2014 Mazda MAZDA3

PURCHASED AS NEW VEHICLE. FROM THE TIME OF PURCHASE I SMELLED GASOLINE IN GARAGE AFTER PARKING OVERNIGHT. AFTER 1,000 MILES/3 MONTHS THE GAS SMELL BECAME INCREASINGLY STRONGER AND GAS MILEAGE PLUMMETED FROM 30 MPG TO 18 MPG. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. THEY SAID THE SEAMS OF FUEL TANK WERE LEAKING--ENTIRE TANK HAD TO BE REPLACED; NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. *TR

MY VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH STANDARD "PUSH-BUTTON" START WHICH IS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A RADIO CONTROLLED "KEY FOB." WHILE STANDING WITHIN A CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE VEHICLE, THE DOORS WILL UNLOCK WITH THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON ON THE DOOR HANDLE AND THE VEHICLE WILL START WITH THE TOUCH OF THE INTERIOR START BUTTON AND THE BRAKE PEDAL PUSHED DOWN. THE SAME INTERIOR START BUTTON IS PUSHED AGAIN TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE. ON APRIL 15, 2015, AFTER PARKING THE VEHICLE, I PUT THE CAR IN PARK, ENGAGED THE HAND BRAKE, AND EXITTED THE CAR, FORGETTING TO PUSH THE INTERIOR START BUTTON TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE. I LEFT THE VICINITY OF THE VEHICLE (ABOUT 100 YARDS AWAY) AND THE CAR ENGINE CONTINUED TO RUN UNTIL I RETURNED, 2 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES LATER TO TURN THE CAR OFF. MY LOCAL MAZDA DEALER SAID THIS WAS NORMAL AND THERE WAS NO BUILT-IN SAFETY MECHANISM TO PREVENT THE CAR ENGINE FROM RUNNING WHILE THE "KEY FOB" WAS NO WHERE NEAR THE CAR. IMAGINE THE SAFETY CONCERNS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS? IF THE CAR WERE PARKED IN A RESIDENTIAL GARAGE, THE RESULTS WOULD HAVE BEEN DISASTEROUS. WHY DOESN'T THE ENGINE AUTOMATICALLY CUT OFF WHEN THE KEY FOB IS A CERTAIN DISTANCE FROM THE VEHICLE? WHY ISN'T THE ALERT (A SHORT SERIES OF BEEPS IDENTICAL TO OTHER BEEPS THE CAR MAKES WHEN LOCKED) DISTINCTIVE AND ALARMING? THIS IS A SERIOUS, LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF KEYLESS START ENGINES THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. *TR

HARSH VIBRATION IN CABIN SIMILAR TO AN ENGINE MISFIRE OCCURS RANDOMLY NEAR IDLE OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER IGNITION. THE DEALERSHIP AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE OF THIS CONCERN AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN REPRODUCING OR ISOLATING SOURCE OF THE VIBRATION. VIDEO DOCUMENTATION OF THE FAILURE DURING ITS OCCURRENCE HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO BOTH PARTIES AND HAS BEEN FORWARDED TO THE SENIOR REGIONAL ENGINEER FOR ANALYSIS. CURRENT OWNER HAS AN OPEN VEHICLE REPURCHASE CLAIM UNDER LEMON LAW WITH THE MANUFACTURER PENDING INVESTIGATION OF FAULT. *TR

HAVING SPENT APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, THE TRAFFIC PICKED UP AGAIN, ONLY TO COME TO ANOTHER STOP. I WAS UNABLE TO STOP BECAUSE MY BRAKES HAD COMPLETELY FAILED, MY FOOT WENT TO THE FLOOR AND I HAD NO BRAKING RESPONSE AT ALL. I TAPPED THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME, NO DAMAGE TO HIS CAR, SO WE DECIDED NOT TO CALL THE POLICE. MY CAR SUSTAINED COSMETIC DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END, PUSHED THE LEFT FRONT FENDER BACK SO I WAS UNABLE TO OPEN THE DRIVER'S DOOR. I WAS APPROXIMATELY 250 MILES FROM MY HOME WHEN THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED. THE FOLLOWING DAY I DID A TEST PANIC STOP IN A PARKING LOT, AND THE BRAKES THEN RESPONDED APPROPRIATELY. *TR

A FEW TIMES WHEN STARTING UP THE VEHICLE, THE MAZDA EMBLEM POPS UP SLOWLY, THEN FADES AWAY, AND THE LCD SYSTEM SCREEN WILL CONTINUE TO BE A BLANK, BLACK SCREEN WITH NO RESPONSE UNTIL I RESTART THE CAR. ABOUT 7-10 TIMES IT HAS HAPPENED WHERE I'M DRIVING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE MUSIC WILL STOP, THEN THE LCD SCREEN SHOWS A MAZDA EMBLEM, AND THE SYSTEM REBOOTS ITSELF. I'M TAKEN NOTES AND HAVE TRIED TO FIND COMMONALITIES WHEN THIS HAPPENS, BUT HAVE NOT YET. I'VE MENTIONED IT EACH TIME I GET A MAZDA OIL SERVICE, BUT THE TECHS NEVER FIND ANYTHING. I ALSO HAVE VIDEO RECORDING OF ONE OF THE INSTANCES WHERE IT LASTED PARTICULARLY LONG.

MY CAR IS EQUIPPED WITH A PUSH TO START/STOP (KEYLESS) "FEATURE". I PULLED MY CAR INTO THE GARAGE LAST NIGHT (WITH THE RADIO OFF), PRESSED THE START/STOP BUTTON TO STOP THE ENGINE, AND WENT INSIDE. WHEN I WOKE UP THIS MORNING, THE CAR WAS STILL RUNNING, ALL NIGHT INSIDE MY ATTACHED ENCLOSED GARAGE. CO METER MEASURE NON-ZERO PPM LEVELS A FEW HOURS AFTER SHUTTING THE CAR OFF. OTHER THEN THE RADIO, THERE ARE NO OBVIOUS NON-AUDIBLE INDICATIONS THAT THE ENGINE IS RUNNING / NOT RUNNING. ADDITIONAL EXPECTATION WOULD BE THE CAR SHOULD BE SMART ENOUGH TO AUTOMATICALLY SHUT ITSELF OFF AFTER IDLING FOR EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. MINE WAS RUNNING IN THE GARAGE FOR ABOUT 6.5 HOURS. *TR

I INITIALLY HAD ISSUE GETTING INTO AND OUT OF THE 3RD AND 4TH GEAR (MANUAL TRANSMISSION CAR). I COULD FEEL GEARS GRINDING DURING SHIFTING (WITH THE CLUTCH FULLY DEPRESSED). THE DEALER REPLACED THE THIRD GEAR. AFTER THE FIX, THE CAR NOW HAS DIFFICULTY GETTING INTO AND OUT OF GEAR 2 AND 3. THIS PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT BUT IS MORE NOTICEABLE AFTER THE INITIAL START-UP OF THE CAR, ESPECIALLY IF THE WEATHER IS COLD (50F OR COLDER). WITH THE CLUTCH FULLY PRESSED, I CAN STILL FEEL THE GEAR ROTATING AND GRINDING DURING SHIFTING. WHEN THE CAR IS COLD, A LOT OF FORCE IS NEEDED TO SHIFT THE CAR INTO 2ND AND 3RD GEAR. THE SHIFTING ISSUE IS LESS NOTICEABLE WHEN ONCE THE CAR HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR 20MINS. *TR

I HAVE HAD TWO CONTINUOUS ISSUES WITH MY 2014 MAZDA 3; THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM SHUTS DOWN AND THEN BEGIN A CYCLE OF CONTINUOUSLY SHUTTING DOWN A REBOOTING AND THE HEADS UP DISPLAY AT TIMES DOES NOT POP UP WHEN I START THE VEHICLE.THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS IS TO PULL OVER, SHUT OFF THE CAR AND THEN START IT BACK UP AGAIN (THIS GENERALLY FIXES BOTH THE NAVIGATION AND HUD ISSUE, ALTHOUGH THESE ISSUES DO NOT SEEM TO BE RELATED AS THE HAVE NOT OCCURRED AT THE SAME TIME BEFORE.) THIS CERTAINLY SEEMS LIKE A SOFTWARE ISSUE AS REBOOTING DOES FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES AND MOSTLY OCCURS AT THE END OF LONG TRIPS, WHEN I NEED IT MOST. IN SOME INSTANCES THIS HAS LED ME TO TAKE WRONG TURNS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC OR FORCED ME TO PULL OVER IN HEAVY TRAFFIC IN ORDER TO FIGURE OUT WHERE I AM GOING. MAZDA NEEDS TO DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES AS THEY CAN POSE A SAFETY HAZARD TO THOSE FOLLOWING THE NAVIGATION DIRECTIONS. AS ALWAYS DO NOT DEPEND SOLELY ON A NAVIGATION SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY THE ONE IN THE 2014 MAZDA3. IT WILL ENTER INTO A CYCLE OF CONTINUALLY SHUTTING DOWN AND REBOOTING WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST. I HAVE BROUGHT MY VEHICLE TO A DEALER TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE TO THE LATEST VERSION A FEW MONTHS AGO, IT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I WENT TO A DEALER FOR A RECENT OIL CHANGE I MENTIONED THE PROBLEM AND THEY DID NOT EVEN SEEM TO KNOW WHAT THE LATEST SOFTWARE VERSION WAS OR WHY I WOULD WANT IT UPDATED. I HOPE THAT MOST DEALERS WOULD UPDATE THE SOFTWARE FOR A CAR UNDER WARRANTY WHEN THEY COMPLETE AN OIL CHANGE, OR AT THE VERY LEAST KNOW AND MAKE THE CUSTOMER AWARE A NEWER VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE IS OUT SO AN UPDATE CAN BE SCHEDULED. I PLAN TO COMPLETE THIS UPDATE, BUT NO ONE AT THE MAZDA SERVICE CENTER I WENT TO WAS ABLE TO TELL ME WHAT THE UPDATE CHANGED/FIXED. I AM HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED IN THE VEHICLE'S NAVIGATION AND HUD. CAVEAT EMPTOR WHEN BUYING A YEAR ONE MODEL. *TR

STARTING ABOUT A MONTH AFTER WE BOUGHT THE CAR WE NOTICED THAT THE INDICATOR LIGHT FOR THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WOULD SOMETIMES LIGHT UP INDICATING THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WAS DEACTIVATED. WE STOP THE CAR AND EXITED THE VEHICLE AND REENTERED THE VEHICLE AND THE LIGHT STARTED TO WORK PROPERLY. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS WE NOTICED THAT THE ISSUE WAS HAPPENING MORE OFTEN. WE TOOK THE CAR TO BROWN'S MAZDA IN ALEXANDRIA. AFTER CHECKING THE CAR OUT THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 ABOUT 10 DAYS AFTER HAVING THE CAR SERVICED MY WIFE AND I WAS DRIVING ON A LEVEL CITY STREET AROUND 5:48 PM, AT THAT TIME THE INDICATOR LIGHT WAS OFF, WHICH WOULD INDICATE THAT THE AIRBAG AND ACTIVE RESTRAINTS ARE ON AND THAT THE CAR RECOGNIZES THAT THERE IS AN ADULT IN THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT. A CAR PULLED OUT FROM A SIDE STREET IN TO TRAFFIC CAUSING US TO HARD BRAKE IN ORDER TO AVOID THE ACCIDENT. MY WIFE THAT WAS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS THROWN FORWARD AS IF SHE DID NOT EVEN HAVE A SEAT BELT ON, THE ACTIVE SEAT RESTRAINT DID NOT TIGHTEN AT ALL. THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG LIGHT THAT WAS OFF WAS NOW ON INDICATING THAT THE AIRBAG AND RESTRAINT SYSTEM WAS OFF. SHE WAS SHAKEN BUT THANKFULLY NOT HARMED. AGAIN WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAVE SAID THAT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO FIX IT'S JUST PART OF THE DESIGN AND THAT PEOPLE MY WIFE SIZE SHOULD NOT USE THE CAR. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT DRIVING THE CAR, BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY TO PREDICT WHEN THE AIRBAG WILL DECIDE TO DEACTIVATE LEAVING THE PASSENGER AT RISK OF INJURY IF THERE WERE A CRASH OR ROLLOVER. *TR