Buyers Beware!

[rightmuch]

In all my car buying years, I've not experienced anything like this. New plugs (see my Service Bulletin thread) did NOT fix the problem with misfiring and horrible gas mileage. I called Mazda to see if they knew anything else. The agent was very nice and told me that they were aware of this problem, but had no fix for it as yet....but they were working on it. I'm flabbergasted. Apparantly, they've known about it for at least a couple of months, but can't fix it. I've spoken to the dealer and a buy back could be in the offing. For all of you reading this post that are considering a purchase, do yourself a favor and hold off.

Any other owners reading having this issue?

[texasguy]

I have not had this issue. My dealer is clueless for stuff like this so I'm not even going to ask them about it - they will just give me some canned answer like everything is fine, etc.

Are you using high octane gas? Are you buying your fuel at more than one location? some gas stations have been known to cheat customers on the octane rating.

how do you know it's knocking? you can hear it? you're not mistaking the turbo lag for misfiring are you? turbo lag is normal.

I test drove 3 of these plus the one I bought and all four drove exactly the same.

[rightmuch]

Always used premium at multiple locations. Believe me, I know the difference between turbo lag and this. This is not knocking and it's not turbo lag. It's misfiring, skipping and backfiring. My dealer can't fix it because Mazda can't. You can call Mazda and ask them about it, and they'll tell you the same thing. It's unbelievable.

[AwesomeCX-7]

ive noticed that i have almost 5600 miles on my CX-7 and i still havent gotten anything better then 335 miles to a tank of gas. ive even tested it driving about 2-3 hours down to my beach house. i fill up at a gas station right off the highway and reset my trip odomoter and i still get sh!tty gas mileage. it sucks. around town in my Bimmer i got 350-375 miles per tank, but i did a lot of highway driving in it and i got got between 460-470 miles to a tank of gas. on about 2 occassions i got just at and a little above 500 miles to a tank of gas. i had a 2005 330i Sport. my dad sold it bc he hated how obssessed i was with it. i belong to 7 car clubs between the states i live in and Internationally...

[texasguy]

rightmuch, if they are offering you a buyback i'd take it. you might have gotten a lemon. I'll have to keep watch on this, but so far I've not had any problems.

[Redshift]

ive noticed that i have almost 5600 miles on my CX-7 and i still havent gotten anything better then 335 miles to a tank of gas. ive even tested it driving about 2-3 hours down to my beach house. i fill up at a gas station right off the highway and reset my trip odomoter and i still get sh!tty gas mileage. it sucks. around town in my Bimmer i got 350-375 miles per tank, but i did a lot of highway driving in it and i got got between 460-470 miles to a tank of gas. on about 2 occassions i got just at and a little above 500 miles to a tank of gas. i had a 2005 330i Sport. my dad sold it bc he hated how obssessed i was with it. i belong to 7 car clubs between the states i live in and Internationally...


It takes a long time to break in an engine as far as mileage goes. My Murano finally settled in to a constant mileage after 45,000 miles. You should give it more time and see if it improves.

[rightmuch]

The dealer and I are supposed to hear from the regional tech rep tomorrow. I'll keep you posted. Texasguy, glad you've not had problems. This has been very dissapointing, because I like the car overall.

I don't think poor gas mileage is related to my issue. From what I've gleaned on other forums, Mazda way overstated the estimates. Nobody is getting close to 20mpg.

[texasguy]

im getting just under 20mpg with city driving and AC running all the time. I have a heavy foot, too. my previous car was an RX-8 which got 15 mpg. I think 20mpg or even 18 is decent for a car with 244hp and at this weight. what they market is never accurate - if I blame anyone I blame marketing for being allowed to stretch the truth. they get their numbers from optimal driving conditions with no AC running, etc.

[texasguy]

rightmuch, keep us posted. so far, I've not been impressed with my Mazda dealership. when i got my license plate i was on my knees installing it myself in their garage while their service people stood around watching TV. I wish there was a way to buy cars direct from the manufacturer.

how many miles do you have on it? If you like the car, I'd ask if they can give you a replacement in lieu of a buyback. the car is sweet - i'm on 1600 miles and love it more and more each day.

[rightmuch]

The dealer just called me and said he checked with someone up the food chain with Mazda. They are supposed to have a re-program for the computer ready in a couple of weeks that they say will fix the problem.....stay tuned (pun intended).

My dealer at least, is bending over backwards to keep me informed. I've got 2600 on mine, and would prefer to keep it if they fix it. It's a fun ride.

[econorocketZX3]

thanks for scaring the jeebus out of me 2 days after I bought mine, LOL

Mine seems to get great gas mileage although I do notice a VERY SLIGHT stumble only in 6th gear on an incline. Nothing major.........but then again I've barely broken the 100 mile barrier on the odometer so it could just be that.

[rightmuch]

Sorry about that. I hate to tell you, but that slight stumble will just get worse, especially in 5th gear. No fix in sight, but Mazda is going to do the buy-back. Too bad. I had high hopes for this vehicle.

[econorocketZX3]

tell me about this buy-back you are talking about........I'm confused

I'm supposed to go in the morning to get the final delivery whatever done that I couldn't get done when I bought it on Saturday. They said they weren't going to put new spark plugs in it. I guess I'll talk to them about it when I take it up there.

[rightmuch]

OK, here's the latest. The Mazda regional rep called me this afternoon and said they have the "fix" which is supposed to be released nationally on 10/19. Because I've pushed the issue, they are flying their Japanese engineer to Martinsville on Friday to re-flash my car's computer. I'm not kidding. The call center in CA mentioned they had one case like this where they did the same thing. I guess I'm the second. The regional rep told me they wanted one more shot to fix it, and said this should do the job. If this does not do it, then they will refund my money for the car in accordance with the VA lemon law.

They didn't replace your plugs because they know now it's the computer program that's the problem. This "fix" is supposed to cure the stumble and the surge when the turbo kicks in. I'll let you know the outcome on Friday evening. Everybody that owns a CX-7 should be watching this one. If you can get out of your purchase, I'd do it just to be on the safe side.

[AWDGalaxy]

I am curious if you have a website or link for where I can read about this service bulletin. The other day i was driving my car and thought that is was studdering on 6th gear on the interstate. This would only happen when the engine was at a high load and low rpm.... if you have any info that I could read I would greatly appreciate it..... thanks

[rightmuch]

there is no service bulletin, and yes your car was stuttering (a very good description). Mine would usually do it in 5th and 6th gear. Your only solution at this point is to call Mazda customer service. They are keenly aware of this problem are supposed to send out the fix to the dealers sometime next week. I think the stuttering is fixed on mine (they flew out their Japanese engineer), but my gas mileage is atrocious---16 mpg on the highway. I'm in process of getting a buyback. Good luck to you!