I brought my car in to my local Mazda dealer for the recalls, a CEL, a rattle in the door, and the peeling film on the headlights the other day and expected to get the car back today.

I call this afternoon to ask if it's going to be ready tonight and they tell me that they were about to call me...

Anyways, in their attempts to pull the code for my CEL, they were unable to communicate with my PCM. They attempted to "clear and rebuild it" with no luck. They then went ahead and ordered a new PCM which "should" be in tomorrow but Wednesday would be the absolute latest.

I was wondering if anyone else has had to have their PCM replaced. I've never heard of it and I've done searches on "PCM everything" and found nothing. Will the firmware be different then my Aug 03 build PCM? I'm guessing that the CEL I had will never be known either. It used to turn off after 3-4 starts and turn back on every cold start but the past few months it just stays on. I was hoping it was somehow related to my **** poor gas mileage (14MPG on a good tank).

In the meantime I'm stuck with a POS neon with power nothing, 40,000 miles, it shakes when you go over 70, the tires are bald, and the brakes squeek.

The good news is that they are replacing my headlights. The service advisor said that they are the worse that he's seen.

Any ideas as to what's up?

 

I wonder if this has anything to do with the post below about no OBDII data in Texas. Check it out or just scroll down. It's right below.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/texas-state-inspection-no-obd-ii-data-75893/

 

Different issue. Dealers didn't have a problem with theirs. Dealers cannot read mine.

 

Sounds like my issue here: https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=dtc. I didn't notice any difference in performance when the CEL came on but I never had it long enough to last a fuel tank to figure out if it affects my gas mileage.

Keep in mind that you have to re-program the keys with the new security code once you get the new PCM. I'm not sure if I got the 04 or 05 model, but the car has been running fine so far, even after the PCM reflash for the most recent recall.