Hi All,
Got a 2013 Mazda 6 diesel wagon, bought it 2nd- hand around 18 months ago from a Mazda dealership. It was 3 years old & had just over 50,000km on the clock, and gave us no real trouble for a while. The the DPF light came on, and all hell broke loose. Took it to our local mechanic, who told us he's need to regen the DPF filter. No worries... gives us a call later in the day saying that the filter is crumbling, & there's no way it can be cleaned without destroying it.
So we took it in to Mazda for a possible warranty claim (hopes weren't high, but you never know). The car has less than 75k on the clock, and after interrogating a couple of Mazda staff (including the service manager of the dealership that sold us the car) they agreed that under 75,000km "sounded a bit low", but that the lifespan of the DPF "depended on a variety of factors".
Mazda got back to us today, wanting $13,500 to repair a car we bought 18 months ago for $23,000. They reckon the injectors were pumping "too much fuel" and that was what caused the DPF to fail. Warranty request rejected. So, they've quoted a new DPF for 6 grand, 4 new injectors at around $1,400 a hit, and 3 sensors with another $800 or so in Labour.
Needless to say, they're getting both barrels (figuratively speaking) at start of business tomorrow. But does this sound familiar to anyone else out there? We had no mention of the DPF when we purchased the car, no instructions or recommendations from the dealership as to special driving requirements to prolong the life of the DPF. The first inkling we had that there was anything wrong was the DPF light telling us "you're screwed." And yes, I know there's a section in the manual that tells you to drive above 40km/h at over 2,200 r.p.m. or whatever it stipulates. This car has been driven a lot locally on short school runs, as well as decent half- hour belts every 2nd day on the Highway, so it's been put through a variety of trip times & conditions, at least one of which should be conducive to initiating a regen.
Given that the Mazda CX-5 diesel (which has the same motor as the Mazda 6) had recalls back in 2013 over oil sump overfilling issues, could this possibly be related? It's just an absolute kick in the teeth, as there's no way in hell we have $13k+ to get it fixed and we desperately need the vehicle. I'm thinking a call to the Dept. of Fair Trading might be the eventual course of action, as it appears we've been sold a lemon.
Personally, while I agree in principle with efforts to cut emissions, a DPF is an absolute POS. It's like telling someone to run faster after you've shoved a wet sock down their throat. As soon as this issue gets resolved, I'm getting a bypass pipe & the
ECU remapped (purely for racing purposes, of course).
Thanks for any help, advice or feedback.