Good evening all, I have a quick question to ask of you all. My girlfriend bought a new-to-her 2006 Mazda 3 a few weeks ago, which still has a few years left on the comprehensive warranty. She lives about 130kms from the nearest dealership that can do warranty work. After having the vehicle for only a few weeks, the Check Engine Light came on and the car started to shake, shudder and hestitate while driving. I have an OBDII code reader, but have not been out to read her codes yet since I live aways away. We obviously need to get the car to the dealership to have it looked at, however they said it was up to us as to whether we want to try to drive it or have it towed. The mazda (canadian) warranty will cover 100kms of towing for a stranded vehicle (she is over that limit by 30 or so kms).

My question is this, should we try to drive/limp it into the dealership to have it looked at or just bite the bullet and get it towed? Im concerned that we may do more damage trying to drive it which may give us warranty issues.

Any insight would be appreciated, does anyone have any idea what this shaking/hestitation might be? The CEL is on constantly, and not flashing which Im told means its not too urgent.

Sorry if I have posted this in the wrong discussion.

-D

-2006 Mazda 3 Sport

 

So ...this is your girlfriend, she's having a problem with her car - but you can't get over there to read the code?

My recommendationis get your butt over there, and check it out in person.

 

I guess I should have mentioned that Im currently working 12 hour night shifts all week and she lives almost two hours away. Its not very practical for me to drive 4 hours in one day and still try to get enough sleep to get through a night shift.

The CEL started blinking though Im told when she tried it a couple hours ago, So thats no good. I called Mazda and they said they would tow it the 150kms to the nearest dealership, so luckily my problem is solved.

 

have a close friend who is somewhat mechanicly inclined to do the following

Step one: Remove plastic battery cover
Step two: Unscrew the pos and neg battery terminals which require a 10mm socket and wait like 5mins
Step three: Put terminals back on, pos first then neg, if u get a little spark for the neg then your good

and if the cel is still on then take it to dealer via towing, i dont know how it works for u guys but i can get free towing as long as its within and certian range.

 

I wouldn't reset the CEL before taking it to the dealer.

Is there a local auto parts store in the town she lives in? I know around me there are tool loaner programs that allow you to borrow the stores OBDII reader. They are so easy to use these days that she should be able to at least pull the codes.

If the dealer says they'll tow it, go that route for sure.

If it isn't making any other noises other than the engine hesitation, my money is on a coil pack gone bad. When they go bad, it's very sudden and engines don't like to run on 3 of 4 cylinders.

 

I had a coil go bad on my LS1 Camaro and it would cruise smoothly, but shuttered with even mild acceleration. I'm sure the impact on a 4 cyl would be more significant.

Even if Mazda wouldn't pay the full tow charge, If they cover the hook-up fee and you only pay the mileage for a short distance it should be a reasonable investment in not damaging the car.