I was driving home on Thursday, 3 Sep 2009 when I heard this horrid sound coming from under the hood of my car. I noticed smoke coming from under the hood and, fortunately, I was close to my driveway so I was able to park and turn the car off. At first, I couldn't figure out the exact location of where the smoke was coming from but the smell of burning rubber forced me to leave it alone and let it sit over night. The next morning, when I started the car, I noticed that there was a really hot part on my car... I'm not mechanically inclined but, I knew that the metal part turning a bright shade of orange is not a good thing. I have a mechanic for a neighbor and I asked him to look at my car. He immediately asked me if my A/C was on (it was on 1). Once I turned it off, the sound and smoke went away but he told me that the A/C compressor is shot. Being that my car is only 2 years and has only 29797 miles on it, I called Mazda (usa) to see if I could take my car to the Mazda dealership here in landstuhl, germany and have it fixed - as it is still under warranty. Simple answer- no. I have read numerous stories on the internet about other 2007 Cx-7 owners having the same problem (and how the 2008 Cx-7's A/C compressor was updated, thus does not have the same issue), so Mazda is aware of the problem, they've just chosen to remain mum about it. Now I am in a quandry as to how to go about repairing this car. I am in a dilemma of having to repair the car but at what expense? if I do it myself, any chance of having Mazda stand by the part is thrown into question when I do return back to the U.S. in 2011.

- Apo, AE, USA

While driving 07 Mazda CX7 noticed extreme smoke from engine. Parked and towed to dealer. Informed of ac compressor failure. Mazda manufacture offered to split cost of repair.

- Chandler, AZ, USA

I have a 2007 Mazda CX7, it's only two years old and I just spent $900 for a new compressor for the A/C.

- Parkville, MD, USA

Driving a 2007 Mazda Cx-7 with 36, 671 miles on it when the air conditioner stopped working. When I looked under the hood and turned the air on, there were sparks and smoke. According to my research this problem is common in this model and Mazda has not recalled this part. Part specifically is the air compressor, it locks up, stops the engine, and tears up the serpentine belt. Since I am over the warranty by 600 miles this will cost me upwards of 2,000.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

7/17 I brought my Mazda Cx-7 (2007) to the dealer for repair due to air conditioning not working and making a loud noise coming out of the engine and a bad odor. Here is a list of problems found with the car: 1. bad compressor cost to repair $1100 2. front transfer steering case seal leaking cost to repair $1500 3. motor oil seal leak cost to repair $875 4. oxygen sensor melted to the chassis cost of repair $240 5. water pump leak cost of repair $275 the total cost of repair is $3,935 before taxes. This is ridiculous for a 2 year old car.

- North Attleboro, MA, USA

In March, my 2007 Mazda Cx-7 had an air compressor failure. I was coming off an exit ramp of a major highway when I noticed that my air conditioner was blowing hot air. I turned it off, then smelled burning rubber. Immediately after, white smoke started pouring out from underneath my hood. While I was able to make it home, I was unable to drive the car any further. I took the car to my local dealer, and my car, like so many others, was out of warranty at a little over 50,000 miles. The dealer told me that the problem was my air compressor. I did research on the internet and found many other people experiencing the same issue. My dealership told me that this was a recurring problem with the 2007 Cx-7, but that no recall had been issued. I was unable to get a loaner vehicle from my dealership and had to pay for a rental car. The cost of my repair was $1480, along with the car rental. I love my Cx-7, but I will not buy another Mazda after this vehicle. I feel very strongly that this is a major safety issue and needs to be investigated and corrected by Mazda. I intend to let as many people as possible know about this problem.. I tried to contact Mazda to no avail. It took my dealership a week to get the replacement parts for the new air compressor.

- Cramerton, NC, USA

I bought my 2007 Mazda Cx-7 less than two years ago, with only 17,000 miles on it because it was a dealer demo for less than a year. Over the weekend (Saturday, july11, 2009) my air conditioning began blowing out hot air. The next day, my engine sounded as if it were sputtering, and my car began smoking and smelling like burnt rubber. This morning, 7/13/09, I immediately took my car to my local Mazda dealership, and they told me my air compressor needed replacing for more than $800, and my car is not drivable. On top of that, the air compressor will take up to 3 weeks to order, and Mazda will not reimburse me for a rental car or provide a comparable dealer car to drive because my 25,000 mile warranty has expired. My real concern is not the money, although it's a huge repair bill for a brand new car, but it's safety. If I'd driven my car a few more miles, I'm afraid my engine would have caught fire. --nicole ferguson, winston-salem, nc.

- Winston-Salem, NC, USA

I own a 2007 Mazda CX7 with only 41K miles on it. It started blowing hot air, A/C would not work and it was making awful noise. I did some investigating online and discovered numerous complaints about the 2007 model having the exact same issue. Luckily I read how people have experienced their car breaking down and inoperable when the same issue happened to them, so I took the car straight to the dealer. It is the ac compressor and will need to be replaced in order to even drive car ($1400 repair). This is a safety issue because no one would think their car was undrivable because the A/C isn't working. When the compressor goes out, it is shortly followed by smoke, bad smell and car breakdown. On the highway this is extremely dangerous. This is obviously a part defect and Mazda is fully aware of the problem, yet they are doing nothing about it. An ac compressor is not supposed to last only 20K-50K miles on a car, that is ridiculous and consumers of the 2007 Mazda Cx-7 should not be burdened with bearing the replacement cost because we have a defective part in our car, nor should we have to be subjected to the safety hazard this defect can cause by complete breakdown of the car.

- Edwardsville, IL, USA

Car recently purchased December 2008 and inspected one month ago but is over warranty. The compressor goes out for no reason per the dealer and he advised that he see this problem in the cx7S all of the time. I have also visited other car blog sites and people reporting the exact same problem with the compressor. I called Mazda and they gave me a file #124465 but advise they are simply unable to reach the rep in my area.

- North Lauderdale, FL, USA

Air conditioner compressor failure on many Mazda CX7 cars.

- Brookston, TX, USA

At 45K and on vacation 500mi from home, A/C started blowing hot air and burning odor, friction noise, and smoke from serpentine belt area. Took the car to local Mazda dealer, told that the A/C compressor had seized up and the part is not available for over 1 week (nationally!) and that compressor failure might have caused other problems that need to be fixed. Have to get a rental car and come back in 2+ weeks to pick the car back.

- Lexington, MA, USA

Faulty A/C compressor and clutch on all 2007-2008 Cx-7. all Cx-7's with the faulty A/C compressor and clutch will fail. It costs -$1,200 -$1,400 to fix (if not under warranty). Mazda acknowledges the failure, but does not cover cost of new "redesigned unit" because of economics (and no safety issue).

- Omaha, NE, USA

A/C compressor locked up on CX7 Mazda car has only 54,000 miles dealer said need new engine still under warranty on this part.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

Ac compressor failed after 23 months of ownership, 40,000 miles to be exact. Dealer tells me that Mazda completely overhauled the design of the air conditioning of the following years model. The compressor was completely different. This is a red flag and proves that their design on the 07 model was flawed... ac compressor bearing locked up suddenly even though system was turned off, then belt snapped, then vehicle shut off and came to a stop in the middle of a busy road, this creates a major safety issue. If happened on a freeway it could have caused a major accident. Based on internet discussion forums this appears to be a regular occurrence on this vehicle.

- Escondido, CA, USA

A/C compressor has failed with 60K miles on vehicle.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

The A/C compressor on my 2007 Mazda CX7 has locked up and needed replacing twice, once at 25K miles and again at 50K miles.

- Wendell, NC, USA

I have a Mazda Cx-7 with 55000 miles my ac compressor froze and fried my starter, and belt after read numerous posts on the same issue I have come to conclude this is a recurring issue with this car. A recalled should be instated this is easily a $2000 repair job.

- Woodland Hills, CA, USA

Ac compressor went out on my Mazda CX7 after only 19K. While I was driving on the interstate, the compressor locked and the A/C belt popped cutting wires and causing smoke and the smell of an electrical fire. I was lucky enough to be able to get off the road before the smoke turned into a fire. After getting on the internet, I found out this is a popular problem with cx7S along with shotty tires that has to be replace between 10K to 18K miles.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

While on a trip, our A/C stopped working on our 2007 Mazda Cx-7. this car was 1 year and 1 month old we went to the nearest Mazda dealership. Parts were not available, and the service tech told us that we could continue to drive the car without A/C. 200 miles later, the engine started making sounds and the car stalled in the middle of a busy road. We were able to get the car restarted and attempted to get the car off the road, and couldn't find any place to pull over, and then black smoke engulfed the car. The car "died" in the middle of a busy street with no shoulder. We believed at the time that our car had caught on fire. The car continued to emit a large amount of black smoke, we ran from the car called 911. We did not open the hood of the car thinking that there was probably a fire under the hood. By the time the police dept arrived, the smoking stopped. Our car was disabled on the middle of a busy street (with no shoulder). We were very lucky that our car didn't cause any serious accidents to other vehicles while it was disabled in the middle of the road. We were left stranded with an inoperable "burnt" car 800 miles from home. Our Mazda roadside assistance was absolutely worthless. It turned out that the A/C "seized" up and caused the serpentine belt to "disintegrate". the car was left at Mazda for 2 weeks, and the part still had not come in and was on back order. The belt was replaced and an A/C unit taken from another Cx-7 so we could get our car home. How can an A/C compressor be on back order on a 1 year old model, unless this has been happening on other Mazda? I believe that this is definitely a safety issue!

- Toddville, MD, USA