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Hi,

I have a 2006 Mazda automatic and when the engine is running, a loud noise is heard whether the engine is warm or cold. It sounds like a spinning or ticking sound. We have taken it to 3 mechanics (2 of them mazda dealer service guys) and neither of them could really pinpoint the exact cause or say where the sound is coming from.

The mechanic who serviced the car has said it could either be the timing belt/chain or the pistons need replacing which would make it cheaper to buy a new motor apparently which we are not happy about!

The car has only done 98,000 kms.

Does anyone know what could be making this sound in the engine or have you heard of this as being an issue in other Mazda3's ?

Much appreciated,

Michael

Firstly, is the noise peculiar to your car or is this a characteristic engine noise that they all make? If three different mechanics are unable to detect anything, perhaps it's not abnormal. It is a fact that different people are affected by different frequencies, so something that you find annoying may not even be detected by someone else.
Having said that, I would doubt it would be a piston noise on a car of this mileage.
Some possibilities could be the injectors firing (they make a clicking type noise, and some are louder than others). If that's the case, it's perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.
Other possibilities could be perhaps a damaged pulley (alternator, steering pump, a/c compressor etc), or perhaps the a/c clutch. (Have you tried turning the a/c off to see if the noise is still present?)
The timing chain or a pulley could also be possibilities.
To our knowledge, there are no known issues with noises from the Mazda3.