Guys, any advice on upgrading the sound system on the new M3? I suppose GS will have the Bose upgrade option soon enough?

Too late, just ordered my M3 yesterday!

I just collected my M3 a few days ago and this knocking absorber sound is driving me nuts. Think I've isolated it to the right front tyre. Pretty disappointing if it really is a manufacturing defect - have any of you guys managed to find a solution to this?

Have to leave it overnight? Wah ok keep us posted on how it goes!

I did man. Red seems a bit too common, felt the titanium flash would be better in the long term!

I'm doing my 1k service tomorrow, going to complain to them. If they are dismissive of the issue/cannot solve it, I may need your support to get a few of us that are having the same problem (seems like quite a significant number?) together for a joint complaint to Bermaz. Will keep you guys posted.

Thanks bro.

I just did my 1k service. Confirmed there's an issue with the front RHS arm. They have booked me another appointment next week as this will require 3+ hours to fix. And they have promised to check the other side as well.

Pretty disappointing for a brand new car to have issues like this, especially when you're paying a premium for a C segment car.

Bermaz, I hope you're listening.

Exactly like that. Even at reasonably low speeds the "knock knock" sound can be heard over bumps and uneven roads.

[quote=maz3,Mar 21 2014, 05:25 PM]
Sending complain email to Bermaz already:
- Asking them to order more standby part for replacement to reduce wait time
- Asking them to send memo to owners for fixing it

Not sure anyone will entertain or not.....



[/quote]
Thanks a million bro

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Thanks guys! Let's see how they respond and whether their fix next Thursday actually solves the problem. Will keep you all posted.

So I went back to Mazda Glenmarie today to fix the knocking sound as well as the less major rattling issue. Overall quite pleased, the foreman they assigned me (believe his name was Faiz) was excellent and extremely thorough.

He solved my knocking sound by using synthetic grease on a part of the control arm (think it was the rubber part?), instead of the regular grease that was being used. It seems to have worked, we took the car out for 4 different test drives (he was very thorough, we even hosed the wheel arm with water to see if it was wetness that was causing the sound to appear/disappear) and he made sure I was completely happy that the sound was no longer there before I signed off the release form.

He has also ensured that the staff there logged it into their system and has promised to gather all of the feedback to be sent to Mazda Japan. Apparently they have a Jap rep at Glenmarie now too, so good flow of communication between Mazda Malaysia and Japan.

The rattling sound he fixed easily - apparently there was a clip that was loose somewhere at the back (in the booth I think, right behind the seats? Should have gotten more info on this, was too focused on the arm knocking sound) and there's zero rattle on the car now.

Overall very pleased with the experience this time around. Mazda Glenmarie took the whole day as they had a LOT of cars to do, but they solved both issues and promised to help if the knocking sound appears again. They also redid my wheel alignment post fixing the arm issue.

Sometimes the staff make all the difference, and today this particular foreman I dealt with was excellent and should be commended - he obviously knows his stuff really well and is passionate about Mazda.

I'm happy to answer questions from anyone who is still having unresolved knocking sounds/rattling issues.

This post has been edited by anandkrishnan: Mar 28 2014, 12:23 AM

Just collected my car from GS this afternoon, had sent it in for the leather seat changover. Overall quite pleased, not an expert but the leather seems to be pretty high quality (Nappa apparently?), and I'm glad I opted for the red stitching (extra RM200) - really suits the interior of the car.

Oh and will post pictures tomorrow when I get some decent shots on my phone

This post has been edited by anandkrishnan: Mar 30 2014, 12:57 AM

Here are a few pictures, hope you guys find them useful.

I second that, scratched the front underside of my new M3 on the second day because I underestimated how close I was to the parking kerb

1. The ride is on the harsh side, no two ways about it. Mind you it's definitely not unbearable and you do get used to it, but I'm certain it's the most harsh in its class. In terms of the way the car feels, the chassis is really stiff and taut - this makes it handle really well IMHO.

2. Quite a lot of tyre noise, but as almost everyone else here has pointed out I think the stock tyres are extra noisy and a major contributor to this issue. The general soundproofing could be better as well, but I guess Mazda compromised on that in order to lighten the car. Noise hasn't been the biggest issue for me, especially once you have the radio switched on and people in the car etc

3. I haven't tried this myself, but the official line from Mazda is 8.2 secs I believe?

4. It's a very smooth restart, I daresay smoother than the BMW restart (my only previous experience with stop/start engines). After a while you also get used to the braking pressure (if you don't brake hard enough, the iStop usually doesn't kick in), so you can actually control the iStop pretty easily - I find this is really useful in traffic when I don't really want the car stopping/starting all the time.

Hope you find this useful.