Mazda 3 Sedan 2020 Owner's Manual page 499

Water Marks
Occurrence
Rain, fog, dew, and even tap water can
contain harmful minerals such as salt
and lime. If moisture containing these
minerals settles on the vehicle and
evaporates, the minerals will
concentrate and harden to form white
rings. The rings can damage your
vehicle's finish.
Prevention
It is necessary to wash and wax your
vehicle to preserve its finish according
to the instructions in this section.
These steps should be taken
immediately after you find water marks
on your vehicle's finish.
Paint Chipping
Occurrence
Paint chipping occurs when gravel
thrown in the air by another vehicle's
tires hits your vehicle.
How to avoid paint chipping
Keeping a safe distance between you
and the vehicle ahead reduces the
chances of having your paint chipped
by flying gravel.
NOTE
The paint chipping zone varies with

the speed of the vehicle. For
example, when traveling at 90 km/h
(56 mph), the paint chipping zone is
50 m (164 ft).
In low temperatures a vehicle's finish

hardens. This increases the chance of
paint chipping.
Appearance Care
Chipped paint can lead to rust

forming on your Mazda. Before this
happens, repair the damage by using
Mazda touch-up paint according to
the instructions in this section.
Failure to repair the affected area
could lead to serious rusting and
expensive repairs.
Follow all label and container
directions when using a chemical
cleaner or polish. Read all warnings
and cautions.
▼ Maintaining the Finish
Washing
CAUTION
Before lifting the windshield wiper
blades off the windshield, always
follow the procedure for moving the
windshield wiper blades. Otherwise,
a wiper blade, wiper arm, or the
hood could be damaged.
Refer to the Replacing Windshield
Wiper Blades (page 6-24) section for
the procedure on how to move the
windshield wiper blades to the
service position.
When the ignition is switched ON
and the wiper lever is in the AUTO
position and the position, the
windshield wipers may operate
automatically in the following cases:
The area of the windshield above
the rain sensor is touched or wiped
with a cloth.
The windshield or the rain sensor
area in the cabin is hit.
Maintenance and Care
6-49