This is my mother's car. It used to be nice. It doesn't age very gracefully from the litany of complaints I found about this car online. Furthermore, there are barely any resources like shop manuals etc to work on this thing.

She gets a constant CEL, sometimes flashing, sometimes disappears. It doesn't start smoothly, it starts rough and idles rough the first time of the day generally. Sometimes when driving the engine stumbles, like a misfire or something. I'm pretty sure an O2 sensor is dead before the cat as well. The butterbox of an auto tranny shifts like it has a sledgehammer hitting it between 1st and 2nd. Etc Etc.

The most pressing problem is this:

When I put the key from ignition to on or whatever the last position is before actually starting the car... I get this... whirring noise? Under the supercharger/manifold area but I can't quite pin point it. It wasn't starting properly (it was clicking), I pulled the ignition fuse, put it back, it barely turned over a few times - didn't click anymore, but the whirring noise is still there. If its a starter motor or something reasonable I'll fix it. If I need to spend 1000 in coils, plugs, and a sensor, then it's time for junkyard life. Any insight?

Bad starter motor?

How do I pull codes on this car. Must you have a tool for it, or can you read them yourself? ie) my Honda flashes the CEL to give me the number I can look up.

Other than the ignition/whirring and a stumbling start/idle and the hard shifts occasionally when driving it's been fine mechanically. It's just the rest of it's falling apart. I would like to keep it drive-able but I have no intention of repairing it fully. I have no intention of taking it to the/a dealership because frankly this forum makes me think this car is a money pit waiting to happen, and it isn't worth it anymore. But none the less, moms needs her ride!

This car is either a fluke or a bad attempt at a luxury car. I've had a lot of mazda's, and they were all reliable and long lasting. This is the first one to ever crap out on me like this before 100k.

 

www.milleniatech.net
This is a good site to check out.

The service manual on this site below says 1996 but the Miller Cycle supercharged is the same from 96-2001 so it would work for you
milleniatech.net - Documentation

You will need a code reader to get the codes or go to Auto zone and have them do it but i would buy one if i were you if you want to tackle this car.

 

you def need to pull the codes. if the cel is on, that means there is a problem, and code(s) are stored. if the lite is flashing, that means dont drive the car, or you can damage the engine. if you do get the codes pulled, DO NOT accept the definition, get the actual code. a misfire is P0300. that is RANDOM miss, which means any or all of the 6 cyls are misfiring. it also can specify which cylinder, P0301 would be cyl #1, 0302 is #2, etc. this is important to know.

when was the last time the plugs were changed? fsm says every 60k, and, not just any plug. the 2.3 uses a platinum tip plug, gap is .7-.8mm(.028-.032). manufacturers instructions on precious metal tipped plugs SPECIFICALLY state DO NOT regap these plugs. if the correct plug is used, it WILL be pre gapped from the factory. to my knowledge, only the ngk 3741 comes with the correct gap. DO NOT heed the parts people at autozone, oreillys, etc., and get crap plugs like iridiums, or some other brand that is NOT gapped, and then re gap them. any plug with -11 at the end of the plug number means the plug is gapped at 1.1mm(.044) WAAAAY too much, and you will kill your coils, and the engine will misfire. changing the plugs on the 2.3 is labor intensive, the front bank is easy, take about 30 min. the rear bank is a pain, take you several hours the first time, and commonly is neglected by shops because of the difficulty. if you take the car to a shop, more than likely, they will only change the front bank, but charge you for all 6. very common.

some other very common codes are 0170/0173, fuel trim malfunction. this means vacuum leak, do a search for tee's. very common. also, 1525/1526/1540, abv circuit/solenoids. however, generally this is accompanied by "limp home(tcs off/tcs lites up on the dash, car will not rev above about 2500) mode".