2007 Mazda CX-7 power train problems

“DECEMBER 2015 I HAD MY CAR TOWED TO A MAZDA DEALERSHIP (AAA SERVICE SAID TO DO SO BECAUSE OF THE NOISE AND FEAR THE VVT WOULD BREAK WHILE IN MOTION) TO REPLACE THE VVT (TIMING CHAIN) AND VALVE COVER GASKETS - PAYING OUT OF POCKET. AS OF TODAY, 2/12/16, THE SAME NOISE, BUT LOUDER, STILL OCCURS WHEN I START THE CAR AND DRIVE. THE AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON AND WAS ON WHEN I TOOK IT IN. NO MENTION OF WAS MADE. ALSO, WHEN I RECEIVED MY RECEIPT, THEY HAD THE MILEAGE WRONG BY 20,000 MILES (POTENTIALLY AFFECTING CARFAX REPORTS) , AND INDICATED ON THE SHEET THAT OTHER AREAS SUCH AS LIGHTS WERE FINE AND THEY WERE NOT. THEY DID MENTION THAT MY TURBO MAY NEED REPLACING SOON (ANOTHER CONSISTENT COMPLAINT). THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION SUIT FILED IN NJ REGARDING THIS AND IT WAS THROWN OUT. WHY ISN'T THE GOVERNMENT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT ALL OF THESE SIMILAR COMPLAINTS? WHERE DO I GO SINCE I JUST DON'T TRUST MAZDA DEALERSHIPS?”

“WHILE DRIVING ON COLORADO STATE HIGHWAY 91 AT APPROX 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DIED. THE ENGINE CEASED WORKING, ALL SYSTEMS CEASED IMMEDIATELY. I WAS UNABLE EVEN TO SAFELY PULL THE CAR ONTO THE SHOULDER, THE LOSS OF POWER WAS SO COMPLETE AND SO SUDDEN. THE VEHICLE WAS 200 MILES FROM MY HOME, AND 250 MILES FROM THE CLOSEST DEALER AT THAT POINT, SO I HAD IT TOWED TO THE CLOSEST GARAGE THAT WOULD LOOK AT IT, ABOUT 60 MILES AWAY. THAT GARAGE EVALUATED THE CAR AND STATED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN HAD BROKEN AND A NEW ENGINE WOULD BE REQUIRED, AT APPROXIMATELY $6,000 TO $8,000. I PHONED THE CLOSEST MAZDA DEALER, IN DENVER, AND ASKED WHAT THEY RECOMMENDED. THEY ALSO STATED THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED, AT A COST OF $8,000 TO $9,000. I CONTACTED THE GARAGE CLOSEST TO MY HOME AND ASKED THEIR ADVICE. THEY STATED THEY HAD EXPERIENCE REPLACING THE TIMING CHAINS AND REPAIRING ENGINE DAMAGE IN OTHER VEHICLES AND THAT THEY COULD DIAGNOSE WHETHER THAT WAS AN OPTION. THEIR GUESS ON COST WAS BETWEEN $2,000 AND $4,000 IF THE REPAIR WERE POSSIBLE AND THERE WAS NOT TOO MUCH DAMAGE TO VALVES. SINCE THE SHOP THAT IS 25 MILES FROM MY HOME RECOMMENDED REPAIR AT LESS THAN 1/2 THE…”

“I BOUGHT THIS CAR IN FEBRUARY 2013 AND TWO TIMES SINCE THEN I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TIMING CHAIN, THANKFULLY MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, BUT I HAVE A FEELING THAT IT WILL DO IT AGAIN BEFORE I EVEN PAY MY CAR OFF. JUST A MONTH AGO I HAD TO TAKE MY CAR IN BECAUSE MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, SO I CHECKED MY ENGINE OIL AND THERE WAS NONE ON THE DIP STICK. CALLED THE PLACE I JUST CAME FROM GETTING MY OIL CHANGED THE WEEK BEFORE AND FOUND OUT THAT THE TURBO CHARGER WAS MALFUNCTIONING AND SUCKING ALL THE OIL OUT OF THE OIL PAN. THE DEALERSHIP SAYS THAT IT COMMON FOR THAT MAKE AND MODEL... MY WARRANTY COVERED THE WORK BUT BARELY. I NOW HAVE 4,000 MILES LEFT ON MY WARRANTY.... WHAT ELSE COULD GO WRONG! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MAZDA PERIOD!”

“I PURCHASED MY 2007 MAZDA CX-7 FROM A DEALERSHIP IN GREENSBURG, PA IN FEBRUARY OF 2014, IT WAS PURCHASED AS A USED CAR WITH ONLY 36,500 MILES ON IT. I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR AT FIRST, THEN I NOTICED MY GAS MILEAGE WAS GETTING WORSE, THAT IS WHEN ON MEMORIAL DAY MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND THEN GO OFF. I TOOK IT MY MECHANIC BECAUSE I WAS UNABLE TO GET IT IN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR A WEEK AT SOME POINTS AND THE LIGHT WOULD HAVE BE OFF BY THEN. THEN WHEN I WAS ON MY WAY HOME ON THE EVENING OF 9/4/14 MY CAR MADE A VERY WEIRD SOUND ANY TIME I WOULD TRY TO PUSH ON THE GAS. I PULLED THE CAR OFF THE ROAD AND THERE IT SAT UNTIL I COULD REACH THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON THE FOLLOWING DAY. MY HUSBAND TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THAT'S WHERE IT SAT BECAUSE HE WAS INFORMED THAT IT WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE? I WENT UP AFTER WORK ONLY TO HAVE THEM TELL ME THAT THEY COULD NOT GET THE READINGS FROM THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO SEND IT TO AN ACTUAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP, WHERE IT HAS BEEN FOR ALMOST A WEEK. I WAS INFORMED YESTERDAY THAT MY TURBO AND OTHER UN-MENTIONED PARTS HAD BROKEN. I THEN WAITED TO HEAR BACK AS TO WHETHER THE WARRANTY THAT I PAID…”

“TIMING CHAIN REPLACEMENT RESULTED IN A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP AND ITS HOUSING. REPLACING THE TIMING CHAIN RETURNED THE ENGINE TO PRODUCTION LINE SPECS, THAT WERE TOO MUCH FOR A WORN FUEL PUMP TO HANDLE. THE INCREASED PRESSURE TO THE FUEL PUMP SHATTERED IT INTO NUMEROUS PIECES LESS THAN 100 MILES AFTER THE TIMING CHAIN WAS REPLACED. SAID PIECES BECAME LODGED INSIDE THE CAM SHAFT AND ENDED UP BENDING ALL OF THE VALVES. THE NECESSITATED A COMPLETE VALVE JOB, REMOVING AND REPLACING THE CYLINDER HEAD, FUEL PUMP, CAM SHAFT AND OIL CONTROL CALVE. AT WORST, ALL TIMING CHAIN REPLACEMENTS SHOULD REQUIRE A FUEL PUMP CHANGE IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS THAT HAPPENED TO MY CAR AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS. *JS”

“I WAS DRIVING MY 2007 MAZDA CX-7 A FEW DAYS AGO ON A MAJOR ROAD AND IT SUDDENLY STARTED TO MAKE A LOUD NOISE AS I ACCELERATED AND WOULD NOT INCREASE SPEED. THIS WAS VERY SCARY AND DANGEROUS EXPERIENCE FOR ME BECAUSE MY CAR FELT LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO CUTOFF ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY WHILE CARS WERE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY AND I WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE TURBOCHARGER AND VVT & TIMING CHAIN FOR A TOTAL OF $4,200. I BEGIN TO PERFORM RESEARCH ONLINE ON THESE ISSUES AND FOUND FORUMS WHERE HUNDREDS OF MAZDA OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME ISSUE WITH THEIR VEHICLE. UNBEKNOWNST TO ME, MAZDA SENT A LETTER TO OWNERS WITH AN EXTENDED WARRANTY PROGRAM FOR BOTH OF THESE ISSUES. THE WARRANTY PERIOD IS 70,000MI OR 7 YEARS. MY VEHICLE IS 75,000 AND ONE MOTHER PAST THE 7 YR TIME PERIOD. MAZDA IS CIRCUMVENTING THE RECALL PROCESS BY OFFERING AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR PARTS THAT THEY KNOW ARE DEFECTIVE AND THE CONSUMERS WHO BELIEVED THAT THEY WOULD HONOR THEIR PRODUCT IS LEFT WITH A HUGE BILL TO REPAIR THEIR VEHICLE WHEN MAZDA IS RESPONSIBLE PARTY. PLEASE SEE THE LINK BELOW TO SEE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS BY OTHER MAZDA OWNERS ON THIS SAME…”