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New CX-7 Owners Give us your report

13

Comments

  • jdwksujdwksu Member Posts: 27
    Okay I know it is keyless entry. is there also keyless start? As in a push button start.

    I don't see why they would make it keyless entry, and make you put your key in or the fob someplace in order to start it.

    Can anyone tell me what the deal is with this...
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    Yes, CX-7 with the Tech Package has keyless start.

    You just keep the key in your pocket. Instead of push button, Mazda elected to cover the entire ignition switch with a knob, which you twist, just as if you inserted your key to start the car.

    The advantage is that if the keyless system malfunctions or becomes inoperative, you can remove the knob cover, and insert your key as you would, normally. That auxilliary spare key is an integral part of the advanced keyless fob.

    Vince.
  • 022540022540 Member Posts: 31
    We purchased the GT with everything including the Navigation
    system. Love everything about it! We have the front wheel drive and have no problems with torque steer. If you work the gas pedal properly, dont punch it............ The turbo works great between 2500-3500rpm's. Passing on two lane hwy is awesome.
    The CX-7 is a blast to drive. We have about 2400 miles since Oct. 5, 2006. Took a 1596 mile trip and averaged 25mpg over all. This was done mostly in the the Ozarks of AR.
    I have been getting about 17-19mpg in town. Very congested traffic in a town of about 200,000 . The safety features alone are worth the price. We love the Rear View Camera for safety.
    We also have a 2006 RTL/SR Honda Ridgeline Truck with AWD.
    That is why we got the CX-7 with front wheel drive.
    The Navigation system is very nice but lacks data for Rural areas. We couldnot program in one of our daughter's home which is Hot Springs, AR.
    The CX-7 is an ideal choice for someone with a young family or Retired like us that needs the extra space to haul things.
  • blstanleblstanle Member Posts: 6
    Can anyone tell me if the controls on the steering wheel (cruise and audio) are illuminated in the GT models? Thanks
  • carlitos92carlitos92 Member Posts: 458
    Yes, the switches are lit but I don't think ALL the verbiage is. Seems like maybe only the "ON/OFF" for cruise is spelled out and glows, the other switches get glowing lines.

    FWIW... It took me a while to get which audio button was which without looking (kept forgetting), but after 6000 miles, I've got all the steering wheel controls down pat.
  • cocoagyrl77cocoagyrl77 Member Posts: 4
    I LOVE my CX-7!!!! I love it...I love it...(Do you think I love it...?) I do. I am so happy with it. I have not had any issues. :D
  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    Good for you! It's wonderful to see such enthusiasm. :)

    tidester, host
  • sigridqsigridq Member Posts: 2
    I've had my new CX7 for about 3 weeks and absolutely love it. It's the Icy Blue Grand Touring. I finally got it on an open highway on an hours trip and was traveling at about 70-80 mph on a flat road, no cruise, no hills, evenly depressing gas pedal. All was going well when all of a sudden I felt the car downshift. I looked at the gear indicator and saw it had shifted from 6 to 5. After a minute or two it shifted back to 6. This happened about 5 or 6 times during my hour drive. I have no idea why it would do this. I didn't have the cruise on and was driving on a flat road. I've driven sticks all my life so I know something about shifting. I took it to the dealer and they did a diagnostic and found nothing wrong. They also did an all points check including tires and brakes. Everything looked good. Has anyone else experienced this? I haven't noticed any problems with lower gears/speeds. The car seems to shift quite smoothly. I'm really worried that this could be a real problem. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
  • carlitos92carlitos92 Member Posts: 458
    My guess is that either the road isn't as flat as you thought, or your pressure on the gas pedal wasn't as even as you intended. A nice headwind could add into the equation, too.

    My experience has been that the CX-7's tranny is real sensitive to 6-5 downshifts. I think it's because the car is geared so high, and it is trying to stay in the powerband - and even the slightest hill or pedal provocation might make it think it needs a downshift.

    This isn't really the solution, but you could always slide it over into manumatic mode and then it wouldn't downshift.

    The other idea would be to make the same trip with cruise control on. If it still downshifts, it's probably the road and/or wind that's suggesting the gear change.

    -c92
  • cxrabbitcxrabbit Member Posts: 134
    I can't confirm for sure, but in my travels around the web I'm pretty sure I read that there's a software update that fixes some of the tranny issues. I can tell you that I bought my CX-7 the end of November and specifically asked that the car have the latest PCM/ECM Flash and new gas cap for delivery. I haven't had the downshift problem some have reported.
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    I've had mine since early June, 11K miles now. The tranny does that periodically and it's normal.

    Vince.
  • wjbushsrwjbushsr Member Posts: 135
    Your tranny is still in the "learning" mode... It will take a couple of thousand miles before it adjusts to your style of driving, but it will and the downshifting will disperse.

    If it however does it for extended periods of time, then you might want to notify your dealer just in case. :shades:
  • sigridqsigridq Member Posts: 2
    Thank Vince, I've been reading the message board and am finding that my problem or should I say situation, is not unique. But I am still going to document the instances and tell the service dept. whenever I bring it in for service. Just in case anything happens, I want to be prepared.

    Sigrid
  • rex10rex10 Member Posts: 24
    I've noticed that using the cruise control on the freeway the car always stays in 6th, even up some pretty significant hills, whereas it will downshift to 5th at any incline otherwise.
  • pctechpctech Member Posts: 43
    The car should NOT stay in sixth, even with cruise on. It should shift as required to maintain the set speed, same as you would do if not using cruise. Cruise is supposed to maintain as constant a speed as possible, not to maintain a particular gear.
  • rethwilmrethwilm Member Posts: 24
    I wonder if the "problem" is that the car is turning such low revs it is in decisive as to what gear it should be in. If I am traveling between 65-70 mph and I encounter a slight incline it seems as if it thinks it should not downshift but does anyway. Latley I have been driving in manual mode and if I get to the same spot where it wavers in shifting I downshift and keep the engine in the ideal rev range. This seems to work, but of course takes away the automatic idea of the car. Also, I have noticed that my mileage has increased when driving in manual by keeping the revs in the 2000-2500 range on all upshifts.
  • maggiesuebmaggiesueb Member Posts: 3
    Ok, so the CEL went on at day FIVE and on day SIX there was this terrible shimmying on the steering wheel when I had to brake quickly a few times. Took the car in on day SEVEN (194 miles)and they fixed the CEL (gas cap) and replaced the brake rotors. Now, is this typical of such a new car? Do I have any recourse on this?
    Mazda Corporate not available until at least Tuesday. This is not the dealer's or service people's fault, but MAZDA. Please advise, thank you,
    Maggie
  • fonefixerfonefixer Member Posts: 247
    On my Audi A6 which I drove for 100,000 miles before selling and purchasing the Cx-7, the front rotors were replaced 5 times because of brake shimmy at highway speeds. Finally put on aftermarket drilled Zimmerman racing rotors and that stoppped the brake shimmy.

    Have found the brakes excellent on the Cx-7, one of the reasons for buying.... something odd must have happened during the manufacturing process on yours.
  • terrypaw23terrypaw23 Member Posts: 1
    I just bought the CX7 and my breaks shimmy too. Only have 200 miles on it. Happens not only at hard breaking , high speeds but at ANY speed. I will take it in to the dealer Tuesday I was just wondering what your results were?
  • cxrabbitcxrabbit Member Posts: 134
    You should NOT being doing any real hard braking in a car with 200 miles on it (unless it's an emergency obviously). That's the one area you really do need to baby it in the first 1,000 miles.
  • maggiesuebmaggiesueb Member Posts: 3
    My CX7 is working fine now. What did they do to yours?
  • defreitasmdefreitasm Member Posts: 152
    My downshifts very easily if it is going up hill
  • defreitasmdefreitasm Member Posts: 152
    I didn't know they had a learning mode. Where is that specified?
  • defreitasmdefreitasm Member Posts: 152
    You're probably right, but I have a feeling the cruise control probably does a better job of accelerating slower than we can by using our foot therefore probably a good guess as to why it downshifts less in cruise control. I find it does it less if I think about accelerting before I apply pressure to the pedal.

    I'll bet the CX7 also downshifts quite a bit more than most other cars if you are running the engine RPMs right around the area where the turbo kicks in.
  • wjbushsrwjbushsr Member Posts: 135
    Its artificial intelligence, or fuzzy logic if you will...

    The chips inside of your newer vehicles are designed to "learn" your driving habits to better your engine life and give you better gas mileage.

    Right now I have 22k on my CX-7 and the jerking has disappeared from the ride completely, at the beginning however it took me a while to get used to it. :shades:
  • defreitasmdefreitasm Member Posts: 152
    "Its artificial intelligence, or fuzzy logic if you will...

    The chips inside of your newer vehicles are designed to "learn" your driving habits to better your engine life and give you better gas mileage.

    Right now I have 22k on my CX-7 and the jerking has disappeared from the ride completely, at the beginning however it took me a while to get used to it."


    I've never heard this mentioned before and don't see it advertised as a feature.

    Does that mean if I let my wife drive it for a month the car will get mad at me and change? LOL
  • wjbushsrwjbushsr Member Posts: 135
    You can do an online search for it, but just ask your tech next time you drop in. I think BMW started it, or maybe Volvo, I'm not sure but the onboard computer is what does all of the adjustments now...
    They even have names like "adaptive learning" for it but it's pretty much all the same.

    BTW; I let my wife drive my CX-7, as long as she didn't kill anything, I'm happy ;)
  • robert52robert52 Member Posts: 27
    Well, I did it again last night. Left the headlights on and ran the battery to nothing. Had to jump start it at 6:30 this morning. Can anyone explain why in 2007 the headlights wouldnt at some point go off automatically. It has been so many years since I have had to turn headlights off manually, I know I am doomed to repeat this many times.
    Help.
  • nmknmk Member Posts: 111
    I think that if you switch the lights ON using the automatic setting, when you shut the engine off and leave your car, the lights should shut off in a few seconds.

    BTW, did you call Mazda road side service. It is part of your warrantee. They should come and give you a boot charge at no cost. I wonder if anyone has used this service yet? :confuse:

    Darth Vader Grey GT AWD W/tech Package
  • robert52robert52 Member Posts: 27
    Believe it or not, there is not an automatic setting. Either off or on. Thats the problem. In other cars i have had going back forever, that didnt have the auto feature, even if you left the lights on, they would eventually go off themselves. Unbelievable.
  • carlitos92carlitos92 Member Posts: 458
    "Believe it or not, there is not an automatic setting."

    There is on the GTs. Works fine.
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    bump carlitos opinion. In the GT, if the headlight switch is placed in the auto position and headlights are on, due to dim lighting conditions, the headlights turn off when the ignition is switched off.

    But I'm puzzled why robert52 had a problem in the first place. The buzzer, quite loudly, lets you know if the headlights are on, when the ignition is turned off and the door is opened? Need a hearing aid? I know a good website! :P

    Vince.

    Vince.
  • cxrabbitcxrabbit Member Posts: 134
    LOL Vince... there one one day I forced my headlights on during the day (it was raining) and when I got to my destination and turned off the car -- well, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPP -- I sat there bewildered looking around trying to figure out what the heck that LOUD-A$S beep was until I remembered the headlights.

    I'm not sure how anyone could miss that sound ;)
  • johnny__rfjohnny__rf Member Posts: 83
    If you leave your lights on and exit the vehicle through an open window, the beep does not occur. This is obviously a design flaw with the CX-7.
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    That's a silly argument. Why would anyone exit through the window? Last time I checked, that's what a door is designed to do...yes? :confuse:

    Vince.
  • carlitos92carlitos92 Member Posts: 458
    Weird. I have only tried exiting the vehicle through the sunroof, and it works fine then. :P
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    Vinny, I think you missed the sarcasm in his post.
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    Sarcasm? It's not in my job description! ;)
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    It's not in my job description!

    It wasn't in mine either but I put it in to maintain sanity.
  • nmknmk Member Posts: 111
    Why is Manuel leaving via the window?
    Doesn't the door work, shouldn't it be under warranty? :confuse:

    Darth Vader Grey, etc., etc.
  • aviboy97aviboy97 Member Posts: 3,159
    Do you like apples???.....The results are in of a survey done by Warranty Direct, with their results concluding Mazda is top in reliability in a test that consisted of 450,000 vehicles, 33 mfg's in the United States and United Kingdom.....How you like them apples? :shades:

    http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=25480
  • extech2extech2 Member Posts: 120
    "Why is Manuel leaving via the window?
    Doesn't the door work, shouldn't it be under warranty?"

    My wife and I, we are always getting in and out of our cars through the open front windows. Years back a salesman told us this will save wear and tear on the door locks and the latch mechanism. The only problem is that as we are approaching retirement age, the task is becoming increasingly difficult.
  • robert52robert52 Member Posts: 27
    I don't make a habit of taking the keys out of my cars when I they are in the garage. With the key in the ignition, the headlight warning doesnt make a sound.
  • nmknmk Member Posts: 111
    Sorry to learn that your headlight warning doesn't make a sound. Pray tell, exactly where do you live and I will see if I can arrange someone to relieve you of your vehicle.LOL :shades:
  • 1stmazda1stmazda Member Posts: 17
    ok - maybe I've been spoiled with my Subaru Legacy....but we've had a couple of bad snow days here in Toronto (finally) and I have to say the Bridgestone Tires are absolute crap.

    And I'm not really feeling the handling of the AWD either.

    There's been more ABS chatter in the last week than after 5 years of driving the Subaru.

    Maybe it's a combination of the low end power and weight of the vehicle.

    I'm thinking about getting a better set of tires....

    aargh
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    He lives somewhere in Shawnee Kansas. They must be very trusting to leave their keys in the ignition, even in a garage. :P

    Vince.
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    I'm impressed. Northern VA got some good wintry mix yesterday (2/25). Maybe 2 inches (not much by northern standards), but enough to make all of the timid drivers chug along at 25 MPH on the freeways.

    Me? Buzzed right by them in unplowed lanes. Averaged about 45 MPH, considering the slush I was plowing through. I have the GT AWD, so handled all of that with relative ease. No out-of-control, slipping and sliding. Noticed the TCS/ESC indicator flashing periodically.

    All-in-all, I'm still thrilled, even with 16,000 miles under my belt! :P

    Vince.
  • nmknmk Member Posts: 111
    Curiously, 1stMazda disagrees, see his remark #148. :mad:
    What tires is your CX-7 togged out in? :confuse:

    Darth Vader Grey GT etc. etc.
  • vbbuiltvbbuilt Member Posts: 498
    Mine came with the Eagle GTs.

    V.
  • aviboy97aviboy97 Member Posts: 3,159
    To be honest, I think it is the tires. My father in law is a CX-7 owner, after owning 13 Subaru's, and he told me it is excellent in the snow, very responsive and planted. He does have the Good Year tires though....

    ABS chatter??? Please explain. If it is what I think it is, you are in a much heavier vehicle then any Legacy, which means it's tougher to stop in sloppy conditions, hence the ABS kicking in. Keep in mind, AWD does not help you stop!
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