Dodge Intrepid

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My 2008 Mazda 3 4 Door Sedan 2.3L Auto has a sticker on the driver's side door that indicates 32 PSI all around. I have the tire pressure monitoring system and it appears that once the tire pressure gets a little low it is first noticeable on a cold morning with a Tire Pressure Fault Light on the instrument panel. It seems that the cut-off point for flagging the Tire-Pressure Sensor Fault is about 5 PSI.

If I see this pressure fault light, I immediately do a visual inspection. If a tire even looks low, I take immediate action. If all tires visually look full, this is the first time the light came on, and it is a cold morning, I just drive a few miles and as the air in the tire heats up it expands causing the light to eventually go off after about 5 to 10 miles. At this point, the light will stay off all day, but it will come back on when the tire gets cold. If you see the light, you MUST eventually check/correct your air pressure because their is a problem that will re-occur at least when it is cold. Even the owner's manual mentions that when you change the tire pressure you may have to drive it a few blocks for it to register. I find that it typically takes fewer than 15 seconds of driving before the fault light goes off after the problem is fixed.

Air pressure should be checked and adjusted when the tires are cool not after driving unless it is an emergency in which case you may need to pull into a gas station or service center. For this reason, you should own an air compressor with hose and trigger filler. You do not need any thing fancy, a cheap $25 air compressor will be fine for just about any task except running air tools.

Today I checked my air pressure and I had 27 in both rear tires and 28 front-passenger and 27.5 front-driver. I corrected each tire with an air compressor and good digital tire gauge. I use the "Campbell Hausfeld AU1102 99 PSI Professional Digital Tire Gauge." I find this gauge is very good, gives a clear digital readout, has a backlit LED, and even a small pouch to store it. Given all the great stuff I said about it, the most important thing is that it seals very easily making it the easiest tire gauge I have ever used. What it does not have is something to push a valve-stem to help you let air out. Amazon.com has this device for about $25, but I got mine at WalMart for $10. I keep it in the glove box, and I recommend you bring a pressure gauge with you too because I would not trust the gauge at a gas station.

My filling procedure for my Mazda 3 is to add a little more air than I need (about 33 to 34) then I go around letting just enough air out to bring it to 32 PSI exactly as stated on my drivers side door. This has not caused me any problems and the Goodyear Eagle RS-A P205/70R17's the car came with say on the sidewall the tire is deigned to take up to a maximum of 44 PSI. If I were to go any higher than 44PSI, I would be guaranteed to somewhat weaken or damage the tire. If you go higher than what the Manufacturer (MAZDA) recommends (probably 32 PSI like mine), you will at the very least cause poor handling and poor tire wear.

You should double-check my answer of 32 PSI with the label that will be on your driver's side door. You should also check your tire pressure at least once a month, read your owner's manual or skim through it to, and occasionally check tread-depth of all your tires and your fluid levels. For tires, you MUST replace them when any part of the tire gets below the minimum of 2/32 tread depth. The reason to check your tread-depth often is to check for uneven wear and get more millage out of your tires. Your service center should rotate your tires periodically and check them too. If your car does not have tire pressure monitoring, you should definitely do a quick walk-around inspection of your tires before using your car because a tire that looks visually low is typically extremely low and dangerous. Extremely low tires will bubble on the sidewall making the tire unusable even if a trivial leak were to be repaired.

For any clarification or detailed information, please check with your local Mazda Dealer. When you bought your new car, a good dealer would have given you a quick tour of the service facility, went over the basics of operating your car, and explained your warranty. If you bought the 2008 Mazda New in the USA, you have 12 Months/12,000 adjustments included in the warranty. A good service advisor will go above and beyond for a customer that just bought a brand new car. He/she should answer any questions and be able to get you in and out within 10 minutes for air pressure adjustment. When you do drop by your dealership, make sure to get the business card of your service advisor. Also, you should have the Mazda Road-Side number in your cellphone or on you at all times. They will help with lock-out as well as be able to tow your car under warranty if needed.

Good Luck

You should only have to take off the air filter box. It's underneath there.

Here's the rest:

Taking off the air filter box will give you access to the battery hold down bracket and the battery cables. Remove those.

To remove the battery after you've removed the hold down bracket and cables, you have to remove the battery access panel from within the wheel well. It's a plastic louvered panel with several 1/4" bolts that you remove from within the wheel well. Pay attention to how the panel is installed... reinstallation is frustrating if you don't pay attention to how it comes out.

To gain access to the panel, use the steering wheel to turn the tires all the way to the right. That will give you access to the panel and provide room for removing the battery. You should not have to remove the wheel. Once you've removed the access panel you can slide the battery into the wheel well and lower it to the ground.

(Note: I tried to lift the battery straight up but was not successful. I would have had to remove a number of other intake and emissions controls parts, which I was loath to do. You can try the lift up technique and see if it works for you... worth a try anyway.)

Install the new battery, not forgetting to reinstall the hold down bracket. While you're down there check the cables for corrosion and clean/replace them as necessary.

Reinstall the access panel, air filter box, and you're done.

Definitely a case where the labor is more than the cost of the part. LOL!

Frank