OFFICIAL Warranty Extension Program on turbo and VVT Actuator Thread.

[SeeMeGovan]

Good deal for the rest of it! They raped you on that tensioner tho. Msrp is $77.26 quoted from my local dealer and I got it online from a different dealer for $58.

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[Dundolla28]

Originally Posted by SeeMeGovan Good deal for the rest of it! They raped you on that tensioner tho. Msrp is $77.26 quoted from my local dealer and I got it online from a different dealer for $58. Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

Yea I knew I was getting over charged on that but I didnt mind spending and extra $50 for it...this dealership has been good to me...they are cool with mods and they even did the wiper motor. They even asked what oil I want to put in....rotella T6

[PapaBone]

So is the general consensus that every 2007-2010 MS3/MS6 WILL have the VVT or Turbo issue eventually, or is it more of a hit or miss?

[Raider]

Hit or miss. And looking at 84 months after first sale for warranty, most are not even covered now.

[aviator79]

I am at 80k with no issues and never had VVT repair done.

[azarashi]

Mine for the past 2 years I have owned the car it has made some noise, but recently it got louder (@130k) and scared me to finally bite the bullet and pay up for it.

Luckily local place that everyone recommend did it fast and and for $1120 (along with a new water pump with that). Labor was about $500. So pretty happy honestly, was worried it would be more.

[azarashi]

So update I had mine replaced, was perfect tight as a virgin, no noise and car even seem to run better (probably placebo effect)

But now 3 months later as it gets colder im getting some rattle ish noise on start ups. Sure enough the chain is fairly loose when its cold.

Its nice and tight when its warmed up though. and I do know it should have some slack when its cold but it seems to be TOO loose and causing a rattle on start up (think rocks in a can noise for a second).

Messaged the shop that did it and they will take a look and the guy mentioned it could maybe be an oil pump issue. Maybe the tensioner or whatever keeps it tight even when cold is just getting too loose?

I honestly don't know how it works exactly but not sure wtf is causing this now. Some mornings ill check the chain and its not that loose and there is no noise. Im going to keep checking it every morning to see if chain loose and noise accompanies it till i take it in after thanksgiving.

I can post up a video of the noise but at this point I have no idea what else would cause this noise.

Anyone else had issues with their chain/vvt after it was replaced?

[thrisnospork]

Better check your invoice and make sure said shop replaced everything they are supposed to for vvt service. I think this thread has a full list of parts somewhere. IIRC my tensioner was replaced, I've had no issues.

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[azarashi]

They bought the whole kit and used it, but let me check here...

Well fuck me I don't see a tensioner on the list, I see everything else but that what the hell...

I mean this is whats listed;

VVT Actuator L3K9-12-4X0C
OEM Timing Chain L3K9-12-201A
Timing Chain Adjuster L3K9-12-500A
Cam Washer l3K9-12-429
Timing Chain guide L3K9-12-614
Timing Chain Lever (tension guide) L3K9-12-671
OEM Washers Crank L3H5-11-407
Crank Pulley Bolt LF01-11-406
Front Crank seal L3G6-10-602
Oem Valve cover gasket L3K9-10-230

Im not seeing it unless its listed under another name here.....

[frothy]

Originally Posted by azarashi Well fuck me I don't see a tensioner on the list, I see everything else but that what the hell... Im not seeing it unless its listed under another name here.....

"Timing Chain Adjuster" is the tensioner...

[azarashi]

Yeah I figured as much, after googling around more...

[kritz]

Originally Posted by Raider I think it was Star where @kritz; got his replacement pu after Hurricane Sandy. Was it there?

Compass Mazda in Orange County NY

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Anyone has any luck on getting their shit warrantied after the 7yrs/70,000miles?

I just saw this and I'm at 84,xxx miles...

[Raider]

Some. But overall no.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Thanks Raider.

So I honestly do not know if I have this VVT issue (car doesn't sound any different). But I gather that eventually, it's going to hit me, is that right?

If so, is this merely a sound/annoyance issue? Any mechanical issues if I let it be?

[SeeMeGovan]

Potential for catastrophic engine failure if left unfixed. The VVT WILL DEFINITELY continue to destroy itself after the issue begins and then you'll end up with a nice new slot in your VVT where a locking pin hole used to be. This faulty VVT can't reliably control timing retard so it stretches your timing chain, which slowly changes your timing from what it should be (or what your engine thinks it is). For an interference engine like this one, you don't want your timing to be off. A little chain slop can be tolerated but eventually your chain might skip a tooth or your VVT retards your timing too much because it can't lock at zero degrees when you're on the throttle and then your pistons will eat your valves. I've never heard of anybody I know blowing up their engine from a verified VVT failure but it's a real possibility, enough for Mazda to put out a warranty extension.

So it's on you to decide if it's necessary, but once you self-diagnose the symptoms I strongly advise considering the repair asap. I drove for about 6 months after diagnosing and nothing bad happened but I drove like a grandma.

P.S. You obviously didn't read much about this because we have had this conversation numerous times all over this forum. I just like hearing myself type.

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[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Thank you guys. Yeah, I haven't read much about it, simply because well... I just don't hear it or notice anything different with my car. But I will pay more attention to it on my next cold start.

Here's an update for you guys after my call with the dealership.

Apparently, even IF your car is out of warranty, you can still get your VVT and smoky turbo fixed. These fixes "SSP 86" and "SSP 87" doesn't have anything to do with your car's original factory warranty. SSP 86/87 are extended warranty for the parts involving VVT and turbo, and according to the person on the phone, there is no definite end date. That is, if you suspect you have these issues, and your dealership confirms them, they will fix it free of charge regardless of the mileage.

I'm at 84,xxx miles, and that's exactly what they told me because I thought I was out of luck.

Hopefully this isn't old info, but I sure was glad to find out.

[RalliartRsX]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo Thank you guys. Yeah, I haven't read much about it, simply because well... I just don't hear it or notice anything different with my car. But I will pay more attention to it on my next cold start. Here's an update for you guys after my call with the dealership. Apparently, even IF your car is out of warranty, you can still get your VVT and smoky turbo fixed. These fixes "SSP 86" and "SSP 87" doesn't have anything to do with your car's original factory warranty. SSP 86/87 are extended warranty for the parts involving VVT and turbo, and according to the person on the phone, there is no definite end date. That is, if you suspect you have these issues, and your dealership confirms them, they will fix it free of charge regardless of the mileage. I'm at 84,xxx miles, and that's exactly what they told me because I thought I was out of luck. Hopefully this isn't old info, but I sure was glad to find out.

I will call my dealership to confirm

Great news if so! Any documentation that they can provide on this??

[frothy]

"The warranty coverage for the specific repair is extended to 7 years (84 months) from the original warranty start date or 70,000 miles, whichever comes first."

This has ALWAYS been the case. There have been no updated TSBs, so it's still the case.

More likely than not, the dealership was having a slow week and @Say Chi Sin Lo; 's car is still within the 7 year extension and they were willing to fudge up the odometer numbers and pass him through. Wouldn't be the first time this has happened, but it certainly doesn't mean Mazda has altered the extended warranty.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by frothy "The warranty coverage for the specific repair is extended to 7 years (84 months) from the original warranty start date or 70,000 miles, whichever comes first." This has ALWAYS been the case. There have been no updated TSBs, so it's still the case. More likely than not, the dealership was having a slow week and @Say Chi Sin Lo; 's car is still within the 7 year extension and they were willing to fudge up the odometer numbers and pass him through. Wouldn't be the first time this has happened, but it certainly doesn't mean Mazda has altered the extended warranty.

My car is definitely within that (tail end) of that range. I bought it in 2010. (Oh the trouble I had to go through to find a CWP 1st gen GT at that time)

[hollar1211]

This has me wondering if my 08.5 has 2 days left before I no longer qualify for the vvt tsb. I'm only at 63k, but will Jan 1st officially be 8 years?

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[Raider]

84 months after date of purchase.

[hollar1211]

Thanks raider, guess I need to find out when the original owner purchased it, I'm the second owner. Does anyone have an idea when the 08.5's hit the dealers?

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[Raider]

Post vin in VIP gen mayhem and I'll post the Autocheck. There is a sticky thread.

[neox.286]

As an old time forum guy (I haven't been active on any mazda forums in years), I always hated when people said this - but this is a very long thread and so I apologize if this has already been answered previously

I've got a 2nd gen 2010 MS3 that shows a date of '01/10' in the door, which I believe means that I fall under this bulletin. The problem is, I have only put 30k miles on the car in the six years I have owned it and I am not getting any of the VVT sound yet. I talked with my local dealership and they said they could still take a look, but without the audible VVT sound they likely will not do the repair. I rarely drive this car, but I intend to keep it until the wheels fall off - but I don't want to get stuck with a thousand dollar repair bill down the line simply because I don't drive it very often.

My question is basically at what mileage did most of you guys start to experience the sound? Was it something that started from the car's birth, or did it usually only start occurring after something like 50k miles?

[SeeMeGovan]

I started to hear it in my Gen1 around 55k miles and replaced everything myself at 58k miles. Chain and tensioner were ok and my vvt was not totally blown up but there was visible chain slap on my VC so my VVT was def on the way out.

It's possible to start having issues at any mileage really, but it's much more common in the 50-70k range (which is covered by the warranty extension). It isn't a discrete failure mode like snapping an axle or something, but rather it wears down over time so if you drive infrequently and don't racecar everywhere you might never really have VVT issues, but that's not the case with most people who have this car.

That said, some people have reported getting it all replaced even with mild or no symptoms because it is a known defect that will most likely affect you in the long term, but convincing your stealership may be hard depending how busy/cool they are.



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[neox.286]

yeah I think the service manager that I used to buy a lot of MS Protege parts through still works there, so I might see if he remembers me and if he can just push it through...if not though I think you are right in that I put few enough miles on the car to not even care

[Nliiitend1]

I have a Gen 1, purchased new by me in December 2007 (currently at about 86K miles).

I'm still on the original VVT, and still have no noise.

Obviously, YMMV.

[aviator79]

06 MS6 84k with no noise on original VVT.

[PapaBone]

2008.5 at almost 52k just now noticing the noise on startup but nothing else. Its maybe one second of noise, so small that im worried the dealer "wont hear a problem"

Gonna see about getting it done under warranty. Technically I'm over by a year but way under on mileage. So, best path would be call the dealer or the 1-800 number on the pdf? I have all service records for oil changes and everything

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[thrisnospork]

They have a process to follow, just make sure they pull your valve cover to check. When I took mine in they almost gave it back to me without pulling the VC so I had em pull it anyway and check. Sure enough my VVT actuator was on its way out. Dealer said they didn't hear the sound on startup and I didn't have any markings on the VC but I could hear it for a split second myself on cold starts.

[aviator79]

My chain seemed a little looser than normal when I changed my oil the other day. Can pull up about half a tooth on exhaust cam gear. Prob normal but I recall it being tight tight before.

[PapaBone]

Good advice @thrisnospork; I didn't think about making them check under the VC. Mine sounds similar to yours, it is indeed a split second of noise for mine as well.

[udntknw]

I can say when mine went out, the actuator from silent on start-up to a midget with with a steel fist masturbating under the hood.

Mind you this was back when I believe they were just changing the actuator, not the chain and everything else

[PapaBone]

Well just went out to do an errand, started the car... no noise. It has sat for 4 hours since being at work.

So it seems for me the sound only happens after an overnight length of time 8 hrs or so, that coupled with the colder mornings I think cause the noise for me at this point.

[thrisnospork]

My symptoms were identical to yours. It never got any worse than that for me since I took it in after a couple weeks of hearing the noise. My car had 69k miles at the time and I was really close to the 7 year "cutoff" as well but the dealer told me they would have taken care of it even if I were at 75k or so.

[PapaBone]

Originally Posted by thrisnospork My symptoms were identical to yours. It never got any worse than that for me since I took it in after a couple weeks of hearing the noise. My car had 69k miles at the time and I was really close to the 7 year "cutoff" as well but the dealer told me they would have taken care of it even if I were at 75k or so.

Thanks for the feedback man I appreciate it, it also confirms I'm not going nuts about hearing it only select times. Time to get everything in order and contact the dealer.

[thrisnospork]

No prob man glad to help. I though I was being paranoid myself at the time as well but you can never be too careful with these motors.

[PapaBone]

Taking it to the dealership Monday evening for them to start it Tuesday morning and hear it.

I've got all my service records ready to go. Here's to hoping I have a lenient dealer. Missed the 7yr by 6 months but I'm under the mileage.

Edit: also will be removing my ots tune, I'm stock anyways so I'm good there, I don't want to give them excuses.

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[PapaBone]

I was denied the warranty (kind of expected it).

That being said the period of time is 7 years since it was originally sold OR 70,000 miles (it says it in the form on the OP). My dealer wasnt going to budge on my car being 6 months over the time limit even with 52k. Others may.

The takeaway is If you are having the problem and may be under warranty, take it to the dealer and have them check and talk to them about the warranty before you have them actually take time and check for VVT and cost you money only to find out its not covered.