Engine vvt solenoid seized causing complete engine failure while traveling on the highway at 60mph. The dealer is asking $10,730 to replace the engine. The car has 76,000 miles.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

We bought the vehicle used from a car dealership called heavy foot motors in san antonio tx. The very next day, the vehicle started smoking from the hood, exhaust, and smoke came through the air vents. My wife going about 5-10mph while making a turn in a residential neighborhood when the smoking started. We towed the vehicle to the dealership and explained what happened. Their mechanic took the vehicle and had it for three weeks. I picked the vehicle up and made it maybe 5 minutes down the road, and the vehicle did the same thing. So I had the vehicle towed back to the dealership again and it is currently there as of 4/4/2020. My safety concern is that there is smoke coming out of the engine, exhaust, as well as through the ac vent and going into the vehicle. Also, when I went to install my children's seat belt we realized the back seats seat belts do not lock to secure a carseat. That is a major safety concern for me. Also, upon purchase I realize there was no driver side door handle. We agreed in purchase contract that the dealership would put one on if I purchased it. I just found it strange how you could sell a car from a dealership without a driver side door handle. That is a huge safety concern incase something were to happen and that was the only door to open from the outside. I also realize now that the trunk does not open, the door will not open. I will be getting a copy of their mechanic's report where he stated that it is his professional opinion that the vehicle was sold in this condition. I have requested a refund which initially, ( verbally) I was told we would get if it in fact was sold in that manner but now they have backed out of that.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

June 2014, I was driving vehicle out of town on vacation and it suddenly began running rough like the pistons were misfiring. Mileage was 69,700. I pulled into a dealership (1 mile away), dropped the keys, and called to explain in the morning. Later, they said they drove the car around the lot and the engine locked up. They took no responsibility for making it worse and charged me for confirming the loss of compression in the pistons. We replaced the engine at great expense and to a poor result. I found this 2007 model had a chronic problem with the variable valve timing (vvt) causing the timing chain to come out of adjustment and destroy the engine. Instead of issuing a recall and fixing it, Mazda offered an extended warranty to 6 years-60,000 miles. This is about the average point of failure, meaning half the people are not covered. A feature of the turbo charger is making the engine run hot, burning the oil, so people were often denied because the oil "had not been changed." Interestingly, Mazda said the timing chain had been replaced under warranty with a previous owner. That date and location coincided with a date of service shown on carfax for typical maintenance only. That dealership said they could not possibly do any work without it showing on carfax. I wonder who Mazda paid for the warranty claim... I want NHTSA to compel Mazda to compensate owners who experienced engine failure due to this documented design flaw.

- Durham, NC, USA

The motor started running hot and losing power and I shut it off. The vehicle was towed to a garage and was scanned on computer and only showed code for steering wheel angle. The mechanic pulled the coils and plugs and checked for spark and installed new plugs and all coils operated normally. Compression was checked and was low in all cylinders around 70-80 psi. Plugs and coils were reinstalled and intercooler put back on. Car is in a no start condition, car was taken to closest Mazda dealer and they said they would not fix problem since someone had been in the motor. The mechanic called their service department and told them exactly what had been done and they said they would not make it right. The car has 115000 miles and has numerous recalls for the vvt timing chain, turbo, engine, and they have tsb's for these issues and still play dumb. I want my motor fixed by Mazda at Mazda's expense since there are so many complaints and issues with these vehicles and Mazda knows about it and still doesn't want to make things right.

- Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Mazda is aware that the Cx-7 is a horribly made car which can be noted with the extensive list of recalls which the company has put out since its creation. Engine failure being the biggest concern to the safety of people on the road. Engine failure at 70mph on a busy highway can result in death. Something should be done to have Mazda compensate all owners for defectice vehicles. My engine failed and Mazda was of no help.

- Lompoc, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. while driving various speeds, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. North frontier auto (205 8th ave SE, pine city, mn) was called and diagnosed that an unknown sensor failed. The vehicle was not repaired and the vehicle could not be started. The contact was able to get the battery jumpstarted and drove to North frontier auto where the codes were cleared. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator illuminated again. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the timing chain and solenoid were defective and needed to be replaced. The solenoid failure was repaired, but the timing chain failure was not. The vehicle was returned to the dealer where they stated that they repaired the timing chain. After the vehicle was repaired, the contact stated that the axle, ball joint, and control arm were detached. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failures were confirmed and the timing chain was confirmed to be incorrectly installed by the dealer. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.

- Anoka, MN, USA

I took my 2007 Mazda CX7 for service and two safety recalls, last year. The replaced the lower control arms at the front end. They also did the safety recall 9516E=passenger air bag replacement. After a while the air bag dash red light comes on and stays on for a while. My CX7 has 97,500 miles and now my engine sounds like is a diesel engine when I am at a stop traffic light. It seems like the timing chain is stretching. They have not added this variable valve timing defect as a safety recall, after all this is a Ford engine and I was expecting this Mazda to last up to the 200,000 miles.

- Guttenberg, NJ, USA

I am having issues with my engine light on and my car having problems with a loud noise coming from the engine as well as sometimes shaking while stop in a light for a while.

- Miami, FL, USA

Takata recall. The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. the contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17V429000 (air bags). The parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The vehicle was taken to Eagle auto mall (1320 old country rd, riverhead, NY 11901 (631) 727-0700), but the dealer refused to repair the recall and stated that the contact would need to take the vehicle to the dealer from where the vehicle was purchased. The contact took the vehicle to Mazda 112 (2112 NY-112, medford, NY 11763 (631) 654-2746), but the dealer also refused to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a Mazda dealer. The contact had not experienced an air bag failure. Also, while driving, the contact smelled a burning odor throughout the vehicle and noticed smoke coming from the hood. The exact location of the smoke could not be determined. The contact stated that he previously had to use a gallon of oil per week. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact called major world at (866) 614-2884 (43-40 northern blvd, long island city, NY 11101) where the dealer stated that the engine was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available/parts distribution disconnect. Updated 11/01/17 updated 7/17/18

- Riverhead, NY, USA

Bought my Mazda Cx-7 2007 brand new. Ac broke, arm joint has be change, both roller changed more then two times. Engine is making noise. Dealer told us that it's the timing chain which is the engine now. I called Mazda for an engine and it's about $6,291 for just the engine not even included the labor. Had a very bad explerience with Mazda.

- Coon Rapids, MN, USA

On the 4th of July my family and I were driving to westchester from manhattan. We had a full tank of gas, recent oil change and new car battery. The car is always maintained and it has never given us any trouble. During our drive we noticed something was wrong. The the car started to feel hot, but we weren't too sure if it's just hot out or if there was something wrong, because the ac was on. We pulled over and turned the car off. We checked the coolant and saw that we had oil. We opened the trunk, felt around to see if it was hot and to see if we smell anything. It seemed fine. As soon as we drove off, not 2 minutes in, when driver said the gas petal felt weird, it dropped from 50 to 30 to 20mph and we heard a light drilling noise. As soon as we stepped out of the car, it was in flames. Our family could have died. Https://www.facebook.com/valhallafd/posts/1548408978544577

- New York, NY, USA

Mazda's L-series engines are earning a reputation for variable vale timing (vvt) defects that can cause oil leaks, excessive smoke out of the tailpipe, loose timing chains, and catastrophic engine failure. Mazda has acknowledged the vvt problems in a 'special service program' but, according to owners, has denied warranty coverage in some cases. Because my vehicle is beyond the extended period Mazda does not feel they have any responsibility to compensate for this repair. It has been reported that this could cause the engine to stop while on the highway creating a dangerous or deadly condition.

- Toms River, NJ, USA

At hwy speed, in motion, on state hwy, engine light came on, heard a pop and then vehicle died

- Waterville, WA, USA

When starting the vehicle there is a loud sound coming from the engine for 2-3 seconds. It doesn't happen all the time, but it sounds like a card going through bicycle spokes and is accompanied by a high rev sound. This sound also happens when driving directly after the vehicle automatically shifts into a new gear, and is accompanied by a loss of power until the rev sound and card in spokes sound. Mazda corporation has been notified of all reports I have made, and I didn't know of this site to report until recently. I have reported addition defect S to Mazda Corp as well but do not have the details at this time. That is the reason for submitting them all at this time.

- Olympia, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. while driving 35 mph, an abnormal noise emitted from the vehicle. The vehicle became engulfed in flames without warning. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the turbocharger engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 92,600.

- La Crosse, WI, USA

Shortly after purchasing vehicle replaced timing, turbo, exaust, ball joints, tie rod ends & much more. Timing was first, then driving and turbo went out. 2 days ago car sitting in driveway, not running, started smoking from under hood, butst into flames and burnt up. Mazda said no recalls, clearly not true according to website. Almost burnt my house also as it was sitting in driveway and couldnt be moved. If we would have been inside the car, I doubt we would of had time to get pulled over & out as thats how quick it burnt!

- Brookville, IN, USA

I have a 2007 Mazda CX7 I've seen alot of recalls but one complaint I am constantly seeing is the turbo failure and leaking an indecent amount of oil causing an environmental hazard. I am in a situation now where my turbo is leaking alot of oil and alot of CX7 owner are getting good their turbos replaced more than three times. I very looked into tears problem and apparently Mazda has came up with a solution that has rerouted the air pressure to the turbo by supplying a ventilation kit that costs $2,226 just for parts that's including the turbo and $826 for labor..I feel that if they have identified the problem they should tell consumers about it if your driving on the freeway and all of a sudden the car looses power it could cause an accident...and I have also read that the turbo is a very poor design.

- Houston, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. while the vehicle was parked, a hose failed and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 145,000.

- Bessemer, AL, USA

Hi, we bought Mazda Cx-7 grand touring [VIN# last 8 digits: [xxx] used car during Oct 2014 in fremont. The car had around 84K miles. We spent around $13K thinking good fit for kids school drop in short distance. Hardly used < 9K miles in 2 years. Timely service has been done. However, recently seeing check engine light on with code P0303 [engine-3] missfires. Replaced spark plugs, perform fluid system cleaning, replace throttle body spending close to $1500+. check engine still stays on even after this'. now fremont Mazda dealer recommending to replace the engine [which costs around $9K]. later did some study on web and learnt that Mazda Cx-7 is very well known for this issues and that is the reason Mazda has discontinued the Cx-7 model knowing internal turbo related issues. Customers buy cars based on search and reliability considering long term usage [like other cars which runs more than 150K miles] and not expected this. It's pain to see not hardly used 10K+ miles even after spending $15K. Mazda should accept their engine design issue and do some credit to lost costumer. To keep this customer [me] with Mazda, Mazda should refund the total customer expenses and allow him to by new Mazda latest version by paying difference amount. Have attached recent documents from fremont-Mazda dealer for your review and support. Highly appreciate your understanding and helping the customer. Home address: [xxx] cell: [xxx] email: [xxx] car details: Mazda Cx-7 grand touring. VIN# last 8 digits: [xxx] apprx miles: 96K+ regards, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fremont, CA, USA

I took the car in the have the ac compressor replaced a couple weeks ago. June 9 I lost all cold air and done acceleration. I thought the two were related but we're not. My car would sometimes drive as normal and other times unexpectedly slow down to 25 mph in a 60 mph zone and I couldn't speed up. I took it back to the mechanic. He said the turbo was going out. Then the catalytic converter. Then the gasket. It's had multiple oil leaks. This car is costing me more than its worth.

- Austin, TX, USA