2018 Mazda 3 Intermitten Acceleration Failure
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 10,334
Likes: 198
From: Northern California
The brake system WARRANTY, depends on which parts. Brake pads and rotors are normal wear and tear not covered at your milage. The brake electronic and ABS,SRS etc, goes under the drivetrain section of the WARRANTY and should be 100K or 7 years. But don't hold me to that exact number?
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Muskoka
This similar issue is happening to me now!
Hey all, I'm new here and have a very odd issue with my 2018 Mazda 3 (56,000 mi). The Senior mechanic at the Mazda dealership mentioned that he has never seen anything like this before and I'd like to see if anyone here may know what is going on because I really don't want to have to dish out a bunch of money testing out what could be wrong.
The issue:
When accelerating in cold ambient temperatures the vehicle's acceleration sporadically disengages. This can happen a few times during a 20 minute drive and speed does not play a factor. I tested in both normal and speed modes and it happens in both. The only way to re-engage the acceleration is to release foot from accelerator and press down again. The concern is when entering a highway or changing lanes where every second counts when expecting the car to accelerate.
This issue only became a problem after I serviced my vehicle at a Mazda service center. In winter 2022 I brought my car to the Mazda service center for an oil, brake flush, and front brake change. They recommended me to replace my engine and cabin air filters as well since the mechanic mentioned that they were very dirty, which I agreed to replace. The following week the car began to have this sporadic acceleration loss issue and I quickly returned it to Mazda. I explained that I did not have this issue before bringing it to them and they told me that I couldn't prove that and didn't believe me that I had this issue. After speaking to their senior mechanic, he asked to test drive my vehicle, which I accepted and the issue happened to him. He was shocked to see the issue since there was no warning messages. He mentioned that it could be the mass airflow sensor having a particle from replacing the dirty engine filter, but wasn't convinced since that should return a warning message. He then thought it could be an issue with the throttle bottle getting stuck closed. He offered to briefly clean my throttle body for free, which he did and took 2 minutes doing so. The issue seemed to go away, but did occur once more a week after that. This was also when the weather was starting to warm up again into spring.
Did not have this issue all spring, summer and fall until temperatures starting dropping below 40*F. So I am convinced that the cold temperatures if affecting this issue. I did have to replace my spark plugs and ignition coils at approx. 54,000 miles which seemed early since their life expectancy is about 75,000. This could have been related, but was fixed in the summer. There was no acceleration loss during that time, just the normal misfiring from a bad ignition coil. I always let my car heat up in the morning too, and the car operates perfectly except this issue.
My questions:
How could a throttle body get stuck when it's supposed to be open when the accelerator is pressed? I personally don't think this is an issue with the throttle body, but a sensor/computer issue that is telling the throttle body to shut when it shouldn't.
Would a faulty mass airflow sensor cause this issue without showing an error message? PV=NRT. I know that in colder temperatures airflow is decreased.
Are there any other sensors that would be affected by cold temperatures or would cut the acceleration?
Is there something I may be missing? I am mostly looking at the airflow side, could there be an issue with gas delivery to combustion chamber in cold temperatures?
TLDR: Acceleration loss happens sporadically in colder temperatures. The only way to re-engage is to release and re-engage the accelerator. Please help.
I appreciate any feedback and discussion.
The issue:
When accelerating in cold ambient temperatures the vehicle's acceleration sporadically disengages. This can happen a few times during a 20 minute drive and speed does not play a factor. I tested in both normal and speed modes and it happens in both. The only way to re-engage the acceleration is to release foot from accelerator and press down again. The concern is when entering a highway or changing lanes where every second counts when expecting the car to accelerate.
This issue only became a problem after I serviced my vehicle at a Mazda service center. In winter 2022 I brought my car to the Mazda service center for an oil, brake flush, and front brake change. They recommended me to replace my engine and cabin air filters as well since the mechanic mentioned that they were very dirty, which I agreed to replace. The following week the car began to have this sporadic acceleration loss issue and I quickly returned it to Mazda. I explained that I did not have this issue before bringing it to them and they told me that I couldn't prove that and didn't believe me that I had this issue. After speaking to their senior mechanic, he asked to test drive my vehicle, which I accepted and the issue happened to him. He was shocked to see the issue since there was no warning messages. He mentioned that it could be the mass airflow sensor having a particle from replacing the dirty engine filter, but wasn't convinced since that should return a warning message. He then thought it could be an issue with the throttle bottle getting stuck closed. He offered to briefly clean my throttle body for free, which he did and took 2 minutes doing so. The issue seemed to go away, but did occur once more a week after that. This was also when the weather was starting to warm up again into spring.
Did not have this issue all spring, summer and fall until temperatures starting dropping below 40*F. So I am convinced that the cold temperatures if affecting this issue. I did have to replace my spark plugs and ignition coils at approx. 54,000 miles which seemed early since their life expectancy is about 75,000. This could have been related, but was fixed in the summer. There was no acceleration loss during that time, just the normal misfiring from a bad ignition coil. I always let my car heat up in the morning too, and the car operates perfectly except this issue.
My questions:
How could a throttle body get stuck when it's supposed to be open when the accelerator is pressed? I personally don't think this is an issue with the throttle body, but a sensor/computer issue that is telling the throttle body to shut when it shouldn't.
Would a faulty mass airflow sensor cause this issue without showing an error message? PV=NRT. I know that in colder temperatures airflow is decreased.
Are there any other sensors that would be affected by cold temperatures or would cut the acceleration?
Is there something I may be missing? I am mostly looking at the airflow side, could there be an issue with gas delivery to combustion chamber in cold temperatures?
TLDR: Acceleration loss happens sporadically in colder temperatures. The only way to re-engage is to release and re-engage the accelerator. Please help.
I appreciate any feedback and discussion.
Intermittently happening, on highway speeds. Sometimes acceleration, sometimes cruising.
it is back at the shop right now to try to figure out why. It has been very cold on and off here when it started happening. But, it has never ever happened b4 - and our weather is line this every winter. The coincidences i see are that it happened after oil changes, services. It has something to do with that procedure somehow, and maybe the cold? Hopefully they will find out today as now my once very reliable mazda, is no longer reliable and scary on the highway!
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Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: NJ
My Issue Resolved
Ever since I got my oil changed a few weeks ago at our local shop, this same issue has been happening to my 2018 mazda 3 gt.
Intermittently happening, on highway speeds. Sometimes acceleration, sometimes cruising.
it is back at the shop right now to try to figure out why. It has been very cold on and off here when it started happening. But, it has never ever happened b4 - and our weather is line this every winter. The coincidences i see are that it happened after oil changes, services. It has something to do with that procedure somehow, and maybe the cold? Hopefully they will find out today as now my once very reliable mazda, is no longer reliable and scary on the highway!
Intermittently happening, on highway speeds. Sometimes acceleration, sometimes cruising.
it is back at the shop right now to try to figure out why. It has been very cold on and off here when it started happening. But, it has never ever happened b4 - and our weather is line this every winter. The coincidences i see are that it happened after oil changes, services. It has something to do with that procedure somehow, and maybe the cold? Hopefully they will find out today as now my once very reliable mazda, is no longer reliable and scary on the highway!
I tried reporting this aa this should be a safety recall, but neither the mechanic or corporate want to deal with it. Only when someone gets hurt or dies will they do anything about it.
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MilleniaMan
Mazda Millenia
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Nov 28, 2013 11:02 AM
