Car Problem

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

Hope no one minds if I shift gears from politics and bring up a car problem. Been buying used and new cars for near 48 years. Of the first 14 vehicles I never had a major failure such as what occurred Friday.

I live 60 miles northwest of San Antonio and was headed to SA. Got within 10 miles of destination when I smelled something and within a few seconds vehicles around me started beeping their horns. Billows of smoke was coming out and no power steering. The engine was still running and with emergency lights on I safely got off and parked where a tow vehicle could pick it up.

The dealer has had the car for nearly 2 days and still cannot detail what needs to be fixed. Or what still might be working. He hasn't yet mentioned the engine block or innards but near everything else under the hood is up for grabs.

The car is 4 1/2 years old with 35k miles. Due to unique circumstances I forgot to purchase extended coverage which I had on the car before this one. I screwed up and forgot. Do I have a question here???? I don't know, Anybody else have a car this relatively new fail so extensively? My 14 year old Tahoe has near 140k on it. Of course various this and that has been replaced but it still runs like a clock.

I wrote a letter that tries to explain my extreme frustration and maybe that is more of what I'm doing here, I'll mail it tomorrow. But its got only 35k and may be in the shop for 3, 4 or more days. What a PITA!!!! Now this is the 6th time I have bought this make so I thought, foolish me, that that I mean its not going to fail in 4 years.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Beat me to it. I was going to suggest that if you didn’t get a CarFzx on it when you bought it, get one. If it’s one of the Sandy vehicles or one that has been totaled for some other reason you may have some recourse.

[GeronL]

No recalls on your vehicle?

[green pastures]

Wrong thread.

;-)

[concerned about politics]

I agree...a belt alone wouldn’t make enough smoke to annoy other drivers.

A serpentine belt is called that because it goes around so many things under the hood. It's like a snake. Power steering would stop. No water pump to cool down the engine, so the temp light would come on. The engine light would come on due to the alternator not getting charged.
If there's any spilled oil under the hood (dirty engine), it would smoke like crazy.

[green pastures]

I kid you not, but two threads below this is a post about Elvis’ Cadillac going up in smoke:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2990811/posts

A couple years back a Freeper started a thread about the irony of how some threads appeared near one another. I recall that because I’ve often thought about that as well. I’m sure he would have enjoyed these...

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

Its just that till now I was happy with my Mazdas.
‘08 Mazda CX-7.

[onona]

I think one of your hamsters seized up...

Try feeding them a better brand of kibble

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

The ONLY thing the dealer said so far is that they thought the AC pulley froze/locked. But they suspected there were several/many(?) other side effects. OK, so maybe that burned up the main belt but not for all the smoke?????

[dinodino]

Well, a seized A/C compressor would do it, and have about the same effect. Did the smoke smell like rubber, oil, or something else? What color was the smoke (white or black?)

[al baby]

Playing the Race card I see>

[RegulatorCountry]

2008 Mazda CX7. Factory powertrain warranty is still in effect, 60 months/60,000 miles. Service interval on serpentine belt isn’t usually before 60k, it’s been 90k on vehicles I’ve owned. Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Ford, GMC. Can’t say about Mazda but there is some commonality with Ford, having been owned in part by them.

[doorgunner69]

if you lost your belt and the water pump quit, the cooling system stopped. Depending on how much further you drove, the engine may have puked a few gaskets and the smoke was steam from coolant getting into the combustion chamber.

If that happened, it is new or rebuilt engine time. Big reasons for replacing belts on a regular schedule. Lose one and you can lose an engine.

[PUGACHEV]

Yes, I would agree it sounds like the serpentine belt burnt then snapped when something seized up. The No 1 suspect would be the air conditiong comprssor, No. 2 the idler wheel. After that, I assume the car overheated since the water pump wasn’t working because the serpentine belt broke, and that may have lead to a warped or cracked head.

[SFConservative]

What, are they voting on a new Pope already?

[dinodino]

Ha!

[Valpal1]

The dealer has had the car for nearly 2 days and still cannot detail what needs to be fixed.

Probably because the mechanic(s) haven't even looked at it yet. Look, just because you had it towed in and are all upset doesn't make it an emergency, nor does that mean they automatically have an open bay available to take a look. It could very easily still be sitting unlooked at in the car yard. You lost power steering and had smoke billowing, but the engine was still running. Perhaps the fluid line or a seal failed and was leaking onto the hot engine and burning off. Be patient, it might not be as bad as you think.

[Nateman]

Check the power steering level. If the tank is empty you are are leaking power steering fluid somewhere and it’s spraying onto something hot. If so add some fluid, and watch the engine to see where the leak is after you turn it on.

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

Of what little I saw it looked a bit dark but was mostly gone by the time I got the car off the freeway. I hardly/never looked in the rear view mirror while getting the car off a busy freeway.

[muir_redwoods]

If it’s a Fiat or a Peugeot this is normal

[BerryDingle]

Can you name this strange old tool? Do you know what it is?
You may want to check the Dealership for one of these antiques that have been used for years.

The tobacco enema was used to infuse tobacco smoke into a patient’s rectum for various medical purposes,primarily the resuscitation of drowning victims and disgruntled customers and voters. . A rectal tube inserted into the anus was connected to a fumigator and bellows that forced the smoke towards the rectum. The warmth of the smoke was thought to promote respiration. Doubts about the credibility of tobacco enemas led to the popular phrase, "blowing smoke up your ass." Amazingly, it is still in constant use in Washington D.C. by the best Senators and U.S. Representatives that money can buy.