Does anybody have a rattle from behind their engine? (4cyl 06 6i)

1900 Views 22 Replies 11 Participants Last post by gr8dude5, Dec 9, 2006

zoomzoomz6

Discussion Starter · Oct 24, 2006

Hi guys,
This is my first time posting on this website. I noticed that my 2006 Mazda 6i(10k miles) has an interesting noise that it makes at idle(at least thats when I hear it). It almost sounds like a belt squealing but it is very very light. The sound is coming from behind the engine and is probably closest near where the headers come out of the engine and the exhaust pipe starts. The mazda head technician told me that it is because when the engine is on, the exhaust pipe and the header pipe move slightly and when the exhaust flows through it, it creates that noise. I am not sure if he just wanted to back out of doing the warranty work or if he was telling the truth.

I was curious if any other 6's were doing the same thing?

I can here it best when it is warm and idling. If I open the door and stick my ear close to the bottom of the door, it almost sounds like little mice chirping or something like that.

Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks!

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

MrTea

· #2 · Oct 24, 2006

i believe there was a belt tensioner issue a while back, could be that? not sure it that was the i or the 3 though?

easy bet in many cases, is take it to a different dealer, see what they have to say. don't mention taking it to another one already, just that you are hearing something funny and wanted to get it checked out.

Memphis

· #3 · Oct 24, 2006

You may want to them to check into that further,, does it make a ticking sound? And does it go away after awhile??? I had a small ticking sound in my car bout 3mths ago.. I took it in the the dealer for an oil change and told them bout it and they didnt hear anything :headscrat: so I was wtf I guess its gone,, but nope it was there when I drove away from the dealer so I was wtf these guys are dumb and deaf.. So I didnt think anything of it.. So like 2-3 more weeks went by and the noise was still there and got louder. So I brought it back in and this time they did hear something,, and this is what they told me..............

"you have grease on your belt, we cant tell if the grease is coming from your car and we think you just ran over some grease and it got stuck on your belt and thats the ticking sound you hear"

So that was their diagnosis (sp) of the problem so all they did was steam clean my engine and said the ticking is still there but should wear off in the next few days.. I once again was like WTF!!!! :banghead: This is not the problem but whatever we'll see.. SOOOO of course the next few days the ticking sound was still there so I called them back and told them that WAS NOT the problem. But at that time my wife was expecting out first child to be born so I was unable to bring it back in. So by the time I could take it in it had been 3wks later, I had it scheduled to bring it in on a Monday but I didnt make it to that day,, my cars engine siezed up on my that Friaday before while I was sitting in the parking lot of the strore.. I found out that a rod was knocking and that there was metal flakes in my oil so they had to replace the whole engine.. I still have yet to get my car back and its been close to 2 wks already. So in the end of all things, if they would have looked at it more closely the first time and discovered that it wasnt grease on the damn belt then they wouldnt have to be replacing the whole damn engine!!! :cursing:

So ya, my advice to you would be take it to another dealer and get their opinion on it cause you dont want something small to turn into something big just cause the technican guy doesnt want to do the foot work to really find out what is wrong..

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zoomzoomz6

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 24, 2006

I dont think it goes away. But I will admit that sometimes it is more noticeable. I am definitely going to hit up another dealership(or two) because I have no idea what it is-I just know that it did not do that when I first bought it.

Memphis

· #5 · Oct 25, 2006

Well good luck and like I said, take it in now while its something small before it turns into something big

Ticket_Boy

· #6 · Oct 25, 2006

I have had the same noise for 3 years now. I also took mine in and the dealer could not locate the problem. When I idle in reverse the sound goes away. Also the sound does not start until the car has warmed up.

zoomzoomz6

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 25, 2006

Ok, upon further inspection I am noting the following:
-This noise ONLY happens when it is warmed up.
-It is definitely coming from the header area and is somewhere in the exhaust pipes but I think it is before it hits the oxygen sensor.
-It almost sounds like little chirping noises that a bird would make.

I took it to Classic Mazda East and they said they couldn't hear anything-Sure.... I think they were just trying to avoid warranty work.

The only other dealership is Star Mazda on South OBT but it is 30-40 miles away. Cory Fairbanks Mazda is the only dealership that also gives a loaner.

Maybe one day I will take it to Star Mazda but I think my problem is exactly what Mr. T describes and does not seem like a critical issue. My big question is, would this be part of the 12 month 12000 mile warranty or the 4 year 48000 mile warranty. Because if it happens to be something that is wearable, I dont want to pay Mazda an arm and a leg for a repair.

Thanks again for all of your responses

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Memphis

· #8 · Oct 26, 2006

If your car is under warranty and theres something wrong with it thats not caused by you modding it then it will be covered,, or should i say should be covered,, cant gurantee everything, but im pretty sure it should be covered

Kaiboy808

· #9 · Oct 26, 2006

Dude, I would buss out some anger at them. :swearin: :swearin:

I took my car to the dealer and told them, hey my tranny is missing shifts. From 5th to 6th is the biggest miss and sometimes 4th to 5th. They said, "it's probably because you added that Intake and the sensor is misreading your air flow. So I showed them the little sticker on the side, gave them the receipt and said, "here, I bought this from Mazda and it is a Mazda part." So they looked at it finally. Obviously they said, oh nothing is wrong. Took it back next week and said the same thing and told them this," if you even begin to tell me it's my intake, I will not be happy, there IS something wrong with my transmission!" So they looked at it, only by then they found that my 4th gear and 5th gear were grinded low like it had been worn horribly. New tranny in my 05 now because they thought they were cool! I would lay the smack on any dealer you bring it to!

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6ISPEEDSTER

· #10 · Oct 27, 2006

Its not no belt tensioner or anything, its the muffler, i have a 06 6i 4c ATX & its a loud squeel noise, usually only on Drive mode and pressing brake down. the Cat converter cushion part is faulty, it needs a new cat converter, the 07 models now use a different cat converter design, basically when you change gear you muffler drops a bit
causing the noise, take it to the dealer it covered under warranty, im actually still getting issue, awaiting part to come in so they can replace piece.

zoomzoomz6

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 28, 2006

Well I took my car to the dealership today and they had my car running for over an hour and a half and "could not replicate the problem". I agree with the above comment, I think it has something to do with the cat converter rubbing against something and making that noise. It goes away every now and then. In the morning when I turned it in, the porter heard it and it was definetely identifiable. Talked to the service writer and she could not figure out what I was talking about. After I picked the car up, the noise went away and the cat rubbing would be the only reasonable explanation.

She did tell me that if it gets worse, I have 4 years to bring it back.

Thank you guys for all of your help. I may consider mentioning it at my next oil change.

robv

· #12 · Oct 28, 2006

2004 4 cylinder here.

I have the exact same noise - subtle squeeky mousey sound from underneath driver's door/behind engine.

I had it for a while now and was gonna mention it during my next oil change next week. I'll report back...

G

· #13 · Nov 14, 2006

Any news on this? I have the same problem.

robv

· #14 · Nov 15, 2006

Any news on this? I have the same problem.
[/b]

Nothing much yet. I just had my 48K kms service done over the weekend and reported the sound. Of course they couldnt hear anything; just wrote down on the service report that I complained about the sound, so that if it "comes back" and I complain again at least there is some record.

Well I went back to them yesterday evening after work when car was all warmed up and the sound present, but nobody from the service dept was there.

I'll hunt them down some other day for sure. Probably either this Saturday or Monday. This is my last year of warranty so I'd like to get this resolved if possible. I'm affraid that even when they admit they hear the noise, they'll claim it's normal...

We'll see, I'll update the thread when I get any concrete answers from, either good or bad.

wpsr2005111

· #15 · Nov 15, 2006

I had a noise like this also. The dealer stated that it was the gasket where the exhaust and the cat. meet. Once they replaced it, the noise wen't away. This is how I discoverd it. When you are parked, and the car is warm, open your hood, and have a friend turn off the car. See if the noise happens when the engine vibrates when it is turend off.

zoomzoomz6

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 16, 2006

Well I took it to the dealer and the service writer did hear it(thank god) and was getting louder with the AC on. I think it has something to do with that. I also complained about the seats and one of the exhaust pipes being lower.
They gave me a Mazda 6 loaner w/ATX. I want my MTX back LOL. And this thing has 40+ more horsepower. It is a nice ride though and shifts a hell of a lot better than I can for the 1-2 shift.

I will update with what they tell me.

MikeyD

· #17 · Nov 16, 2006

Any news on this? I have the same problem.
[/b]

holy crap, thats so wierd how is everyone havin this problem.
im glad i bought an S.

MrTea

· #18 · Nov 16, 2006

holy crap, thats so wierd how is everyone havin this problem.
im glad i bought an S.
[/b]

4 people is everyone? my 6i is almost 4 years old and it's never been in for warranty service, just recalls.

zoomzoomz6

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 16, 2006

Just to let everyone know, I finally got them to hear it. It turns out that it is the Idler pulley. Hope this helps someone with the same issue out.

robv

· #20 · Nov 25, 2006

OK, so far we have:

- Cat converter
- Gasket where the exhaust and the cat meet
- Idler pulley

My dealer was finally able to hear the noise. After having it up for 10 minutes, they told me - the part should be here on Wednesday, we'll give you a call. When I asked what happened, which part, they said - converter.

So I'll report back again.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

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