Hey guys! First I wanna start off by saying any help is greatly greatly appreciated!

I have searched this forum and google and cannot find an answer to my specific problem. I need your help because my cars warranty just ended (go figure right?)

Specs of my car:
2004 GT MT 6-Speed
58,022 miles

Issue 1 - Starting.
I have 0 issues starting it when it is cold. I let it heat up to avoid flooding.
Driving it around is fine. But, when I drive short distances with about 3 stops and then kill it, it has a hard time starting. 1st attempt at starting - never turns over. 2nd attempt at starting - seems like it wants to turn over but doesnt. 3rd attempt - Finally turns over around 7-10 seconds. Seems like when the car sits for more than 2 hours, it starts right up. I am sorry if I am losing you guys, but this is exactly what goes down. Very very confusing and frustrating, because I dont even know where to start as far as fixing it goes.

Issue 2 - Idle.
Yesterday, it started idling very weird. When it starts up, It goes to around 2,000 rpm and pretty much stays there, it does come down a little, and the idling stays up even when in gear. When I come to a COMPLETE stop, clutch and brake fully compressed, it stays around 2,000 (It used to stay around 1,200 - 900.

Please guys help me!

Thanks Club
If someone is gracious enough to speak to me personally, send me an email at phillipb85@gmail, and I will surely give you my cell # (sometimes easier to explain talking to a live person)

Driving it around is fine. But, when I drive short distances with about 3 stops and then kill it, it has a hard time starting. 1st attempt at starting - never turns over. 2nd attempt at starting - seems like it wants to turn over but doesnt. 3rd attempt - Finally turns over around 7-10 seconds <<<<< What I meant about 3 stops is 1. Stop at wal-mart. 2. stop at the mall 3. stop at friends house

 

you do know that Mazda extended the engine core warranty to 8 year/100k miles, right?
What maintenance have you done to your car?
Change plugs/ coils?
Do you have the upgraded starter?

Sounds like you have low compression. Your engine should still be covered under warranty

PS This isn't a hard problem to diagnose, as that same question gets asked at least weekly. Click the link in my sig to find a more effective way to search. Good luck!

 

Soldier, I did not know that. I bought it used 7 months ago and had a 6 month warranty. Will Mazda still cover that? I did buy it from a Mazda dealership..Dont know if that matters.

The only maintenance the car has had is 3 oil changes.
No, I have the non-upgraded factory starter.

 

The OEM warrantly is 8yr/100K miles on the engine core. Take the car back to the dealer you bought it from, say exactly to them what you said to us. That will have them perform a decarb and vacuum test to see if your engine is still in spec. It's also common to have to replace coils, plugs, and wires. You can do this yourself first if you're inclined. It's much cheaper than the dealer and they'll want to you replace them before they diagnose the engine.

 

Do you have all maintenance records? Some (not all!) dealerships require you to have all service records of maintenance work done to your car in order to qualify for a replacement engine. Call them and ask if they'll honor the warranty. Then bring it in for a compression test. If you fail compression, they will replace the engine for you. If you pass, you'll have to pay for the test, which is roughly $100-150.

Also, chances are your coils/plugs haven't been changed. check with Mazmart, a vendor of these forums and order a set of OEM plugs/ coils (the stock ones usually only last ~25k miles). Or, what I would recommend, visit blackhaloracing.com and order a set of theirs. They will last much longer than OEM and are more beneficial to the engine.

EDIT shaunv74 beat me to it. I'm too distracted tonight lol

 

Great NEWS!! I have been living under a rock apparently.

Thanks again

 

I can dig up one or two oil change records (not done at Mazda though)

Thats great news!! I am taking it down there tomorrow, hopefully they will honor it. I will check into the coils/plugs as well.

You guys are the best. thanks for helping a newb out.