Bought a brand new 2018 Mazda 3 Touring 2.5L on Friday November 16, 2018. It had about 10 miles on the odometer, and I drove it home (about 17 miles). Had it garaged until Sunday and was set to go out to visit family about 7 miles away). Noticed check engine light (engine system malfunction) stayed on, but went off with no driving or handling issues to destination. After 1 hour, started the car and now 4 lights were illuminated with the engine running. Looking up the symbols, there were actually 5 warning guidances: the engine system malfunction, DSC malfunction, TPMS system malfunction, and 2 SCBS malfunction warnings. I turned the engine off and on, but all these lights stayed on. I looked at the hood and almost burned my finger as the engine was super hot. Left it rest for another ½ hour, but all lights remained on. Tried to see how the car would run and realized the engine was not firing properly, and the car was not drivable. As it was a Sunday, I decided to leave the car where it was and call Mazda to arrange a tow to the nearest Mazda dealer.



On Monday morning, I called Mazda telling them this brand new Mazda 3 with 34 miles on it was currently undriveable. After waiting over 2 hours, the tow truck finally came and brought me to the nearest dealership (not the one I purchased the car from) at 12:30pm. They told me they would need to do a diagnostic and not to expect it completed that day. They said there were no available loaners, and no shuttle service to leave the dealer. So I had to taxi my way out of there. The rest of Monday and Tuesday they indicated that they still have not figured out the problem and solution. On Wednesday morning, I went to pick up a loaner car and they indicated they have order a new control unit that should arrive next Monday, and that they hoped that would solve the problem.

So its Friday, November 23rd, now and I am wondering, should I be stuck with this lemon?

Some questions for you all:

Assuming they are ultimately able to fix this new car, what experience do you have to share about negotiating for some compensation: lifetime free oil change? Significant extension of warranty?

This has been extremely frustrating as you can imagine, and my Mazda customer experience may have been permanently tarnished.

Do I have any options to ask for a new vehicle to replace this one even if they are able to fix? I bought this car as a brand new one, but I can’t even consider it a new car anymore as I had it for only a few days and it’s spent more time in the shop and with the mechanic/technician who has been picking and poking at it inside and out.