Mazda Problems

You shouldn’t be using Park as a brake, that’s not what it is intended for, and could damage the transmission. If you want to stop the vehicle change down through the ratios manually and apply the brakes. The problem is unlikely to be the wiring harness, it sounds like it’s deeper within the transmission. Have your dealer check it, or take it to an automatic transmission specialist.

You should be running a 5W-40 oil.

Check in your handbook what globes your car uses and you should change both sides at the same time.

Open the bonnet and secure it with the prop. Turn the wheel of the car so it is pointing in, giving you better access to the back of the headlight you need to work on. Using a trim removal tool pop the centre out of the three plastic fasteners holding the inner guard liner to the car. Once the centre is popped up, pull the fastener out. Twist the bulb assembly anticlockwise, then push the tab on the wiring plug in to unplug the wiring connector. Wearing gloves, remove the new bulb from the packet and plug it into the wiring connector ensuring you don't touch the glass with your bare hands. Twist the headlight back into place in the headlight, refit the inner guard liner and plugs, and you're done.

Start by using a trim removal tool to lever out the shiny black trim that runs across the dashboard. When you get to the air vents in the centre, these come out with the black trim and you can lever from the top of the air vents to make it easier to pop them out. Behind the air vents there is one bolt and three clips holding the radio unit to the dashboard, so you can push upwards and forwards at the same time and the unit will pop out of the dash. Disconnect the wiring and the radio unit is removed.

The principals of changing any fluid, including engine oil, in cars hasn't really changed in the last 70 years. Warm up engine, remove filler cap, drain old oil into a pan, swap oil filters, refill oil to recommended level using the oil grade recommended by the manufacturer. However, if you get something wrong in that process there is a real risk of injury or causing (financially) catastrophic damage to your car, so I'd suggest newbies take their cars back to the dealership, or a good independent mechanic, to have a professional do the job for you. They can also give your car a once-over to ensure nothing else needs repairing, or will wear out soon!

Generally, I'd say the highest spec model you can afford. However, in the Mazda3's case I'd actually say the Maxx seems to provide the best bang-for-your-buck over the far more expensive SP25 variants.

It will come down to whether you find the hatch or sedan more practical, and whether you can live without the extra goodies on the higher-spec models. If you're doing a lot of country driving, I would give extra consideration to the 2.5-litre SP25 models as the 2.0-litre is fine for around town but a bit breathless on the open highway.

Take your car to the dealership, or your local mechanic, and ask them to do it for you. There is something of a black art to correctly aligning headlights and (if you get it wrong) you could blind oncoming motorists or not be able to see the road properly, which could lead to disastrous results.

Open the driver's door, look down the A-pillar (the post beside the windscreen) and you will see a bonnet release towards the bottom of the dashboard. Pull that lever, then walk to the front of the car. Stand in front of the middle of the bonnet, pulling up on the bonnet lid while feeling for the secondary release lever. Pull that lever while lifting the bonnet and it will raise up.

Yes! No! Quite possibly! The largest factor in achieving good fuel efficiency is the nut behind the wheel (the driver). If you drive with efficiency in mind you will find Mazda's sales-dominating compact car will be able to travel hundreds of kilometres between refills, averaging approximately 5.7L per-100km for the 2.0-litre engines and approximately 6.5L per-100km for the 2.5-litre engines.