Hi everyone,
I have an issue with my 2004 Mazda 3 2.3 hatchback that seriously has me baffled. About a month ago I did a tune-up on my car and it ran great for a couple weeks. After that, trying to accelerate from a stop, I almost had to floor the pedal to get it to go. It feels like the engine is under an incredible load. But once above 2000 rpms, it drives great, shifts smooth, no worries.

So far, I've changed the spark plugs and coils. I took off the throttle body and cleaned it and the butterfly valve, replaced my MAF sensor, both o2 sensors, and the fly-by-wire accelerator pedal sensor. It still has an incredibly hard time accelerating from a stop.

Any advice?

 

Soooooooo,


I figured this thing out. The brand new MAF sensor that I purchased from AutoZone is the culprit. I thought back to the last time my car ran fine and it was actually when it threw a CEL code. I grabbed some MAF sensor cleaner and cleaned my original one (I never throw anything away) and reinstalled it. The car never stuttered or hesitated at all. Full blast air conditioning and giving it some serious throttle, this thing didn't act up once.


Word to the wise: Make sure you change MAF sensor with original equipment!! AutoZone sold me their Duralast MAF and it is junk. I should have known better. Hopefully this helps anyone with a similar issue.

 

My MAF went bad early on and I too went to AutoZone for a replacement. It was a Toyota part but even after resetting to code several times it always came back after a few miles.
My car was still under warranty, so I took the culprit back to AZ and the car to the dealer who replaced it once, then again. The first time the code came back after fewer than 25 miles, and that was a factory part. It's been good for years now.. but I am still suspicious of the '04 MAF sensor. 'Not a good feeling.

 

This falls under the heading of, "If it ain't broke, don't mess with it."

 

Dale, My own was in "limp home" mode and I had to do something. Frankly, I always worried about the MAF on mine/these, that it could be a software problem or just a crappy part that is prone to failure. In either case the ECM doesn't seem to have much of a stomach for a MAF that is a little out of spec.