Driving down the road at night and my car made a funny noise... almost like I had a flat tire. I pulled over and everything looked fine, so I thought maybe it was just me. The noise continued over the next 2-3 weeks and one day i heard a clanking noise after hitting a small pothole. Immediately pulled over and I could hear a grinding noise as I slowed down. Once the car stopped, the noise went away. I decided to take it into Mazda and by the end if the day they told me it was the transfer case (PTU) and I needed a new one. How does a 4 year old car with 55k miles need a new transfer case?!
Well, there is a design flaw that heats up the oil in the system and turns it to sludge, and there is no way to replace the oil. I bought this car thinking I would have it for the next 15 years and it would grow with my family, but nope... that's not happening.
I purchased an extended warranty, thank goodness, and I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket (this time), but WHEN it goes out again around 109k miles, I'll be sure to shell out about $3,000 for another PTU. Had to sell this car and get something else to prevent the huge cost of a repair that Mazda knows is a design flaw.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Driving down the road at night and my car made a funny noise... almost like I had a flat tire. I pulled over and everything looked fine, so I thought maybe it was just me. The noise continued over the next 2-3 weeks and one day i heard a clanking noise after hitting a small pothole. Immediately pulled over and I could hear a grinding noise as I slowed down. Once the car stopped, the noise went away. I decided to take it into Mazda and by the end if the day they told me it was the transfer case (PTU) and I needed a new one. How does a 4 year old car with 55k miles need a new transfer case?!
Well, there is a design flaw that heats up the oil in the system and turns it to sludge, and there is no way to replace the oil. I bought this car thinking I would have it for the next 15 years and it would grow with my family, but nope... that's not happening.
I purchased an extended warranty, thank goodness, and I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket (this time), but WHEN it goes out again around 109k miles, I'll be sure to shell out about $3,000 for another PTU. Had to sell this car and get something else to prevent the huge cost of a repair that Mazda knows is a design flaw.
- Kadee M., Medford, OR, US