NHTSA Complaint #10475236 — 2007 MAZDA CX-7

MY 2007 CX-7 EXPERIENCED A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE A/C COMPRESSOR RESULTING IN SMOKE IN THE CABIN. AFTER PARKING TO ALLOW THE CAR TO CLEAR IT WOULD NOT RE-START AND I HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER. THIS OCCURRED LATE ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND SO THEY WERE CLOSED UNTIL THE FOLLOWING MONDAY. THE POTENTIAL FAILURE WAS KNOWN AND MAZDA HAD ISSUED A LETTER EXTENDING THE WARRANTY ON THIS ITEM BUT NOT A FULL RECALL. THE DEALER INSTALLED NEW PARTS BUT SINCE THEN IT HAS BEEN BACK SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE OF LACK OF PERFORMANCE. I HAVE RECEIVED EXPLANATIONS OF TOO MUCH/TOO LITTLE REFRIGERANT BLOCK DLINES WITH PARTICLES FROM THE ORIGINAL FAILURE. AFTER THE THIRD RETURN VISIT IN JUNE 2012 THE PROBLEM APPEARED TO BE FIXED AND THE SYSTEM WORKED UNTIL LAST WEEK SO I SCHEDULED ANOTHER VISIT. THE PROBLEM HAS NOW BEING DIAGNOSED AS A FAILED HOSE FITTING AND THEY ARE EXPECTING ME TO PAY FOR THE PART BUT NOT THE LABOR. MY VIEW IS THAT PARTS LIKE THIS SHOULD NOT FAIL AT THE CURRENT 41,000 MILES AND THAT SOME OF THIS IS RELATED TO THE PREVIOUS FIXES. ALSO CO-INCIDENTALLY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AS I WAS SCHEDULING A DEALER APPOINTMENT. THIS HAS GONE ON AND OFF SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE LAST MONTH. IT HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED AS A FAILED EGR VALVE AND WILL COST $700 TO REPLACE. AGAIN THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT I WOULD EXPECT TO NEED AT SUCH A LOW MILEAGE AND ON A CAR THAT HAS ALL ROUTINE SERVING AND HAS BEEN BABIED. THIS PROMPTED ME TO GO ON-LINE TO RESEARCH AND THERE APPEARS TO BE LOTS OF SIMILAR ISSUES WITH THIS MODEL OF MAZDA AND YET THEY ARE NOT PERFORMING RECALLS. I AM HOPING THAT MY EXPERIENCE WILL ADD TO THE CASE TO PRESSURIZE MAZDA TO BE MORE CUSTOMER ORIENTATED WITH THEIR CX-7 OWNERS AND/OR TO SUPPORT A CLASS ACTION SUIT TO HELP RECOMPENSE OWNERS AGAINST THESE NON ROUTINE MECHANICAL FAILURE ISSUES. *TR