Pictures of our brand new CX-7

[Antonio DiMarco]

I believe at issue will be who replaces the seats. We all know how corporate entities bury the facts until the statistics become overwhelming. (How many Pinto's had to blow up before Ford said there might be a problem?) (How many Bridgestone/Firestone tires blew out before Ford said there might be a problem)

Will Mazda, since they say it's a defect, be the one replacing the seats? I doubt it, unless your insurance company takes on Mazda USA. If, as I suspect, your seats are replaced by the insurance company as a part of the overall repair, the incident will be just that, an incident. It will be buried in statistical garbledygook until the numbers become substantial.

Though I haven't had the problem, Mazda's lackluster response to a simple gas cap CEL problem should be an indicator of their management response to customer issues.

Any of you CX owners out there want to be the next number in line? I know that I don't.

Is it your dealer who doesn't have an answer for you or Mazda? If it's the dealer then you need to find a new dealer. I would also stop insinuating that Mazda is out to screw you. If the seats are defective then Mazda will replace them. You just have to ask the right people.

Over 12 years Mazda and my dealer have always done me well. Including their first class handling of the Mazda 5 exhaust issue/recall. If you have any issue then call Mazda directly. The dealer will certainly react since it affects the pecking order in the Mazda ranks.

 

[G-Papi]

Is it your dealer who doesn't have an answer for you or Mazda? If it's the dealer then you need to find a new dealer. I would also stop insinuating that Mazda is out to screw you. If the seats are defective then Mazda will replace them. You just have to ask the right people.

Over 12 years Mazda and my dealer have always done me well. Including their first class handling of the Mazda 5 exhaust issue/recall. If you have any issue then call Mazda directly. The dealer will certainly react since it affects the pecking order in the Mazda ranks.

You either misread or misstated my concern. At best, you made no statement that would address the issus that I'm concerned about. The questions that I have follow the following logic.

1. Q-When did the starter of this thread learn that he had defective seats? A-(It's obvious that he only learned in the misfortunate instance of a crash.)
2. Q-What is it about the seats in that particular vehicle that made them defective? A-(Unanswered)
3. Q-Does Mazda have knowledge that a defect in CX-7 seats may exist? A-(Apparently so, because this owner says that Mazda USA informed him that his seats were defective.)
4. Q-What is the potential effect of that particular defect on the safety of the vehicle's occupants? A-(Unanswered)
5. Q-Are the seats in his CX-7 different from those in my, or any other CX-7, and if so, how? A-(Unanswered, and Unanswered)
6. Q-Whose responsibility is it to answer these questions, and to address issues raised by the answers obtained? A-(Unanswered and Unanswered)

These are not dealer issues.

You just have to ask the right people.

What is the consumer's responsibility to wade through the corporate structure to find out who these "right people" are? I'm as dedicated a Mazda customer as anyone else, and have owned three new Mazdas since 1977 when I purchased my first one (With other makes sprinkled along the way.) I'm old enough and experienced enough not to allow my customer loyalty to cloud my common sense in this, or any other matter; especially when the lives and safety of myself and my family are at issue.

​

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

You either misread or misstated my concern. At best, you made no statement that would address the issus that I'm concerned about. The questions that I have follow the following logic.

1. Q-When did the starter of this thread learn that he had defective seats? A-(It's obvious that he only learned in the misfortunate instance of a crash.)
2. Q-What is it about the seats in that particular vehicle that made them defective? A-(Unanswered)
3. Q-Does Mazda have knowledge that a defect in CX-7 seats may exist? A-(Apparently so, because this owner says that Mazda USA informed him that his seats were defective.)
4. Q-What is the potential effect of that particular defect on the safety of the vehicle's occupants? A-(Unanswered)
5. Q-Are the seats in his CX-7 different from those in my, or any other CX-7, and if so, how? A-(Unanswered, and Unanswered)
6. Q-Whose responsibility is it to answer these questions, and to address issues raised by the answers obtained? A-(Unanswered and Unanswered)

These are not dealer issues.

What is the consumer's responsibility to wade through the corporate structure to find out who these "right people" are? I'm as dedicated a Mazda customer as anyone else, and have owned three new Mazdas since 1977 when I purchased my first one (With other makes sprinkled along the way.) I'm old enough and experienced enough not to allow my customer loyalty to cloud my common sense in this, or any other matter; especially when the lives and safety of myself and my family are at issue.

​

Actually I may have misread/misunderstood the statement that got my blood boiling:

"Will Mazda, since they say it's a defect, be the one replacing the seats? I doubt it, unless your insurance company takes on Mazda USA."

I thought you were implying that Mazda would be unwilling to claim responsibility for a "defective" seat, when you actually seem to be questioning who would flip the bill for the seats. I think in this case they need to talk to their insurance company and the insurance company has to take it up with Mazda.

So I'm sorry for flying off the handle. I just have a hard time when people lash out at a manufacturer or another person and accuse them of being irresponsible when there are a multitude of reasons why things happen. Who knows. In my experience the Mazda "Corporation"has always been very receptive to it's customers. It's the dealers that suck. Thankfully my dealer is first class.

Rather than guess about why the seats did wht they did, let's try to educate ourselves. I found this article on seat safety and design. It a little dense but pretty informative. It was copyrighted in 1977 so it's a little dated. I believe though, the physics still apply Interesting to note that bucket seats do have a point where they will give to force.

http://www.kevaeng.com/pdffiles/SAE 760810.pdf

 

[willmapp]

To answer G-Papi, the body shop informed me that the seats are going to be listed in the repair for the car.

They still have not performed an estimate on this thing yet. The shop informed me that they need to strip off the body panels and place the car on a frame puller to determine if there is any frame damage.

Also, the other guys insurance company is going to send one of their adjusters out as well, to insure that Mazda genuine parts are used in the quote.

I am grateful for everyone's interest and support in this matter.

 

[G-Papi]

I am grateful for everyone's interest and support in this matter.

Live long and prosper!

 

[cruzdreamer]

I was rear-ended in my RX-8 by a Dodge Ram which pushed me beneath the Tahoe in front of me only a few months after getting my car. My seats reclined the same exact way yours did. I believe this is an unannounced safety feature which prevents whip-lash. After the accident I moved my seats back up and nothing has been wrong since. That was 3 years ago.

As an aside, my car had $12,000 worth of damage and it was not totalled. Don't expect yours to be unless the total amount of damage is near the worth of your car.

Wow.....that's a lot of damage...I am surprised it was not totalled!! Looks like you came out ok, huh!? Feel any difference in your car at all??

 

[JimboNC]

Ouch! Sorry about your new CX-7.

I've been in the same kind of accident and know what it is like. I was in a 1986 Accord rearended at a stoplight by a Buick Park Avenue going 50mph. In a rearender the driver is thrown forward because seat belts are for head-on collisions. The driver is then thrown backward on rebound snapping the seat backs (they recline) just as your's did. It's the rebound that causes whiplash injuries to the neck, snapping your head backwards. Do not be in a hurry to collect insurance for injuries, other problems make come up in the following days, even weeks later. If you were thrown against the steering wheel and rim you may have internal injuries not yet showing.

See a doctor right away and have tests done.

Fortunately, for you, the driver of the other vehicle was not going fast.

In the Accord accident the fuel tank was knocked out of the car and came to rest under the engine, I was lucky there was no fire.

Hope the other guy doesn't have the insurance company from Hell. Do not give any more information than necessary to settle the claim, describe the accident in detail as to the cause, step-by-step. If they don't settle in 30 days see a lawyer and tell them you are. It's plainly the other driver at fault.

 

[FrankNJ]

Conspiracy Theories! Seats are fine!!

Hold Up! We sound like we are ready to jump on the litigation bandwagon (I am referring to the SEATS only!). This is why cars are getting more expensive to protect for possible future legal action by customers.

Volvo has an anti-whiplash feature that casues the seats to recline during a rear-end collision. This is just one of the safety items that has lead to lower car insurance premiums for Volvo cars. With Mazda and Volvo having Ford as a parent company, don't you think that it is possible that this simple technology made it into the Mazda line-up? Before we scream defect, let's look at the facts. When you call Mazda USA (or any other manufacturer's customer service number), the calls are handled by outsourced companies with NO engineering knowledge or indepth product knowledge. All they know is what is in the sales brochure. Think about this; who in Mazda would immediately claim that the seats were defective without a proper investigation?!! Who? It can only be someone getting paid 6 dollars an hour with no corporate knowledge of liability issues or worse yet, no knowledge of Mazda products.

Frank

Ouch! Sorry about your new CX-7.

I've been in the same kind of accident and know what it is like. I was in a 1986 Accord rearended at a stoplight by a Buick Park Avenue going 50mph. In a rearender the driver is thrown forward because seat belts are for head-on collisions. The driver is then thrown backward on rebound snapping the seat backs (they recline) just as your's did. It's the rebound that causes whiplash injuries to the neck, snapping your head backwards. Do not be in a hurry to collect insurance for injuries, other problems make come up in the following days, even weeks later. If you were thrown against the steering wheel and rim you may have internal injuries not yet showing.

See a doctor right away and have tests done.

Fortunately, for you, the driver of the other vehicle was not going fast.

In the Accord accident the fuel tank was knocked out of the car and came to rest under the engine, I was lucky there was no fire.

Hope the other guy doesn't have the insurance company from Hell. Do not give any more information than necessary to settle the claim, describe the accident in detail as to the cause, step-by-step. If they don't settle in 30 days see a lawyer and tell them you are. It's plainly the other driver at fault.

 

[stangmatt66]

Wow.....that's a lot of damage...I am surprised it was not totalled!! Looks like you came out ok, huh!? Feel any difference in your car at all??

Actually Cruzdreamer, the shop did an excellent job. You cannot tell the car was ever in an accident. It drives exactly the same as it did before the accident, however the sunroof makes a creaking sound when driving with it in the vent position. Don't be surprised it wasn't totalled, it was only 3 months old and $12k is less than the 75% of value in damage it takes to get a car totalled.

 

[Z_Monzter]

To answer G-Papi, the body shop informed me that the seats are going to be listed in the repair for the car.

They still have not performed an estimate on this thing yet. The shop informed me that they need to strip off the body panels and place the car on a frame puller to determine if there is any frame damage.

Also, the other guys insurance company is going to send one of their adjusters out as well, to insure that Mazda genuine parts are used in the quote.

I am grateful for everyone's interest and support in this matter.

Man that sucks, I was hoping that the insurance totaled your CX-7.

By the way, stay away from Koons Mazda up in Marllow Hights, they suck IMO.
Fitzgerald Mall in Annapolis is top notch.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[G-Papi]

Hold Up! We sound like we are ready to jump on the litigation bandwagon (I am referring to the SEATS only!). This is why cars are getting more expensive to protect for possible future legal action by customers.

Nobody's running for the attorneys (yet) so don't get so defensive.

Anything wrong here about wanting to know what the situation is? Especially without wading thru a muck of corporate gobbledygook?

We and our families are the ones who ride in these vehicles. Our safety and well being is a legitemate concern. We do not ride as a favor. We pay (sometimes nicely) for the privelage. We are entitled to ask.

 

[willmapp]

Hi everyone,

You can fly the bug deflector at half mast.

The CX-7 has been officially totaled!



They found a million pieces in the back of this vehicle and decided it was not cost effective to repair, I guess not seeing how we burned up over a month of rental car fees.

I appreciate everyone's concern in this matter. If you need parts, the front of this vehicle will be arriving at a salvage yard in the near future.

Thanks,
Will

P.S. About those seats. The rails that the seats are attached to bent during the accident, I guess when the car jumped the curb, the body twisted, causing the seats to give way.

Cost to replace 1 Sand Leather GT Seat (3000 to 5000 USD).

 

[Jeph]

Ouch, poor poor CX-7

 

[G-Papi]

Hi Willmapp ~ You seem satisfied with the settlement, so I'm happy for you. Especially since you and your family are well.

Thanks for the update on how the seats failed. I'm not happy with that particular situation, especially since it appeared to be a low-speed inpact, but at least I understand how it happened.

Best wishes on your choice of a new replacement vehicle. I'd be curious to know how (what) you chose for a replacement.

 

[willmapp]

Thanks for the concern G-Papi.

I know that it sucks, but I am happy that the vehicle was totaled, since we were hit before we made our first payment or oil change; I couldn't mentally comprehend paying brand new car money for a car that was just wrecked. If it was my fault I would have felt differently.

I don't know if the accident was a low speed collision, I just remember traveling some distance after the collision, if you look at the picture with the tow truck and the car; we were stopped (before the collision) approximately where the tow truck is parked.

The seat situation really sucks though! I only took 2 physics classes and I can understand why the seats went backwards, but at the same time I can not. If this thing received a 5 star crash rating, how come those seats gave way?

All-in-all I believe we are going to go with another CX7. After the accident, I took some time to compare the CX7 against other vehicles, and I concluded for myself; being the cheap bastard that I am, that the CX gives your more bang for your buck.

Now, I'm a driver, I enjoy driving; I enjoy cars, they are meant to be driven.

I fought the wife in our car decision of getting an SUV. I personally didn't like them. We drive in urban traffic DC/Baltimore corridor, and my other cars Audi A4 TQS/Porsche 944 lend themselves to changing direction and hitting the snake with sure footed traction at all speeds. You can also quickly check mirrors and blind spots without having to swivel most of your body. I didn't want an SUV, I wanted something with some excitement. The wife's previous vehicle was a Chevy Malibu, I hated driving it.

My wife and I test drove a few vehicles before making the decision on Mazda here's the fuzzy logic:

Nissan Murano SL AWD - Didn't like the seats, gauge pod didn't have the driver in mind, suspension was too squishy soft; couldn't feel the road through the wheel. Wasn't fun.

Lexus RX - Good creature comforts, except that the gear shift is in a weird place, nav system seemed distracting in its position, kind of looks like a beetle (I know...) too pretentious, too many on the road. Loved the gadgetry!

Infiniti FX - Love the sound when you step on the gas, excellent creature comfort. Too much money after making additions. But I loved that sound! Too much money going to the middle east.

We both felt that if fully loaded, the Mazda combined some really good styling (Sand GT seats with the racing stripes, blue mood lighting at night), driving enjoyment (One day I was wondering how come everyone else was driving so slow on the Beltway of all places, I was doing 100 MPH, WTF!), gadgetry and value. And out of the other choices the seats felt sporty, they park your butt in place like a sports car, unlike the flat seat backs in the Murano.

Plus, it was sexy!

We thought we got more bang for the buck when comparing it to the Murano. We didn't feel like we had to prove something compared to the, oh-they-drive-a-lexus crowd, and we would save the money, gas, and speeding tickets compared to the FX. (Even though my wife got a ticket in the CX7 the second week we had the car)

We traded off by accepting some of the more plastic shodding, by getting the proximity entry, nav system, and kick ass sound, 6 o'clock gauge pod without having to add even more money when comparing to the Lexus or Infiniti.

And besides, I haven't seen that many on the road.

We will probably get another Black Cherry Mica GT (my sales guy says we are in for a wait) with the same options, and we will be adding the GAP package as well.

Man this was long.

Thanks everyone for taking time out to check in.

Will

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

If I understand correctly...

Thanks for the concern G-Papi.

I know that it sucks, but I am happy that the vehicle was totaled, since we were hit before we made our first payment or oil change; I couldn't mentally comprehend paying brand new car money for a car that was just wrecked. If it was my fault I would have felt differently.

I don't know if the accident was a low speed collision, I just remember traveling some distance after the collision, if you look at the picture with the tow truck and the car; we were stopped (before the collision) approximately where the tow truck is parked.

The seat situation really sucks though! I only took 2 physics classes and I can understand why the seats went backwards, but at the same time I can not. If this thing received a 5 star crash rating, how come those seats gave way?

All-in-all I believe we are going to go with another CX7. After the accident, I took some time to compare the CX7 against other vehicles, and I concluded for myself; being the cheap bastard that I am, that the CX gives your more bang for your buck.

Now, I'm a driver, I enjoy driving; I enjoy cars, they are meant to be driven.

I fought the wife in our car decision of getting an SUV. I personally didn't like them. We drive in urban traffic DC/Baltimore corridor, and my other cars Audi A4 TQS/Porsche 944 lend themselves to changing direction and hitting the snake with sure footed traction at all speeds. You can also quickly check mirrors and blind spots without having to swivel most of your body. I didn't want an SUV, I wanted something with some excitement. The wife's previous vehicle was a Chevy Malibu, I hated driving it.

My wife and I test drove a few vehicles before making the decision on Mazda here's the fuzzy logic:

Nissan Murano SL AWD - Didn't like the seats, gauge pod didn't have the driver in mind, suspension was too squishy soft; couldn't feel the road through the wheel. Wasn't fun.

Lexus RX - Good creature comforts, except that the gear shift is in a weird place, nav system seemed distracting in its position, kind of looks like a beetle (I know...) too pretentious, too many on the road. Loved the gadgetry!

Infiniti FX - Love the sound when you step on the gas, excellent creature comfort. Too much money after making additions. But I loved that sound! Too much money going to the middle east.

We both felt that if fully loaded, the Mazda combined some really good styling (Sand GT seats with the racing stripes, blue mood lighting at night), driving enjoyment (One day I was wondering how come everyone else was driving so slow on the Beltway of all places, I was doing 100 MPH, WTF!), gadgetry and value. And out of the other choices the seats felt sporty, they park your butt in place like a sports car, unlike the flat seat backs in the Murano.

Plus, it was sexy!

We thought we got more bang for the buck when comparing it to the Murano. We didn't feel like we had to prove something compared to the, oh-they-drive-a-lexus crowd, and we would save the money, gas, and speeding tickets compared to the FX. (Even though my wife got a ticket in the CX7 the second week we had the car)

We traded off by accepting some of the more plastic shodding, by getting the proximity entry, nav system, and kick ass sound, 6 o'clock gauge pod without having to add even more money when comparing to the Lexus or Infiniti.

And besides, I haven't seen that many on the road.

We will probably get another Black Cherry Mica GT (my sales guy says we are in for a wait) with the same options, and we will be adding the GAP package as well.

Man this was long.

Thanks everyone for taking time out to check in.

Will

...your car hit a curb after it was hit which caused the body to twist.

I can understand why you would be upset but from a engineering point of view you can only test so many senerios durign a devlopement cycle. Speaking from a QA point of view you can only test the most common types of failures and then as field data becomes available include as many end user case senerios as possible. The more occurances in teh field the more likely it becomes a formal test during development. Gettign rear ended and jumping a curve at an angle seems like a less common occurance, therefore not something that would be included in general testing.

The NHTSA used to only test for a head on crash, those tests have grown to side and offset crashes as more field datat became available. And just recently included side crashes senerios involving an SUV and small car senerio.

I'm not trying to make light of your situation, I would be upset as well, I'm just tryign to add pespective to the situation. But I also know that there is NO WAY to consider EVERY senerio when budget and schedule are gating factors. Unfortunately Mazda isn't NASA. No doubt though if the NHTSA get's wind of such failures they will start poking automobile manufacturers to fix it.

At any rate I'm happy to hear that you're lookign into another CX-7. I was in for routine mainteneace the other day and keep salivating over the Black Cherry GT in teh showroom. Unfortunately I have the MS3 in my sights right now

 

[willmapp]

Man talk about throwing salt on the wounds; yesterday, we received our touch-up paint for the Black Cherry Mica.

The wife and I bought another CX-7, unfortunately we still do not have it.

There seems to be an Airbag issue with our car and the dealer has had it for 2 full days now with no fix! Starting to get really pissed!

We couldn't get the black cherry, instead our new ride is the Copper Red Mica GT again fully loaded.

The dealer needs to resolve this airbag issue, we couldn't even put 100 miles on this thing before that damned light came on! I'm seriously considering drastic measures.

Cheers.

 

[Raymo853]

The seat situation really sucks though! I only took 2 physics classes and I can understand why the seats went backwards, but at the same time I can not. If this thing received a 5 star crash rating, how come those seats gave way?

I saw a 60 Min, or simular TV show, story about the weakness in car seats. The GOV and insurance groups have just started testing that and weak or strong seats are currently not included in ratings. They should be to what I have read. In no way is it good when you are rear ended to have the seats recline. Your body then has a much higher chance of coming off the seat and impacting the roof or the rear part of the car. I have seen marketing materials from both MB and Volvo talking about how their strong seats protect you in rear end impacts.

 

[Amarek]

I saw a 60 Min, or simular TV show, story about the weakness in car seats. The GOV and insurance groups have just started testing that and weak or strong seats are currently not included in ratings.

Pretty much correct on this one. A good friend of mine was in an accident and sued GM for their seat failure. After 2 years of court battles his lawyer is now rich and my friend still uses canes to walk around, but in the ensuing litigation he had an 'expert' witness testify for the seats and the expert said that a fold up old school lawn chair would pass the ntsb safety regulations as long as it was fastened to the rails appropriately.

Now in saying that it is up to the automakers to decide to increase safety by having pre-tensioned seatbelts, air bags all over the place and head restraints.
btw sorry to hear about the accident and glad that everything is working out