Mazda Problems

If we’re talking about the current model D-Max and BT-50, then yes, the entire driveline should be interchangeable. Under the skin, both the Mazda and Isuzu utes are the same vehicle. Car makers enter into joint ventures like the development of this pair of vehicles to keep costs down by sharing the expense of developing, engineering and testing parts like engines, transmissions and, of course, drive-shafts and CV joints.

While most joint ventures like this one will arrive at two vehicles with some visual differences and usually some details differences inside, when it comes to the oily bits, making specific driveline or suspension parts for one vehicle over the other is defeating the purpose of the joint venture in the first place.

Anything is possible if you have enough money to throw at the project, but at some point, each project begins to cost more than it will ever be worth.

The real mystery, though, is how you came by a petrol-powered BT-50. In Australia, the BT-50 was sold only with a range of diesel powerplants. Petrol-powered BT-50s were made and sold in regions such as the Americas, South Africa and parts of Asia, but not here. Either that or you have a Mazda fitted with a Ford Ranger engine, as Ford did offer 2.5-litre petrol engine on Rangers from 2011 to 2015, but only on base-model, two-wheel-drive versions. That option was then discontinued.

So maybe you have a privately imported Mazda, at which point, it’s very hard to know what diesel engines will and won’t fit. The bottom line is that if you want a Mazda BT-50 with a diesel engine, the simplest thing to do is simply buy one. Chances are you’ll spend less overall than converting an existing car from petrol to diesel. Swapping a petrol engine for a diesel could involve everything from a different fuel system, wiring, transmission, differential ratios and even things like the radiator and front springs. It’s a big job.

Probably the most common cause of difficult hot-starting in a diesel engine is wear in the fuel pump. If the pump can’t generate the correct pressure due to wear, which is exacerbated by heat, then it may not generate the pressures required to operate the fuel injectors.

This particular engine has a fuel pump which has been known to wear and allow the fuel inside it to overheat, causing the vehicle to go into limp-home mode. But the engine (and many others like it from other brands which use common-rail injection technology) are also notorious for wearing out their fuel injectors over relatively low kilometres. Worn injectors could also be a cause of difficult hot starting.

The first thing to do is take a look at where the car was parked. You’re checking for a pool of transmission fluid that has leaked out over time while the car has been stationary. A low of fluid can cause all sort of problems in an automatic transmission, including the one you’re experiencing.

However, the transmission in this vehicle is well known for noises when selecting gears from Park, particularly after it has been sitting for a while. The problems were usually traced to the valve body of the transmission and some valve-body assemblies were replaced as part of a technical program conducted by the manufacturer.

The catch, though, is that the service bulletin involved suggested that only transmissions in cars built up to 2014 were affected, and since your car is a 2018 model, it shouldn’t have the same problems. But it wouldn’t be the first time a problem thought solved by a car-maker has resurfaced in subsequent models.

There are lots of really good choices in tyres for popular models such as the Mazda 3. You can shop online and find cheap tyres, but a much better idea is to actually contact (or visit) a tyre shop who will be able to guide you according to what you want from the tyres.

Some tyres have better life, some offer more grip, some are aimed at fuel efficiency, others are designed to run quietly and some are sold entirely on price. Some tyres will combine some of these traits, while others will be quite focussed on their priorities (performance tyres, for instance, often trade off lifespan and quiet operation for ultimate grip).

So talking to a person who sells and fits tyres every day, is a good place to start. Listen to the advice and proceed from there. There’s no need to ignore some of the Chinese brands these days, either; some of them are quite good and offer a good balance of performance and price. Most tyres are made in China today anyway, even if they’re a familiar brand. Speaking of price, expect to pay around $100 to $150 for a good quality tyre and don’t forget to have them balanced and the car’s wheel alignment checked at the same time. A good tyre shop can do all of this in the time it takes you to do your shopping and can offer advice that an online retailer simply can’t.

And don’t forget that car tyres remain a great example of the notion that you’ll only get what you pay for.

After 100,000 hard off-road kilometres, you'd be wise to check pretty much every system and component of your car, including the wheel bearings. Bush tracks and rough regional roads put all sorts of stresses and strains on mechanical bits like bearings, suspension, brakes, bushes and the whole driveline.

If you read most owner's manuals closely, you'll see that the recommended servicing schedule is based on normal or moderate use, not hard-core off-road work like you've been doing. With that in mind, the advice is to shrink the service intervals and the distances at which major parts like wheel bearing are checked and/or replaced. Give some thought to changing out the vehicle's fluids, too, including the front and rear differentials, as contamination from water crossings can destroy the lubricant and lead to extensive internal wear.

The rule of thumb states that if the engine fires on starting fluid sprayed down the intake, but won’t run on the fuel in its tank, the first thing to check is the fuel pump. Just because there was some fuel present when you cracked the seal on the fuel injector, does not necessarily mean that there’s enough of it or the fuel pressure is sufficient to start the engine.

Modern common-rail diesel engines use very sophisticated fuel systems which use super-high pressure. Without a pump to build up to this pressure, the injector won’t deliver the right amount of fuel for successful running. But you should also check the operation of the glow-plugs as well as the condition of the fuel filters. An electronic scan is also a good idea at this point, before you start replacing expensive bits and pieces.

Be extra careful fiddling with engines like this one, especially if you’re messing about with the injectors and fuel system. The inherent pressures are so high, that a leak can act like a water-jet cutter; sufficiently powerful to remove a finger.

If the door flies open when you unlatch it, it sounds as though the problem might be with the check-strap, rather than the hinge. The check-strap has the job of limiting the amount the door can open and avoid it flinging into whatever is parked beside you. If the actual hinge was the problem, the door would almost certainly drop when you opened it, making it very difficult to close again.

In either case, though, it should be a pretty clear case of a legitimate warranty claim, and a 2020 Mazda is still well within the factory warranty period, regardless of whether you're the original owner or not.

Take the car straight back to the dealership you bought it from and there should be no arguing over having it fixed free of charge. I'm a bit surprised a car dealership would sell a car with this sort of problem, but it might simply be that the item was overlooked when the vehicle was being prepared for sale. The bottom line is that this is Mazda's problem, not yours and according to the warranty, it should be fixed for free. The only exception to that would be if the damaged part was caused by previous crash-damage, but even then, the second-hand car warranty offered by the dealer should cover such a pre-existing problem.

What you might find is that the loss of power and the squealing noise could be completely unrelated. In any case, a loss of power can be caused by any number of problems, so an electronic scan of the car would be the first move in diagnosing that problem.

You might be on the right track, meanwhile, in thinking that the squealing noise has something to do with the rubber drive-belts in the engine bay. These will often emit a high-pitched squeal if they get moisture on them. Typically, this will be coolant from a leaking water pump or a leaking radiator (both of which are located handily near the belts). Even though the belts may be perfectly tensioned, coolant leaking on to them is definitely capable of producing the noise you’re hearing.

The popular MG3 is the model you’re referring to and you’re right; it hasn’t been locally crash-tested. But it does lack some important safety gear. Enough, we reckon, to knock it off your short-list. The MG lacks, for instance, important driver aids such as autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assistance, nor can these features be had by spending more on a fancier version.

Which leaves us with your other two choices, the Hyundai i30 and Kia Rio. Even then, you’ll need to option up beyond the base-model to get (some of) those safety features, but these are not expensive cars to begin with, so the jump might not be as bad as you think.

The other car to consider would be the SP Pure version of the Mazda 2. At $23,690, it’s not over-priced but it does have low-speed (up to 30km/h) autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warning as well as rear cross-traffic alert.

And a manual transmission? The MG 3 no longer offers one, both the Hyundai i30 and the Kia Rio are available with a six-speed manual option. The Mazda 2 Pure SP is automatic only, but you can get a six-speed manual on the base-model Mazda 2.

I agree that youngsters taught to drive a manual car tend to be better drivers, but that’s not a universally held view these days. And the fact is that most young drivers will never be presented with a clutch pedal in the future, raising the question of why learn in the first place? The reality is that learning to drive a manual car gives you extra mechanical awareness and extra ability to multi-task behind the wheel.