2007 Mazda CX-7

I WAS HEADING WEST OUT OF DENVER ON INTERSTATE 70 WHEN MY CAR COMPLETELY FAILED AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. I WAS IN THE LEFT (PASSING) LANE AND WAS FORTUNATELY ABLE TO PULL INTO THE MEDIAN TO AVOID A CRASH AT HIGH SPEEDS. MY FOUR-MONTH OLD SON WAS IN THE BACK SEAT SO I WAS SHAKEN AND FRIGHTENED FOR HIS SAFETY, AND UNABLE TO RE-START THE VEHICLE. WE WERE STRANDED THERE FOR AN HOUR WAITING FOR A TOW-TRUCK WITH OTHER CARS PUSHING PAST US AT VERY HIGH SPEEDS. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE FOR THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF MAZDA. THE COMPANY DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR VEHICLES--INSTEAD THEY ARE DISCONTINUING THE CX-7 B/C OF IT'S POOR ENGINEERING. THEY ALSO OFFERED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS ISSUE (UP TO 70,000 MILES SO MY CAR IS NOT COVERED.) IF THEY WERE A RESPONSIBLE COMPANY THEY SHOULD ISSUE A TOTAL RECALL OF THIS VEHICLE IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE TIMING CHAINS. OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR IN THE SHORT TIME I HAD IT (BOUGHT IT AT 53,000 AND IT HAS A DEAD ENGINE AT ONLY 76,000) -MYSTERIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS CAUSING ALL GAUGES TO GO HAYWIRE WHEN I ACCELERATED OR TURNED -LEAKING VALVES IN THE TRANSMISSION (JUST PAID $800 TO HAVE THAT REPAIRED IN OCTOBER) -FAULTY AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR (ALSO EXTENDED WARRANTY) BASICALLY, THIS CAR IS A TOTAL LEMON. IF YOU HAVE ONE THAT STILL RUNS--BEWARE! IF I HAD BEEN 2 MILES FARTHER DOWN THE FREEWAY I WOULD HAVE HAD NO WHERE TO PULL OVER AND WOULD HAVE BEEN STALLED DEAD ON THE FREEWAY IN HEAVY TRAFFIC... WITH YOUNG SON IN THE BACK SEAT. *TR

I OWN A 2007 MAZDA CX-7, WHICH I PURCHASED IN NOV. 2006, BRAND NEW. OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS, I HAVE HEARD A TAPPING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF THE VEHICLE. TWICE IN THE PAST 9 MONTHS, THE VEHICLE LOST COMPLETE POWER. I ASKED MAZDA TO CHECK THE VEHICLE AND THEY STATED THAT IT WAS COMMON, NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. IN JANUARY OF 2012, I RECEIVED A SAFETY NOTICE FROM MAZDA IN REGARDS TO A POSSIBLE DEFECT PART, V.V.T. COMPONENT AND A LOOSE TIMING CHAIN. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP, WHO ADVISED ME THAT MY VEHICLE CONTAINED THIS DEFECTIVE PART, BUT STATED THAT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO REPAIR THE DEFECTIVE COMPONENT DUE TO THE LACK OF RECEIPTS FOR OIL CHANGES AND OTHER MAINTENANCE RECORDS. THE REASON FOR THE LACK OF RECEIPTS IS BECAUSE MY BROTHER-IN-LAW, WHO IS A MECHANIC, PERFORMED THE OIL CHANGES AND OTHER MAINTENANCE WORK TO THE VEHICLE. I ASKED MAZDA IF THE DEFECTIVE PART COULD BE HAZARDOUS AND THEY ADVISED ME IT WAS NOT HARZARDOUS OR DANGEROUS. APPROX. 3 WEEKS AGO, MY WIFE ORDERED THE NECESSARY PARTS AND PAID FOR THEM IN FULL. AFTER 3 WEEKS, I WAS ADVISED THAT THE PARTS OR NOT AVAILABLE. AFTER READING NUMEROUS WEBSITES AND COMPLAINTS FROM CX-7 OWNERS, THIS IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY. I FURTHER READ THAT IF THE V.V.T. COMPONENT FAILS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING OPERATED, THE ENGINE WILL IMMEDIATELY CEASE, POSSIBLY CAUSING THE OPERATOR THE INABILITY TO SAFELY MANVEUR THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROADWAY. IN MY OPINION, THIS IS A DANGER TO THE OCCUPANTS OF THE MAZDA CX-7 AND OTHER MOTORISTS. I HAVE NOT HEARD OF ANY ACCIDENTS BEING REPORTED AS A RESULT OF THE DEFECTIVE PART, BUT I FEEL THAT MAZDA IS NOT TAKING THE NECESSARY MEASURES TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE MOTORISTS. I FEEL THAT THE MATTER SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF BY MAZDA BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY HURT OR KILLED. *KB

I WAS DRIVING MY MAZDA CX-7 ON THE HIGHWAY AROUND 65 MPH WHEN MY CAR STARTING MAKING A LOUD NOISE FROM THE ENGINE AND HAD A SUDDEN LOSS IN POWER. SO I PULLED OVER IN THE NEXT TOWN AND STAYED IN A MOTEL FOR THE NIGHT. THE NEXT DAY I RENTED A TRAILER FROM UHAUL TO TOW THE CAR TO A MAZDA DEALER WHO STATED THAT MY ENGINE NEEDED TO BE OPENED TO PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THE ACTUAL PROBLEM. PER THE MAZDA TECHNICIAN THAT INSPECTED MY CAR, THE TIMING CHAIN (VVT) WAS MISSING A PIN AND CAUSED THE ENGINE TO BREAK. THEREFORE MY ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AT THE PRICE IT WAS TO REPLACE THE ENGINE, I OBTAINED A SECOND OPINION FROM A NON-MAZDA MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT MY ENGINE ALSO NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I REPLACED MY ENGINE AT 72,127 MILES, FOR APPROXIMATELY $6K, WHICH IS SLIGHTLY OVER THE 70,000 MILE SERVICE NOTICE THAT MAZDA RECENTLY PUT OUT FOR REIMBURSEMENT FROM REPAIRS RELATED TO THE VVT TIMING CHAIN. AFTER I SUBMITTED MY CLAIM TO MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS, MY CLAIM WAS DENIED BECAUSE I WAS SLIGHTLY OVER THE MILEAGE THAT THEY DETERMINED WAS APPROPRIATE. I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED MAZDA TO BE A LITTLE MORE UNDERSTANDING AS IT WAS THEIR DEALERSHIP WHO INITIALLY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM. AS SUCH, I HAVE CURRENTLY HIRED A LAWYER TO PURSUE REIMBURSEMENT OF MY ENGINE REPLACEMENT COST AS THIS PART HAS CAUSED SEVERAL OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO HAVE TO REPLACE THEIR ENTIRE ENGINES. MY LAWYER WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE ARE MORE CASES OF THE MAZDA CX-7 ENGINE BREAKING DUE TO TIMING CHAIN FAILURE THAT WAS ALSO NEAR OR ABOVE 70,000 MILES. PLEASE RESPOND/COMMENT TO THIS POST SO THAT WE MAY USE YOUR STORY/INFORMATION AS VERIFICATION THAT THE VVT TIMING CHAIN IS AN ISSUE ON THE MAZDA CX-7. *KB

VEHICLE HAS A DEFECTIVE VARIABLE VALVE TIMING ACTUATOR (AS PER THE MANUFACTURERS CAMPAIGN LETTER) THAT CAUSES A NOISE AT START UP AND A LOOSE TIMING CHAIN. THAT FIRST PHASE OF THE FAILURE HAS ALREADY OCCURRED. THE NEXT STAGE OF THE FAILURE WHICH HASN'T HAPPENED TO ME YET (BUT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED BY OTHERS) IS THAT THE VVT ACTUATOR EVENTUALLY BECOMES DISLODGED FROM ITS PIN AND AS A RESULT, THE TIMING CHAIN BREAKS, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SEIZE INSTANTLY, CAUSING AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE FROM THE DRIVER TO ATTEMPT TO GET OUT OF THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC, WITHOUT WARNING, WITHIN SECONDS OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN ON THE NJ TURNPIKE, RT. 295, RT 195, ETC IN CENTRAL NJ AND WHEN THE FAILURE AS DESCRIBED ABOVE OCCURS WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON BUSY ROADWAYS, THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY OF AN ACCIDENT OCCURRING AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE, OR AS THE CAR SITS DISABLED ON THE EDGE OF A ROADWAY AWAITING ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. THE DANGER IS NOT ONLY FOR THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CX-7, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE DIRECTLY BEHIND THE VEHICLE AT THE POINT OF THE VVT FAILING AND/OR THE TIMING CHAIN BREAKING. I HAVE REQUESTED THAT THE VEHICLE BE REPAIRED FOR OVER 90 DAYS, HOWEVER MAZDA USA CONTINUES TO INFORM ME THAT THE PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AND THAT THERE NO IDENTIFIED DATE OF WHEN THEY WILL BE IN STOCK. THAT MEANS THAT THEY ARE ALLOWING ME AND MY FAMILY TO DRIVE A VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH A DEFECTIVE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT PART, THAT WHEN IT FAILS, MAY CAUSE HARM TO ME, MY FAMILY AND OTHERS. THEY ARE NOT CONSIDERING THIS A MATTER OF SAFETY, AND INSTEAD ONLY A MATTER OF INCONVENIENCE IN THAT BECAUSE MY VEHICLE IS NOW OVER THEIR SELF DETERMINED 70,000K MILEAGE THRESHOLD, THEY ARE NOT OFFERING TO FIX THE CAR. INSTEAD, THEY ARE TELLING ME THAT I CAN PAY TO HAVE IT FIXED. THEY SHOULD BE WARNING THEIR CUSTOMERS OF THE DANGEROUS CONDITION BEING CREATED BY THEIR FAULTY COMPONENTS. *TR

MAZDA SENT INFORMATION REGARDING AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THE VVT ACTUATOR/TIMING CHAIN FOR 70,000 MILES OR 7 YEARS OF AGE. I TOOK MY VEHICLE IN FOR SERVICE, LITERALLY DAYS AFTER RECEIVING THIS MAILING, AND WAS INFORMED THAT I NEEDED THIS REPAIRED ON MY VEHICLE. MY CAR WAS AROUND 15,000 MILES OVER THE LIMIT BUT WITHIN THE 7 YEAR TIME FRAME. AFTER CALLING THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE, MAZDA INSISTED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO SINCE I WAS OVER THE MILEAGE CAP. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A DEFECT NO MATTER HOW MANY MILES ARE ON THE VEHICLE. TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM, I WILL HAVE TO PAY OVER $1,500. WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS? A REPUTABLE COMPANY WOULD FIX THIS DEFECT ON ALL VEHICLES AFFECTED. *TR

THE TIMING CHAIN IN THIS VEHICLE BROKE WHILE UNDER POWER. WE RECENTLY RECEIVED A VOLUNTARY WARRANTY EXTENSION NOTICE (MAZDA CALLS IT A SPECIAL SERVICE PROGRAM) THAT INDICATED THERE MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE IN THE VEHICLE, SPECIFICALLY ELEMENTS RELATED TO THE TIMING CHAIN AND VARIABLE VALVE TIMING. OUR CAR ALWAYS RATTLED AT STARTUP FROM THE DAY WE BOUGHT IT, THAT WAS OUR NORMAL EXPERIENCE AND EXPECTATION FOR WHAT THE CAR WAS SUPPOSED TO SOUND LIKE. WE NEVER KNEW THIS WAS A PROBLEM UNTIL A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND COME TO FIND OUT, OUR CAR HAD PASSED THE EXTENDED COVERAGE PERIOD PROVIDED BY MAZDA ANYWAY. IT IS AND WILL BE OUR CONTENTION THAT THERE IS A SERIOUS DESIGN FLAW IN THE MOTOR OF THIS VEHICLE. WHILE OUR EXPERIENCE IS THAT THE CAR FAILED AT 83K MILES, MANY HAVE FAILED SOONER, AND OTHER MAZDA PRODUCTS USING THE SAME MOTOR ARE AFFECTED (L3T ENGINE, ALSO IN THE SPEED 6 AND THE SPEED 3) IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE SERVICE INTERVAL FOR THE TIMING CHAIN HAD NOT BEEN REACHED. MAZDA PUBLISHED A TSB ON THIS PROBLEM IN 2009 OR THEREABOUTS, BUT NEVER CONTACTED IT'S CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY TO INDICATE THAT SERVICE MAY BE REQUIRED. IT IS TIME FOR THE NTSB TO GET A RECALL NOTICE ISSUED AND PUT THIS ISSUE TO BED ONCE AND FOR ALL, BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. *TR

OUR 2007 MAZDA CX7 SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND I WAS FORCED TO STOP THE VEHICLE IN THE CENTER MEDIAN OF THE HIGHWAY, AS I WAS UNABLE TO MOVE TO THE RIGHT DUE TO OTHER TRAFFIC. VEHICLE WAS TOWED BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A BROKEN PIN ON THE VARIABLE VALVE TIME ACTUATOR (VVT). THERE WAS NO PRIOR INDICATION OF A PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE (NO WARNING LIGHTS) PRIOR TO THE ENGINE STOPPING. DEALERSHIP HAS INDICATED THAT COMPLETE ENGINE REPLACEMENT IS RECOMMENDED BY MAZDA. CURRENTLY THE VEHICLE IS AWAITING ARRIVAL OF AN ADJUSTER FROM EXTENDED WARRANTY COMPANY TO SEE IF REPAIRS/REPLACEMENT WILL BE COVERED. ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESEARCH HAS INDICATED THAT THIS IS A WELL-DOCUMENT AND FREQUENTLY OCCURRING PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL OF VEHICLE, YET MANUFACTURER HAS NEGLECTED TO INITIATE A FULL RECALL. RATHER THEY ISSUED A "SERVICE BULLETIN" (#01-002/08) THAT ADDRESSES A VVT NOISE WHEN STARTING ENGINE. BULLETIN STATES "SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A LOUD TICKING NOISE FROM THE VARIABLE VALVE TIMING. (VVT) THIS IS CAUSED BY THE LOCK PIN OF THE VARIABLE VALVE TIMING ACTUATOR NOT FULLY ENGAGING. HEAT TREATMENT HAS NOW BEEN ADDED AROUND THE HOLE OF THE VARIABLE VALVE TIMING ROTOR LOCK TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING." IT IS BELIEVED THAT HAD MY VEHICLE EXHIBITED ANY SYMPTOMS, I COULD HAVE HAD THE SERVICE BULLETIN REPAIRS MADE, AND THE ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO THE BROKEN PIN WOULD HAVE MOST LIKELY BEEN AVOIDED. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL, AND NOT ADDRESSED BY A SERVICE BULLETIN. THERE IS STRONG EVIDENCE, AS DISCOVERED VIA THE INTERNET, THAT MULTIPLE CX7 VEHICLES HAVE HAD THIS EXACT SAME TYPE OF FAILURE WHERE THE VEHICLE HAS SUDDENLY STOPPED RUNNING WHILE BEING DRIVEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS CONSTITUTES AN EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD THAT COULD POSSIBLY RESULT IN SERIOUS PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH. *TR

ON 2/11/2012 WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT A SPEED OF 70 MILES PER HOUR MY MAZDA CX-7'S ENGINE LOST ALL POWER. LUCKILY WE WERE ABLE TO AVOID HAVING AN ACCIDENT AND MAKE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH FAILURE OF THE TURBO SYSTEM AND TIMING CHAIN (A VERY SERIOUS AND RECURRING PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL). MAZDA HAS EXTENDED THEIR WARRANTIES BUT IS DENYING CLAIM CITING OIL SLUDGE BUILDUP EVEN THOUGH THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN PROPERLY MAINTAINED PER THE OWNER'S MANUAL. MAZDA IS DENYING FAULT WITH THE ENGINE AND SADDLING ME WITH A BILL OF OVER THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO FIX IT. THE VEHICLE IS LESS THAN SIX YEARS OLD AND ONLY HAS APPROXIMATELY 56,000 MILES ON IT. MAZDA NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS MODELS ENGINE AND THE FACT THAT IT COOKS THE ENGINE OIL LONG AFTER PARKING. *TR