Questions and Answers

Mazda Dies On Acceleration

Q. Hello: I have a long time problem with my 1995 Mazda MX-3, 4 cylinder, automatic, A/C. After I start it, you have to wait a few minutes before you can put it in gear and take off without it dying. You can NEVER take off immediately after starting it, even in warm/hot weather. The colder it is outside (I'm in the Chicago area), the longer you have to sit before you can drive off. Sometimes up to 8 minutes or longer in the winter. Do you have any idea why this happens, or what I need to have checked out? Or, could you refer me to someone who could help me?

Thank you very much,
Lynn

A. It sounds like you have a bad coolant temp sensor. When it's cold (and the colder it is, the worse it is) it is not sending the correct information to the computer. When the engine is cold, it needs more fuel to run and if the sensor is not telling the computer it's cold, the computer will not give out the extra fuel. It may idle fine, but as soon as you put it under a load, it dies. When the engine reaches the tempreture where the fuel available is enough, then you can drive away.

Another possibility is the valve body in the transmission is not operationg correctly. You can get a transmission flush and fill, with a new filter, to see if this corrects the problem.

Probaly the best thing to do is have the EFI system checked out with the dealer. Chances are this is a known problem and will be able to take care of it in no time.

Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA