Mazda CX-7

honaker

Dang, I am disappointed to hear that the white doesn't do the car justice.

I think you should take a look yourself and see. Whether or not the CX-7 looks good in white is such a subjective call -- you may love it even if someone else wasn't impressed.

As for the mica paint, I checked again, all the paint is sparkly, both sides under the lift gate.

I don't have a hose, either, and I'm lazy to boot, so I'm going to be taking my car to the car wash.

Does anyone have any comments on the waterless washes? such as http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002T8GKA/104-9087604-0056740?v=glance&n=22801- 3

honaker

Someone in another group was looking for a roof bike carrier for the CX-7, and came up with this solution from Yakima. It doesn't mean anything to me, but I'm posting it here in case some of you have similar needs.

Just got an email from Yakima. They have just figured out a fix for the CX-7. This may help others as well, so I will share it here:

Yakima

Tower/Attachment Q towers
crossbar length: 58" cross bars
Front clips/Landing pads: Q99-E
Rear clips/Landing pads: Q99-E
Fairing 50"

This can hold up to 5 bikes ... wow !

vbbuilt

When I put the CX7 on order last weekend, I was thumbing through a CX-7 accessories catalog at the dealership. Mazda does offer a roof top, bike carrier for the CX7. Just don't recall the price or particulars, so potential buyers may want to visit their local dealership and check.

Vince.

aviboy97

go to a touchless car wash. they use high power jets to wash your car, no brushes used

vbbuilt

Thanks, but those don't work and I've tried several. I said in an earlier posting that touchless car washes don't work well with cars that are really dirty. They work well for cars with just a bit of dust, but not well enough for heavy cleaning. Don't believe me? Run a car through those washes, let them thoroughly dry, then take a white towel and wipe down a bit of the car...towel is guaranteed to come away quite dirty.

Thanks, Vince.

varmint

I was a condo dweller for years and had the same issue. Dunno if they're available near you, but I used to take my bucket and soap to the local wash and use their high pressure hoses (not the drive-thru wash).

The water pressure alone is not enough to get grime off the car, but, combined with a large sponge, you can get the vehicle pretty clean.

Just don't try this during peak hours.

vbbuilt

Hmmm, not a bad idea! Now what do you do during the winter? Brrr, it would be too cold outside to wash a car....do you leave it dirty during the entire winter?

Thanks, Vince.

varmint

Wash fast. And get the model with heated seats.

vbbuilt

LOL. Yes, the model I ordered has the heated seats. :P

Vince

driverdm

When I lived in an apartment. I did the same. I took a bucket and soap to a local do-it-yourself car wash and went to work. I also used to wax the car there as well.

honaker

Someone posted a bogus review to give the CX-7 a 6.5 consumer rating.

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/mazda/cx7/100692672/ratings_consumersdetail.html- ?dcr_sid=100701276&dcr_usein=n

If you own a CX-7, post some real information to help people out there make informed decisions based on accurate info.

Thanks.

audia8q

I spoke with one of the big wigs from Mazda the other day and they are convinced that Mazda competitors are actively posting half truths and falsehoods about the CX-7 on edmunds and other websites....

honaker

I sent a message to Edmunds complaining that the review was fraudulent... dunno know if it'll be pulled or not.

The silly thing is the review says someone had the car for 2 years... if they just wanted to give the CX-7 a black eye, wouldn't they say they just got it last week and it overheated or something?

honaker

Edmunds just sent me a message saying they were pulling the review. Still, if you have informed opinions about the CX-7, post your own review so others can benefit from your research.

varmint

Wonder if they meant to post it for another vehicle (X3?) and just got confused. With everything being named "Mazda" with a single character following it, they may even have been reviewing a stable mate. :confuse:

honaker

Not sure, I just didn't want to only review up there to be either for the wrong vehicle or just plain fraudulent.

mbrcx7

Got my Black Cherry Grand Touring w/ Tech Package this week. Ordered 5 months ago.

Very happy owner. First vehicle owned with Smart Key. Favorite feature... holding unlock button (from the remote) opens power windows & moonroof. Great for hot days. Also, key can stay in your briefcase (or man purse ). There are strategically placed buttons in both driver & passenger doors, including the lift gate, to unlock/lock them. Still not sure what to give the valets though. Love the accleration/handling. Not an RX-8 when it comes to cornering (had to trade it in - I know, 2 kids plus a wife who doesn't drive a stick did me in ) , but enough get up and go for a CUV.

Wish list: power liftgate, more rear cupholders (pull down armrest cupholders only good for 4 passengers - driver/passenger door cupholders is a nice touch though), an actual 'mute' button for tech package (currently replaced by 'voice command' key), separate climate controls for driver/passenger, aux input, and rear dvd entertainment (delayed availability).

Too bad I'm leaving for a weeklong trip to Disneyland, which means I can't drive my CX-7 for 10 days .

First edmunds post... so be nice. Been lurking since Mazda announced the vehicle last year.

billvack

My salesman told me to give the valet the credit card thingy, without the key. This way you could lock the glovebox and console and only the key could be used to open them. And you have the key in case you need it.
Totally agree with you on the wish list, especialy the separate climate controls.
Sorry to hear about CX-7 withdrawal.
I have the same one in Copper Red - enjoying every minute of it.

wwxman

First off, just picked up a fully loaded GT, with NAV. Totally assume. Why even bother comparing to Murano? This is one of the best vehicles of its type at any price.

Anyway, this car has an autolock feature that locks the doors automatically when you walk away with the creditcard transmitter. The salesman showed this feature. But it doesn't work for me. The owner's manual says its off by default and can only be turned on at the dealership. First, does anyone's work? Is there some trick to this? Or, does anyone know how to change the options so it does work? Thanks.

wjbushsr

Check page 3-20 of your owner's manual.
Most likely this is a setting that can only be changed by adjusting the onboard computer with a bunch of switches being turned on and off. {My Expedition has this feature, ign. on-off-lock door-unlock door-blah blah blah... just to deactivate the seat belt chime! :mad: }

It would have been nice for them to slap the code in the manual, but I'm heading back to Gullo Mazda on Friday for my Sirius, I'l have mine activated and see if they can tell me how I can change it later. I'll post the results as soon as I can.:shades:

wwxman

Thanks, the strange part is that the sales guy seemed to demonstrate this feature with this vehicle, and I "think" when I got it home I left it unlocked and it locked later. I didn't notice the autolock wasn't functioning until later -- the only thing I did was set homelink, but doubt that's the culprit. I was surprised that the default is off -- very strange. I take it your autolock is not functional either at this point.

wjbushsr

Not yet... But it will be!

Incidentally, I opted not to get the Homelink on my CX, but I did get the auto-dim mirror. {it came with the basic crappy mirror}...
I had Homelink on my '02 Camry XLE and it went out and no one could figure out why without ripping the headliner apart, and since it was out of warranty, I said screw it. Don't get me wrong, if my CX would have come with it, I would have kept it! But I wasn't going to shell out the extra hundred or so to get it from the aftermarket dept.

Enjoy your CX, I sure am!

wwxman

Agreed, homelink isn't a big deal, but it was on the vehicle. The good news is that the whole package is integrated into the mirror, so if it goes bad, replacement *shouldn't* be a big deal. One question, does your mirror get the outside temp? My instruction manual says it does, but the feature seems disabled, perhaps beacuse the vehicle itself get the outside temp.

wjbushsr

I won't have mine installed until this Friday , but I'm hoping for no drastic changes from what I had on my Camry. It simply displayed the direction and the Homelink {which quit} :mad:

The outside temp on the mirror might be a feature for the Touring and Sport models... :confuse:
anyone with a Sport or Touring wanna chime in and clear this up for us?

bailey544

I am considering a CX-7. Can an owner check how wide the vehicle is, counting the mirrors? You measure this by opening both windows and running a tape measure through interior to get width at outside of mirors.

Spec sheets do not include mirrors and I have tight garage door problem. Thanks in advance.

billvack

I have the GT w/Tech Package and the outside temp is displayed on the top of the dashboard where the radio/cd info is. It show the car's indoor temp setting - but there is an AMB button, that, when pushed gives you the outside temp.

aviboy97

I am assuming you are talking about the Smart Key system that Mazda uses. If you want your doors to lock, you have to have the credit card sized transmitor with in 2ft of the driver door, press the little button on your door handle, and your doors will lock. Same goes for unlocking them. Remember, you have to be within 2ft of the door. Also, this feature works for the rear lift gate as well, and the front passenger door.

They will not lock automatically. You have to remember to push the little button on the driver door, passenger door and under the lift gate.

wjbushsr

I went to my local dealer today and had the Autolock feature enabled on my CX-7.

What this does is, as soon as you are atleast three feet away from the front doors, rear hatch area or after 30 seconds INSIDE of the CX-7, the autolock will lock the doors and engage the alarms system, unless you push in the key fob on the ignition switch.

It's a neat feature, especially if you forget to push the button on the door handle.

For more info, check pages 3-7 and 3-20 of your owner's manual.

The Autolock feature can ONLY be done at the dealership. The tech must hook a laptop to the onboard cpu to program the vehicle.

Initial setting is "deactivated" from the factory...

ctx

That's odd. My vehicle lets me select lock options on the onboard screen. Why do you think one should have to go to the dealer for it?

speedsec

I live in Texas, and air conditioning is not negotiable here. Saturday I bought a Sport AWD model, and am very happy with the way it drives. But the A/C has to be on recirculate all the time to cool the car during the hot times of the day. I went back to the dealer and they had a service guy ride in the car with me and measure the temperature coming out of the vent with an electronic thermometer that they stuck in the air vent. It was 5:30 p.m., so the temperature was probably down to about 92, and the sun wasn't too hot anymore. The temperature when it wasn't on recirculate was coming out at about 65 degrees, clearly not enough to cool the passenger compartment much. When on recirculate, it was coming out at about 42 degrees, which is pretty good. However, in every other car I've ever owned, you only use recirculate for the first ten minutes or so when it's been sitting in the sun, and cruise without the recirculation feature the rest of the time. That's just not possible in this car, it seems, at least between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the summer. With all the cubic footage from the added cargo space there in the passenger compartment, I'm worried I've got a car with underpowered A/C. The dealership says that you should expect to cruise with the A/C in recirculate mode, but this doesn't seem right to me. And they say that if they were to test the A/C further, they would just test the car while in recirculate mode, when it seems to work well. Anyone have any thoughts?

wangg75

You have it backwards. Recirculate mode does exact what it says--it recirculates the air in the cabin, just as your house AC system recirculates the house air. As the cabin temperature drops, this becomes much more efficient than trying to cool the hot air drawn in from outside the car. Because the AC system has a finite heat transfer capability, it will never be able to cool the outside air more than a certain number of degrees. However, in recirculate mode the temperature will continue to drop until it reaches a steady state. In general, you should open your windows to vent your car if it has been sitting out in the sun and always leave the AC in recirculate mode and forget about it.

wjbushsr

Simply because the manual says so...
Again pg. 3-20

I've yet to encounter anything on the touchscreen concerning locks, if you know of where; please fill us all in.

wwxman

I second that!

tinycadon

This vehicle is a 4cyl vehicle, any 4cyl vehicle is going to struggle with the a/c, especially if it has to cool down something as large as a suv. The only time you're going to get some cold air blowing is when you are actually driving the car, that's why 6cyls are basically needed in a vehicle of this size, unless you live in upstate NY where it's not a necessity. This is a 4k lb vehicle, the engine has enough strain to get it moving, let alone trying to cool down the cabin at the same time.

wwxman

BS, I really mean BS! I just picked mind up on saturday (GT loaded). Air temp was high 80s and full sun. Car was cold when set to auto at 70. Sunday was 90 and full sun, same deal. I think you got a bad tester.

vbbuilt

Speedsec, I've got a Grand Touring w/tech package on order, so I'm naturally curious about "issues" that people are discovering. It get pretty hot up here in Northern Virginia at times, so your experiences with A/C are good to know.

Just so you know, I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe, with the automated climate control and even with 3.5L 6 cylinder engine, the A/C does "struggle" to get the temp down after the SUV has sat in the sun for a period. It automatically goes into recirc and automatically increases the fan speed. But this automatic increase in fan speed only occurs when the engine has been running for a couple of mins - the a/c compressor needs a bit of time to start circulating the freon through the coils. It also helps if I reset the cabin temp from my norml 73 degrees down to 65...that seems to kick the a/c into high gear sooner, and when I feel the temp dropping, then I adjust the cabin temp back to 73. I'd say it takes a good 5 - 7 mins of driving in this mode before the A/C reaches the desired temp and scales back the fan speed and drops out of recirc.

Thanks for the info!

Vince.

aviboy97

This vehicle is a 4cyl vehicle, any 4cyl vehicle is going to struggle with the a/c, especially if it has to cool down something as large as a suv

I would disagree. I have a 4cyl vehicle, and my A/C is ice cold. Also, I have more interior room then the CX-7. It is the A/C unit that cools the car, not the size of the engine. A 4cyl engine may lose a bit of power with the A/C on, but, thats really it. But, since the CX-7 has quite a bit of power equal to a V6, I have yet to notice any difference in power with the A/C on.

unless you live in upstate NY where it's not a necessity

I had a cottage up in Lake George, and it get's pretty damn hot and humid up there in the summer

aviboy97

I did not know about that part. Thank's

billvack

I agree almost 100% with the recirculate issue, except when you first start up the car when it is sitting in the sun. In the sun, you should NOT have the recirculate on for the first 2 minutes. The outside air will always be cooler then inside your car. Opening the windows will speed up the process of getting cool air into your car - then use recirculate.

tinycadon

I looked up your profile aviboy97, you work for a Mazda dealer, gee, what a surprise you would disagree seeing how your livelyhood is tied to the Mazda line of vehicles. It really doesn't matter how much hp the cx has, it's still a 4cyl, and that horsepower only kicks in at higher rpms, meaning that it still must work harder to run the a/c system at idle, hence THAT VERY WELL COULD explain why people in Texas and other southern states are having issues with the a/c. I had a 4cyl Accord that had the same issues, but my parents had a 6cyl Accord and never had a problem or complaint. It's only a theory, and one I feel is very valid, if you don't that's fine, but because you lived in a cabin on Lake George means nothing, it's gets hot there 2 weeks out of the year, I have a friend who lives in Watertown, NY and let me tell you, I've never heard him b&tch about the heat, the cold on the other hand.........

sebr0d1e

well, i live in durham, nc, where humidity this time of year is 70-100% on avg, and test drove the cx-7 yesterday during 80+ degree heat. it was cold when i got in it (we left it on while my brother the salesman showed gave me the 'sales pitch standing outside the car), it was blowing cold air when we test drove it, when we stopped to switch drivers, and when we drove it back to the dealership. it was blowing cold enuff for my daughter riding in the back to ask us to turn it down...maybe the cx-7 I drove was the one from the auto show?

varmint

The number of cylinders in an engine has nothing to do with how well the A/C works.

The A/C works off a belt-driven system.

The belt is turned by a pulley hooked up to the engine.

The belt speed is linked to engine RPMs, not cylinders.

As posted above, the CX-7 has a larger interior than that of a typical car. There's all that volume in the cargo section. It takes longer to cool a large area than a small one. So, if you are accustomed to a more typical sized car, the CX-7 may seem inadequate.

On seriously larger vehicles, like minivans and full-size SUVs, the manufacturer will install a larger/higher output A/C unit and more vents to move the air. (That would be overkill for the CX-7 and hurt fuel economy.) It would not surprize me if Mazda simply used the same A/C unit that is mated up to all the other vehicles which use the 2.3L engine... most of which are smaller inside.

aviboy97

It really doesn't matter how much hp the cx has, it's still a 4cyl, and that horsepower only kicks in at higher rpms, meaning that it still must work harder to run the a/c system at idle

In my experiences, I have had no issues with my Mazda 4cyl at idol. It is ICE COLD. At this point, I think blaming the CX-7 for having a 4 cyl is a bit premature. Usually the cause for a weak A/C system is the system it's self.

My statement about the CX-7's HP was about not feeling power loss with the A/C on, which, I have experienced over and over and over again, EVERY DAY since the CX-7 came out. Also, you are forgetting tq kicks in at 2,500 RPM's. So, regardless if I am a dealer, which I make no attempt to hide, does qualify me to make assessments on Mazda products, like the CX-7, just as an owner would. And wouldn't you know it, I am a Mazda owner as well.

If you have read any other posts of mine in other forums, you will see I do give positive and negative assessments on Mazda's. If you were going to go as far as to look at my profile, you should have done all of your homework and see what I talk about before you assume that my post was just to give the CX-7 positive assessments to sell them.

I never gave reason to why people in TX are having A/C issues at idol, I don't live in TX, however, here in CT, it has been in the 90's with 90% humidity all week, and no problems have been experienced with the A/C here with the engine at idol. I have no idea what could be causing the A/C issues that Texans are having. It could be anything, I just don't think it's because of the 4cyl engine.

And about up state NY, it does get hot up there, that was my point. I never said for how long.

If you feel your theory is valid, that is fine, I was just stating that I disagree.

vbbuilt

Gentlemen: Let's not get testy on this forum. Aviboy97 is entitled to his viewpoint, as we all are. We're talking about our personal experiences here and voicing our opinions, which I find quite valuable. Let's try to be civil, OK?

Regards, Vince.

ljmattox

As well as: the compressor "compressing" and the expansion valve allowing expansion are what's causing the cooling. A compressor doesn't care if it's powered by a 4-cyl or a 6-cyl; as long as it's revolving at design rpm for the cooling load, that's about it. It will take the same hp to spin that compressor regardless of engine type; naturally, if the 4-cyl has fewer hp, it will give up a greater % of it's power to run spin the compressor.

Maybe: manufacturers are sizing compressors to the engine size, and that's leading to the perception that 4-cyls can't A/C as well as 6-cyls.

tinycadon

Eyeee Yaiiii Yaiiiiiii! I understand the diff. between 4cyl vs. 6cyl and compressors spinning on rpms and doesn't matter blah blah blah. The fact of the matter is this, a 4cyl engine can handle a certain sized compressor, that unit will blow out COLD air no matter the engine size, but that does not mean it can handle the volume of air inside the vehicle. I can buy a a/c unit for my house that's made for 1200 sq ft and put it into a house that's 1800 sq ft and still get it to blow out cold air, but it's not the right size for the job, hence people will notice. Maybe, MAYBE this could be the case with the CX-7, MAYBE the a/c unit is the same one used for a Protege? But that doesn't mean it's capable of handling a CX-7? Who knows, but I'm throwing it out there because it's perfectly reasonable that this could be the case, if not, then MAYBE it's that person's perception, but I've had 4cyl cars before where I've noticed this but never in a 6cyl, coincidence, MAYBE :confuse: but I'm of the opinion it's not. And if it doesn't matter, do this test, put a small meat thermometer in the vent, take the temp when it's at idle, then step on the gas to get the rpms up, guarantee, I GUARANTEE YOU that the temp will drop even more and the volume of air coming out will increase NOTICEABLY.

wwxman

I realized something today: it makes a HUGE difference if you have the sunroof shade pulled closed. For whatever reason, it makes more of a difference on this vehicle than others I have driven (or at least I noticed it more). With it closed, I doubt anyone will have an AC issue, using recirculate it was downright cold.

wwxman

All cars have that characteristic. The AC get colder when moving.

speedsec

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Since I started this air conditioning topic, let me clarify my concern/question: 1) IS THE A/C UNDERPOWERED BECAUSE OF POOR DESIGN, 2) IS MY CAR JUST IN NEED OF SERVICE, OR 3) IS THIS JUST A DIFFERENT SYSTEM TO WHICH I NEED TO ACCUSTOM MYSELF, AND ACCEPT RECIRCULATE INTO MY LIFE? When in the non-recirculate mode and when the fan is on maximum, the A/C in my CX-7 Sport is inadequate during the hot parts of the day, and this is after it has been parked in the shade of a parking garage. The dealer says that it is normal that I should have to use the recirculate mode, but that doesn't sound right to me. Is it even advisable to use recirculate for long periods of time? Because if I do highway driving during the middle of the day, it has to stay on recirculate. Maybe in the GT models, with electronicly controlled A/C, some of you don't know when it is in recirculate mode or not. As I mentioned, the dealer service guy tested the car with a thermometer while I drove, so the idle speed or engine speed wasn't the issue. Keep the feedback coming, it's helpful.

wwxman

Today I needed to use the recirculate mode even though it wasn't that hot (80). On saturday when I picked the car up, no problem at 90 and full sun. This car has some funky technology, including a sun sensor and automatic econo mode, all described in the owners manual. That may explain why the AC's behavior. I think if your able to keep the car cold in the hottest weather, all is well. As I said earlier, closing the sunroof shield made a BIG difference. Could the severe slope of the windshield cause greater heat in full sun then we're used to? I suspect it might. I've had to use recirculate in other cars, I wouldn't sweat it (no pun intended).