NHTSA Complaint #10441495 — 2007 MAZDA CX-7

ON 12/19/11, I WAS DRIVING APPX. 60 - 65 MPH ON I-81 WHEN MY 2007 MAZDA CX-7 JUST SHUT OFF. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC ON THE INTERSTATE, WITH A LARGE TRACTOR TRAILER BEHIND ME, BUT I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY MANEUVER MY CAR ONTO THE SHOULDER OF THE INTERSTATE. MY CAR WOULD NOT START AGAIN. I DID QUITE A BIT OF RESEARCH ON LINE REGARDING THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE AND FOUND A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF CLAIMS FROM OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM HAPPEN TO THEIR 2007 MAZDA CX7. THE FINAL DIAGNOSIS IS TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE WITH A PRICE TAG OF $7200 TO FIX. THAT WOULD BE FOR A WHOLE NEW ENGINE. I FOUND A SERVICE BULLETIN FROM JANUARY OF 2008 THAT CORPORATE MAZDA SENT OUT TO THEIR DEALERS RE: A PROBLEM WITH THE TIMING CHAIN. THE BULLETIN SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIES A SERIES OF VIN#'S AFFECTED, AND MINE FALLS INTO THE CATEGORY. THERE IS CURRENTLY ABOUT 65K MILES ON MY CAR (I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY), AND I DID NOT BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY BECAUSE WHO WOULD THINK THAT A 2007 VEHICLE WOULD NEED A NEW ENGINE @ 65K MILES? I THINK I SHOULD'VE BEEN NOTIFIED THAT THERE WAS AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH THIS PARTICULAR MODEL AND YEAR. BOTH MAZDA AND THE DEALERSHIP ARE TELLING ME THEY WILL NOT DO ANYTHING FOR ME, BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. MAZDA NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY HERE. I'M LUCKY I WAS ABLE TO GET MY CAR THROUGH THE TRAFFIC AND OFF THE INTERSTATE. DOES SOMEONE NEED TO BE KILLED BEFORE THIS ISSUE GETS ATTENTION? MY CAR SHOWED ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING SIGNS THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG FOR ME TO PRO-ACTIVELY HAVE THIS CHECKED. *TR