Why are the new Mazda3s in Vietnam reporting engine problems?

According to statistics from Truong Hai Automobile Company (Thaco), to date, 44 new Mazda3 vehicles have experienced the engine fault light remaining constantly illuminated, one of the causes being the quality of the gasoline.

Mr. Tran Vu Son, Deputy General Director of Thaco PC, said that the number of new Mazda3 cars affected by this issue is 44 out of nearly 3,000 sold since its launch in late 2014. Thaco is currently coordinating with Mazda Japan to send a team of engineers to Vietnam to investigate this problem.

The Mazda3 Skyactiv was launched in Hanoi in December 2014.

For its part, Thaco stated that the warning light on some Mazda3 vehicles is due to clogged fuel injectors caused by excessive carbon buildup during the combustion of fuel containing impurities, leading to blockage of the fuel injector's operation.

According to Mr. Son, most of the Mazda3 vehicles experiencing the error are equipped with a 1.5L engine. The 1.5L engine has a smaller cylinder capacity compared to the 2.0L engine and a high compression ratio (13:1) to deliver a high power output of up to 110 horsepower at 6,000 rpm. Therefore, during operation with direct fuel injection to the cylinder head, the 1.5L engine requires a very high precision in the air-fuel mixture ratio, making it quite "sensitive" to fuel containing impurities. Even a small change in the air-fuel mixture ratio can easily trigger an error, warning the driver about the fuel quality.

The engine fault light illuminates on some Mazda3 vehicles.

Before Mazda's global engineers reach a final conclusion, Thaco representatives advise Mazda3 owners experiencing the warning light to bring their vehicles to authorized Mazda Vietnam service centers for assistance in cleaning the fuel injectors using a cleaning solution (Deposit Cleaner) provided by Mazda Japan. This helps remove any dirt or debris that may be causing blockages at the injector nozzles.

"Upon inspection, we initially found that although the engine warning light was on, the vehicle was still operating normally. We will coordinate with Japanese experts to quickly reach an accurate conclusion regarding the cause and solution to this problem," Mr. Son said.

The 2015 Mazda3, manufactured and assembled in Vietnam, was launched in late 2014 with three versions using two Skyactiv engine options: a 1.5-liter engine (available in both 4-door sedan and 5-door hatchback versions) and a 2.0-liter engine. The 1.5-liter Mazda3 Skyactiv engine produces a maximum power of 112 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 144 Nm at 4,000 rpm; the 2.0-liter engine produces a maximum power of 155 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 210 Nm at 4,000 rpm.

Currently, the Mazda3 has a published price of 729 million VND for the 1.5L sedan version, 749 million VND for the 1.5L hatchback version, and 862 million VND for the 2.0L sedan version, all 20 million VND lower than the prices announced at its launch in December 2014. However, depending on the region and time, customers buying a Mazda3 may receive discounts of up to tens of millions of VND.

According to VnMedia