Possessed Mazda??

Hey guys,

My sister has a '10 Mazda CX-7,and has owned it close to a year. She called me last week or so,and asked me why her cars window's would just randomly go down on there own. She described going to a Blockbuster a few weeks ago in a not so nice neighborhood,and coming out to find her windows were down,and she had clearly put them up before leaving the car. She was concerned about this as her laptop,and other high dollar things were in the car,and could have easily been stolen. Also she mentioned that when driving it sometimes the windows would just randomly go down on their own,and then go back up,and down again without any control. I told her that it was under warranty,so just bring it it to get looked at.

She just called me,and told me the customer service rep at her dealer told her that the windows going down after shutting the car down was a "feature" that the car has that if you push the lock button on the fob six(6) times that the windows will go down. Now she assured them that she never hit the button 6 times,and asked why would one want to have this feature anyway? They told her that the feature was listed in the owners manual,and that it can be shut off. They said that they weren't sure about the whole going up,and down on their own while driving,but they would look at it for her.

My questions are,why would you want to have this "feature",and does it even seem like a plausible reason for her car to seem possessed? Have you guys ever heard of such a "feature"? What was wrong with manual crank windows? Do other Mazda's have this "feature",as I am pretty sure my 04 RX-8 did not?

Chris

P.S. I love my manual steering,windows,locks,seats,etc on my 79 RX-7. Simple!!!!

Um... Did she actually look to see if it was in the manual? Seems like something wonky is going on there for sure.

My '07 Mazdaspeed3 definitely does not have this "feature." It sounds like a stupid one anyways -what if it's raining or snowing? It sounds like something is wrong with the window regulators and the dealership does not want to deal with it.

Leaf through the owner's manual and if it doesn't say anything about the windows rolling down automatically, have your sister point it out the next time she goes to the dealership. Also make sure she points out the difference between the driver's-side window rolling down automatically when she presses the switch all the way (something a lot of modern cars do, including my MS3) and all of the windows rolling down randomly without input, as a balky dealership may point out that as an excuse to deny her service.

I'd write a letter or email to the owner cc to the service and sales managers explaining the problem, naming exactly who told her this fairy tale, that there's a difference between a dumb gullible broad and an intelligent woman, that she falls into the latter category and unless they can point out to her exactly where in the manual this "feature" is located right freaking now that every consumer affairs reporter in town will be getting a call and they'll never get any business from her or anyone she knows ever again. Their other option is to give her a loaner CX-7 and keep hers until they fix it right. If they don't have any loaner CX-7s in their service loaner fleet then she'll just take a new one off the lot with a demo plate on it.

Nothing steams me quite like incompetent people who think they can pull one over on a woman at a car dealer just because she's a woman.

If you press and hold the unlock button on the mazdaspeed6 key fob for a couple of seconds the windows will roll down.

I actually like this features since the car has a black interior, and tends to get rather hot when left in the sun. If I roll down the windows as I approach the car its not so bad when I get in the car, my only wish was that if I held down the lock button it would roll them back up.

Features like this depend on the purpose of the car. I don't mind it in the speed6, but the power windows in the miata bug the hell out of me. It would be faster/easier just to have manual windows, since I always forget and take the key out of the ignition before I stow the top, only to have to reinsert the berkeleying key just to roll up the windows.

(edited for clarity)

Well, I do recall that my wifes Passat had that feature if you turned the key in the door lock one way and held it 10 secs or so.

It was nice on hot days for all the windows to go down to air the car out a few minutes before we got into it.

Unless there is a button on the drivers door that will auto up and down ALL the windows from one button, then the problem is clearly involving the remote system and not any window regulators as mentioned earlier.

Although, if she keeps her keys in a purse it is quite possible for buttons to get pushed accidentally while bouncing around repetitively as you take steps. However, i dont think that explains this situation since it also happens while driving and i assume you have to have the keys in the ignition to drive this car.

@vigo, if the car is similar to my speed6 it has another feature where you can roll all the windows up or down by inserting the key into the drivers door look and holding it in the lock/unlock position for a number of seconds.

her experience at block buster is likely due to the buttons being hit accidentally while in the store. As far as the windows rolling themselves up and down while she is driving, I don't know... that's weird.

The buttons accidentally being hit in the store still doesn't explain why the windows would go down when pushing a button on the key fob. I could see if putting the key in the lock,and turning it made them go down,but pushing a fob button seems asinine. I think the dealer is giving her the runaround. I will have to get a look at the owners manual,but until then I thought I would ask you guys. I still like my manual windows by the way.

Chris

CALL do not email Mazda customer care. They never answered my emails with warranty problems with my 06 Miata. 10 minutes on hold and I had an open case. Also try the next nearest dealership since quality varies wildly. Case in point is my 06. Claim denied in Louisville. Honored but badly butchered in Knoxville, then fixed right in Louisville (under new management) with CC involved. Unfortunately it takes the factory getting involved to get results, so do that as soon as possible. Be aware of your state's lemon laws. She may already be entitled to a buyback/replacement.

My sister told me she looked through the owners manual,and didn't find anything. She came over tonight,and we tried the holding the fob buttons down,and pushing several times,and no movement from the windows. We did try the key in the drivers door,and it did put the drivers side front window up,and down depending on which way you turn,and hold the key. She is dropping the car off at the dealer on Monday,and we will see where she gets,but my guess is it won't be very far as they won't be able to duplicate the trouble.