I drove up to Kuantan from KL one weekend for a holiday. About 5 days before that I went to change my bump stopper and another part (forgot what it was called) as it made the famous nyek nyek sound when driving in wet condition. I wanted to test my car fuel consumption and wanted to see if the noise is really gone so I was excited.

Before I started my journey, I pumped my tyres to 250kPa, with only me and my boyfriend in the car. I drove for about ~170km when I started hearing faint flapping. I stopped the car but couldn't identify where the sound was coming from. As it was the highway, I was driving at 165kmh on straight roads, only 90~110kmh at curves. The longer I drove, the louder the mysterious flapping got. As I was passing by the Karak Highway I even entertained the idea of something supernatural hitching a ride atop of my car which I quickly brushed off.

After the Karak highway, roads were getting straighter so I returned to higher speeds. As I drove, whenever there were dips in the road, my car started to make a ngeee-e-e-e-ek sound like sitting on a squeaky bed. Mind you the dips are not very excessive at all, just irregular paved roads kind of dip, not pot holes or valleys, just typical dips you experience even driving from Klang - KL. I got a shock but I didn't want to stop in the middle of the highway so I slowed down to 120kmh. The squeaking stopped then. I stopped at the next RnR and immediately called Mazda and told them what happened; that I recently changed car parts and that this could possibly be due to that or my absorber, as it only happens when my car dips. They asked me to go to the nearest Mazda centre or any workshop nearby to check. At this point I was very frustrated as I hardly got off from my work and I only managed to settle all my stuff to take this short trip, and now I have to do this in a place I'm not familiar with at all.

I thanked them and continue driving at slower speeds. As I drove on, even on lower speeds the sound will appear, and getting louder. My conclusion at that moment was that (1) it is something that deteriorates the more I drive, (2) only happens when the road dips, (3) if it was my absorber, my car might be less stable but nothing absolutely life threatening could happen from a failed absorber if I drove carefully and at moderate speed. Made a mental note to avoid any dips or drive reaaaal slow if I have to, but I am not directly under a lot of danger.

I reached my destination after 3 hours or so (approx 292km trip one way) and stayed there for one night, the next day decided to drive up to genting as I forgot about the noise. In the small roads between my hotel up to main roads, going through bumps got no sound. As I hit the highway the sounds return again. I remained driving at 100kmh or slower, with the sound remaining during dips, and this time, even when I go through a slight inclination. Flapping sound comes and goes. Was so frustrated with the car because back when I was replacing parts to eliminate the sounds the SC had me make 2 different trips because the first time they didn't solve my problem.

Was one hour into driving back home when a proton savvy slowed down right next to me (I was driving on left lane) and pointed to the bottom of my car. I was so shocked because I made sure there was nothing wrong with my car; not mud flap, nothing wrong with the tyres, nothing obstructing, couldn't reproduce the sound whilst stationary at all even when I pressed the car down from front and back, nothing stuck between skirting and floor. So I immediately stopped by the road. The road and the shoulder had about 1.5~2 inch height difference but as I drove slowly, the descension was met with a kruuuuk sound. First thing that went through my mind was "FXCK! What the heck was that that I could miss??" I got down and looked around my car and still nothing. That's when my bf told me to come in front. The culprit was my front skirting all along. It had probably come loose, which explains the flapping sound. I couldn't see it because it was loose, when stationary it does not touch the ground but not hanging too low for me to see the gap, but in motion it is actually swinging up and down. Somehow the holes that held the screws that secured my skirting to my bumper has broken, leaving irregular shaped holes on the 2 front screw place, about 1~5mm bigger than original, rear screws still secure. The screws were still on my skirting which did not crack, but all that sound was from the grinding of my skirting and the floor from the dips. So it's been hanging there with only two rear screws holding the entire skirting in place.

I was like shit did I hit anything? If I did I would have remembered it, because my BF did not drive because I WOULDN'T let him (also because I wanted to test the car under specific conditions), that's how much I love my car and was always gentle on potholes and bumps. But I knew there was no way I could prove that this was not my doing; I may even have knocked on something and didn't know, either way I knew it would be coming out of my own pocket. I concluded that maybe the skirting was not installed properly (my bodykit was ori from Mazda and came like that) or maybe during the parts change something happened, and as it was loose, I made it worse. Parking too close to a low curb may break the screw handles etc. I thanked the Lords I put a roll of duct tape in my car for emergencies when I got the car and today was the day I bandaged my car in a very unsightly way because I got the less adhesive one and I wanted to make damn sure it wouldn't fall again. True enough nothing else happened, there was no more sound even during hard dips and I even managed to go up to Genting and down and did not have any problems (except for people staring at the front of my car and then back at me with a bemused look. )

So I brought it to Mazda Body Repair in Glenmarie and told them what happened. I asked if it was claimable but I knew I was just being hopeful. True enough it is not, which is fair. They said need to diagnose first, and had almost 4 service crews looking at it. They took pictures. Then they asked me to come and see. This chinese lady explained that as it is a bodykit, my ride is very low so I may have grazed it myself and I need to be more careful when driving as actually this is normal and when you drive it shouldn't affect. I told her I was driving on a highway when it made that sound. Then she explained more about how this is from my own doing etc etc and that it was actually normal for skirting to get grazed. I said to her "huh, my skirting loose and you can see the screw not attached is normal?" and I cut her off and said "OK, doesn't matter how it happened because either way I have to fork out the money anyway so I just want to know how much I need to pay to fix it." The lady said she will ask for me and ask me to go back inside. Throughout the whole ordeal her attitude was not pleasant, and I did not at all imply that I was NOT willing to pay After a while they gave me this:-



I got the shock of my life. They said I have to change my entire bumper because the hole was broken and then I need to buy new skirting, plus all labour and etc my bill came up to RM2,555.

First of all, I believe this is more than a drastic and unnecessary measure. My skirting never spoiled, why buy new? If buy new, then why need to quote respray? Why need to realign my car? I asked them again how did this happen and how can I avoid this in the future they just said be more careful when driving. I asked if there is a cheaper solution, the SC said just take out the skirting and leave it. If don't install another skirting then no problem.

I tried to convince myself I don't need to skirting, but the more I thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. If it really was from my driving, then how come after I duct taped my skirting then got no sound? All along I drove on inclination during parking in shopping malls, if it really was that low then how come got no sound? Don't tell me I can't hear it because Mazda has one of the poorest noise insulation in the market? Also, how low? I driving lambo meh now? Can low until like that?

I kept quiet and told them I will need to think it through before I can confirm anything. They said quotation only valid for 14 days, again in a very unpleasant "I took a sh*t in her cereal" kind of attitude. The indian man that served me was still polite, but that chinese dragon lady just makes me tick.

Anyway, long story short. I explained to my friend who owned a workshop to just put a metal piece at the hole and just bolt and nut it into place. He will charge me less than RM200, if he charge me at all. Right now my baby looks like this after the Mazda guys helped me remove the unsightly duct tape:




Anyway, I might be wrong, so if anyone can help shed some light into this I would appreciate it. Sorry for the long post.