2012 Mazda MPV Problems: Cold Starts, Black Smoke, Power Loss & Engine Instability

Hey! I’ve got a related experience with my 2014 Mazda5. I’d say my car experience level is a bit low, but I’ve picked up a thing or two over the years so hope this helps. Same symptoms - rough idling, stalling, power loss, and that annoying check engine light that wouldn’t disappear. Took it to my go-to workshop, and they indeed found the culprit was the injector, same as your suspicion. More specifically, "Injector internally defective". In order to have this issue fixed, I shelled out 515 Euro. Not cheap, but my fella’s been running smooth since then with no issues. You may wanna ask your workshop to check the fuel injectors with a combustion leak detector or a fuel pressure gauge, just for piece of mind. Just out of curiosity, could you share the mileage on your MPV? Also, when was the last time you had the fuel system serviced? Usually the injectors acting up has something to do with lack of regular maintenance or high mileage. The more info you provide, the better I can try to help out.

Hey, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Really appreciate your help. So the big beast just hit 105662 KM on the last drive and I guess the last full service was months ago, before the lockdown started. Clearly, I didn’t expect the beast to act this way! Yeah, I reckon I'll get her into the shop and have them specifically check the injectors. I might just ask about the combustion leak detector and fuel pressure gauge you mentioned. Cheers for all the advice. Much appreciated!

No worries us Mazda gotta stick together, right? Your mileage is a bit high, meaning those injectors had some work to do over the years. It seems like they might've given up or at least are giving signs they need some attention. Lockdown, huh? So the car was sitting a bit, probably contributing to some gunk build-up in the fuel system. Learned this the hard way when all the bad stuff traveled from the fuel tank to the injectors. It's always good to keep that in mind especially with these prolonged stand-stills. Definitely ask the garage to use the tools I mentioned before, they really give an accurate measure whether those injectors are leaking or not. And after they fix it all up, I highly recommend you to do a follow-up maintenance. An oil change, trying a fuel system cleaner, they might sound simple but do wonders to keep the system clean. Anyway, I hope it's a straightforward fix as in my case, fingers crossed! Keep us updated. Drive safe!

Hey, thanks for the detailed advice and insight! Good point on the mileage and the lockdown aspect, never really thought about the gunk problem. I'll be sure to ask about those gadgets too. After the fixing is done, I'll make a point of regular maintenance to avoid running into something similar. I'll definitely update you on how everything turns out. Really appreciate your input. Stay safe and keep your gear in good shape!