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:
Liftgate Removal/Installation
WARNING:
When removing the stay damper, serious injury may occur if the stay damper
is removed without supporting the liftgate. Always perform the procedure with
at least another person.
1. Disconnect the negative battery cable..
2. Remove the following parts:
a. Rear scuff p ...
Parking Brake
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake on
will cause excessive wear of the brake
parts.
NOTE
For parking in snow, refer to Winter Driving regarding parking
brake use.
Setting the parking brake
Depress the brake pedal and then firmly
pull the parking brake lever fully upwar ...
How to Use Stitcher™* Radio
What is Stitcher™ Radio?
Stitcher™ radio is an application which can be used to listen to Internet radio
or stream
podcasts.
Recommended content is automatically selected by registering content which you
put into
your favorites, or by pressing the Like or Dislike button.
For details on ...
