Miata Service

Your High Beams Are On

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A couple months ago the right turn signal started to not turn on every time I tried to engage it. It is not a big deal to most folks, but I was taught very early on to use my blinkers. It is not too hard, and it is just part of driving for me. But the car is a quarter-century old, and things are not going to stay working forever.

A little more than three weeks ago I took it in to the dealer to have them do a 5,000-mile service. While I was there, I asked about how much it would cost to fix the blinkers. They said they’d have to troubleshoot to see if it was broken and then find out even if they could get a new one. The next day I was told it is not repairable; if you want to replace it, it’ll be around $500 for parts and labor. Or we can just put it back in, and that’s going to be just $75 for the diagnostics. I’ve already dumped enough money into the car; what’s another four hundred bucks? They wouldn’t get the parts in before I was headed on the Arizona trip, so I told them, “No worries, I’ll pick it up when I get back.”

So on Wednesday, I went to get the Miata back. Nice, it works every time, and there is a brand-new turn signal stalk feel. This morning when I went out to go grocery shopping, you could tell fall is coming, it was still slightly dark, so I turned on the headlights, and the high beams were on. I could see the high-beam dash light on. You push or pull the stalk fore and aft with the center being normal, forward with a click for high beams, and a spring-back pull backwards for flash-to-pass. The stalk position was centered, not in the high-beam position. I wiggled the stalk, and the high beams would go off or on.

After grocery shopping I just drove the Miata back to the dealer. They wanted to verify the issue and see if there was an easy fix. Half an hour later I was told they have to get another new stalk. Here’s an interesting thing about the replacement stalk, it’s the second one they had to order. The first one was lost in transit. It was the last one in the US. Remember, a 25-year-old car and the last time they used them in Miatas was in 2015. This one came from the motherland, Japan, and they expedited it so they could have the car ready when I got back. They aren’t going to expedite this one, so they are going to put the old new one back in, until the part gets here.

At least from Japan to here, the part doesn’t have to transit the Strait of Hormuz…

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 85.8%

 

It’s Good To Be Home

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Back to my regular routine. I took my favorite walk with my favorite latte. Did a little shopping. Fred Meyer for OJ and a couple of yogurts to tide me over until Friday’s big shop. Kohl’s for a long-sleeve T-shirt because I liked the color. And AutoZone for some snow foam for use later today. This afternoon I washed the GTI and brought the Miata back from the dealer.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more exciting doings…

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 80.6%

 

Buckie Gets A Ride


 
It was sunny out, so I took the Miata out for a last drive because it won’t get used for more than a month, but once again it was way too cold to put the top down. It was just a short hop, Marine Drive to Troutdale, then a mile or so of US30 before heading home via Stark and Halsey. But those last few miles the clutch did not feel right. It was engaging deeper into the pedal throw, and it became hard to get in gear. I was going to stop for my daily latte at Stomping Grounds but headed home instead. Good thing. I was hoping to get the Miata into the carport area, but first I needed to move the GTI out. When I cleared that spot, I couldn’t get the Miata in any gear at all; it was not moving from its spot.

My only option at this point was that I needed to tow Buckie to the dealer. I think if I could have gotten it into the carport area, I could have possibly tried to troubleshoot and repair it later. This was not an option, as there was no way to get the car up the slope of the driveway to there. The clutch itself has got to be fine because it was brand new from back in June when Tonkin Mazda got rid of the infamous clutch judder problem. Most likely it is one of the hydraulic cylinders that operate the clutch.

The service rep said they may get to it on Monday, but maybe not until Tuesday. On Tuesday I board a plane for Albuquerque, but there is no issue; they’ll take care of the issue and just keep it on their lot until I get back.

Be careful what you wish for; this car has turned into a money pit. I wonder if I kept the 2024 blue one, would David in Klamath Falls have swapped my old 2002 CTBNL for the 2024…

Thanks Dani

On Tuesday I got a text from Dani at the local Mazda dealer; it was a reminder that the last time I had a service was in July. I texted back that I could come in Wednesday or Thursday early. Her reply asked if tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7:00AM would work. I texted back, “Great, see you then.”

I set an alarm for 5:30 so I could shower and have breakfast first. I timed my arrival pretty well; I was only 4 minutes shy of the hour of seven. When I walked up to the door and pulled, it was locked. That’s when I looked down and noticed the vinyl lettering saying that they opened at 7:30. There was someone inside, and he came over and let me in.

Me, “I have an appointment.”
He, “We don’t start until 7:30.”
Me, “Someone named Dani texted me, and she gave a 7:00 time.”
He, “Aaaah…our AI agent that helps with customer contact.”
Me, “Well…I’m here.”
He, “I won’t have any techs available until 7:30.”
Me, “Thanks Dani.”

I’ll Rip Your Face Off

To change out the headlight, the correct way to get the bad one out is to start by removing the front bumper! I looked, and there were a couple videos showing how easy it is to remove the bumper. Had to watch both, because the first one I watched missed things that needed to be removed to make it happen. And if I had watched the second video first, I still would have had to watch the other one because it too missed fasteners that needed removing.

I removed both the good and bad headlights because I’m going to use a CERAKOTE® Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit on both so that they match. Then again, if the eBay one matches up real well with the good ten thousand mile one, I’ll just return the Kit.

Nothing Is Easy With You

Nothing’s Easy With You

Yesterday Buckey got a set of air horns from Moss Motors installed. Today I thought to myself, why didn’t I try them out? So this morning I went out and hit the horn…nothing. Crap! What did I do wrong? The first thing to check is, power? I unplug the hot lead and hook it back up to the regular horn, beep, beep.

Next is to check the ground wire, and as soon as I touch it, the wire drops off. I try to press it back on the terminal, and it just barely engages. I dismount the compressor, and the ground terminal has been pushed up into the body partway. No wonder the wire came off so easily. The connection is so tenuous it would come off after a mile on a bumpy road.

So, I pull everything off, and I put it in the box it came in so I can return the air horns. I might just get a refund, I very rarely use the horn anyway.

While getting the air compressor off the car, I notice a broken piece of plastic. Uh-oh, that is the headlight mounting bracket. And look, the headlight itself is pushed back 1/4 inch. Damn turkey! I turn on the headlights, and the high and low beams come on, but not the turn signal/running light. Can’t go out at night, it is the driver’s side light, and it might be blinding to oncoming cars. These headlights aren’t cheap. For grins I check the price of a new unit from Mazda. Yikes, $669! Off to eBay I go, and for $180 it’ll be here next week.

Bucky Update

I’ve addressed those maintenance issues I mentioned last week. I greased the turn signal & wiper stalks, and they are quieter now. The turn signal one may need a bit more grease, as it isn’t as silent as the wiper one, but that’s for another day. The driver’s door power mirror not working was because the wire connection from mirror to door was not hooked up.

I took Bucky down to the folks at PDX Wraps to pick out the color that I wanted the stripe to be. We hashed out the color and location, so now when I’m done at the DMV next Thursday, I can just drop it off and Uber home. Reverse that on Friday afternoon and drive it home.

While we were on the driver’s side of the car, he noticed what looked like a light scratch. Upon closer inspection it appears to be a line of excess paint drips. The Carfax showed no accidents, but I am beginning to think, with this excess paint and unconnected mirror wires, that it was in a fender bender of some sort and it was fixed off the books. Not a big deal, but still every time I turn around there is another surprise with this car.

Excess Paint?


 
Speaking of surprises, when I went to restart the car at PDX Wraps, it was hard to start. It was a hot day, so that could be the issue, but it wasn’t that hot. So now what? It could be the 25-year-old fuel pump, regulator, or fuel injectors, or a couple, three of them. This car has really become a money pit, and I’m starting to reconsider the plan to keep Bucky and sell the new Miata plan.