NHTSA Complaint #10276584 — 2007 MAZDA CX-7

I BOUGHT MY 2007 MAZDA CX-7 LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO, WITH ONLY 17,000 MILES ON IT BECAUSE IT WAS A DEALER DEMO FOR LESS THAN A YEAR. OVER THE WEEKEND (SATURDAY, JULY11, 2009) MY AIR CONDITIONING BEGAN BLOWING OUT HOT AIR. THE NEXT DAY, MY ENGINE SOUNDED AS IF IT WERE SPUTTERING, AND MY CAR BEGAN SMOKING AND SMELLING LIKE BURNT RUBBER. THIS MORNING, 7/13/09, I IMMEDIATELY TOOK MY CAR TO MY LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP, AND THEY TOLD ME MY AIR COMPRESSOR NEEDED REPLACING FOR MORE THAN $800, AND MY CAR IS NOT DRIVABLE. ON TOP OF THAT, THE AIR COMPRESSOR WILL TAKE UP TO 3 WEEKS TO ORDER, AND MAZDA WILL NOT REIMBURSE ME FOR A RENTAL CAR OR PROVIDE A COMPARABLE DEALER CAR TO DRIVE BECAUSE MY 25,000 MILE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED. MY REAL CONCERN IS NOT THE MONEY, ALTHOUGH IT'S A HUGE REPAIR BILL FOR A BRAND NEW CAR, BUT IT'S SAFETY. IF I'D DRIVEN MY CAR A FEW MORE MILES, I'M AFRAID MY ENGINE WOULD HAVE CAUGHT FIRE. --NICOLE FERGUSON, WINSTON-SALEM, NC. *TR