I just purchased on 2007 Mazda Speed3 (turbo) this weekend with 25,000 miles on it. Before purchasing the car I had a Mazda mechanic check it over and everything looked like brand new accept the pads were at 50%.
Of course my wife wanted to take the car out for a drive, (my mistake) and when she got home I noticed there was a strong smell coming from the car. Turns out she drove it about 10 miles with the parking brake pulled. I called two mechanics locally and they both said if the brake isn't frozen that we shouldn't worry about it. Well I took the car out today and everything seemed fine until I got to about 65 miles per hour. At 65 the steering wheel started shaking and above 70 the car became hard to controll. The shaking occured even when I'm not pressing the brakes. I've been researching this online and there are lots of references to warped rotors being the cause of shaking at high speeds when pressing the brakes. Again, the shaking occurs while driving without pressing the brakes.
I'm also wondering if she could have damaged the turbo. I know you're supposed to let the car idle before shutting it down, especially after running it hard, so that the turbo can cool down. Of course after driving 10 miles with the parking brake on she turned the car off right when she pulled into the driveway.
Of course my wife wanted to take the car out for a drive, (my mistake) and when she got home I noticed there was a strong smell coming from the car. Turns out she drove it about 10 miles with the parking brake pulled. I called two mechanics locally and they both said if the brake isn't frozen that we shouldn't worry about it. Well I took the car out today and everything seemed fine until I got to about 65 miles per hour. At 65 the steering wheel started shaking and above 70 the car became hard to controll. The shaking occured even when I'm not pressing the brakes. I've been researching this online and there are lots of references to warped rotors being the cause of shaking at high speeds when pressing the brakes. Again, the shaking occurs while driving without pressing the brakes.
I'm also wondering if she could have damaged the turbo. I know you're supposed to let the car idle before shutting it down, especially after running it hard, so that the turbo can cool down. Of course after driving 10 miles with the parking brake on she turned the car off right when she pulled into the driveway.
Feb 9, 2010 at 1:39 PM
