. LOL

One more.....LOL

 

Thank you, and I apologize for the late reply. I really appreciate your insight as this is not a trivial repair. I am now at 76,000 miles, still under warranty, and believe I may now have some indications. And, no, I did not change my driving habits. I’ve been careful to watch the temp gauge, though, given how this failure mode might exhibit itself and have noticed a slow but steady creep upwards in the “steady state” temperature (ie., temp once warmed up). I bought from Harbor Freight a simple combustion leak detector too see if the head gasket was blown. It was hard to do the test because the coolant kept rising and almost spilling out so I had no results. You need about 2 inches between the intake of the tester and the coolant to get the gases into the tester. When I looked at the coolant overflow recovery tank I noticed the tank was way overfilled and I know I have never added any coolant to make it that way. Then I noticed there was evidence of coolant actually flowing out of the recovery tank (dry coolant residue below where the overflow tube is) so it must be overfilling and I’m losing coolant and that’s why the engine coolant temperature is slowly rising. The engine runs fine, no misfires or rough idle, and the coolant actually looks brand new - no contamination. While this could be a simple radiator cap issue, I doubt it at 76,000 miles. Nevertheless, I’m going to replace the radiator cap and keep a sharp eye on the coolant recovery tank level. If there is anyone out there who experienced the cracked block and also noticed preliminary indications, I would appreciate hearing about the specifics. All I’ve read is when people experienced catastrophic failure due to a blown head gasket. Many of us now have the benefit of knowing this could happen so we are paying close attention to that temp gauge. Again, I really appreciate this forum and all of the advice.

 

You had noted earlier you had a service contract/extended warranty on your vehicle to 100,000 miles. Why not take it to the dealer with your concern so an experienced tech can evaluate the vehicle?

 

Try to repeat the coolant test. If you are having trouble have a shop do the test for you. In your area if you supply the test kit it is about 100 labor.
If you are failing at performing the test it also may be the brand you are using. I have seen some questionable coolant test kits on the market .
I recommend a BT-500. You can get at many general auto parts stores as well Amazon. I have used this brand and type for decades both on my shops and personal use.

 

Thank you, Callisto. Well, since this last message and especially after the last 160 mile drive in 114 degree weather here in California I am now seeing antifreeze on the garage floor in the area where the engine compartment firewall is, where the back side of the engine is and not where the antifreeze reservoir is. If I recall, the engine block/head gasket issue has been reported on the back side and is hard to see looking from the top of the engine. No severe (or any) engine overheating yet, but the thermostat continues to very slowly rise at steady state conditions. So, per ondersma80’s advice, maybe it’s time to just take it in to be tested/inspected. I was hesitating because if I became somewhat confident I was now experiencing the well documented issue, I wanted to take it to a place where they’ve done many of these long block replacements before. As you all have been saying, this may not be an overwhelming issue but isolated to a few unlucky VINs. I just don’t want to be the first long block replacement a dealer has done so I’m going to call around tomorrow to dealers within a 30 - 50 mile range to see how much experience they’ve had. Fortunately, one dealer is 2 miles away, here in Valencia, CA, and there’s another one in close by San Fernando Valley, which I suspect would get a lot more business. My question to you is, if you had to replace a long block and, hence, know that all accessories will have to be removed and reinstalled, would you replace anything like the turbo charger, water pump, engine mounts, etc.? I’ve babied this car with the best oil (synthetic) and timely changes given what I’ve read about turbo’s being sensitive to poor oil. Regardless, bearings are always prone to wear over time. Honestly, I don’t know precisely what all a long block would have in terms of components. My vehicle has 76,000 miles. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

If you got a bad engine, it wouldn't matter how well you took care of it. Just a matter of time until the crack surfaced.

 

To answer your question and make a comment.... NO there is no dealership in ca that has done a number of these.
And as for parts or additional parts to be replaced, they would be at your experience not covered under the warranty both parts and labor. All dealerships are only going to cover the exact stated parts on the TSB. Any other part that they may find will need to either be approved by MNAZDA direct or the dealership will replace them and submit the additional parts and labor cost to MAZDA Corp and hopefully get reimbursed.

The service is actually a very simple one and does not require to much experience. it is simply removing and replacing parts. Its is time consuming labor wise but on the scale of 1-10 for difficulty about a 2.
I sincerely doubt that any dealership is going to assign their top Auto technician to do this service.

 

Thank you very much for your advice, Callisto. Glad to hear this is more on the lower risk side, just time consuming. Yeah, I assumed I would pay for any extras I would request at my discretion so my focus would be on zeroing out any typical wear out component I would not be inclined to replace myself in the future because I usually take very good care of my vehicles and own them to 250 - 300 K miles. I’ll do the water pump, for sure, and will do some research on Turbo and associated component longevity, a technology that is new to me in terms of understanding typical failure modes and life, and maybe I’ll do a quick glance at the history of TSBs. Thanks again, and I’ll keep you all updated on anything that may be of benefit as I navigate through this unusual fix.