05 manual trans with about 11k miles. I've only had the car about 3-4 months now.

I only have a problem on cold starts. Crank the engine over, it revs up to say 3k RPM. As it's slowly dropping down to an idle speed, it often has this "hiccup". Nasty.... almost grinding sound. It varies in intensity. Sometimes it will be so loud, my passenger will be like WTF was that?? And other times it will be almost non-existent. Never happens on warm starts where I run into the store real quick. Even if it sits for an hour or two, it doesn't do it. But first thing in the morning or after sitting 9+ hours at work, almost every time.

A total and complete shot in the dark... is it my A/C compressor kicking on by chance? I haven't pin pointed down if it does it only with the A/C on. But that dawned on me a few days ago.

I don't want to take it to the dealer for warranty work if it's something normal. Last time I went in there, I had to argue with a total douche bag over a trunk release who said ALMOST WORD FOR WORD "You're a teenager driving an exotic sports car." (I'm a 26 year old recently divorced man by the way) And this is a freakin Mazda dealer for pete's sake. I didn't know if I should be mad at him for stereotyping me, or laugh because he thinks I drive a Lambo. LOL!

 

I can't help you much except to say that mine does not do that.

 

The air injection pumps tend to squeel and or grind if they are failing. They only run for a short time after a cold start to heat up the CAT. If you go to the passenger side strut tower...the pump is right there....give it a tap...or disconnect the plug and see if it goes away. If it does..it's the pump...nd it's part of the emmissions system and is covered under the warranty

 

Thanks for your replies.
I think I've narrowed it down a little. It only does this if the A/C is on when I crank the car over. I have no idea what an injection pump is.... could this still be my problem?

 

I think he is referring to the Secondary Air Pump, which sends fresh air into the exhaust manifold to burn off the rich cold idle mixture (lots of unburned fuel at idle with a cold start) and bring the cat up to operating temp. It only operates on a cold start. Mine needed to be replaced this winter because it failed. In hind sight, after it was replaced, I realized that it had been making noise, but not enough that I noticed it before the CEL came on.

It threw a P0410, BTW.

 

Small update... only does this on cold starts and when the A/C is on. The higher the RPM the worse the sound is. Yesterday, I was in a hurry. Started the car up with the A/C off, threw it in reverse, back out of drive, threw it into 1st and started to release the clutch .... as I happen to be turning on the A/C. Probably around 3k RPM. The split second I turned that **** to "1", the nastiest squeal I have ever heard was let loose from under my hood. Lasted about 3/4 of a second.

Had an appointment at the dealer, but got caught up at work and had to cancel. Won't be able to take it in until Tues. Any ideas?

 

Took it to the dealer today for service. The service writer was a total douche bag. He spent, honestly, 10 minutes trying to convince me that the sound I was hearing normal and that he has got a lot of complaints about it. I'm telling you guys, it's NOT normal. It's head-turning loud. There is nobody on this Earth that could call that normal. I ended up leaving the car over night so they can hear it at a cold start.

I just know I'm going to get a call in the morning saying they didn't hear anything strange and to come pick up my car. What should I do in this case? Who can I call to get some REAL help from someone who actually wants to help? Where can I call if I have a complaint about a Mazda dealer? The service writer was a curt ******* regardless if they fix the problem or not...

 

Well surprise surprise . Just got off the phone with the dealer and "it didn't make a single peep of noise". You have got to be kidding me. The car does it EVERY SINGLE COLD START. And it's LOUD. I think I'm being extremely reasonable. There is not a person on this Earth who would think that noise is acceptable. I'm certainly not just being picky. I've hated every car dealer I've ever had and this one is certainly no exception.

And the best part, "Oh we noticed your belt is a little loose. So that's probably what you're hearing. We can tighten that right up for you, but it not covered up warranty. We'd have to charge you a half hour labor for that which is $45." I laughed. I'm not paying you $45 to tighten a damn belt.