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I'm in the market for a new car, and I was initially wanting a 6-speed AWD car. That left me with two options that I could tell.. The Subaru WRX STi and an Audi. Both seem to be out of my budget currently. So I widened the scope to a good looking 6-speed with enough pep to make me happy. The current research I'm doing is on the MS3, which looks very promising. There appears to be a dealer in my area with one, so I'm going to try to take it for a spin soon and see how I like it. I don't know why I'm posting in here other than to ask something that will be answered once I get to that dealership and try it out: I'm a big guy at 6'3" and 330lbs. My current car is a 2000 Celica, which I actually manage to fit in rather decently. So do you folks think I'll fit alright? Size 15 shoes kind of made shifting a bit interesting at first in the Celi, but after a while I figured out how to position my legs/foot to best access the petals individually and not combined, so I suppose I'll relearn that in a new car. This would be my first turbocharged car, is there anything different I should know about operating one? Oh, I guess there's another thing... I'm seeing that there's no sun/moon roof option, something I rather like in my current car. I'm reading across the web that people advise against it because it weakens structural integrety, and others advise against it because of potential leaks. I've never had a leak on mine (except that one time I left it open and a sudden downpour came through my city), so that's not too big of a concern, but it's also from the factory, and not aftermarket. So.. has anyone here had experience with an aftermarket sun/moon roof? I'm looking for one that cracks open and also slides. Even if you don't have experience, what would your opinion be of trying to get one?
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Sep 12, 2013 22:24
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The dealer let me borrow a MS3 for the day, and I have to do at least two hours of driving today  I'm sitting a little more upright than I'm used to, but I think it would be like that in any car I get that isn't a pure sports car. But for the most part, I've enjoined what little time driving I've had. Late edit: Had to drive ~60mi for a presentation (and I'll be driving back later), and it was a lot of fun. Super easy to pick up speed, even when already at highway speeds. Aexo fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Sep 13, 2013 |
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Sep 13, 2013 12:57
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Franco Caution posted:I think my favorite thing about my MS3 was the first time I tried out 3rd gear on the highway. poo poo, I dropped it in to fourth after someone finally got over and still picked up and ran! I almost feel like there's information overload, though. So many things to look at! Average/Active MPG, Average speed, Range, Turbo pressure, so many steering wheel buttons, OMGTOUCHSCREENBUTTONSMUSTPRESS! I just wish the seat went a little lower. My roomie who is an older gent, but a car enthusiast, said I might be able to ask them if they can lower it more. Is that something I can ask for? I'm pretty much sold on the MS3. Just waiting for my insurance to give me back my wrecked car and a check. And the blue LCD thing feels a little out of place. I haven't Googled, but I'm guessing there's an aftermarket replacement in red? Everything else in the car is hued red, like the tach/spedo and seats...
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Sep 14, 2013 02:16
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Earlier today, the sales dude called me to see how I liked the test drive as he was off yesterday. I took that opportunity to ask, and he said he'd check for me. Waiting on an email back. He might have gotten the address wrong though, since most people do when I recite it. But whatevs.... I'll have an answer eventually, I'm sure.
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Sep 14, 2013 22:50
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Back again... I wanted to see if someone could explain the "interior lighting kit" option on the 2013MS3? The model I borrowed had it on the list of items included (as well as a $500 clearcoat - dealerships still do that?). Anyway. I noticed there was a blue LED light over the shifter, and on each side where the window/lock controls are. I didn't notice if it was in the footwell, but from what I'm reading online, the footwhells are what that kit refers to. I don't really care about the footwell, but having the light on the window/lock control and over the shifter was actually pretty nice. None of the stuff I'm reading on the Mazda site really seems to help demystify it for me.
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Sep 16, 2013 15:25
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Awesome! Thanks! Still waiting to get my Celica and a check back from the insurance company. Once I get the money, I'm very likely going to see what kind of rate my bank and Mazda can get me.
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Sep 17, 2013 23:25
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Is there a thread better suited for tint questions? I'm not too familiar with AI, but I didn't see a thread that seemed appropriate other than maybe the detailing one... Anyway, I got my new MS3 tinted last Friday. Immediately left for camping for the weekend. When packing poo poo up, it was raining pretty bad, and I'm certain water got on the windows on the inside, but I didn't try to wipe it off since I know you're not supposed to wash the inside of the windows for a while and I didn't want to make it any worse. I'm wondering if I should try to squeegee these bulbous looking things out with a credit card now, or if they will bake out in the sun, or if I should take it back to the tint place. If it matters, this is ceramic film, inside looking out. Basically looks like magnifying dots. You can find them in/around the tree.  edit: Is there a thread/post about "stage tuning" or whatever it's called (sorry, I'm clearly new here)? Will it kill my warranties? Aexo fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Oct 10, 2013 |
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Oct 10, 2013 15:04
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I asked when I took ownership of my MS3, but it's really bugging me... Is there supposed to be some kind of plastic in the wheel well? My last car had some, but it just seems like protected metal on this car.
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Oct 19, 2013 00:20
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It's been extra cold around my area (single digits with double digit below zero wind chills) and yesterday I feel like my '13 MS3 has been making crunchy sounds when going over rough road. I did about an hours worth of driving last night and I don't think I heard it after the car had a chance to warm up, but I could be imagining things. I looked under the front and didn't see any hanging plastic. Didn't check the back (is there plastic back there?). Non-rough , and the ride is normal. It didn't seem crunchy sounding on the way to work, but it did on the way home. Could the cold just be making it a little more rough sounding?
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Jan 24, 2014 19:01
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Thanks, goons This is my second car, and the last was nearly 15 years old, so I'm trying my best to be good to it.
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Jan 24, 2014 23:00
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So I'm driving on the highway, about to take an exit, 60mph or so, and all of my electronics Including my lights turned off for half a second. I wasn't really moving the wheel, but I want to say the power steering didn't go out. Everything came back up like I had just started the car except the display cluster. The only thing that showed up there was the traction control, the headlight indicator, and the backlight. Help? '13 MS3 w/ 4800 miles =/
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Jan 31, 2014 05:03
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Stolennosferatu posted:You can call 1-800-222-5500 for Mazda customer service. That sounds like a pretty major problem, so I'll message you my email so you can contact me if they don't know what's going on. Thanks for the help anyway. Yeah, I was told to take the car in. edit: No error codes, all the electrical looked ok. They tightened connections to the battery and alternator. Here's hoping it won't happen again. Aexo fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Jan 31, 2014 |
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Jan 31, 2014 18:17
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Is there something wrong with the stock MS3 tires? I don't even have 15k miles and this is the second tire I've gotten a bulge in. First was at just over 100mi. Ugh. I go to a local tire shop... What is a good all season tire for the 2013 MS3?
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Dec 19, 2014 22:36
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We're heading into winter in Indiana. A few years back we got three inches of ice in one day, and I think last year we got about a foot of snow on a single night. I don't plan on being a super rally car driver, but I do need to get out sometimes.
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Dec 20, 2014 14:25
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Rhyno posted:Screw that, hermit life for me. It doesn't hurt that I live 5 minutes from work and 8 minutes from my primary grocery store. What part of the state are you in? South east of Broad Ripple. I don't think I have met you at the Indy goon meets. We should prolly get another one rolling soon, it's been a while. opengl128 posted:All seasons are a crummy compromise, and still won't be great in snow. Get 16" steelies with proper winter tires (which is typically cheaper than a set of 18" tires alone), and a set of nice summers for your 18" wheels. Hmm.. Maybe with the tax refund...
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Dec 20, 2014 22:02
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Earlier this evening I hit a small pot hole city driving in my '13 MS3 and my BSM light flashed till I hit another one. Pressing the button while it was flashing didn't do anything. Previously I've had all my electronics momentarily (less than a second) go out freeway driving but the dealership didn't find anything. Am I just cursed?
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Mar 25, 2015 07:59
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Fabulousity posted:Throwing a dead possum out there but: Was it wet out when it happened? Like maybe it kicked some poo poo up that got onto one of or both of the sensors? Yeah, it was raining. I should find something that explains how BSM works in more detail... it's been something I've wanted to understand better anyway. About the momentary electronic failure... All the lights went out; headlights, speed/tach, radio, etc. It was freaky since it was at night, but thank goodness it was very brief. No mods on the car and the only thing plugged in was a USB cable that wasn't even hooked up to my phone at the time.
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Mar 26, 2015 18:31
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I was driving my MS3 earlier, thinking about how much I love driving my car. Then at a stop light, a Mazda next to me handed me a card to join their local Mazda club on Facebook. I clicked join and less than a minute later, I can't find the group. Essentially, I've already been banned. Thanks friends!
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Jul 25, 2015 18:41
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All the electronics in my '13 MS3 went out for a split second again last night. I didn't hit a bump or anything that would cause it. It's a little concerning.
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Oct 9, 2015 23:33
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Larger engine, less horsepower and barely more torque than a stock MS3... I could be wrong, but I don't think that's a peek at the new Mazdaspeed specs.
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Nov 20, 2015 19:09
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I don't want to say anything for fear of waking the beast. No major troubles for me and my 13 MS3 bought new other than twice now all the electronics going out for less than a second (bluetooth doesn't even lose connectivity). Oh, and I guess I broke the drivers seat, but I'm big and the way I get in I knew it was going to happen eventually. How about twice now being asked to join the local Mazda crew, and the first time I requested to join the Facebook group, they blocked me?
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Jan 7, 2016 20:45
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I noticed the other day that there's a droning noise when driving 75-ish mph. It's like a "woooom" noise that comes/goes every second. It wasn't the road, because I was driving for over an hour and it was pretty constant when I had cruise control on. I want to say I heard/felt some vibrations at lower speeds driving around the city, but I can't re-create it now. I hit a pothole pretty hard the week prior, so I'm wondering if that's the cause. '13MS3
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Apr 18, 2016 15:40
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Fabulousity posted:Guessing wheel bearing or damaged tire. Have a shop take a look, especially at the wheel that ate the pothole impact. Driver's front, passenger's rear wheels are both bent. gently caress potholes.
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Apr 25, 2016 17:43
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I got the bent rims fixed up and took the car to the tire place to rotate/balance afterwards. I mentioned that the dealership noted some wear on the tires and the tech at the tire shop said that Mazdas are known for wearing tires a little weird. Is that true? Because when I asked if it was going to be covered by the warranty on the tires he told me it's a "manufacturing defect" of the car despite getting the alignment checked every time I go in for an oil change.
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May 22, 2016 23:49
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IOwnCalculus posted:My 2007 MS3 ate the inside corners of the tires no matter what I did on alignment. The factory setup has a lot of static camber (which isn't adjustable) so unless you dial it out with aftermarket parts, you will probably do the same if your commute is as ruler-straight* as mine. About 7mi one-way for me, roughly the same number of turns. Bummer. Thanks for the info though!
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May 23, 2016 19:24
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~33,500 mi on my '13 MS3 and the service department said they had to replace my rear brake pads and rotate my rotors. I feel like that's pretty early.
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Feb 21, 2017 17:33
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I hit a pretty bad pothole the other day. I didn't feel any difference in ride immediately. The following day I was driving and I could totally feel a difference. There's an obvious bump like feeling in the steering wheel that's relational to the rotation of the tires. At low speeds you can see how it pulls the steering wheel. At higher speeds it's shaking the car. I'm just trying to brace myself for what the service department is going to tell me tomorrow. Any idea what it may be and a rough cost? The tires don't seem to be leaking air, so I wouldn't immediately think the alloy wheel was badly bent or cracked or anything... '13 MS3 ~ 43k mi
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Jan 16, 2018 14:42
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Aexo posted:I hit a pretty bad pothole the other day. I didn't feel any difference in ride immediately. The following day I was driving and I could totally feel a difference. There's an obvious bump like feeling in the steering wheel that's relational to the rotation of the tires. At low speeds you can see how it pulls the steering wheel. At higher speeds it's shaking the car. I'm just trying to brace myself for what the service department is going to tell me tomorrow. Any idea what it may be and a rough cost? Massive bent wheel. Bubble on the inside of the tire, spanning about 1/3 of the tire. $100 for the wheel repair. $18 for renewing tire insurance. Much less than I was worried about paying.
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Jan 18, 2018 02:35
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A long long time ago I took the "trunk" cover off in my ms3. I decided to put it back on for whatever reason recently. But I noticed my left plastic nub was missing. It seems like a pretty flimsy piece of plastic that just pops into the hatch wall. Does anyone know what I'd search for to get a replacement? Pictured is the right side. There's the string attaching to the cover and plastic piece that has a hole where the hatch nub would pop inside. 
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Apr 4, 2018 14:27
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Okay, but what do I call it? And as I was typing that I just realized the right side might have a part number on it.
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Apr 4, 2018 15:18
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I had about 33,500 mi on my '13 MS3 when I was advised by the service department to replace the rear pads. I'm taking the car in next week because I think the front pads are about done as I intermittently hear squeaking when I stop. I'm just over 46k mi.
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May 18, 2018 19:36
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'13 MS3 ~48k mi Turn on the car, all diagnostic lights go away, and when I turn the steering wheel either direction, my AFS light starts blinking. The HID lights don't move with the wheel anymore. Halp?
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Jun 29, 2018 19:05
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Went on a week-long vacation and my '13 MS3 has had a rough noise that's proportional in frequency to wheel rotation and louder when breaking. I can't see anything out of the ordinary with the breaks or rotors and I've tried pumping the breaks and e-break and I'm still getting the noise. It definitely rained while I was gone, if that matters. Is this just something that'll sort itself out after regular use again?
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Aug 22, 2019 14:45
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Definitely not a rattling. Like something lightly rubbing on something else every time the wheel rotates. Maybe a balance issue? I dunno. Haven't tested on turns but it sounds like it's coming from the back.
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Aug 23, 2019 00:22
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Dunno if this will work... This is when I'm breaking https://vocaroo.com/i/s1oGr7JRHrB5 Edit: I only drove it briefly this morning. Driving now. Aexo fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Aug 23, 2019 |
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Aug 23, 2019 00:50
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My shifter suddenly feels a lot more resistant to movement. Like even with the car off and the shifter in the neutral position, pulling it over to still in neutral but below 1st / above 2nd, it stops, needing more force to get past something stopping it. Driving today I went to put it in 4th, which should just be straight down, it felt like there was something blocking it that I had to push past to actually drop it into gear. I guess I could take the leather cover thing off and make sure nothing's in there, but it feels like it's a shifter problem and not a transmission thing since it does it even when off, and it was fine yesterday so I'm just confused and not sure how to properly Google my issue.
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Jun 29, 2023 21:42
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Yeah it's a 2013 MS3 w/ 72k miles on it. I'll crack into under the leather thing when I get back from this vacation.
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Jul 2, 2023 02:01
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Update, but may not be related to my last post: I was city driving this weekend when suddenly my traction control light came on and the check engine light was blinking and I found that I could no longer accelerate but maybe an additional mph per minute. When I came to a stop light I quickly restarted the engine and it seemed okay, I could rev the engine in neutral and I could take off from first. Second gear seemed to trigger the same issue again though. Also when reaching a stop without even restarting the car, the check engine light stops blinking but remained on and let me accelerate again. Googling makes me think this might be called limp mode, but nothing in my searches has really answered what's causing it. Monday I city drove to/from a place about 15min away and never once entered limp mode, though the check engine light was solid on the whole time. Makes me wonder if it's temperature related as it was a pretty hot day this weekend and a pretty cold/damp morning this Monday. Anyway, I got an appointment for service tomorrow. Never did get under the leather part of my shifter XD I just don't drive that much anymore now that I work from home.
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Jul 18, 2023 16:16
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The shift guide has been worn down and will be replaced and the engine fuckery returned misfire codes. They took one of the spark plugs out and it wasn't pretty, so they're suggesting a general tune-up. And somehow the battery was low, so I get a new one of those too! Whee, more money out the door 🙃
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Jul 21, 2023 17:57
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My 2013 Speed3 the speedo and tach brightness were a turn knob and the music display was a push button, if not the same stick/knob/button thing, then each were on either side of the middle hump of my speedo/tach panel, I believe. Though I think one stuck button thing was for odometer.
Aexo fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Jan 17, 2024 |
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Jan 17, 2024 01:03
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