Mazda 3 Owners Manual: Underbody Maintenance
Road chemicals and salt used for ice and snow removal and solvents used for dust control may collect on the underbody. If not removed, they will speed up rusting and deterioration of such underbody parts as fuel lines, frame, floor pan, and exhaust system, even though these parts may be coated with anti-corrosive material.
Thoroughly flush the underbody and wheel housings with lukewarm or cold water at the end of each winter. Try also to do this every month.
Pay special attention to these areas because they easily hide mud and dirt.
It will do more harm than good to wet down the road grime without removing it.
The lower edges of doors, rocker panels, and frame members have drain holes that should not be clogged. Water trapped there will cause rusting.
| WARNING
Dry off brakes that have become
wet by driving slowly, releasing the
accelerator pedal and lightly applying
the brakes several times until the brake
performance returns to normal:
Driving with wet brakes is dangerous. Increased stopping distance or the vehicle pulling to one side when braking could result in a serious accident. Light braking will indicate whether the brakes have been aff ected. |
Bright-Metal Maintenance
Use tar remover to remove road tar and
insects. Never do this with a knife or
similar tool.
To prevent corrosion on brightmetal
surfaces, apply wax or chrome
preservative and rub it to a ...
Aluminum Wheel Maintenance
A protective coating is provided over the
aluminum wheels. Special care is needed
to protect this coating.
CAUTION
Do not use any detergent other than
mild detergent. Before using any
...
Other materials:
i-ELOOP
On conventional vehicles, the kinetic energy that is generated when the
vehicle is
decelerated by applying the brakes or during engine braking ends up being
discarded as
heat. By utilizing this discarded kinetic energy to generate electricity and use
it to power the
vehicle's electrical dev ...
Clutch Release Collar Inspection [C66 M R]
CAUTION:
Do not clean the clutch release collar with cleaning fluids or a steam cleaner
because it is filled with grease.
Operation Inspection
1. Turn the collar while applying force in the axial direction, and inspect for
sticking, excessive resistance, and an abnormal noise.
...
Automatic Transaxle Fluid (ATF) Adjustment [Fw6 A EL]
CAUTION:
Only adjust the ATF level when the ATF temperature is 45—55 °C {113—131 °F}.
If the ATF level is incorrect, it could damage the transaxle.
Do not add ATF over the specification. Otherwise, the transaxle performance
could be reduced and ATF could leak.
1. Remove a ...