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Mazda MPV: Problems & Solutions
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For your kids you have, on rear door, a switch which when enabled will prevent them from opening the door. You are always in control. I would like to have an option to disable or override manually any safety future that I don't need. I don't have kids and my dog hasn't learned (yet) how to open the door. Let's not assume automatically that anyone who buys a minivan has kids.
In fact IMHO I think that parents should watch their kids all the time. Relying on safety futures leads often to complacency and deadly results of it.
MB
Remember, adult open the door, child gets in and parent/adult closes the door.....problem solved!
I DO NOT assume that all van owners have children. I also was not implying that after a crash you turn the power doors to off. Not all crashes result in power failure. I can get stats if you want to substantiate this. My brother in law is a Paramedic/Fire Fighter.
How about this; if you don't want the power doors, shut them off and don't use them at all. This way, you will never have a problem. Even better, don't buy a van with power sliders.
I DO watch my children. The point I was making was that the switch to open the doors is within reach of feet. If my child hits the button with their foot accidently then I do not want the door to open while my van is in motion. I also do not want the door to come flying closed on one of my kids hands. I feel that overall, the auto sliders are safe. They don't open while the van is moving, they stop when their is something in their way, I can shut them off and I can open them manually even when the power is on.
As far as letting children operate the power sliders, I agree that YOUNG children should not. My children aren't exactly babies and can handle opening and closing the doors. I went over safety with them and am always present when they get in or out of the car.
I do not want to turn this into an argument. I simply was stating some reasons why I personally feel the power sliders in my MPV are nice to have and that they have some good safety points to them. Take it the way you want and certainly add all of the crash scenarios in because let me tell you, there are many different things that can happen while driving a car.
Should we take up a discussion as to the actual safety of seat belts? ;o )
Yuppers, I'm a little #@#$@$#% off.
Leslie
AKA: Trouble Maker
First of all, let us not fling around the accusation that most people are dolts and don't supervise their children and rely on safety features to do it for them. Do you have children? If so, have you ever felt more secure having certain safety features in place? A parent never feels 100% secure when it comes to their children's safety but sometimes, these features help us to feel that we are giving our children just a little more protection.
Second of all, how is it that a door not being able to be opened by a child, while the car is moving, isn't a reasonable safeguard to have? Ever hear of a child opening the door of a moving car because Mom or Dad forgot to reactivate the child safety lock? My daughter at 2 years of age, in her car seat, reached over and pulled the handle of my sisters Suburbans rear door and the door flew opened. My sisters kids are older and she didn't use the safety locks. Ooops! I was in the car with her and she was buckled in. Due to the shock of the door opening, my sister could have panicked and we could have gotten into an accident. Luckily the worst thing that happened was my daughter got scared and cried. So I guess I wasn't being a responsible parent and was assuming that the safety locks were in use and would prevent my child from being able to open the door of the car? Safety locks are a nice option but the little latch has to be pushed up into place manually or it doesn't work. If it had been my MPV, the door never would have opened.
You wrote: "Are you willing to bet your life or the life of your children that accidents won't happen!"
Nope! Accidents do happen and sadly it's often times due to the ignorance of others. Having certain safety features in place like air bags, seat belts or doors that won't open while a car is in motion are simply in place to help increase the chances of survival in the event of an accident. How each individual person views these safeguards is going to differ just as each persons own experiences warrants the need for or use of these features.
You wrote: "I have a power door on my van and I could do without it very nicely."
If you could live without auto sliders then why did you bother getting them? I thought I could live without them as well and wasn't looking for a van that had them. My van just so happened to have them and I really am glad. Having them and knowing how they work really makes me feel a bit more secure when my children are riding in the car.
You wrote: "Children should be watched and not allowed to operate the power doors"
Then children shouldn't be allowed to open and close any car door. I've seen a few children get their fingers slammed in car doors. At least with the auto sliders, the doors move slowly. When they come in contact with an object, they stop. A regular car door or a slider with no "automatic" option, close quickly and will not retract or stop upon contact with an object. My girls are now 11 and almost 8. They respect the van doors and we have gone over the do's and do not's of how to operate them. I also do not allow them to play in the car or get in or out unless I am there.
Auto sliders are a valuable option to have if you have children. The option is not without issue and certainly will not please everyone.
Leslie
I've been getting a "Boing" kind of knock from my front right wheel area whenever going over a rough spot (train tracks, speed bumps, etc.) at slow speeds (about 10-20mph). I'm guessing this will need a visit to the shop (covered by warranty of course) but does anyone know what this could be? I'd like to be armed with information before going into the dealership. Thanks!
MB
Oh sure! I'm sue happy and do it all of the time. Get real!
You wrote: "All things can and will fail, if a child puts their hand between a closing power door and the safety system fails......Are you saying that the door will ALWAYS stop? If so, I guess you can tell me what the lottery numbers will be for the next drawing."
So true! Things can fail. Please don't put words in my mouth. I never said that they will always stop. I am just stating that I would rather have the auto sliders then not. There have been a few episodes that I have witnessed that make me glad I got the option on my van. I can shut the option off if I choose. There is a button to the left of the steering wheel that turns it on and off. If I don't want the option, off it goes.
You wrote: "Again, responsible parent opens door, child gets in and responsible parent closes door."
I guess you have kids or raised kids and are an expert? Your statement should apply to ALL car doors not just auto sliders. What age cut off do you recommend? Is an 11 year old old enough to handle getting in and out of the car by her/himself? How about an 8 year old? What about the fact that all children are different and some can handle responsibility sooner then others. Are you implying that I am not a responsible parent because I allow my children to get in and out of the car by themselves?
You wrote: "You like to point out the things that you feel are a safety feature, I just want to let "people" know there is a dark side when things fail."
I also will point out if I feel something is not safe. I have no reason to state that the auto sliders will fail. I haven't experienced it. Have you? Do you have a story to share that would alert people to the dangers of auto sliders?
I did read my owners manual on my MPV and it went over all of the do's and don'ts with young children and auto sliders. I went over it with my children. I can't speak for everyone but this is how I handle my children.
You wrote: "Some people bought their mini vans for safety ratings and then tell people how well it handled at 80 MPH!!! Responsible parents? I think not!!!!"
Unfortunately given the speed at which the average person drives their vehicles makes it unsafe to drive at the 65 MPH. I for one have tested my MPV at higher rates of speed but my children have not been with me. I usually drive at an average of 70 MPH and 75 MPH. This is going with traffic flow.
We could get into the discussion of car seats and why they are necessary and yet many children are still being killed each year due to improper use or lack of use of car seats. We could also discuss why so many people choose to not use seat belts or place their young children in the front seat of a car with an air bag. It could go on and on and on.
My point has been simply that we as parents are never 100% secure about the safety of our children. Sometimes though, technology comes up with things that make us feel just a little more secure about the well being of our children. Nothing is 100%
Leslie
P.S. If I new the outcome of the Lottery I certainly wouldn't be driving an MPV nor would I be sitting here arguing the point of children and safety.
Leslie ;o )
Steve, Host
Besides, you can modify the safty ciruit so the power sliders always operate.
I like my manual doors, but would have power doors if the kids were still around... The PEEVEE is still the best car We have ever owned.....
We are back at summer base camp... Wisconsin is a strange state.. I think we saw the Wendigo one night in the North woods....
Tj..
02+ MPV is made in Japan with a JATCO 5speed AT. Engine is a ford block, but Mazda Japan assembles it (?) and puts on their own electronics and whatnot.
The engine is assembled completely in the Cleveland, OH #2 engine plant.
However, you are correct about many of the sensors and such being sourced from different suppliers.
I know my MPV had a Motorcraft oil filter, plugs and wires on it on the showroom floor. My salesguy tried to deny it was a Ford engine, until I showed him I wasn't going to be swayed by BS.
I warned him that he used his only warning from my BS detection system and the next BS detected would be followed by me rounding up the family and looking at MPV's somewhere else.
TB
Stay safe everybody,
MB
I am very interested in reading it ...
To those who complained about my last post: If the post is too long then simply don't read it. I don't remember there being a rule about the length of our posts. I refuse to apologize based on my stubborn nature.
Steve: Ok I'll stop with the parenting stuff. It was stated, so I had to defend. I won't stop being a trouble maker though. It's against my better judgement. =o )
Leslie
The page down key is a handy gizmo for skipping posts, btw.
Steve, Host
Although you stated that "Part 3" (that's not a challenge, lol) you should know better by now not to mention such challenges when I am lurking around the boards. Hehehehehehehe!
I type 95 WPM and could easily type 3 pages of thoughts. It wouldn't take me long as I'm not only a fast typist but extremely opinionated. Of course, I don't know that I needed to tell you that. }=o )
I agree, the page down key works wonders when you don't want to read an entire post or just to skip it completely.
Leslie
Zoom-Zoom!
There's a lot of non-Subaru specific conversation, so you'd (or anyone) would be most welcome to stop in.
Steve, Host
Wonder if there is enough interest here to propose our own weekly chat...
-Brian
There's also a Town Hall wide monthly chat that often focuses on trivia that's fun. Next one's on Aug. 20th.
Steve, Host
Also, trivia, er I mean TH chat... August 20...marks calendar...
<content> I was test driving a new ES the other day and it has the exact same, annoying clunk that my 2000 LX has. It's the spare tire, moving around, but I would've thought that they'd have done something about that by now.
I've never heard mine go clunk. As a matter of fact, my MPV makes no noises at all. Interesting.
Leslie
Right after it is nicely tucked into the garage after a drive, I hear a very sharp click. Someone reported that this was from the muffler ???
I'm talking about noises when it's moving. Mine is quiet. No squeaks, rattles or anything.
Leslie
After that, no sharp clicks, just regular cooling down noises ...
But yeah! While driving, just one noise : "Zoom! Zoooom! Zooooooommmmm" !! :-)
MB
MB
While talking to my co-worker I learned that he had exactly the same problem with 2002 MPV LX. The only difference was that he didn't have engine check light on but the idle was rough.
MB
MB
MB
Yesterday, someone "broke" my '00 MPV right electric mirror. Hopefully, the mirror part itself is in one piece but I have to put it back on.
It's OK for the two electric wires but there are two (well, make them four) other parts which I have a hard time to figure out : There are two plastic coated metal "claws", one pivoting up and down, the other one well, you guessed it, from left to right. They are located on the back of the mirror.
The two other parts are blue rubber coated holes (I have no ideas what's inside those holes). They are facing the two other "claws" (into the mirror receptacle).
I know this is a quite technical question but hey, what do I have to loose asking ?
Many thanks in advance !!
Silver (CLOSER THAN I APPEAR) Driver
Best value on the market today. Hands down.
Mark. : )
thanks in advance
Well, since the MPV's transmission is electronically controlled (like most ATs), you can change alot of the shifting characteristics by changing (re-flashing) some of the firmware, or programming.
So, sometimes, there may be some improvement that comes out, and a re-flash will change the code, hopefully improving the performance of the tranny.
ymmv..