NHTSA Complaint #10991871 — 2014 MAZDA MAZDA6

MY AUTOMATIC 2014 MAZDA 6 TOURING DOWN-SHIFTS THE TRANSMISSION WHEN THE "HANGUP" OR "ANSWER" BUTTON ON THE STEERING WHEEL IS PRESSED WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION. THIS ISSUE WAS RECOGNIZED BY ME ON SATURDAY MAY 20, 2017. I WAS CONNECTED TO BLUETOOTH SPEAKING WITH MY WIFE WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 65MPH ON THE FREEWAY. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO PRESS THE "HANGUP" BUTTON ON MY STEERING WHEEL, MY VEHICLE DOWNSHIFTED GEARS CAUSING MY CAR TO REV UP TO 5,000-6,000 RPM. WITHOUT FIRST REALIZING THE CAUSE AND IN AN ABSOLUTE PANIC, I ATTEMPTED TO PUT MY CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND THEN BACK INTO DRIVE IN ORDER FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO CATCH THE CORRECT GEAR; ALL WHILE DRIVING 65MPH ON THE FREEWAY. THIS MANEUVER ALLOWED THE VEHICLE TO CORRECT ITSELF TO THE APPROPRIATE RPM. I LATER LEARNED THAT MULTIPLE PRESSES OF EITHER THE "HANGUP" OR "ANSWER" BUTTON WILL DOWNSHIFT THE VEHICLE FURTHER REGARDLESS OF THE SPEED THE VEHICLE IS TRAVELING, THEREFORE INCREASING THE RISK OF SURPASSING SAFE RPMS WHILE DRIVING. I WAS ABLE TO REPRODUCE THIS EFFECT EVERY TIME THEREAFTER. I BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP ON TUESDAY MAY 23, 2017 AND THEY CLAIMED TO "NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEFORE". THE DEALER CLAIMS TO HAVE IDENTIFIED THE ISSUE AND SUGGESTS "REPLACING THE SPIRAL CABLE BEHIND THE STEERING WHEEL." FOR REFERENCE, MY VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE PADDLE SHIFTERS. I AM VERY VERY CONCERNED ABOUT PUSHING OTHER BUTTONS IN MY VEHICLE IN FEAR THAT SOMETHING ELSE MAY CAUSE ME TO LOSE CONTROL AND CRASH MY VEHICLE - INJURING MYSELF OR OTHERS.