NHTSA Complaint #10502185 — 2007 MAZDA CX-7

I WAS EXPERIENCING A SHAKE IN THE STEERING WHEEL AT HIGH SPEEDS, WHICH WE ATTRIBUTED TO A TIRE/WHEEL/ALIGNMENT ISSUE. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME I NEEDED THE TIMING CHAIN (AND ASSORTED PERIPHERALS) REPLACED...FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS. THE FIRST TIME WAS COVERED BY WARRANTY, BUT ONLY AFTER I PRODUCED THE RECORDS TO SHOW THE OIL HAD BEEN CHANGED REGULARLY. THE SECOND TIME WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. IT COST $1500 TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY THAT WAS LESS THAN TWO YEARS OLD. THE DEALERSHIP HAS RECOMMENDED IGNORING THE MANUAL ON OIL CHANGES (EVERY 7500 MILES) AND CHANGING IT EVERY 3000 TO HOPEFULLY CATCH ANY FURTHER ISSUES. THEY SAID BECAUSE THE TURBO RUNS VERY HOT, IT BURNS UP THE OIL QUICKLY. MY CAR WAS VERY LOW WHEN I TOOK IT IN. THEY ALSO SAID THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WILL NOT GO ON DUE TO LOW OIL, BUT ONLY FOR LOW OIL PRESSURE. THE OTHER ISSUE I HAD WAS RELATED TO THE REAR VIEW MIRROR. I HAVE THE AUTO-DIM WITH COMPASS, WHICH WAS INSTALLED BY THE DEALER WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR. IT HAS FAILED TWICE AND BEEN REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THE SECOND TIME WAS AROUND 65K MILES. LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER MY WARRANTY RAN OUT, THE ENTIRE MIRROR FELL OFF THE WINDSHIELD. IN THE EARLY 2007 MODELS, THE CLIP THAT HOLDS THE MIRROR CAN NOT BE REPLACED IF IT BREAKS. I HAD TO HAVE THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD REPLACED IN ORDER TO RE-ATTACH THE MIRROR. I WAS TOLD EVEN THOUGH THE MIRROR WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED SINCE IT HAD JUST BEEN REPLACED, THE WINDSHIELD WAS NOT COVERED. THAT WAS ANOTHER $250 TO REPLACE A PERFECTLY GOOD WINDSHIELD JUST BECAUSE THE CLIP COULDN'T BE FIXED. I HAVE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED JUST TRADING THIS CAR IN BECAUSE I DOUBT VERY MUCH IT WILL BE WORTH MORE THAN SCRAP VALUE IN A FEW MORE YEARS. *TR