MZR gasolina engine: faults and reliability

• 1.3 and 1.5 MZR 75-103 hp (ZJ-VE, ZY-VE, 2007-2014)

  2007–2014 · 75–103 hp · ZJ-VE, ZY-VE

  Buy

  Gebrauchtwagenberater.de expects no serious problems in the Mazda2 DE if servicing is kept up and describes it as one of the most reliable in its segment; fiches-auto.fr counts only 9 faults among 32 petrol testimonials and oil consumption is only mentioned from around 150,000 km.^[4][13]

• 1.4 MZR 84 hp (Mazda3 BK, 2003-2009)

  2003–2009 · 84 hp

  Buy

  Gebrauchtwagenberater.de rates the reliability of petrol Mazda3 BK models well and cites no faults specific to the 1.4; fiches-auto.fr has no testimonials for this version yet, so the data is scarce.^[3][14]

• 1.6 MZR 105 hp (Z6 / ZM-DE, 2003-2013)

  2003–2013 · 105 hp · Z6, ZM-DE

  Buy

  It is the version with the best record: gebrauchtwagenberater.de considers petrol Mazda3 models reliable, the fiches-auto.fr page for the BL lists no faults in its 12 testimonials for the 1.6, and the one for the BK counts only a few, mostly sensors, among 28 testimonials.^{[3][14][15][16]}

• 1.8 MZR 116-126 hp (L8-DE, 2002-2015)

  2002–2015 · 116–126 hp · L8-DE, L8-VE

  Buy

  Gebrauchtwagenberater.de rates the petrol engines of the Mazda6 GG as reliable, the 1.8 among them; fiches-auto.fr records one case of a blown engine among 16 testimonials for the 1.8 of the Mazda6 GG, and a thermostat and a lambda sensor beyond 160,000 km in two testimonials for the GH. There is no data of its own for the Mazda5 and the MX-5 with this engine; the teaser of the auto motor und sport article (paywalled) only says that the MX-5 NC is not very problematic as a used car, without naming the engine.^{[1][5][17][18]}

• 2.0 MZR 140-160 hp (LF-DE, LF-VE, 2003-2015)

  2003–2015 · 140–160 hp · LF-DE, LF-VE

  Buy

  Gebrauchtwagenberater.de considers the petrol engines of the Mazda3 and Mazda6 reliable and attributes no faults specific to the 2.0; fiches-auto.fr adds isolated cases of oil consumption (3 among 17 testimonials in the Mazda3 BK and 2 among 19 in the Mazda6 GG) and of sensors, and a damaged big-end bearing at around 50,000 km.^{[1][3][5][14]}

• 2.3 MZR naturally aspirated 165 hp (L3-VE, 2003-2008)

  2003–2008 · 165 hp · L3-DE, L3-VE

  With caution

  Gebrauchtwagenberater.de attributes relatively high oil consumption to it (up to one litre every 2,000 km) and big-end bearing damage, and two of the six testimonials for the 2.3 on fiches-auto.fr mention very high oil consumption. It can be bought with the oil change history in hand and by keeping an eye on the level.^[1][5]

• 2.5 MZR 170 hp (L5-VE, 2008-2013)

  2008–2013 · 170 hp · L5-VE

  Buy

  There is almost no data: fiches-auto.fr gathers only 3 testimonials for the 2.5 of the Mazda6 GH, with no engine faults at all, and gebrauchtwagenberater.de describes the petrol engines of the GH as durable without naming the 2.5 explicitly.^[2][17]

Buy: No known serious faults, or they have already been corrected, in this version. With caution: Worth buying if something specific is verified: history, a replaced part or a completed campaign. Avoid: High risk of a serious fault that is hard to check for or prevent.

1. 1Critical severityFrequency: OccasionalCylinder head and blockBig-end bearing damage in the 2.3 MZR, with isolated cases in the 1.8 and 2.0Gebrauchtwagenberater.de cites big-end bearing damage as a known weak point of the 2.3 MZR of the Mazda6 GG, and fiches-auto.fr adds two isolated cases: a Mazda6 1.8 with a blown engine and a Mazda3 2.0 with a damaged big-end bearing at around 50,000 km.
2. 2Medium severityFrequency: CommonLubricationHigh oil consumption in the 2.3 MZR of the Mazda6 (GG)The naturally aspirated 2.3 MZR of the Mazda6 GG has relatively high oil consumption: gebrauchtwagenberater.de puts it at close to one litre every 2,000 km and two of the six testimonials for the 2.3 on fiches-auto.fr mention very high consumption.
3. 3Low severityFrequency: OccasionalLubricationOil consumption in the 1.3, 1.6 and 2.0 MZR at high mileageIn the smaller petrol MZR engines, oil use appears mainly at high mileage: gebrauchtwagenberater.de places it in the Mazda2 DE from around 150,000-200,000 km, and fiches-auto.fr records isolated cases in the 2.0 of the Mazda3 and Mazda6 and in the 1.3 of the Mazda2.Appears at around 150,000 km
4. 4Low severityFrequency: OccasionalIgnitionMisfires from spark plugs and ignition coils in petrol MZR enginesSpark plugs appear among the fault points of the Mazda2 DE in the ADAC statistics cited by gebrauchtwagenberater.de, and fiches-auto.fr attributes the misfires of the Mazda3 1.6 to coils, spark plugs or sensors.

Severity colours: low, medium, high, critical. How we rate them

Manufacturer

Mazda

Family

MZR

Fuel

Petrol

Displacement

—

Cylinders

4

Fuel system

Naturally aspirated

Injection

Indirect injection

Timing

Chain

Power

75–170 hp

Peak torque

226 Nm

Production

2002–2015

Makes

Mazda

Technical data^{[4][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

1. 2002–2015

   1.8 MZR 116-126 hp (L8-DE, 2002-2015)

   1,798 cc four-cylinder from the L series. In Europe it was fitted to the Mazda6 (120 hp), the Mazda5 (116 hp) and the MX-5 NC (126 hp; in the MX-5 this version was sold only in Europe).^{[5][6][9][11][12]}

2. 2003–2009

   1.4 MZR 84 hp (Mazda3 BK, 2003-2009)

   Entry-level engine of the Mazda3 BK: 1,349 cc and 84 hp according to German-language Wikipedia. None of the open sources gives its engine code.^[3][19]

3. 2003–2013

   1.6 MZR 105 hp (Z6 / ZM-DE, 2003-2013)

   1,598 cc, 105 hp engine of the Mazda3, in the BK from 2003 and in the BL until October 2013; naturally aspirated with a timing chain. Wikipedia calls it Z6 on the Z-series page and ZM-DE on the Mazda3 page.^[7][19][20]

4. 2003–2015

   2.0 MZR 140-160 hp (LF-DE, LF-VE, 2003-2015)

   1,999 cc four-cylinder from the L series and the most widespread: Mazda3 (150 hp), Mazda5 (150 hp), Mazda6 (140-155 hp) and MX-5 NC (160 hp). Wikipedia attributes variable intake valve timing (S-VT) to the LF-VE version. This page does not cover the direct-injection (DISI) variant fitted to the Mazda3 BL from 2009 and the Mazda6 GH from 2010, nor the 2.0 of the Mazda5 CW, which according to English-language Wikipedia was offered in Europe with direct injection.^{[2][5][6][9][12][17][19]}

5. 2003–2008

   2.3 MZR naturally aspirated 165 hp (L3-VE, 2003-2008)

   2,261 cc four-cylinder from the L series, without a turbo. In the sources covering Europe it appears only in the Mazda6 GG, with 165 hp; it should not be confused with the turbocharged 2.3 DISI of the MPS versions, which has its own page.^{[3][5][6][10]}

6. 2007–2014

   1.3 and 1.5 MZR 75-103 hp (ZJ-VE, ZY-VE, 2007-2014)

   Two Z-series engines fitted to the Mazda2 DE in Europe: a 1.3 of 75 and 86 hp and a 1.5 ZY-VE of 102-103 hp. They are naturally aspirated and have a timing chain.^[4][7][8]

7. 2008–2013

   2.5 MZR 170 hp (L5-VE, 2008-2013)

   2,488 cc four-cylinder from the L series with variable intake valve timing. In the sources covering Europe it appears only in the Mazda6 GH (170 hp); the Mazda3 BL with the 2.5 was sold only in North America.^{[6][10][17][19]}

• Timing chain kit

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• Oil filter

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• Air filter

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• Spark plugs

  • Buy part at Autodoc (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)