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Mazda CX-7 AC problems

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Comments

  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    "..coolant reservoir exploding.."

    Really...?

    If that happened to me I would be asking for a replacment engine. Only two reasons I can think of for a coolant reservoir to explode.

    A.) Coolant boiling, STEAM, engine seriously OVER-HEATING.
    B.) Leaking head gasket, pressure of combustion entering the coolant system.

    There is a third, but...

    Rare systems have the pressure cap on the coolant reservoir, in that case if the pressure cap failed...
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Sorry, but with many car dealers, TOO many IMMHO, the "soft", diplomatic approach simply does not work.

    If you have a valid complaint that you feel the dealer is not paying appropriate attention to then having a shouting match within earshot of the showroom often works, TOO often, regrettably.
  • bcurtisbcurtis Member Posts: 3
    Today my CX7 was making a grinding noise and then there was smoke coming from under the hood...its a 2007 with 35,000 miles on it. The dealer told me to bring it in but as I have owned the car for 37 months I am without warranty coverage as AC isn't covered in the 60,000 drive train warranty. What is this about I can't drive the car if its on fire. To me that's a drive train problem.
  • cxrabbitcxrabbit Member Posts: 134
    50,000 miles and my car came to a grinding smoking halt along the side of the road yesterday. I thought it was on fire and called the fire department. Geico towed it to my local shop for me. Trying to get dealer to cover it now since this is such a wide-spread issue.
  • barb34barb34 Member Posts: 5
    I had this exact same problem with my 07 CX7 2 years ago when it reached 38K miles. After a local mechanic bypassed the AC we thought we were okay until the parts came in, but it only lasted a couple of hours until the car wouldn't turn over at all. Turned out the AC compressor was shot. Mazda USA was rude and wouldn't help because we are overseas (military), but my stateside dealer helped us diagnose the problem and offered to order and ship the part for $900, they suggested that due to our circumstances we contact a used parts dealer to save time and money. So, we bought a used AC compressor with 5K miles online ($75) and had a local mechanic put it in (300 Euro).

    We are still having problems with the 07 CX7, (engine won't turn over at all now), the AC Compressor was the start of it all for us. It makes me sad, because I really love my car.
  • silviusilviu Member Posts: 1
    Hi guys,
    I have a problem with my mazda cx 7 and it is related to AC.everything works fine but when i need fresh air from outside and i turn down the temp to 15 i still get warm air,instead of geting fresh air from outside.so even in the cool day or nights i need to start the AC to keep the temp.comfy inside the car.Mazda dealer said it perfectly normal but i suspect that is something wrong with the hot air-fresh air valve(or whatever they call it). Any other cars i drove ,when i switch to fresh air i get fresh air from outside.
    Any idea?please HELP
    thank you!
  • pctechpctech Member Posts: 43
    It IS normal. But in my opinion it is also UNACCEPTABLE. Unfortunately, it's a design problem so we have to live with it.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    That's because 190F engine coolant is ALWAYS flowing through the heater core. Most modern day system rely, REQUIRE, that the A/C be fully functional, operational, in order for the system to have full range cabin temperature control.

    The simplist thing to do, fix, is to go to Home Depot and buy a manual water flow shutoff valve and install it in the water line/hose to the cabin heater core.
  • satz24satz24 Member Posts: 10
    unfortunately that warm air that comes as 'fresh' air is normal on these cars. Very annoying. It seems worst after the car has been parked for some time and then driven again.

    I think it's to do with the turbo heat soaking into the HVAC system. I've had mine back and forth to the dealer to no avail.

    Another problem I've had is when running the AC, warm air comes as the car slows down!!!

    Regarding the suggestion to manually shutoff the water line... I'd be very careful about that. You need to make sure that the cabin heater core is on a separate 'loop', otherwise you could end up disrupting the entire engine coolant flow!
  • pctechpctech Member Posts: 43
    Being on a trip some 400 miles from home recently, I was waiting for my wife, idling the car with the A/C on, when I noticed a very strong odor of burning rubber. Having read all the horror stories on this forum, I immediately shut off the A/C, hoping that disengaging its clutch would allow the pulley to freewheel, thus possibly avoiding the total failure described so many times here. We nervously made it home and I took the car to my dealer. They checked and, sure enough, the compressor had failed (52,000 miles). Total cost (new compressor, belt and labor) was only $566 plus tax! If it hadn’t been for the warnings from this forum, who knows what could have happened (at the very least, getting stranded in the middle of nowhere)!
  • bcurtisbcurtis Member Posts: 3
    I had the same problem, and they wanted to charge me $850, but I had already heard about this and challenged the charge upfront. I said since I couldn't drive the car, (my compressor seized and fryed the belt) this is a drive train issue. They compromised, and I paid $225. It really was worth it because the upgraded compressor worked much better than the original.I live in Charleston, SC and am a Realtor, so have clients in the car all the time, and during the hot summer days the old A/C was so low power I used to leave the car running when we looked at homes. Two weeks ago I was in a head on collision with my CX-7 and walked away without a scratch, (the air bags work GREAT!). now I have to decide if I want another CX-7 or try something else. It's fun to drive, and I KNOW it's safe. The only problem I ever had with it was the A/C, and Mazda just needs to "Man Up" and admit the original pump had a design flaw, and take care of their customers...or someone else will.....I'm thinking Chevy now. :)
  • basunndaybasunnday Member Posts: 3
    edited June 2010
    Just checking out posts about the ac problems. My 2007 Cx7 has 59,300 miles on it and is in shop getting checked out for all multiple noises before the powertrain warranty runs out. They are finding lots of issues, but none that are covered. I wasn't aware the ac had widespread problems, just knew mine was not working good at low mph, and the compressor sounded very noisy when it kicked in. They advised me to replace it now before I was stuck on the side of the road. Quoted me at $760 plus charging and taxes. See some are getting some help on that, and there seems to be a wide range of prices on what people are getting charged. Now I don't want to have a wreck to get a different car, but it wouldn't bother me if someone stole it or something.
  • bcurtisbcurtis Member Posts: 3
    Keep complaining. I did and got it down to $225. The replacement is a better design and cools better too.
    The good news is my CX7 was totaled last month, and I bought a Toyota Prius.
    50mpg, ice cold A/C, and it runs on regular gas. ;)
  • e_bustere_buster Member Posts: 5
    Have significant issues with hot air blowing always with the AC turned off. Plus the AC has trouble to cool on hot days. These symptoms are parroted by a number of the previous posts. Seems the problem is prevalent in every CX-7 with automatic climate control and dealers tell you to just live with it by turning on the AC.

    After considerable diagnosis and taking apart the under-hood shroud assembly, it turns out the HVAC climate control system works pretty much correctly. My CX-7 only minor fault is the blend door, bottom left regulator arm as you look through the glove box opening, does not fully shut so there is slight heat from air leaking through the heater core. Most of the hot air however comes from the engine cowl and windshield shroud assemble. The primary airflow into the cabin from the outside setting actually comes indirectly from the engine compartment and not outside. This happens because there is a metal bottom channel under the leading edge of the windshield covered by a plastic shroud assembly the width of the dash from which the heater draws air. The channel is not effectively sealed and the backside of the under-hood firewall seal is open at the both ends of the shroud. There are some perforations along the window side of plastic shroud but they are mostly not effective.

    If you doubt, just put a thermocouple type furnace or air conditioner thermometer into the crack above the cabin air filter and watch how the temperature changes as the car operates. You will observe the hot air does not in fact come from the heater assembly but instead from the heater blower air inlet up under the windshield.

    When the CX-7 is moving outside air is drawn into the engine compartment through the radiator being accordingly heated. There is a large plastic cover on the underside of the compartment so not much air enters there. Compartment air is accordingly rammed through the openings at the under-hood back corners directly into the windshield channel. The channel is metal located above the turbo, exhaust pipes and inter-cooler so it gets very hot the longer the engine runs. So the very hot channel passes mostly engine compartment air already hot into the cabin heater inlet. And it does so always which means the AC compressor and system must compensate for the additional inlet heat.

    Collateral problems are the climate control system assumes the inlet temperature to be the ambient temperature as shown on the dash gauge. Assume the system would malfunction so not necessarily blow enough cool air. There is also the problem of the AC system being over worked which probably leads to premature compressor failure. There is also the issue of health risk from cabin occupants always breathing air from the engine compartment. On the up side, the air re-circulation function works independently to close off the outside air inlet. Just click the switch on and you block the under-hood hot air from entering the cabin. Only catch is you then have no ventilation and must open the windows.

    Short story, the climate control system does not in fact draw air from the outside when set to do so. Instead it draws air mostly from the hot engine compartment whereby the air conditioner must be always on to compensate.

    A disappointing proposition as it looks there is no way to correct the problem. And there looks to be dozens of CX7 owners who are bothered by the issue. Unless the engineers at Mazda to provide a modified plastic shroud assembly with a sealed cowl and outside grate perforations to prevent the air from the windshield channel and essentially engine compartment air from entering the cabin. Such a modification is surely possible and would not be terribly costly to install en mass as every CX7 would need one.

    Sorry, there is no fix and nothing actually wrong with the HVAC. The fellow at 166 had the story correct except the cause is complicated and issue more substantial than most of us would expect.
  • pctechpctech Member Posts: 43
    The extensive analysis and explanation by e buster is wonderful! This may be a bit of a stretch, but does it look like it might be possible for the owner to make some or all of the suggested mods to at least improve on things?
  • e_bustere_buster Member Posts: 5
    edited June 2010
    Today the outside temperature here was 75F both on the CX7 ambient readout and according to the weather report. When my CX7 was started the HVAC inlet air temperature, measured immediately above the cabin air filter, showed as 75F and stayed there for at least 10 minutes. After an hour of city driving with a few stops between the HVAC inlet air registered 105F about. Under-hood temperatures are upwards of 135F at the firewall bezel just below the windshield behind the inter-cooler. The lowest possible temperature my CX7 air conditioner could manage was eventually 65F. Which is just not enough to cool the vehicle much below 75F in the sunshine with the windows closed.

    The AC unit was therefore working to cool incoming air at 105F instead of outside air at 75F. Which means the compressor has to run constantly just to keep up with pretty modest outside temperatures. With the re-circulation turned on, so no external air is used and inside already cool air is cooled again, the AC unit can eventually cool air to 35F but then only at lower outside temperatures. Assuming the under-hood air temperature would always be greater than the outside temperature, it would be a whole lot better if the AC was fed with outside air directly. It seems obvious the AC unit would then have cooling capacity to handle outside temperatures equal to the 105F it currently gets at 75F. As you can see, the hotter the air you put into the system the higher the temperature of the cooled air output.

    Unfortunately, Mazda vehicles are pretty much the same design with a plastic covered metal cowl structure under the windshield with inadequate firewall seals and, with very hot engines jammed so tightly in under-hood compartments, the design does not work. The result is the HVAC units work inordinately hard to compensate for often hot inlet air temperatures. Which means vehicles have inadequate cooling much of the time and hot air when the AC is turned off.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    You missed something....

    Unlike HVAC systems of a few years ago these new systems have no shutoff for HOT, >190F, coolant flowing through the heater core. So the radiant heating effects from the heater core will ALWAYS have adverse effects of the efficiency of the A/C to cool the cabin.

    Buy and install a manual coolant flow shutoff valve so the HOT coolant can be prevented from HEATING the entire area surrounding the heater core.

    Also. Most modern day automatic climate control systems are designed to prevent slight discomfort due to TOO cool airflow to your face and upper body. To that end once the cabin air/atmosphere is cooled to your setpoint or closely nearby the blower speed will be significantly reduced, the reheat/remix vane door will be adjusted to provide more WARMISH airflow. Airflow just barely cool enough to maintain the cabin atmosphere nearby the setpoint.

    Many of these systems will even open the windshield and footwell ducts to outlet airflow in order to more widely disperse the cooling airflow to prevent discomfort.

    Absent installing the shutoff the highest A/C efficiency can be attained via the MAXIMUM cooling setting and use of the blower speed to regulate the cabin comfort level.

    Plus: The Human Comfort equation involves more than the surrounding air temperature, radiant heating, or lack thereof, has as much to do with our comfort level as does the atmosphere surrounding us. These highly slanted windshields, with such DEEP dash TOP surface areas are no help at all. To prevent reflections on the windshield that would interfere with the driver's forward vision these are often in a very dark color shade. Absorbing HIGH heat levels in the HOT sun, moving or stationary.

    What is needed is a dash top surface covering that has a fresnel effect, reflective forward but non-reflective otherwise.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    edited June 2010
    "...HVAC inlet air registered 105F about..."

    Are you sure you weren't measuring radiant heating effects along with airflow temperature..?? Or even radiant effect moreso than airflow temperature..??

    The inlet airflow itself might well have remained in the 75F range while the radiant effects were the result of the 135F engine compartment.
  • ws46ws46 Member Posts: 28
    29K miles 07' CX-7 GT AWD (still under bumper to bumper warranty)

    I live in nyc and we drove to Montreal that's about 6-7 hours away for the fourth of July vacation. The AC stopped working on the return trip to nyc (Monday) about 3 hours into the drive. It just blew hot air and it smelled of burnt plastic/rubber, exactly as described by many others on this thread. (I've read every one of the postings here.)
    We stopped using the AC and looked for the nearest Mazda dealer as we were driving down, but they were going to be closing early, and we weren't going to make it before their closing time.

    Driving in the heat really sucks [non-permissible content removed].. and we stopped for gas with about 150 miles to go. Filled up the tank, and the car wouldn't start. So had to call the NY thruway tow truck, to get it off of the thru-way property to a location where the Mazda roadside Tow truck could pick up the car. (NY Thruway towing fee was about $95, which will be reimbursed by Mazda)

    (Also called my insurance GEICO's roadside assistance, but that was going to be more expensive, so went ahead with Mazda's roadside service.)

    They took the car to an overnight facility and delivered it to the nearest Mazda dealership in Poughkeepsie, which is 1 1/2 - 2 hrs away from where I live.

    Mazda Poughkeepsie ordered parts for the car and they will get them in 4 to 7 days.

    They are replacing the AC compressor and the belt. Should they be replacing anything else??

    I am now without a car for about a week. They have a loaner car for me at the dealership or their local Enterprise rental, but nothing in nyc.

    Called Mazda USA and they said that they would reimburse car rental up to $30 per day, but try finding a car rental at that price in Manhattan.

    But they will probably cover the cost of the MetroNorth Rail ticket to pickup the car, so I'll just live without a car until I take the chu-chu train to Poughkeepsie to pickup my repaired car.

    I am debating on getting the 30K maintenance done in Poughkeepsie too since it's already going to be at a dealer. They were quoting around $380 for the maintenance. Is that a reasonable price?

    I tried to see if Mazda USA or Poughkeepsie dealership would be able to get me a discount for the maintenance, but so far, no good news..

    Did anyone else experience their car failing to start far from home like this?

    Is there a better way to handle situations like this?

    The rep at Mazda USA wasn't rude, but not nice either.. defensive, and trying to give as little as he can, and wouldn't even guarantee the Metronorth ticket reimbursement but said that he'll "most likely" approve it when I filed for reimbursement.. not the kind of customer service I was expecting when it's been a rather stressful day being stranded due to their faulty car.

    I guess I am not driving a Lexus or a Benz where I would expect that they would provide better service for situations like this.. who knows.

    Now I am wondering if I should get some sort of extended warranty. Any recommendations?

    Anyways, it's been helpful to read everyone's post, and I'll update after I get all this sorted out and get the car back. Hopefully my updates will help someone else, as this thread has helped me so far.

    Thanks.
  • re0876re0876 Member Posts: 3
    I encourage all who have problems to file a claim here:

    http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
  • pctechpctech Member Posts: 43
    Complaint submitted today. I urge others to do so as well.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Bummer about the vacation (guess it helps that you were heading home at that point).

    About your 30K maintenance question, the Edmunds Maintenance Guide will tell you what it should cost in various US zip codes.
  • ws46ws46 Member Posts: 28
    Yes, the maintenace at 30K should be much cheaper.. maybe I'll do some of the work myself, or at least shop around a little.

    I've filed a complaint to: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov
    just doing my part.
  • sdbobo619sdbobo619 Member Posts: 13
    I rec. Replacing the belt tensioner why your in there, shouldnt be hardly any extra labor. After replacing my AC system the first time the belt tensior broke 3 weeks later and again left me stranded and out 500.00
  • dunderwood1823dunderwood1823 Member Posts: 2
    I have a CX 7 with 47,000 miles on it, love the handling of the car, love the look, wish I could feel like the car was dependable. My story is like many others. Went to wedding this weekend 300 miles from home. Was driving to the church, car made funny sounds, thought at first it was the brakes (squeaking like wet brakes) but then it stopped so I thought nothing, but then I turned on the air conditioner, was okay for about five minutes, then the smoke started and the smells began. I had to pull over on my way to wedding (I was the maid of honor) in my dress and all. I truly thought the car was on fire. I turned off engine, popped hood and was hoping for no flames, again all in my long dress. I saw the belt was shredded, looked like the damage was minimal, I was lucky. Must have been a real sight to all onlookers. I remembered seeing postings about the air in this car, turned off air and prayed it would bring me home. We returned today. Mazda just called, they will cover the repairs. I am fortunate I know, would have been about $1000, now I need to call them tomorrow and ask about which part they are replacing with. I like my car but am feeling weary about it.
  • fliifastfliifast Member Posts: 6
    Did you have an extended coverage?
  • dunderwood1823dunderwood1823 Member Posts: 2
    No, I had not purchased the extended warranty. My dealer, who I use for all service, knows me well. I have gone there with the threads from here and used it for them to check different things on my Mazda. Service manager said usually they cover the labor costs but I would have had to pay for parts, because I have been a loyal customer they covered all of it. This car has been in the shop several times, one time for three weeks, they gave me a car on that one. Took car home yesterday, air is working well and because of this forum I made sure they checked the belt tension-er as well, feeling educated :)
  • smokincx7smokincx7 Member Posts: 1
    On the way from Idaho to our vacation in California, our AC started blowing hot air. We pulled over to check and found the compressor had a bearing noise. There were no service stations open @ 5 pm on a Saturday in the town we were in (and no Mazda dealers there either), so we decided it was less of a gamble to try to drive 400 miles back home rather than worry about getting stuck farther away.

    Approx 2 hours shy of making it back home - the car started putting out tons of smoke! We immediately pulled over and jumped out. The friction caused by the compressor or clutch started to melt our serpentine belt. Luckily we were in a small town. Towed it the rest of the way to prevent further damage.

    Now it is Sunday and we are waiting for the dealership to open Monday morning to see whether they will cover it as a warranty and if they have the parts in stock or not. Seems like they never do.

    We have had so many issues with this car that the service department knows me by name when I pull in. Problems so far include: Engine mount; Replaced Transmission & throttle body (at 30,000 miles - took 3 visits for them to decide to replace it - then I had to take it back for so the car could "relearn" how to roll down the front passenger window); the Map Sensor; and now this!

    The other frustrating thing is I just had the car in for the 45,000 check up 2 weeks ago (with a return visit because some plastic dropped down next to the blower motor when they changed the cabin air filter - which caused a ticking noise when I ran the vent/ac).

    Definitely not planning to recommend nor buy another Mazda in the future. At least NOT WITHOUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY! Fortunately, all the repairs so far have been covered by warranty, but the amount of time and inconvenience have been excessive with this car. I could tolerate the little things like the trim pieces breaking off for whatever reason. After 2 fixes, I just gave up on it.
  • cx7drivercx7driver Member Posts: 2
    edited August 2010
    Mazda really needs to recall the air compressor on the 2007 and 2008 models.

    There are way too many complaints for the issue to be owners not taking care of their vehicles as one poster suggested. I'm a big believer in regular maintenance and my 2008 Mazda CX-7 (purchased in Dec. 2007) blew the air compressor this weekend at 42,000 miles. Luckily, I was not too many miles from my home when it happened.

    I have a service appointment Monday morning to have the air compressor and belt replaced. May end up being the one and only Mazda I ever own....

    Report your complaint on this website http://www.nhtsa.gov/
    :mad:
  • nwcx7nwcx7 Member Posts: 1
    While I have been fortunate so far with my 2007 CX7's A/C compressor, I have spoken at length with my dealer's service manager about the number of complaints. On Wednesday, he called to inform me that Mazda is extending the A/C warranty on specific 2007 VINs to 5-years/60,000 miles. A letter from the manufacturer is forthcoming and you all might call your service departments with any questions; not sure if they will cover retroactively, but that sure would be a great public relations move.
  • pctechpctech Member Posts: 43
    Just got my letter today - they WILL cover retroactively provided the other terms are met! I'm grateful that Mazda finally decided to do the right thing
  • weissmanprweissmanpr Member Posts: 1
    Just got the letter that Mazda is recalling '08 and '08 CX7s for faulty air compressor. I want everyone know that two weeks ago I had this problem. It started blowing hot air. Dealer wanted $1600. I complained to customer service through Mazda and they offered to pay for the part, but not the labor. That would have left me with a $500 expense. Finally, I convinced them that it was inconsistent for them to agree the compressor was faulty and not pay for the labor, despite the fact that I did not have the extended warranty--which I do regret. So, after a week of begging and pleeding, they covered everything. I thought they were just doing right by me. Now I come to realize that they knew about the defect all along and still wanted me to pay $500. I do feel like they were kind of underhanded. This just happened 2 weeks ago!
  • pctechpctech Member Posts: 43
    While it's great that Mazda has finally decided to do the right thing, I don't understand these inflated prices. When I paid the entire bill back in April, the compressor kit was $340 and the labor $217.50 (this was the Mazda dealer from whom I bought the car). And this was without any pressure from me.
  • bcp1bcp1 Member Posts: 21
    I got my letter this week and took it to Mazda for service. They couldnot find any problems at all. They told me that I had an additional year of warrenty and 50,000 which ever came first. I only have 15,000 miles on an 07 GTFWD fully loaded.

    I had them do a 15,000 miles inspection and changed my oil, etc.
    I use 5w-20w Penzoil Plantimum and they provided the oil filter.
  • phillygirlphillygirl Member Posts: 2
    Has anyone else experienced their side vents closing shut when the AC is on full blast? This doesn't happen all of the time just occasionally.
  • rikkmcrikkmc Member Posts: 1
    They are doing a recall, but my issue is that i had to replace my ac compressor and i don't qualify for the recall because I have to many miles on my vehicle. so i guess the part is only defective on vehicles under 60k miles. WHAT A CROCK. I think a bad part is a bad part. no matter what the miles are. mazda should bee accountable for all the parts not just a select few.
  • runnernicrunnernic Member Posts: 15
    I have a 2008 CX-7 and Mazda told me that they replaced my compressor last year so the recall shouldn't affect me, even though it's blasting out hot air when i put the a/c on. Should I bring it back again???
  • aviboy97aviboy97 Member Posts: 3,159
    I would.

    For this recall, if you are experiencing a defective A/C unit, it should be replaced.
  • blaketeeblaketee Member Posts: 2
    My parents currently have a 2007 Mazda CX-7 with a little over 40K miles on it. They just received a letter about the recall on their A/C compressor. The letter aparently stated that it was safe to drive the vehicle as long as you don't use the A/C. Less than a week later, my folks were driving back to Visalia, CA from Pismo Beach, CA and my mom said that she heard a loud knocking noise under the hood, so they pulled over, popped the hood and didn't notice anything... Then they got back in the car, started it up and heard a loud whining noise. The car also lacked acceleration.. (sounds like the turbo.) Now let me add that my father also complained about seeing black smoke come out of the tailpipes on more than one occassion. At this point they decided the car was undrivable and had it towed to the Mazda dealership in Selma, CA.
    Selma had the car for 3 days and aparently couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. They just called my folks back and said that the Turbo is shot and possibly the entire engine. They also mentioned that it was out of warranty, since it has 40K miles on it. When my parents told me this, I asked, "what about the Powertrain Warranty?" I looked it up again and realized that it's 5yr/60K miles.. We should be covered. I even called Mazda Corp in Irvine and spoke to a rep. He said that it would be covered, but the dealership is going to want to see the Service Records for it. If they are not all available, they might want to do an inspection on the vehicle and make sure it's not full of "sludge" or anything. Welp.. My parents had some of their records, but not for all the oil changes.. and guess what? "They aparently found sludge in the engine and will not honor the Powertrain Warrnanty. Now my parents are stuck with some ungodly Service Bill, that I'm afraid to hear about... This is where we're at.. They haven't okay'd the work to be done yet and I'm just trying to help them out.. IF ANYONE HAS ANY ADVICE FOR US.. PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
  • fliifastfliifast Member Posts: 6
    I got my letter and brought it in. My 08 CX-7 had 62K , but I brought it in with the compresser shaft broken off at 42K and 17 months old. I was lucky that everything else worked fine. The dealer still gave me guff about driving it so long with no air...so I explained that everyone that got a ride in the car understood the problem and not one went out to buy one. Car is fixed at no cost to me and the mpg went back to just under 20. Thanks to everyone who sent letters and emails to get this (recall) or should I say extended plan.
  • debbutlerdebbutler Member Posts: 1
    Our 2008 CX7 is going in tomorrow on the AC issue, at 15,500 miles. We purchased used in August, and were unaware of any recall. Now, with the AC gone, learning to hate the car we loved a week ago.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    You might consider looking around for a way to disable the A/C compressor except during periods wherein actual cooling is required, improve wintertime and FE and increased safety factor in certain climatic conditions.

    My '01 F/awd RX300 came with 2 C-best options that allowed me to disabled the A/C ENTIRELY (no workee even in defrost/defog/demist mode) simply by turning it off once. Prior to that I always disconnected the A/C compressor clutch wiring except during teh summer.
  • chuck2010chuck2010 Member Posts: 1
    I own a 2008 Mazda CX-7 with 43,000 miles on it. When driving home I heard a loud whining noise and loss of power. I had the Mazda dealership tow it in. The service department said it was the turbo and was covered under my 5yr/60k miles Power Train Warranty. The next day the service department called and wanted to see my service records. I provided them with a log of which I had written down my oil changes, which I had done myself. The filler lines for the turbo were stopped up with sludge and so were the valve covers. They would not honor the Warranty. Now I have to pay for the repairs on my auto. I have been reading that Mazda is using the sludge as a way to get out of doing the warranty work. It has been stated here that the motors are over cooking the oil causing the sludge. Mazda needs to do a recall. Why are the 2011 CX7's so late hitting the show room floor. Seems like a problem. My auto is still at the service department. If anyone can help on where I should go from here please let me know.
  • defreitasmdefreitasm Member Posts: 152
    Just got my refund check for 1124.63 over the weekend
  • fonefixerfonefixer Member Posts: 247
    You didn't state what the oil change intervals were on this particular car. A 2008 w/ 43,000 miles shouldn't have clogged oil filler lines under normal operating conditions. Did the dealer actually show you the clogged lines/valve covers or did they just tell you this?
  • htrimblehtrimble Member Posts: 1
    I just called Mazda about my Air-condition compressor because they sent me a letter to tell me that it is defective. I was under the impression that they would correct or replace the part that they themselves thought was defective and causing problems. They informed me that my car had to many miles and that I would have to pay almost $1000 for a part they deemed defective to be repaired at their dealership. This is EXTORTION! They are making me and what looks like many other pay for an issue that they created! I will never buy another Mazda! It's bad enough they charge an arm and a leg for scheduled maintenance but to tell Mazda owners we put a defective part in your car but you will have to get it fixed on your dime is UNFAIR! There has to be some consumer law being broken here!
  • mazda_pro1mazda_pro1 Member Posts: 4
    Mazda will not honor any warranty works if the vehicle is lack of maintenance. What you call Mazda Customer Assistant, they may able to help you, Good Luck
  • sandy40164sandy40164 Member Posts: 1
    I just bought an 07 two days ago. How old is your car?. I noticed on the car fax that mine had been recalled for the air conditioning thing. I also noticed that the exhaust is kind of dark looking. I am going to take it in. I purchased a warranty but it sounds like they are no good.
  • ericafijericafij Member Posts: 1
    I have the same problem but not getting any results! I do see a call to Mazda directly in my near future!
  • tpayne156tpayne156 Member Posts: 1
    my new 2011 mazda cx7.bob baker mazda service said that this is a normal noise. It did not make this noise for the first two weeks we had it. do you have any suggestions.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCWQWISLPE
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