Ever since I put the car in to the local Mazda dealer to have a door hinge replaced under warranty, I have been hearing some strange noises. At first it was just a creaking, as though a screw where not tightened properly, now.... There appears to be a 'ticking' noise emanating from the drivers side in the dash/footwell area. approximately ten per second, but only when accelerating! This is evident in all gears, and is audible up until 4000 revs. (It probably continues, but the engine drowns it out) Any ideas??? Would the dash board need to be dismantled to replace the door hinges/check strap? Should I just turn the stereo up a bit and ignore it? (12/99)

The ticking you are hearing- if it is just "light" ticking under partial throttle, that goes away at high revs or goes away on harder acceleration: it's a known MX5 "feature" and nothing at all to worry about. (12/99)