Hi,
I posted all this in New Member forum and thought I better move it here.
I have a 2002 Protege 5, 2.0L that I bought new. It stays in the driveway winter and summer, no garage. Mileage is now 86,000 km, or about 53,000 miles. So it's 90% city driving, about 4500 miles per year. It had all the warranty maintenance as scheduled, and I've continued to take it in to a trusted garage for regular oil changes/checkups.
Only major repair aside from wear and tear was a leaky fuel pump that caused the gas tank to corrode so had to replace both in 2011.
The Problem Started about two years ago. It began to stutter and choke and gasp as you roll to a stop. Also when you're going up to 40-50 km/hr (25 or 30 mph). Sometimes it'll stall outright when idling.
It's intermittent, not consistent. Sometimes it'll go for 4 or 5 months without doing it. Other times it happens multiple times a day.
Happens with full tank or emptier tank.
It has never shown an engine light.
So Far I Have Taken it to Mazda Dealer for diagnosis. Didn't find anything. All they did was set the idle a little higher, which didn't help/hurt.
Replaced the EGR valve. Didn't help.
Replaced the catalytic converter. Didn't help.
I have tried using "water-remover fluid" when I fill the tank. Thought it helped at first, but it doesn't.
Three days ago I replaced the MAF sensor. Car seemed to be peppier, but it's still gagging.
Yesterday (Saturday) I replaced the spark plugs and the PCV valve. Also put in a new battery (unrelated; the old one--the original, I believe--was corroded). Drove it a couple of miles, no problem.
Other Opinions Last week I asked an online "Mazda mechanic" about it (cost $28) and he suggested either the fuel filter (although there are actually two) or the MAF sensor.)
My trusted garage says very unlikely to be the fuel filters because a) they replaced the pump (which contains the filters) in 2011 and b) if it was fuel filters the problem would be consistent, not intermittent.
To Continue It's not the spark plugs. Today (Sunday) I drove out to the airport and it started stumbling and gasping at 60 mph. When I got back into town it actually stalled while I was driving along at 25 mph.
I noticed since I filled the tank three days ago the fuel gauge heading south rather quickly, and today I could smell gas as we were driving. Although not in the driveway. That says fuel pump, no? This problem did start maybe six or eight months after the pump and tank were installed in 2011. The fuel pump was constantly ruled out because it was new and I suppose because there was never any engine light and the diagnostics couldn't find it. If it is the pump, I hope to god it hasn't corroded the tank again.
If it is the pump, do I have any hope of getting some recognition that this installed problem has already cost me a cat con, an egr valve, a MAF sensor, and a diagnostics test trying to fix it? Or am I just gonna have to pay the full cost all over again?
Any advice, ideas much appreciated.
Giles
I posted all this in New Member forum and thought I better move it here.
I have a 2002 Protege 5, 2.0L that I bought new. It stays in the driveway winter and summer, no garage. Mileage is now 86,000 km, or about 53,000 miles. So it's 90% city driving, about 4500 miles per year. It had all the warranty maintenance as scheduled, and I've continued to take it in to a trusted garage for regular oil changes/checkups.
Only major repair aside from wear and tear was a leaky fuel pump that caused the gas tank to corrode so had to replace both in 2011.
The Problem Started about two years ago. It began to stutter and choke and gasp as you roll to a stop. Also when you're going up to 40-50 km/hr (25 or 30 mph). Sometimes it'll stall outright when idling.
It's intermittent, not consistent. Sometimes it'll go for 4 or 5 months without doing it. Other times it happens multiple times a day.
Happens with full tank or emptier tank.
It has never shown an engine light.
So Far I Have Taken it to Mazda Dealer for diagnosis. Didn't find anything. All they did was set the idle a little higher, which didn't help/hurt.
Replaced the EGR valve. Didn't help.
Replaced the catalytic converter. Didn't help.
I have tried using "water-remover fluid" when I fill the tank. Thought it helped at first, but it doesn't.
Three days ago I replaced the MAF sensor. Car seemed to be peppier, but it's still gagging.
Yesterday (Saturday) I replaced the spark plugs and the PCV valve. Also put in a new battery (unrelated; the old one--the original, I believe--was corroded). Drove it a couple of miles, no problem.
Other Opinions Last week I asked an online "Mazda mechanic" about it (cost $28) and he suggested either the fuel filter (although there are actually two) or the MAF sensor.)
My trusted garage says very unlikely to be the fuel filters because a) they replaced the pump (which contains the filters) in 2011 and b) if it was fuel filters the problem would be consistent, not intermittent.
To Continue It's not the spark plugs. Today (Sunday) I drove out to the airport and it started stumbling and gasping at 60 mph. When I got back into town it actually stalled while I was driving along at 25 mph.
I noticed since I filled the tank three days ago the fuel gauge heading south rather quickly, and today I could smell gas as we were driving. Although not in the driveway. That says fuel pump, no? This problem did start maybe six or eight months after the pump and tank were installed in 2011. The fuel pump was constantly ruled out because it was new and I suppose because there was never any engine light and the diagnostics couldn't find it. If it is the pump, I hope to god it hasn't corroded the tank again.
If it is the pump, do I have any hope of getting some recognition that this installed problem has already cost me a cat con, an egr valve, a MAF sensor, and a diagnostics test trying to fix it? Or am I just gonna have to pay the full cost all over again?
Any advice, ideas much appreciated.
Giles
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