Mazda Problems

THERE are kits available for the Mazda Tribute. Visit www.lpgautogas.com.au website or phone system developers like Australian LPG Warehouse.

IT SOUNDS as if the engine is running too rich, which could be caused by a faulty oxygen sensor in the exhaust. It's there to monitor the air-fuel mixture and send signals back to the engine-management computer. If it's faulty it could be sending the wrong message.

ASSUMING you drive normally and don't crash over speed humps and into roundabouts and kerbs, there is nothing that could explain a broken engine mount except inferior design. Let's hear from other owners of Mazda3s and see what their experience is.

USE 91 octane when you need to, the Mazda won't suffer any damage, but you might notice a difference in performance and fuel economy.

MANY owners are unhappy with the fuel economy of their Tributes. LPG kits are available and cost about $4500. With the government rebate you would recover the outlay in two years driving 15,000km a year.

WE CONTACTED Mazda for its input and the response was: ``We've had no reports of a fault or recurring weakness with the Mazda Tribute's transfer case or transmission. One of the great features of the Mazda Tribute is the ability for drivers to conveniently lock the transfer case in 4WD at the push of a button mounted on the dashboard. The unfortunate thing is that, if the driver forgets to disengage 4WD when rejoining the bitumen, transfer case `wind-up' can occur. This places stress on the transfer case and may lead to a weakness or failure in the transfer case's internals. Unfortunately there's no way to tell if this occurred in the moments before your reader reported the knocking noise, or some years back in the hands of the previous owner.'' This probably doesn't help, but it may be an explanation and your 2004 model car is out of warranty.

YOU'VE already spent a lot of money on the Tribute, so I would be inclined to keep it. Now it's done 90,000km or so, the chances of more problems are higher than they would be when it was new.

IT'S certainly an option. If you bought a two or three-year-old Falcon for $15,000 and installed a gas-injection system you would have $19,000 or so invested in it, against the cost of the Corolla or Mazda. The cost of running the Falcon on gas would be a little less than the cost of running the small car so I would believe you would be in front. Think also of buying a used E-Gas Falcon, which might be an even better bet.

DESPITE the car being out of warranty, Mazda should have come to the party with at least part of the cost of repair. Covering part of the repair cost is fairly standard in the industry on failures that really shouldn't occur, such as a broken engine mount, which is a potential safety hazard and should be taken seriously by any carmaker.

I ASSUME you bought the car new, not used; if you did buy it used the damage could have been caused before you bought it. If you have owned it from new and haven't hit anything as you claim, I do think it's unfair you had to pay. Mazda has given you the standard deal for a car that's out of warranty, so they've come to the party by covering half the cost of repairs, but I agree that in this case it isn't enough. No one should have to pay even part of the repair cost for something that shouldn't happen in the first place.