Power outlet in center console - always on?

[ceric]

Our Mazdas also turn off the interior light after about 30 minutes in the event that someone leaves a door ajar or plays with the overhead light switch (which my kids always seem to do). This feature saved my wife many times with our Mz5.

I didn't even know this. Nice.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

Yes very nice, though I wish my kids would just quit messing with the switch!

 

[jrtouareg]

That blows because my kids have DVD players that attach to the head rests of the front seats. Have to unplug the unit every time you turn the car off, unless you want to plug it into the front - which then makes extra wires going everywhere. Forget trying to use a radar detector - it will drain the battery dead.

I'll look around to find out if it can be disconnected so it turns off when the car is off.

Personally, I find this to be a bad feature.

In ours, I use the one in front of the shifter for the GPS, the one inside the console to charge cell phones, ipods, etc. when they're run down and no way to charge. You can lock the car while you shop, eat, or whatever and your devices can charge. We hook up the dvd player and gaming boxes to rear outlets. You know there are these things you can buy from Radio Shack called extensions so you can run your power cords to anywhere in the car to reach any of the outlet plugs.

 

[sjg]

I kind of like it.

I've used the center console power outlet to charge a phone when the car is off. I think this is a pretty useful feature. Compare the size of the battery in your phone to the size of the battery in your car. You'd need to have the car off for a long time before draining your car battery. If you want to make sure your not draining power while the car is off, just use the other power outlet.

 

[jrtouareg]

I've used the center console power outlet to charge a phone when the car is off. I think this is a pretty useful feature. Compare the size of the battery in your phone to the size of the battery in your car. You'd need to have the car off for a long time before draining your car battery. If you want to make sure your not draining power while the car is off, just use the other power outlet.

Exaaaactly!