Mazda CX-7 website for class-action lawsuit in regards to timing chain and VVT

jamie76

Member
:
Mazda CX-7
Hello all,

I am posting to make users of this site aware of a site that I have created to assist current and previous owners of Mazda CX-7 vehicles with serious mechanical issues such as timing chain, VVT, engine sludge buildup, and turbo issues.

Please visit here:
http://www.cx7problems.com


Our Story:

My wife and I purchased a new CX-7 in May of 2007 during it's initial launch. We wanted a crossover SUV and decided that CX-7 was our first choice. We purchased at Kings Mazda in Mason, OH and had a relatively average buying experience. I say average as our sales guy was cocky and very difficult to work with. We both drove it for the first 3 years and had no issues with vehicle. We took advantage of the free oil changes offered with our purchased and took excellent care of the vehicle.

In May of 2010, I was driving the vehicle on a short trip around town. On the way home, the vehicle shut down on a major road with no warning and was towed to a local Mazda dealership, Jake Sweeney Mazda, for inspection. The next day, I was told the timing chain had skipped time and there was damage to the cylinder head (valves) and I "needed a new engine". Mazda provided me with an $8000 quote for a re-manufactured engine and labor.

I immediately begin getting the corporate offices, Mazda North America, involved. Because I was 2000 miles over my power train warranty, I was denied any assistance from Mazda. I continued the fight through the Better Business Bureau and through the Attorney General's Office of my state which both turned out to be joke. Mazda refused to work with either and then simply left me by the wayside.

Fast forward two years and countless letters and phone calls later - I was surprised to receive a letter from Mazda North American admitting to the VVT problem in relation to timing. I was excited and I fell within the requirements specified by the SSP. I immediately contacted Mazda again to discuss the option of having my vehicle repaired at their cost. I was told, based on my previous conversations with them, that their decision stood and they could not help me. It was extremely disappointing and led me to take further action by creating this site.

Please join my fight and signup on the website. Our site is rapidly gaining popularity and has several hundred individuals signed up at the present date. We are close to reaching our goal to create a class-action suit against Mazda. Feel free to email me directly with questions or comments. I also welcome you to share your story with me.

Sincerely,

Jamie Hurley
jamie.hurley@gmail.com
 
Best of luck to you and your following.
The serious (and expensive) issues you name specifically tend to be the one's I keep seeing and reading about with many experiences happening under 50 or 60 k miles.

I see a fair amount of posts here defending Mazda when others have unresolved issues with Mazda "not going to bat" when someone is even slightly over the warranty period or miles yet they are the very same issues. These would seem to be known problems happening often enough to be unnerving.
I can only hope that my 08 with 74k + is an exception and if I have issues, my ext warranty will catch anything big costing me a minor deductable.

The numbers of people who claim all dealer services, LOF and maint records (documented) then have VVT - sludge/egr and/or other major design-related meltdowns, yet are left hanging is difficult to imagine.

~brian
 
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Brian,

I couldn't agree more with your observation of Mazda's history of warranty repairs. They tend to push blame towards consumer's for things like "engine sludge" even if the owner can prove regular maintenance in accordance with the vehicle manual.

After spending well over $3000.00 on a rebuild head/valves from a VVT failure, our CX-7 is now experiencing issues with the turbo. It is being repaired right now and is going to be traded in within the next week or two.

By the way, my website, http://www.cx7problems.com is gaining a lot of popularity over the last few months and now has over 200 signups. Keep me updated on your experience with your Cx-7, Brian. Every little bit helps.


Thanks - Jamie

Best of luck to you and your following.
The serious (and expensive) issues you name specifically tend to be the one's I keep seeing and reading about with many experiences happening under 50 or 60 k miles.

I see a fair amount of posts here defending Mazda when others have unresolved issues with Mazda "not going to bat" when someone is even slightly over the warranty period or miles yet they are the very same issues. These would seem to be known problems happening often enough to be unnerving.
I can only hope that my 08 with 74k + is an exception and if I have issues, my ext warranty will catch anything big costing me a minor deductable.

The numbers of people who claim all dealer services, LOF and maint records (documented) then have VVT - sludge/egr and/or other major design-related meltdowns, yet are left hanging is difficult to imagine.

~brian
 
Sorry to hear of those experiences and expense.
Just reading a few threads, it's alarmingly obvious this is front and center with potential buyers posting questions and concerns.
It's an unfortunate backlash when problems do get turned around after a few model years yet they may torpedo the customer service in the meantime.

I got to thinking as I was reading these from others;

Imagine getting a denial letter for a claim on one of the top three or four issues (EGR, Sludge, VVT) stating as others have received; "....not changing the oil often enough." or something related to inadequate service, yet many of these were owners with all the service history stamped in the book by the dealer.
Doesn't that essentially put the onus on the dealer when the manufacturer claims the bogged up motor was due to substandard service and the owner has met the standards as documented? It seems pretty straightforward, just matter of who one takes action against.

~brian
 
Thursday, my cars (both purchased used there) went to the dealer for the lifetime LOF and check up's.
After doing the little car, I went back with the CX-7 my wife drives and paid extra for the headlight lens recon/buff. WOW did they come out nice!! I think they were pretty well scuffed up from automated car wash bristles or somthing and the normal foggy degradaton that seems to happen over a few years. It was $90 but the thing that sold me was the LT guarantee.

So the main point here is I know they are always scoping for more issues to fix / repair and they did not let me down. I got a call later in the day about a leaky timing or valve cover, a front seal leak and mention of something with the injectors.... They wanted to keep it and offered me a loaner.
All this sounded good so far b/c I had orig purchased the more pricey warranty so I let her know that;

"Yes lets get all that stuff taken care of and btw, I have the ext coverage with a minor deductable!"

Maybe it was my imagination but I thought I detected a slight pause as if there is a difference in how excited they are with customer pay versus getting the approval - okay by the warranty company. Not sure about this though. I may just be too suspicious about things. In any case, I hope to be very happy with some things getting fixed and seeing the ext warranty getting some use (cost benefit). The only other issue was a leaky 4wd system/seal in the rear they covered although I don't remember if it was factory tsb-recall or it was my ext warranty. I think I was out of pocket the deductable on it but if I remember correct, that leak is not atypical. I'll update this with the exact fixes they did and the 'list' prices.

Not sure if they ding me a separate deductable for my CD player issue but I listed that as a problem too.

** We have a 2012 Mazda 6 as a loaner with approx 15,000 miles. It is the 4cyl auto and very nice car (in the 6 miles my wife drove it and 4 I put on thus far .... :)
 
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My 2007 has cost me many thousands of dollars and much stress with just 45,000 miles on the clock. Anything and everything is apparently my fault. The wrong gas, the wrong oil changes, not enough mileage!! Mazda are ripping me off and many more. I can't wait to sell this car but it's going to be at a loss because it has so many technical problems. Not happy!!
 
I think we are approaching 82,000 or so. The dealer LOF last week caught the Campaign for emissions and did an update or re-flash. I think it was the one that sets off the CEL and I thought was previously a new gas cap issue, just never got around to it before. It was def related to warmer temps and maybe gas tank pressure/venting or so I thought. That's when the light came on usually and it never happened with 1/2 full or more in the tank. Filling the tank and driving some would work like a reset.

As to the motor, I still have just over 6 months on the ext warranty i got when we bought it used.

I'll take tips or advice from anyone b/c I'd like to set the stage for getting it checked out thoroughly before the motor/drive train is out of warranty.
Here is my line of thinking ---

It's noisy but I've never owned a turbo before. Do you suppose it's within reason to suggest the noise concerns me and might be getting worse -- (Ie; play it low key and not jump up and down telling them I know this issue has a huge population) When I say noise, I'm thinking the tractor sound is normal for turbo but I do hear the chain sounding like it's beyond normal. Maybe I ought to go test drive a similar year and hear how other motors sound. This way, I could already know in my head and challenge them to a listening test if so needed.
If they agree it sounds rough and get the okay to look into it more I'd be comforted. If they flat out refuse to acknowledge anything about it, I'll have it on record (at least) that I have concerns and will either contest their decision, sell it off later or take my chances that it's going to hold up and be okay.
I called Mazda cust service the other day to see if I could find vin related records for dealer services and maint just to see if any existed. Nothing really there. Mine had a leaky rear wheel seal or something that was covered w ext warranty and I keep it up on all lof and stuff to the point that we hit 4 to 5 months at 3000 miles so we are well within 'over servicing'.
Am I missing anything? I don't want to trick anyone into anything but I know countless others have been duped and left hanging in the wind and my motor is approaching or surpassed mileage others have had complete or catastrophic failures.

Next week, it's a complete clucth/fly wheel job in my Infiniti at 110,000 miles. Santa is running low on the Dollar Index ! lol

Merry Christmas to all and best of luck in your endeavors, be they Mazda related or otherwise.

~brian
 
I held on to my faith for so long not to feel as Mazda CX-7 victim...
well... it started with fusible link was bad and engline light on for misalignment on camshaft.
engine light came on for different issues but never imagine having those codes now showing up.

I refused to take to mazda dealership for anymore repairs, at least the dealership I went, they never hassled me with VVT warranty or exhaust smoke problems.

I wonder if my mazda will jack me up on I-5 during rush hour.. what a feeling i have everyday to live in....
is it worth fixing/rebuilding a turbo.... well mazda cx-7 made #1 worst used car news... I feel like crapshoot about now.
 
I purchased my 2007 CX7 Grand Touring new in Oct 2006. Drove it for 7 years and 60,000 miles with no major problems. Absolutely loved the car with the exception of the premium gas and poor gas mileage. It was always garaged and I never drove it hard. A couple of months ago, I started hearing an unfamiliar 'tick' in the engine as well as a popping sound from the front suspension. I went online to do some research and discovered the horror stories on blown engines (with astronomical repair bills even with the extended warranty and maintenance records), a/c compressor lockups and VVT issues. I also stumbled on the article that named the 2007 CX7 as #1 worst used car. I then spoke to a friend that owns an independent Mazda repair facility and he stated that I was lucky that I hadn't had engine problems already as he sees blown turbos/timing chains quite frequently. I was sincerely hoping I could drive the car for a few more years, but after what I have read on numerous websites, I decided to part with my CX7. Call me a 'nervous nellie' if you like, I just didn't want to get stuck with a blown engine, which, from the strange engine noises I was beginning to experience, is where I may have been headed. It was a bittersweet moment to trade as I really liked my CX7, but I didn't want to become a CX7 nightmare victim.
 
First, up until 11/2/13, I loved my 2010 CX7. On that day, while helping my mother in-law move, I'm driving along about 50 mph when there's a loud bang from under their hood and the engine is no longer running and every idiot light is on. The Verdict ...I threw a rod, literally. It came "through" the engine block and destroyed my starter. 115,000 miles
 
I just checked Consumer Reports on the 2007 CX7 turbo and it's got the worse rating for reliability. It shows that it has had major engine troubles. I hope my CX5 doesn't follow that same fate. I wonder if this has anything to do with Fords ownership of Mazda and Mazda having to use Ford parts.
 
My 2007 Mazda CX7 with just barely over 100,000 miles on it, has been sitting in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where it broke down repeatedly on a family vacation due to a failed VVT. It was a complete nightmare and a story that many people cannot believe. Over $3000 in repairs on the trip (not to mention hundreds spent on rental cars, hotels and tow trucks) because the VVT failure destroyed the engine and kept us from continuing our trip. We have been on a "waiting list" for a new or used engine since July of 2013 ... and are still #20-something on the list. That right there should tell you there's a HUGE problem! I changed the oil every 3,000 miles on that car - even took it to the dealer to have it changed - I LOVED my CX7 ... so they cannot blame lack of oil changes for the problem! I just cannot believe that Mazda can have such a catastrophic defect in their engine and not be held accountable. We are now looking at another ~$6000 to replace the engine on a car that was 6 years old when a known defect left us stranded.
 
(Newbie - my experience):(bs)

My wife and I were in the market for a vehicle the summer of 2011. We had a check from our institution in the back pocket so we went searching.

Our search starts with the Toyota Venza (new), and the Infinity Q35 (pre-owned) . We visited approximately 5 dealerships the weekend previous to July 4th, 2011 - alot of test drives, alot of negotiations which were close, but not as satisfactory.

After not moving the needle as much as we had desired, my wife has an idea to check out the dealership of Mazda in Huntington Beach. We look at the Cx7 & Cx9 (new) and after test driving a few, she decides to look into the Cx7 as she was previously unfamiliar with the vehicle.

After mulling options over (blank check was good for up to 40k in financing, 4.1 APR) she decides to purchase the Mazda (24,900). We select a model, which has 13 miles on it - and though others (Venza, Infinity) were her chief desire, she believes that the decision was a good, more economical one. We (she) purchases the vehicle July 4th, 2011.

One month in, the front driver tire blows out on the 55 freeway in Costa Mesa. The car is driven to the dealer the next day - to have a tire placed on. The price was surely "surprise surprise" - $250.00. We push to know why the tire was so expensive, it's because the size is new for this size vehicle and there's one maker of the tire. Bridgestone. We pay for it begrudgingly, and go about our way.

Fast forward to February 6th, 2015, a shade over 3 years, 6 months of owning the vehicle. The vehicle history is good, maintenance is excellent (my wife is a therapist for children with autism so that's why vehicle choice was extremely important - traveling client to client in administering therapy sessions) and without warning, she cannot reverse.

She can drive forward, yet is losing power when the automatic attempts to shift from 1st to 2nd gear, so it jumps from first to 3rd.

We take the vehicle to Browning Mazda in Cerritos and we are advised that the transmission needs to be replaced ($3,200.00). 3 years 6 months 64,262 miles, excellent maintenance history, & this vehicle needs a NEW transmission? This felt like a terrible joke. The power train warranty? 3y/60k. Expired just over 4,000 miles ago.

If there's an engine issue, we usually receive a warning (ie - check engine light flashes on when the oil hits around 3,500) - yet for a failed transmission the vehicle took a dump without warning.

We contact Mazda (corporate) & are advised later in the day that they would pay half of the ticketed amount. That's still egregious as there wouldn't be a vehicle sold if most buyers knew that at such ridiculously low mileage, the transmission would fail them.

We retrieve the vehicle and have it looked at for two more opinions and apparently there are no codes indicating the transmission is bad, yet it's obviously the transmission according to the mechanic as indicated simply by the test drive.

One transmission mechanic wanted to advise us that Mazda contains many Ford parts, including the transmission and the parts itself. He opens a book, shows a Ford Escape transmission cover (as an example to start) & shows the transmission cover for a Mazda Cx7.

The covers??? Same shape. Same size. Same diameter. The only difference was the material each was made out of. He also advised us that Ford held a controlling stake in Mazda for a very long time and that Mazda in engine make up is similar to many Ford vehicles.

I'm thankful for such insight as now, my wife, she's apparently back to square one now & cannot trust a Mazda vehicle. We will just take it on the chin, pay the dealer, trade it in and get into the vehicle she wanted to originally (Toyota Venza) as it has a powertrain of 7y/100k, and we have another blank check and a few we are willing to pay more of a premium for now as opposed to settling (which appears now, that we did).

My advice, if you could help it remain in a Toyota (I drive a Lexus and plan to remain with Toyota) or Honda (my wife bought a Civic new in 2001, drove it to 2011 without issue, netting 170k miles before selling to a UCI college student, then purchasing this Mazda vehicle).

If my story helps you even a little bit, I am definitely thankful. This experience feels completely underhanded and we feel hoodwinked.
 
I guess I am glad I didn't purchase that new '07 CX-5 years ago. The turbo lag at the time was really noticeable. I guess they fixed that later on. I imagine the turbo replacement would have been a given at this point for the most part.
 
Direct injection is starting to get a lot or press lately. It seems there are some common problems with it (some designs) and has more to do with carbon deposits. I'm interested in looking into more recent news on this and the companies/motors afflicted, just seen a glimpse of it searching one day. I thought oil migration was the key term and problem but maybe there is more to it like a two-fold or three-fold problem.
I'll post relevant information and cite the sources if I get any bites. Mine is still going fine but not sure if the noises are the same or louder.... and more importantly, are they 'normal' ?

As for the simplicity of changing the oil as mj80s mentions.... I'm not sure how mj would have missed the many many many owners with all the service history an records that have been left in the cold on this engine failing them. No doubt there are owners that don't take extra care or precautions and some that even neglect service needs but I think we've all read how MZ is not standing behind many of these failings for those that can and do provide the proof. The mfg claim (last I knew) were if there is sludge in there, it must have been lack of proper care and maintenance - even though the owner provides the records and the MZ dealer did all the work.
Sorry, but they ought not be able to (get away with) have it both ways. As a customer perspective, the mfg is hiding behind the dealer service center if not out right blaming them (since one can show and prove the service history via the dealer) whereas the dealer can likely better provide the evidence that they've done all the work at the correct mileage therefore proving a poor design.
 
(Newbie - my experience)

Not for sure but I think you can find the transmission in yours is an F21 by Aisin yet I thought the Escape/Tribute had the CD4E by Ford. If so, they are 2 different animals and the CD4E (as far as I know) has a treacherous service record. I had an 02 Tribute and I loved everything about it but had serious trans probs. Got a buddy to do it up right and would have kept that thing forever aside from a minor oil leak that was not (to my mind) worth a big tear down and new gaskets cost of $1500 or more. Were it not for the burnt oil smell and being my wife's car, I'd have drove it til it turned to dust. I'm absolutely convinced my new tranny kit and rebuild fixed the initial problem as are often prevalent. These kits come with all the info to tell you why and how it failed (design issues) and how they modify it to work the way it should have. If indeed the two trans are different and the guy there doesn't know any better, by all means record that information and add it to the list of idiocy with MZ not backing you up on 100% warranty cover and free rental. I'd have parked that car there and told them I was going to the Bank to tell them I was robbed by a car dealer, then report them the the FTC and every other state and local rep you can get an ear from.
 
Well, the VVT issue finally reared it's head on my 2007 CX-7 GT. Mazda replaced my turbo in warranty for that issue but I was at 98K for the VVT so it's out of my pocket. Fortunately I had alerted my wife who is the one who drives it daily to let me know of ANY strange noises. Last Friday she said "it sounds like a diesel when it starts up". Gave it a listen and I knew it was probably the beginning of the VVT failure. Took it to Mazda dealer on Monday and they gave me a $1400 estimate and said it could be done in one day. Got a call a 3PM yesterday from service guy telling me he needed it another day. He knew I was familiar with the issue and told me "you've probably heard that there are parts that break off. They broke on yours and we need to pull the oil pan to fish them out". I consider myself fortunate that the pieces fell into the pan and didn't jam the chain and cause more damage. Final bill was $1546.85 including the oil pan R&R. Honestly, we still love driving this car, even with the issues. Yeah it takes premium gas and MPG isn't great but we still love the look of the car and it's paid for so I plan to keep driving it as long as possible. It sucks that Mazda won't step up and extend the warranty on this problem to 100K or even 125K. I've changed the oil religiously and feel like they should support owners better than they do on what is clearly a factory defect. I currently own a 2014 Mazda 6 and 2008 Mazda 3 so we're definitely a Mazda family. I wish everyone luck and the best advice I can give is the moment you hear the sound, stop driving and get it to the shop!
 
I want to add my experience with my 2007 Mazda CX-7 GT also. About a year ago (around 74k miles) I started noticing engine clicking noise that's louder than when I got the car new in 2006. My local service garage (not the dealer) told me there is a known issue with engine valve sludging up, but it's just a noise issue and not something I need to worry about. Yesterday 4/9/2015 (with ~82k miles on the vehicle), I was driving my car to the garage for regular maintenance, and upon crossing some rail road tracks, the engine started making very loud clicking sounds and the engine lost much of its power output. It limped until I just got to the other side of the road from the garage and the engine stalled, check engine and battery light came on the dashboard. After the garage folks towed it in and checked on it, they reported valve and piston damage and the engine needs to be replaced. the repair would cost ~$8000 with a used engine from a salvage yard. In hindsight, if I had dealt with the earlier ticking noise (perhaps a $1500 repair), maybe the engine would have lasted longer. But in any case I am disappointed by the design defects we see on the CX-7 even though we love the overall design and concept.
 
I did finally did carry out my strategy on our 08 Mazda CX-7.
The last few issues to resolve were getting a second key made on the cheap and feeling like ours was a bit noisy at the motor as well with just two months and approx 10 k miles of ext warranty left. We are at 94,700 miles and have owned it for 3 years with the odo start at just under 70k.


We had just the one key -The flip out type key fob remote and I've been wanting to get a regular chip key made just to have a spare. Got that done recently for $65 and was very pleased. This other key (had it been the only option) would have been extremely costly.

Earlier today, I took it to the dealer for the regular LOF and asked them to check it for a clicking noise in the motor. Not sure if it was getting louder or not but the more I've read here, the more I've wanted to see about any issues that I can find before warranty expires. We got a 36 month 36k miles plan called "High Tech" that covers almost everything.
As most of you know or have reported....the MZR DISI 2.3 turbo had a number of issues that can crop up including turbo problems, Timing chain-VVT issues and oil 'sludge' build-up from poor design for oil migration.

I've been wanting this thing thoroughly checked out and (hopefully) catching something that needs attn before my ext warranty runs out in two months or 10,000 miles left. Sure thing, needs a new timing chain and a $300 hydraulic fluid filled motor mount that broke. About $1800 total or so and my out of pocket is either $100 total or $100 toward each. I suppose I'll find out next week when we drop it off and get a free loaner. I'll post again after everything is done to verify the work and results.

In the meantime, if anyone has any helpful hints or suggestions, please advise. I'm assuming they will have the motor tore down pretty good so is it natural to assume they will look for other problems or indicators of issues like sludge build up or at least clean and flush anything out ? Just not sure what to ask of them while they are 'in there' . :)
Thanks in advance.

One other note , I put on some new tires before winter and they are Pirelli Scorpion Verde. Just wanted to mention they are working out well for a smooth quite ride and still decent traction in case anyone is considering new tires in the future. These should not disappoint anyone and you can see the criteria for comparison to others at TireRack.com .

Brian
 
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