The Mazda Demio Thread

[irda]

Hello Demio owners!

I'm looking to buy a Demio as my first car. I'm eying for a 2008 manufactured one. Most of them are close to 80k - 100k clocked.

1. What sort of issues that I should be looking forward to spend my money as initial repairs?
2. Any methods that I can check above issues?
3. Is there a way to check if the gearbox is in good condition? (Kind of worried about this CVT maintenance issue - if the car has a CVT gearbox)
4. I have checked 2 cars so far. Both have corrosion in top part of the body where the backdoor connects to the body. (Please see attached image). Is this something normal that I shouldn't worry and go ahead, so I can do a fix later or should I avoid this? Is this a common problem?

Your help on this matter is highly appreciated.

[Davy]

1 hour ago, irda said:

Hello Demio owners!

I'm looking to buy a Demio as my first car. I'm eying for a 2008 manufactured one. Most of them are close to 80k - 100k clocked.

1. What sort of issues that I should be looking forward to spend my money as initial repairs?
2. Any methods that I can check above issues?
3. Is there a way to check if the gearbox is in good condition? (Kind of worried about this CVT maintenance issue - if the car has a CVT gearbox)
4. I have checked 2 cars so far. Both have corrosion in top part of the body where the backdoor connects to the body. (Please see attached image). Is this something normal that I shouldn't worry and go ahead, so I can do a fix later or should I avoid this? Is this a common problem?

Your help on this matter is highly appreciated.

1 & 2. The Demio is known to develop power steering rack issues. Especially when continuously driven on rough roads. So take the car for a test drive and listen for rattles in the front suspension and vibration in the steering wheel as you go over rough surfaces. 

3. Service records! The CVT should be serviced every 40,000km. So check if the previous owner has done that. The CVT doesn't have any inherent issues on this model from my knowledge. The Demio my father uses is also CVT, and we've been servicing it (i.e CVT oil change) every 40,000km, and it runs pretty smooth. The CVT is more desirable over the conventional auto IMO because it drives better as well as economical.

4. Looks like surface rust to me and shouldn't be a problem. If the car is mechanically sound, this kind of small thing should not stop you from buying it. After you purchase the car, you can get that part repaired easily and repainted. 

Like any other car, ask for the emission test certificates and service records to make sure the mileage of the car tallies up with the dates and current mileage.

If you are willing to spend some money, you can submit the car to a place like CarChecks and get it professionally inspected for accident damage, oil leaks (should be easy to check yourself) and other mechanical issues.

[irda]

16 minutes ago, Davy said:

1 & 2. The Demio is known to develop power steering rack issues. Especially when continuously driven on rough roads. So take the car for a test drive and listen for rattles in the front suspension and vibration in the steering wheel as you go over rough surfaces. 

3. Service records! The CVT should be serviced every 40,000km. So check if the previous owner has done that. The CVT doesn't have any inherent issues on this model from my knowledge. The Demio my father uses is also CVT, and we've been servicing it (i.e CVT oil change) every 40,000km, and it runs pretty smooth. The CVT is more desirable over the conventional auto IMO because it drives better as well as economical.

4. Looks like surface rust to me and shouldn't be a problem. If the car is mechanically sound, this kind of small thing should not stop you from buying it. After you purchase the car, you can get that part repaired easily and repainted. 

Like any other car, ask for the emission test certificates and service records to make sure the mileage of the car tallies up with the dates and current mileage.

If you are willing to spend some money, you can submit the car to a place like CarChecks and get it professionally inspected for accident damage, oil leaks (should be easy to check yourself) and other mechanical issues.

Wow! That was fast. I never expected to someone reply this fast. This is really helpful.

Any idea if I have the issue with steering rack, how much will it cost?

And the next thing is, if we are to buy a car from out of Colombo, there is a possibility that these owners won't be willing to take them to a place like carchecks all the way. In that case, anyone with good knowledge (a good garage bass) can do the inspection?

Thanks again for the detailed reply.

[K.o.N.o.S]

5 hours ago, irda said:

Wow! That was fast. I never expected to someone reply this fast. This is really helpful.

Any idea if I have the issue with steering rack, how much will it cost?

And the next thing is, if we are to buy a car from out of Colombo, there is a possibility that these owners won't be willing to take them to a place like carchecks all the way. In that case, anyone with good knowledge (a good garage bass) can do the inspection?

Thanks again for the detailed reply.

If the car is having any steering rack issues you can try dismantling and rebushing of the rack that will resolve about 90% of the issue. I have done for mine at mazna motors for 9k. But if the rack is far too gone you will have to replace the rack which will cost you about 75k. So check the current condition of the steering rack before buying

further I would suggest checking engine mounts.After all it is a 10 year old car. You can easily identify this by starting up the car and reving up a bit. if the upholstery is shaking excessively then most likely that engine mounts have gone really bad.

Edited December 6, 2018 by K.o.N.o.S

[MaxFirst]

I do not think demio's have rack issues. If you drive in bad roads it doesn't matter if its Toyota , Honda or any other you have to replace rack ends , ball joints and lower arm bushes during 60 .- 80k milage. It is normal for any car driven in SL , please correct me wrong. 

The rack issue story is a made up by Mazna as it is one of the most common  problems the cars have due to bad roads and it's no where to near replacing the whole rack , mostly replaceing the racks ends and related components will resolve the issue just like any other car in SL.

If you had to replace the whole steering rack , please post here as my Demio suspension / steering components has lasted longer than any other car I have used.

Edited December 6, 2018 by MaxFirst

[Davy]

49 minutes ago, MaxFirst said:

I do not think demio's have rack issues. If you drive in bad roads it doesn't matter if its Toyota , Honda or any other you have to replace rack ends , ball joints and lower arm bushes during 60 .- 80k milage. It is normal for any car driven in SL , please correct me wrong. 

The rack issue story is a made up by Mazna as it is one of the most common  problems the cars have due to bad roads and it's no where to near replacing the whole rack , mostly replaceing the racks ends and related components will resolve the issue just like any other car in SL.

If you had to replace the whole steering rack , please post here as my Demio suspension / steering components has lasted longer than any other car I have used.

While it's true that bad road conditions contribute towards premature wear of suspension components in any car, the case with the Demio is a common issue. 

It's not an issue created by Mazna, because the issue first came on ours at around 50K km (car was used around Colombo and mostly on good roads) and was repaired by Colonial once by re-bushing the rack. The issue re-surfaced again after a few thousand kilometres and was repaired properly by Mazna. The car has been driven close to 40K km now and it has not come again. If the issue isn't addressed early, the only solution is to replace the rack.

There are several members on the forum who have confirmed that they have had the issue. Read up old posts on this thread and elsewhere on the forum. 

[MaxFirst]

7 minutes ago, Davy said:

While it's true that bad road conditions contribute towards premature wear of suspension components in any car, the case with the Demio is a common issue. 

It's not an issue created by Mazna, because the issue first came on ours at around 50K km (car was used around Colombo and mostly on good roads) and was repaired by Colonial once by re-bushing the rack. The issue re-surfaced again after a few thousand kilometres and was repaired properly by Mazna. The car has been driven close to 40K km now and it has not come again. If the issue isn't addressed early, the only solution is to replace the rack.

There are several members on the forum who have confirmed that they have had the issue. Read up old posts on this thread and elsewhere on the forum. 

Hey Davy , Don't you think replacing bushing is normal for any car , as most of the bushes available here are Thailand  bushes.  I replaced mine at 68k and currently at little over 100k so far not encountered any issues. That's why I do think think this is not a Demio related issue. 

Of course I am comparing with my precious car which is a Honda ES series which needed whole rack replaced twice.

[K.o.N.o.S]

2 hours ago, Davy said:

While it's true that bad road conditions contribute towards premature wear of suspension components in any car, the case with the Demio is a common issue. 

It's not an issue created by Mazna, because the issue first came on ours at around 50K km (car was used around Colombo and mostly on good roads) and was repaired by Colonial once by re-bushing the rack. The issue re-surfaced again after a few thousand kilometres and was repaired properly by Mazna. The car has been driven close to 40K km now and it has not come again. If the issue isn't addressed early, the only solution is to replace the rack.

There are several members on the forum who have confirmed that they have had the issue. Read up old posts on this thread and elsewhere on the forum. 

Davy I am with you on this one. I think the issue accurs around 40-50k of mileage.Mine was 75k when I bought the car and luckily I did not have to replace the rack. A properly done re-bushing resolved most of the vibrations ( hats off to mazna for a job well done) Better to address the issue before it becomes worse.

[Davy]

9 hours ago, MaxFirst said:

Hey Davy , Don't you think replacing bushing is normal for any car , as most of the bushes available here are Thailand  bushes.  I replaced mine at 68k and currently at little over 100k so far not encountered any issues. That's why I do think think this is not a Demio related issue. 

Of course I am comparing with my precious car which is a Honda ES series which needed whole rack replaced twice.

We're not talking about suspension bushes here mate. Excessive play in the steering rack is repaired by machining metal bushes (in a lathe) and fixing them in the rack. This can only be done if the play is minimal as the rack cannot be machined too much. So if you delay the repair, you'd end up having to replace it.

Even with the issue, the car drives normally and without any rattles on smooth asphalt roads. But as soon as you get to an unpaved or roughly paved road, you feel a (very slight) vibration through the steering with a rattle. Faint at first and slowly getting worse. This was my experience and I know many others who had the same issue.

What model year is yours by the way? 

Edited December 6, 2018 by Davy

[irda]

Thanks a lot for everyones valuable input. Now I'm thinking of keeping extra 50k-75k in case of emergency.

Time to find a good specimen then

[MaxFirst]

8 hours ago, Davy said:

We're not talking about suspension bushes here mate. Excessive play in the steering rack is repaired by machining metal bushes (in a lathe) and fixing them in the rack. This can only be done if the play is minimal as the rack cannot be machined too much. So if you delay the repair, you'd end up having to replace it.

Even with the issue, the car drives normally and without any rattles on smooth asphalt roads. But as soon as you get to an unpaved or roughly paved road, you feel a (very slight) vibration through the steering with a rattle. Faint at first and slowly getting worse. This was my experience and I know many others who had the same issue.

What model year is yours by the way? 

Hey Davy ,

Thanks for the information . Luckily I haven't touched my steering components yet. 

Car is a 2008 one with 100k on the ODO. Will be vigilant about this issue.

 

[irda]

OK. Checked 4th vehicle. All 4 vehicle I checked had the same issue. Is it something common? Getting really worried. Because the car seems in a great mechanical condition. Is this something repairable?

 

 

 

[Davy]

1 hour ago, irda said:

OK. Checked 4th vehicle. All 4 vehicle I checked had the same issue. Is it something common? Getting really worried. Because the car seems in a great mechanical condition. Is this something repairable?

Mate, don't worry about trivial issues like this. Sri Lanka is a hot and humid country, so a bit of surface rust on a bolt is not going to destroy the car. 

The bits of rust in the tailgate area can be easily repaired. Just sand down and apply some touch up paint. That's it. 

You should focus on making sure if there are no signs of accidents, improper maintenance or mechanical issues that might force you to spend big bucks. 

[K.o.N.o.S]

1 hour ago, irda said:

OK. Checked 4th vehicle. All 4 vehicle I checked had the same issue. Is it something common? Getting really worried. Because the car seems in a great mechanical condition. Is this something repairable?

 

 

 

As Davy has mentioned this is not a serious issue at all.My understanding is that when washing or exposed to rain the water enters inside which creates moisture inside and overtime it forms rust on bare metal surfaces.Usually we tend to concentrate only on wiping the exterior of the vehicle but not the inside.

[irda]

35 minutes ago, Davy said:

Mate, don't worry about trivial issues like this. Sri Lanka is a hot and humid country, so a bit of surface rust on a bolt is not going to destroy the car. 

The bits of rust in the tailgate area can be easily repaired. Just sand down and apply some touch up paint. That's it. 

You should focus on making sure if there are no signs of accidents, improper maintenance or mechanical issues that might force you to spend big bucks. 

 

20 minutes ago, K.o.N.o.S said:

As Davy has mentioned this is not a serious issue at all.My understanding is that when washing or exposed to rain the water enters inside which creates moisture inside and overtime it forms rust on bare metal surfaces.Usually we tend to concentrate only on wiping the exterior of the vehicle but not the inside.

Hey, Thanks again for the comforting words. This being my first car, I'm really concerned over this. I have no prior experience over this sort of issues.

Anyway, I'll be putting this to c*rchecks and getting a report. So if all checks out, hopefully I can get the deal done by this week

[maxda]

I have done a Engine Tuneup 6 months back and since 1 month time I am feeling a vibration and engine RPM fluctuate when idle, when researched over the internet it was pointed out that theere may be leak or Carbon on the throttle body. I went to famous mazda repair place and what they said was that I had not maintained my car properly. ( I know what I do). Anyways they said that Engine could have an issue and keep on saying this and that had issues. They said I need to do an Engine Tune up and this may be rectified. I decided to check with the garrage who did Tune up last time and when I showned the case to him. He did a throttle body clean up using Carburetor cleaner and the problem is sorted Out. Lesson for readers: Its always go to the same mechanic who had done something on your car since he will not repeat what he has already done. Its same as channeling a doctor. 

[Davy]

2 hours ago, maxda said:

I have done a Engine Tuneup 6 months back and since 1 month time I am feeling a vibration and engine RPM fluctuate when idle, when researched over the internet it was pointed out that theere may be leak or Carbon on the throttle body. I went to famous mazda repair place and what they said was that I had not maintained my car properly. ( I know what I do). Anyways they said that Engine could have an issue and keep on saying this and that had issues. They said I need to do an Engine Tune up and this may be rectified. I decided to check with the garrage who did Tune up last time and when I showned the case to him. He did a throttle body clean up using Carburetor cleaner and the problem is sorted Out. Lesson for readers: Its always go to the same mechanic who had done something on your car since he will not repeat what he has already done. Its same as channeling a doctor. 

Your post does not require a thread of it's own. Merged with the original Demio Thread.

If you go to pretty much any garage with the symptoms you have described, they will suggest a "tune-up", similar to what the "famous Mazda repair place" suggested. I'm not sure about the way in which they advised you that a tune-up is needed, but just saying that it is what any place would suggest. 

If your mechanic sprayed carb cleaner directly into the throttle body while it was still mounted onto the intake with the electronic throttle mechanism still attached, that is not such a wise thing to do as it can damage the electronic components on the throttle body. 

Also a "tune-up" is essentially a clean up of the fuel and ignition system (throttle body, spark plugs, and injectors if needed and if done properly, should be followed by a diagnostic scan). So what your mechanic did was basically a partial "tune-up" which would have released some of the carbon build up in your throttle body that caused the erratic idle RPM.

[ChanDK]

Planning to buy a demio 2007/2008 with CVT and rpm meter. as far as i know those options are available in 1500cc rather 1340cc. is there any specific way to check that the car has CVT gearbox or not. and 1340cc version came with CVT? 

[Davy]

10 hours ago, ChanDK said:

Planning to buy a demio 2007/2008 with CVT and rpm meter. as far as i know those options are available in 1500cc rather 1340cc. is there any specific way to check that the car has CVT gearbox or not. and 1340cc version came with CVT? 

All your questions have already been answered on this thread. 

Threads merged. 

In short, CVT and RPM meter came with the 1.3L (DE3FS) as well. The 1.5L is DE5FS. 

[Klord]

Hello Guys,

I was hunting a car last year. Was looking for a Lancer CS2 or a Mazda 3. Almost bought an Axela on October,  but later gave up the dream of owning a car due to hopes of migration. Apparently migration plans didn’t go well as planned, so thought of buying a car finally. (Enough ranting)

I am looking for a good Demio this time. Willing to spend up to 2.8 mil for a good car.  If anyone of you are planning to sell your car, please let me know.

[Car Doctor]

mazda demio is one of the best vehicles mazda has ever made. Just have a look at its cabin comparing to the Vitz .even 2008 mazda demio looks better than 2019 Vits from inside. Toyota is now making very cheep looking interior for the small cars. Road holding is much better than Vitz. Its engine is very powerful but economical like Toyota Yaris . 

one question was whether it has a cabin air filter .yes it has. its below the center console .you get the access from driver side 

[Sanda-Ru1]

Went all the 8 pages folks. Read everything. Planning to buy a Mazda Demio. Thanks for the valuable details guys. Just one thing I need to clarify. Can you all give an update with fuel consumption about your car?

[K.o.N.o.S]

@Sanda-Ru1 I used to own one and it gave me about 9-10 Kms under heavy traffic and about 14-16 kms outstation. To put that into perspective I used to pump about 15-20 litres to travel from gampola to Colombo and back which was about 260kms.

Edited September 4, 2019 by K.o.N.o.S

[carguy94]

Hello guys, 

I m a frequent visitor to this forum but never took part in the membership. I have a small question. 

I m planning to buy a Mazda Demio 2012 or higher. I need comments on this from the people who have used or still using this.

1. How was the comfort of the car? , Is it good for a long trip, say, about 600km up and down?(not per day, obviously) or is it just a city car?

2. And most importantly, what are the defects and troubles related to the engine or other systems?

I know there are Vitz every where but this kinda spoke to me somehow.

3. Honestly, comparing with a Vitz, is DEmio a good choice ? My budget is under 30.

4. There are some 1300cc models and also 1340cc ? What is the difference?

 

 

Thanks. Hoping for your grateful responses  

Edited May 27, 2020 by carguy94
Added a another thing

[Davy]

Please search the forum. The Demio DE has quite a bit of information here. Start with this thread.

1. It's more comfortable than the Vitz in my opinion. I've done some long distance trips of roughly 100 - 200km one way and it's quite good. 

2. Power steering rack issues are common. Look for rattling steering wheel and noises on rough roads. 

3. I'd pick the Demio any day over the Vitz. It's fun to drive and the fully loaded version with climate control AC, projector headlights, tachometer and multifunction steering is quite sought after.

4. They're the same. The exact capacity of the ZY-VE engine is 1348cc. But it's referred to as 1.3L, 1300cc etc. Quite normal for engine capacity to be rounded to the nearest 100cc for ease.

Noting that there are a couple of 1.5L Demios in the country as well. Most of them are fully loaded ones with paddle shifters and red gauge cluster. You'll find more info in the above thread. 

Good luck!