Timing chain and variable valve timing module failure on 2007 Mazda Cx-7.

- Hamilton, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. the contact stated when trying to start the vehicle it failed to start on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who advised him that they were unable to diagnose the failure or duplicate it. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was approximately 26,000.

- Lancaster, PA, USA

7/6/10(25,000 miles) driving "piece of crap" from w-pa to phila after 1 1/2 hours in car airconditioning gets hot & loud noise starts. Able to pull off main highway &find a sears auto shop they say air compressor in my pice of crap (2007 CX7) has fallen apart - they don't do this work-I needed a Mazda dealership-they wouldn't recommend me driving home! it's a holiday (July 4th celebrated this day) I have no idea where a dealership is-I am over 200 miles from home - everything else is closed. Found a hotel to stay overnt & search for a dealership. Found 1 abt 20 miles away. Next day (praying the whole 20 miles) that piece of crap would make it to the shop. It did I explain situation to a non-caring, won't look me in the face mechanic who finally states (after 3 hour wait) my warranty expired 5 days prior & it would take 3 days to get part & fix. Here I am 200 miles away from home, in a not so racially diverse area of West pa- leaving for vaca the next day- & I can't get home!!! it was like pulling teeth to get a rental car # & a taxi cab # from these people. I was finally able to get home via 8 hour bus ride & go on much needed (after this ordeal) vaca, however I still had to pay over $800 & pick piece of crap back up. I complained to Mazda couple times &finally got letter that they were extending the warranty for air compressors to 60,000 so I got $ back, but not for the hotel stay, taxi ride to bus and bus ride home and back up there! couple other problems came up later -white smoke out of tail pipe after ideling, dealership couldn't find a problem, also saw something leaking, dealership couldn't find anything leaking--- 8/4/11 (31,000 miles) took piece of crap in for a noise it's making at start up. Vvt gone bad, but still under the powertrain warranty so got fixed. What's next"?" I'm afraid to drive to far in this car!! can't take driving vacas-- gonna get rid of "piece of crap" prior to the warranties expiring in 2012! got to!!!

- Upper Darby, PA, USA

Driving on the freeway 65 miles per hour, engine shut off... pulled to side of road. Car towed to mechanic. Diagnostic with two quotes timing chain snapped bent valve, need to replace the engine. I have been reviewing forums and have found this is an issue with hundreds of Mazda CX7 2007 models. My car is at the 61,000 miles mark. If so many people are having the exact same issue its no coincidence, thankfully on the day my engine shut down was in the far lane that I could pull over. Someone else with this car might not be so lucky. Mazda needs to recall and start doing something.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

2007 Mazda Cx-7 AWD grand touring with 39K miles. Car was being driven had sudden loss of power while traveling down road. In traffic car suddenly slowed to crawl at 20mph once car was navigated to shoulder and stopped it would not restart. The vehicle was towed to dealership where they have stated that the timing chain or vvt has failed resulting in timing chain failure thus total engine failure. Known problem reported numerous times and yet Mazda dealership has informed me that with the maintenance records provided they are refusing repair. These timing chains are failing on cars with 19K-60K miles, not within normal maintenance.

- Belcamp, MD, USA

(March/2011) light came on around 65K miles. Took it into dealership and they said oil was low and yvt needed replacing. Cost was around 2500. No reason why oil was low and last changed by Mazda less than 7500 miles before. Also full service was done at that time. (June/2011)while on highway at high speeds the car lost acceleration, emitted high pitch whirring. And became difficult to control. Towed to dealership and it is being blamed on bad turbo. No reasoning behind failure other than saying oil change issues. The problem is that Mazda is the only entity that has ever worked on this car at least twice per year for check ups. There also appears to be others with same reported problems to both turbo and yvt.

- Reston, VA, USA

2007 grand touring Mazda Cx-7 has well known vvt issue causing oil to burn, in spite of regular oil changes and all recommended maintenance. We are original owners and know how car was maintained. Timing chain went at 62K miles, just out of warranty. After that service, drove 1K more miles and noticed loss of acceleration. Took car back to dealer, and they advised we needed a whole new engine, which they would not cover, aside from a 20% goodwill offset. Spouse won't let me operate car any longer in fear it will break down causing accident. Unsafe vehicle.

- Mclean, VA, USA

A/C compressor died.

- Oregon City, OR, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda CX7. The contact stated was driving 55 mph when the engine oil shield cover separated from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle with the dealer one day prior to the failure for routine oil change. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who performed a diagnostic and located the failure at the engine oil plastic shield cover. The dealer advised that there was a possibility that the screws may not have been placed back correctly. The dealer replaced the oil cover shield with the same defected plastic and there were no further repairs. The failure and the current mileage was 70,000.

- Augusta , GA, USA

I own a 2007 Mazda CX7. Since I bought the car, at 29K miles I had to have the fuel tank replaced. At around 34K had to have the turbo looked at because of black smoke blowing on my bumper, Mazda replaced the pipes. My pipes were still smoking, had to take off work, take car in again because of black smoke, Mazda tried replacing rings in turbo, still blowin bluish white smoke, now getting turbo replaced. I had the air compressor replaced a about a month ago. Now I have a ticking noise coming from engine and I'm scared the timing chain will break soon. Mazda needs to replace the timing chains on these models. I think Mazda should do the right thing an recall this model, yr before someone gets hurt or breaks down in the middle of nowhere with kids in the car.

- Lemon Grove, CA, USA

My 2007 Mazda Cx-7 air conditioner compressor locked up causing minor accident from undriveability.

- St Petersburg, FL, USA

In April 2009 the air conditioner compressor failed on my 2007 Mazda Cx-7. there was approximately 49,000 miles on the car when this happened. We replaced the compressor with an aftermarket compressor because the dealer indicated it was not in warranty. Some time later we received a letter from Mazda extending the warranty on the compressor to 60,000 miles. In the letter Mazda explained that if the compressor had already been changed they would reimburse us for the charges. The paperwork had been misplaced at the time so we did not contact Mazda for reimbursement. In December 2010 my daughter was driving the car in dallas Texas when she heard a noise coming from under the hood. A burning smell started coming through the vents, then smoke started coming into the car, she had to cross three lanes of traffic to get off of the road. The car stopped running before she could get off of the road. A driver stopped and helped her get the car off of the road, luckily no one was injured. She called me and told me what happened, I called for a wrecker and had the car towed to a Mazda dealership nearby. The service manager called me and told me it would cost approximately $ $1,800 to repair the car. He also told me that the mileage had exceeded its limits for warranty. He later called and said that when the belt broke it had damaged the pulley on the crankshaft and that for the car to run properly it would also need to be replaced. I contacted the consumer division of Mazda and was basically told there was nothing they could do, they extended the warranty to 60,000 miles and that the car had exceeded its warranty. It is not normal for ac compressors to fail in such a short time unless there is a defect. Mazda knew this that is why they extended the warranty. Mazda needs to recall these defective compressors before someone is severely injured or killed in a wreck caused by the compressor locking up.

- San Angelo, TX, USA

An excess of white smoke emitted from exhaust upon acceleration after a brief period of idle. It was determined that a faulty turbo charger was to blame. So the car was in the shop for 7 days while they replaced the turbo. Several months later the car wouldn't start after sitting in a heated garage overnight. It sounded as though the cylinders weren't firing properly. Car was towed to mechanic who identified issue as fouled cylinder heads from prior failure of turbo. This time the entire engine was replaced. Again the car was in the shop for approximately seven days. Some months later an oppressive amount of road noise appeared at all speeds on all road surfaces. We were directed that the tires were to blame. After replacing all 4 tires at a cost of nearly $800 the sound persisted. Upon further inspection the technician found that the wheel speed sensors on the rear wheels had failed allowing water to seep in and rust rear wheel bearings. All four wheel bearings where replaced. Today the vehicle is again in for engine repair to replace the oxygen sensor and a dead battery. After owning the car for 18 months it is has been in the shop for a total of approximately 4 weeks.

- Laotto, IN, USA

Complete engine failure without warning while traveling 70 M.P.H down 40 East xmas eve evening. I prayed my child and I wouldn't end up dead while trying to cut across two lanes to get off the road in my vehicle without engine power.

- Mount Juliet, TN, USA

My wife's 2007 CX7 was in a parking lot. My wife started it up, came to a stop sign and the car died without warning. It had 65,000 miles on it (5000 over the warranty) and wasn't even 3 years old. We had always gotten regular oil changes and had just had one the week before. We had it towed to the nearest Mazda dealer. The first time I talked to a service tech he mentioned the timing chain breaking. Later, they explained it as a valve (variable valve timing actuator?) failing and causing oil chain failure (jumping the gearing). My bill ($7500 - new engine) only states internal parts failure. They tried to indicate the oil was dirty even thought the oil was changed less than a week prior. After reading through many CX7 forums online it seems they were trying to build a case for engine sludge to cover themselves. Less than 2 months later replaced intake manifold shutter valve and had to flush and reseal brake lines. Went to kerry Mazda of ky to originally purchase a 2008 because of low finance deals. They shifted my attention to the 2007 (3500 miles) and I agreed because of the certified new (100,000 miles) program. When I found out I didn't have 100,000 mile coverage I went back to dealer and we pulled the paperwork and under the warranty it says certified and also remainder manufacturer's warranty. So it ends up they sold me a used car as new and I didn't even get the financing of a new car - very shady. Mazda corporate was of no help either, simply stating the car was out of warranty and there was nothing they could do. Needless to say I will never buy Mazda again. I will also make sure I don't trust what they say and make sure I read and understand every page even as they try and rush you through it. I fear someone will be killed when their CX7 suddenly stops on a busy highway. Hopefully, Mazda will address the problem before that happens.

- Florence, KY, USA

2007 Mazda CX7, at 57,211 miles, air condition compressor froze, disabled car. On 10/27/10 88 K miles, car would not start, independent garage determined it needs a new engine.called Mazda Corp. File # 132495780. Mazda representative asked to tow the car to a Mazda dealer for diagnostics, and Mazda will send a field manager to determine if the engine failure is due to manufacturer defect or not. Mazda may be willing to offer after warranty assistance in the cost of the repair or even cover the entire cost. Car was towed to a Mazda dealer on 10/28/10 am. At 5 pm same day, dealer called my wife and said that the car needs a new engine and it will cost $8000 + to fix it, and the Mazda Corp field manager said that based on the maintenance record and mileage, Mazda Corp will not offer any assistance. I was never asked to provide any maintenance records and I do not believe the field manager even looked at the car as Mazda representative said he would. Thier is 195 complains filed with the ODI in regard to 2007 CX7 compressor and/or engine failure. I believe that the air compressor and the engine failure are due to manufacturer defect. Mazda Corp. Is very well aware of it, and not owning up to it. Mazda Corp is not even honoring cars under warranty in most cases, using the excuse of lake of maintenance records and sludge in the engine. May be Mazda Corp. And the NHTSA are waiting for some one to die before they investigate the problem with the engine and compressor on the 2007 cx 7.

- Houston, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda CX7. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for another repair and also informed the dealer that it was making a noise. The dealer replaced the vvt actuator at that time. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer because the contact noticed that the failure continued. The dealer stated that the air conditioner compressor was the cause of the failure. After two days, while driving the contact noticed the noise again so the vehicle was taken back to the dealer; the dealer replaced the serpentine belt and pulley system. The failure continued, the noise worsened and the vehicle lost momentum while she was driving; the dealer then stated that she needed a new engine, new turbo, new pulley and vvt actuator. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who asked that she submit maintenance records but offered no assistance. The current mileage was approximately 46,000. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

- Richlands, VA, USA

I own a 2007 Mazda CX7 and it was been at the dealer every month this summer and I'm on my second loner car. The trouble started last summer with pinging and turbo lag. That seemed to stop and the dealer said that it was a software issue. But this summer we have had three separate issues. 1. transfer case leak. Fixed. 2. engine stabilizer leak. Fixed. 3. variable valve timing actuator vvta. Currently in shop. Car loudly "growls" to life, squeaky belt, difficulty starting, told by dealer that will eventually cause engine trouble if not fixed. This has all been since July!!! we are just shy of 30K and the warranty expires next month. I am very afraid that something else will go wrong and we will end up paying for it. Upon reading a few CX7 web sites and blogs, it has become clear that this vvta issue will lead to a timing belt failure and engine loss. I have a little less then 30,000 miles on this car and bought it new. Unfortunately this seems to be a relatively common occurrence in the 2007 model. Please issue a recall so that this defect can be addressed prior to engine failure and not at owners expense. Thank you!

- Portland, OR, USA

The timing chain is messed up on my 2007 Mazda Cx-7 it only has 85K miles on it.

- Kinston, NC, USA

Our 2007 Cx-7 Mazda developed noise. We received letter from dealership regarding possible need to fix ac compressor. About 10 days later on Sept.5 2010 we took a trip and did not turn on the ac but a loud noise developed and we lost acceleration ability. No warning light ever came on. Our car has about 40,000 miles on it. Towed it to Mazda dealershilp. They said they couldn't tell what was wrong. Several days later they said the turbo had failed and the engine is ruined and would need replacing. They said that the engine had no oil (remember, no warning light) and they found sludge, indicating neglect. We have had oil changes as required. They have not agreed to fix it. We have found numerous other owners of same model and year online on edmunds.com. It seems to be a problem for this particular model and year and the dealers response is to deny honoring warranty due to "sludge". our next move is to take it to the dealership we purchased it from out of town.

- Visalia, CA, USA