The dealer has highlighted that one of my rear dampers is misting. It was picked up on two annual services but they didn’t include it as an advisory on the MOT. They’re standard bilsteins on a MK3.5 sport tech.
Does this need some urgent attention or is it okay to continue driving ?
Also, the dealer wanted around £700 to replace one side. Should dampers be replaced in pairs or is it okay to do one at a time ?
Blimey you could almost buy a full set of your choice for just a little over that price for one, then add fitting.
I would most likely have them fit a pair not just the odd one.
Seen this misting reported before, it’s most likely nothing to worry about but I’ll leave the more knowledgeable to advise on that.
Keep driving.
If you feel like taking the wheels off and cleaning it then you can see if it continues to weep.
Alternatively, and as well, take it to another garage for their opinion
As above a misting of oil isnt a problem and is quite a normal thing on many makes and models of cars.
These shocks are £200 each from MX5parts, genuine Mazda Bilstein replacements. No more than 1 hour to replace each corner, so that quote is excessive, even allowing for main dealer rates.
Should really do suspension work in pairs.
Wipe it dry and check again in a few months time, without saying too much it could be a money maker…
Thanks for all your input.
I agree the dealer is lifting my leg a bit at the prices quoted and to add insult to injury, last year they also suggested wiping it and checking again after a few months - but that was a chargeable add on.
I’ve got a decent local independent garage where I’ll take it in for an MOT and see what they’ll charge to swap them.
I had this misting reported on my daughters car {Ford Ka 2016] my daughters safety is paramount to me plus the fact she needs the car to do her care work. I replaced both sides and they were totally shot which surprised me as the car had only 40k on it!
Is this a job that can be entrusted to a competent amateur and does the tracking need to be checked afterwards ?
I’ve had the same issue on my Mk3.5 Sportech (it’s a 2012 car with the standard Bilsteins which Mazda fitted to that model).
MOT 2016, 20,011 miles - advisory stating light misting of oil on nearside rear damper.
MOT 2017, 23,544 miles - no advisories.
MOT 2018, 28,438 miles - advisory stating light misting of oil on both rear dampers. Asked the mechanic for advice & was told that they were “a long way from needing replacement at present”.
MOT 2019, 33,124 miles - no advisories.
MOT 2020, 36,862 miles - no advisories.
All of the above MOTs were carried out at the same garage & it’s still on the original dampers.
Incidentally the rear Bilstein dampers for the PRHT model (which I have) are different to the rear Bilsteins on the soft-top, the Bilsteins for the PRHT are significantly more expensive (at least, they were last time I looked on MX-5 Parts’ website!).
If only one of mine required replacement I’d certainly replace the pair.
Thanks Andy.
I guess it’s down to the tester on the day. The parts are out of stock at MX5 parts at the moment anyway so let’s hope the tester is in a good mood when I book it in.
So presumably this misting was around at the time of the last MOT and servicing?
Just give them a wipe over as said (if you can) and present for the test. Of course if you feel the suspension needs attention then let a competent person take a look.
Minimum tools will include a spring compressor and maybe some brute force undoing the shock bolts, correct tools of course. I think if I were wanting this job doing (a pair) I’d get someone else now on the job although I’ve got the spring compressor, it’s an age thing.
It’s probably one of those jobs that is fine if all goes well. The only frustration will be if bolts are seized. If your garage does it then they need to remember to avoid twisted bushes on the tightening sequence… You may find the bump stops are past it when you remove the shocks.
Misting of oil from the shock is a mot advisory. If the shock is covered in grease/oil from top to bottom then it’s a failure.
Ideally I would have both shocks replaced at the same time. You would replace both springs if one was broken, common sense. 700 quid seems steep.
Cheers.
I asked another main dealer for a quote and they came back with £760 for both rears fitted, so I may have got the wrong end of the stick from the other guys. I’ll give them a buzz later in the week and also make sure they replace the bump stops and bushes at the same time.
Labour to replace all four corners should be around half a day. A set of Koni is around £500, Bilstein (b12 kit) £600, Maester around £800. All with springs.
So £700 for rear shocks only is more than you need to pay. You can get better for less.
Original dealer came back with their price today - £537.46 a side so £1074 in total 
These are 2 Mazda franchises about 20 miles apart in the same county. The mind boggles.
I have a 2013 Sport Graphite with Bilsteins, on my 1st MOT I got the usual misty dampers advisory, complained to the dealer and asked for them to be replaced. No chance!. Escalated it, Mazda tech got involved, garage sent photos etc, Mazda tech came back with “normal behaviour, they always leak a bit, don’t need replacing”.
That worried me a bit so I wasted over £300 taking out extended warranty just in case the dampers failed! Move on 12 months, MOT adversary - misty dampers. Asked again for them to be replaced under extended warranty as it was about to expire. Back to Mazda tech, same answer as the previous year, refused to replace them. Much complaining ensued to no avail.
Move on another 12 months, MOT due, out comes the polishing cloth and dampened with a bit of WD40, lovely shiny yellow dampers, no mist showing, sailed through the MOT with no advisories.
My car is now 7 years old, MOT due next month, my polishing cloth is ready to clean the bilsteins again and I am not even considering changing them. The car handles just fine. If you think your handling is a bit off, I would spend my money on a good 4 wheel alignment rather than replacing the bilsteins.
On another point, a friend who had a Sport Black had a slight knocking from the rear and the dealer would only replace a single damper despite his protestations about matched pairs. They seem to think its OK to do a single one. He didn’t so paid for the second one to be replaced himself.
With a Mk1, the rule of thuimb for the standard Showa shocks was 60k miles, and then they would be sub-optimal.
I spoke to Krupps (Bilstein) about the shocks they supplied Mazda (note, these shocks are of a different spec to their aftermarket). The response was unless the shock had some sort of external damage, at 200k kms, they would expect the shocks to be at least 95% of new performance.
There has been a slight knock and “squidgy” noise for a while on the back end. Nothing I’ve been too worried about but I’ve decided to change and go with the dealer I bought the car from who quoted the £740 ish. They’ve confirmed that it’s for 2 Bilsteins for the 2010 Sport Tech so I guess they’ll have to honour the price. Once I booked the date, they came back with a 3% environmental charge and you just know the cheeky buggers will add that to the labour as well.
The competitor reckoned parts were £700+ and it was 3 hours labour.
I’m wondering whether I over stressed the dampers when I hit a dip on Winnats pass much faster than was sensible as I misread the road. The car didn’t bottom out but I nearly did !