Another WA MPS 6 Owner

[anaesthetics]

Hey everyone, as I was saying in Ms Mazdas thread I've just bought a Red MPS 6. So far its great except the clutch on take off reversing can also cause a bit of crazy juddering. Bit different to my Integra Type R that was destroyed in the hail storm last month. I have some white 17" CR Kais I salvaged from the Teg, not sure if the +42 offset will clear the brakes on the MPS 6 though. Nice to be part of this community.

[blackbetty]

Welcome and congrats on adding to the count of MPS6's over in WA. Not sure how the 17" will go on the car either might look too small. Hope you enjoy this place and all the cruises with the great community you have over there in WA.

Cheers,
Mel

[Toddy22587]

Welcome!

The link below might help you out with the clutch issue.. worked for me
http://www.ozmpsclub.com/forum/how-t...t-mps-6-a.html

Hope to see you on the next cruise

[shakespeare]

anaesthetics! Great choice of ride and great colour too! Look forward to catching up on the next cruise

[anaesthetics]

Thanks for the suggestion, I was definitely planning on looking into the clutch adjustment on the weekend. The 17 inch wheels I'm not too sure on either, but thought it could look okay considering the normal 6's have the 17s. Had another question, when I took it on a drive on the Kwinana Freeway last night I noticed the AWD Warning Light would flash occasionally. At the time I thought it must just be displaying that AWD was working at the time but looking in the user manual its actually a warning that something is wrong with it? Is it something I should get checked out or is it normal to have it flash occasionally?

[shakespeare]

You should get that checked by the dealer at the earliest. The light coming on indicates that the AWD system has encountered a problem somewhere. It could be anything from a sensor not operating correctly to low oil in the diff or transfer case or the diff overheating. Either way get it checked, have you noticed any noises/vibrations under acceleration or cruising?

BTW Congrats on the purchase

[Toddy22587]

Get it looked at. The previous owner of my car told me about a similar issue he had at some stage and it turned out to be a faulty steering angle sensor.

[Ms Mazda]

Nice choice, we were strongly considering that one for a while. It's a nice car.

I know exactly what you mean about the clutch though!!! When I took it for a test drive I was jolting around everywhere, it's very grabby. I had more ease driving my twin plate! Haha.

Funnily enough, our 4WD light starting flashing last week while driving down south, we had to keep stopping every hour. If the light remains illuminated, that's when you have a bad problem! Get it to the dealer as soon as it's convenient so it can be fixed before it gets worse.

Edit: I also wanted to say I'm quite envious of your white CR Kai's seeing as they're my absolute favourite wheel!

[kmh001]

On the MPS6 the AWD system normally operates all the time. The AWD warning light only illuminates when AWD is "suspended" to use the Mazda word for not working. It flashes when the system is temporarily suspended and stays on when a fault has been recorded. The good news is that the fault codes are stored in non-volatile memory in the 4wd control unit. They stay there until cleared by the MMDS, even if the battery is disconnected the codes are still retained.

The most common cause of temporary AWD suspension is a difference in front to rear wheel rotational speed. If the wheel speed difference is persistent, it's likely the rear diff will overheat.

The most common cause of diff overheating seems to be front to rear wheel diameter differences, caused by mis-matched tyre pressures or uneven tyre wear. These cars are intolerant of a front to rear wheel diameter difference of more than about 3mm.

In the first instance I would suggest you check the tyre pressures and make sure they are the same. And have a look at the tyre wear to make sure it's fairly even. If that checks out you need to visit a Mazda dealer. The AWD is designed to be fail safe and will turn itself off if there's a problem so there should be no harm done even if you keep driving with the AWD light on.

And make sure you come along to the next WA cruise.

[anaesthetics]

Great info guys, I went back to the dealer today and they will have a look at it as soon as they can (its a Nissan dealer so hopefully they can handle it) . shakespear, I certainly have noticed some juddering, in reverse, 1st/2nd and during engine breaking, also occasionally there is a large thud from the rear changing 1st to 2nd.

Hey Ms Mazda, is the clutch in the one you ended up buying any different? The light came on for me driving south too, it seemed to occur around new sections of the freeway, so possibly the road surface is causing the abnormalities in wheel rotation, light hasn't appeared any time other than on the freeway. I agree CR Kais are my favourite too, great looking wheels.

Anyhow, sorry for turning this into a million question thread, good to know the AWD protects itself kmh001 hopefully all the problems get sorted soon, will definitely come on the cruise.

[TBDM]

Hey Mate

Myself & Ms Mazda looked at buying the car you own. The issue with the 4WD system in your car maybe that the rear tyres are a different size to the front.
It has the OE 215/45R18 on the front and the dealer put 225/40R18 on the rear, which is 14mm or 2.15% different in overall diametes.
The salesman were aware of this as I pointed it out to them and they offered to change them to match all round if we bought the car.
If they wont help you with the tyres and you need some pm me as I can help you out

Otherwise they may have changed them already and your car has the same issue as ours, it just comes on randomly.

[shakespeare]

Great info guys, I went back to the dealer today and they will have a look at it as soon as they can (its a Nissan dealer so hopefully they can handle it) . shakespear, I certainly have noticed some juddering, in reverse, 1st/2nd and during engine breaking, also occasionally there is a large thud from the rear changing 1st to 2nd.

Hey Ms Mazda, is the clutch in the one you ended up buying any different? The light came on for me driving south too, it seemed to occur around new sections of the freeway, so possibly the road surface is causing the abnormalities in wheel rotation, light hasn't appeared any time other than on the freeway. I agree CR Kais are my favourite too, great looking wheels.

Anyhow, sorry for turning this into a million question thread, good to know the AWD protects itself kmh001 hopefully all the problems get sorted soon, will definitely come on the cruise.

* EDIT - didn't see TBDM's post! * Something to check, as KMH001 mentioned above, even tyre pressures are extremely important on both rears or both fronts (front to rear can differ slightly, I've found a 40 (F) and 38 psi (R) combo works well) I mention this as a long time ago I lost some air in the drivers side rear tyre (down to 16 psi) this caused some very bad thuds when shifting, particularly downshifts. Filled it with air and all was good, alternatively if could be diff mounts.

The tyre sizes are most likely the cause! Still is good to ensure correct pressures are in your tyres! Also get them to look at the mounts anyway.

There are two mounts for the diff, the forward mount is bolted to the diff on the drivers side, the rear mount is bolted to the upper side of the diff. The noises you've described could indicate the forward mount is loose (bolts loose or rubber inserts where it attaches to the body are worn/broken). Have your dealer have a look at this too, a quick check is if there is excessive movement of the diff (up/down or left/right) then you may have a mount issue. Be mindful though that the stock diff mounts offer a little movement (1-3mm) left to right for NVH etc.

See this thread for some more info. http://www.ozmpsclub.com/forum/tech-...solutions.html

Hope you get it sorted quickly

[anaesthetics]

Just got back from testing out the clutch adjustment (its late but it was just bugging me so much after getting home I had to try it), does indeed make an improvement. I do wonder why Mazda use such a crazy clutch.
Checking the tyres they are just as you said TBDM, I will see if I can get them to change them to match all round.
I'll also mention the diff mounts. Thanks again everyone

[Ms Mazda]

Oh shit that's right, the tyres were different sizes.
Sorry about not mentioning that mate, I totally forgot about that.

Yeah get them to change them all to the correct size.
It's bullshit because as my husband just said in his post, he told them straight out that they were different, I would have thought they would have changed them right away. I'd say that's what is most certainly causing your 4WD light to be flashing. But yeah, if the dealership give you grief over it just PM TBDM and he'll help you out

About the clutch, yeah the one in our MPS is less grabby than yours.
It's still quite a stiff clutch though and I've still managed to stall it many times! Haha

[kmh001]

If the dealer doesn't play fair and you need to argue with them about tyre size, there's another weapon in your armory. Assuming your car has original MPS wheels: 225/40/18 is not a legal fitment on a 7 inch rim.

[anaesthetics]

Quick update, it's booked in for Thursday, they're pretty busy at the moment, but I did say tyres need to be changed and the diff needs to be looked at. What you say about overheating due to the difference in sizes definitely seem the primary cause, it only happens after driving freeway speeds for a while, happened again today and when I pulled up and got out I could feel the heat from the rear putting my hand over the rear wheel area.

[TheJunglist]

welcome to the forum. hope u get it all sorted!!!!

[anaesthetics]

Got the car back today and it seems all fixed, no shuddering, no AWD disengagement, felt like a completely different vehicle, and all from changing tyres. Only thing that irks me is the Dealer chose to swap the stock size tyres off :/ I guess I should be impressed the ones they put on were probably slightly more expensive. Mad props to all the people who've helped explain the issue. So when will the next cruise be :P (I know you guys just had one last month.)