Hello everyone,
I see a lot of maintence questions so I wanted to make a post to clear a few things up. This is to help with maintence, not repairs. Always make sure to inspect major components everytime you have an oil change performed. All Mazda dealers already do this.
There are 2 different maintence schedules based on how you drive and your location. If you live in heavy humid/hot/extreme cold climates I would use the hard driving schedule.
All of this information can be found by googling Mazda 3 maintence schedule as well. Its out there in .PDF format.

Ok so heres the basics. All Mazda 3 2003-2013
Schedule 1

Oil and filter change every 7,500 miles or 6 months
Tire rotation every 7,500 miles

Cabin Air Filter every 25,000 miles or 2 years

Air Filter 30,000 miles or if dirty

Brake Fluid every 30,000 miles or if dirty

Coolant if FL22 type replace at 120,000 or 10 years. Then every 60,000 miles or 5 years after. If other type replace every 60,000 or 4 years,then every 40,000 after that or 2 years

Spark Plugs replace every 75,000 miles

So thats the items that need to be replaced on schedule. Heres some other things to look for.

Batteries : Where I live,(Houston) batteries do not last much longer than 3 years. Heat and corrosion are your worst enemies here. Every oil change be sure to check the connectors for corrosion. Just keeping that area clean can keep your batteries CCA(cold cranking amps) much longer.

Brakes: This is highly depenant on traffic and how you drive, I have seen brake pads needing to be replace as soon as 20k as long as 80k. Grab a flashlight and make sure you have 3 milimeters at MINIMUM. Being able to stop is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and never overlook this. Also I always recommend OEM brakes with Mazdas because aftermarket pads can squeak from day 1.

Motor Mounts: The factory motor mounts on the 3 are very soft and designed for maximum NVH (Noise Vibration Harshness)reduction. A visual inspection to make sure they are not collapsed only required if your vehicle is riding rougher than normal. In the center is a rubber boot that will look like it is sucked in if collapsed. I had a passenger side go out at 50,000 miles

Suspension: The front suspension comprises MacPherson struts, with coil springs and an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension is a Ford-designed "E-link" multi-link suspension, with four locating links per wheel and an anti-roll bar, suspended on coil springs that are mounted inboard of the shock absorbers to reduce suspension intrusion into the cargo area. You need to do a visual inspection on every oil change to ensure reliability. IMPORTANT! If you make any changes here you will have to do an alignment everytime.

Alignments: You only need to do this if your car is pulling to one side or another. If you make any changes to your suspension you will need to have this done. Making sure your tires are aligned properly will save you money on tires.

Throttlebody and Fuel injector: If your idle is questionable or slow to respond your TB might be sticking or have built up gunk, over time or from using lower quality gasoline can accelerate this. Dealerships sell this as a service with Fuel Injectors cleaned. I have watched techs do this to older cars and it makes me laugh everytime everything gets blown out! I recommend doing this every 30-45k miles depending on how it is running.

Ok I am going to keep adding to this, just wanted to get some basic feedback first. I will go into more detail on what to look for to prevent big problems. Suggestions always welcome!

 

Wow great post! I definitely need to start taking care of my Mazda 3. I look forward to your future posts.

 

My Favorite: CHANGE THE PCV Valve every few years. This is not on Mazda's checklist.
Every few years as well: clean throttle body and MAF sensor, squirt something in to EGR any time intake plenum is removed.
Check your main body ground for corrosion. If you have an extra amplifier for your stereo you will have to add another body ground from negative terminal to body.
Fuel Injector cleaner once in a while and after a few years the lacquer thinner in the fuel tank works (up to 1 gal max with 1/2 tank gas).

 

Kudos, InTehFace!

I think it deserves a sticky!

I don't know how to get "sticky status". In fact I wrote a similar post for the 323 and the Protege. I still hope to get sticky status for them.

 

Thank you, I am going to add in what you said.

 

All Mazda 3's from 2003 - 2013

Air Filter every 37,500 miles / 60,000 kms
Brake Fluid every 2 yrs or 25,000 miles / 40,000kms
Wiper Rubbers every 2yrs or 25,000 miles / 40,000kms
External fuel filter ( if fitted ) every 2 yrs or 25,000 miles / 40,000kms
Pollen filter every 2 yrs or 25,000 miles / 40,000kms
Spark plugs 75,000 miles or 120,000 kms
Non FL22 Coolant ( FL22 = longlife ) ( adding FL22 ) 50,000 miles 80,000kms