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Engine & cooling

Mazda CX-7 Engine problems by year

450 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Mazda CX-7's engine & cooling. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Engine complaints by model year

YearEngine complaintsCrashesInjuriesRecalls
20131000
20121000
20116000
201022100
200920000
200884000
2007316240

Latest CX-7 engine complaints

2010 Mazda CX-7Electrical systemEngine & coolingFuel systemFire

My daughter was driving a 4 hour trip in Florida on I-95 Halfway into the trip she pulled into a parking lot to stop for lunch and before she could even turn off the vehicle, a fire erupted from under the hood. The car completely burned. There is a police report at Jupiter FL Police department # 22-184325

Filed Incident Electrical system · Engine · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 11479489
2012 Mazda CX-7Electrical systemEngine & coolingFuel system

The vehicle would not start, would stall out and turn off while driving. The driver's side window will not move up or down. The car would start with jumper cables, idle for a few minutes, then go completely dead, no lights, no buzz, no nothing as soon as it was put into reverse. The car has a new battery, new coils, new spark plugs and continues to misfire. Mazda has been unresponsive to messages due to open recalls.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Engine · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 11405874
2008 Mazda CX-7Transmission & drivetrainWheels & tiresEngine & cooling

I already have a complaint but I forgot to add that my airbag light is on and won't come off along with my engine light it won't even crank since we broke down in the middle of highway because idh the money to get it fixed and trying to ask for a ride everyday! Thank you so much

Filed Incident Power train · Wheels · EngineNHTSA 11384218
2008 Mazda CX-7SuspensionTransmission & drivetrainEngine & cooling

I was driving down the highway and suddenly I hear a loud noise sounded like I was in a big rig truck then all of a sudden it started to overheat b4 I could pull off of highway it cut off right in the highway I had my grandson with me and thank goodness there was not a lot of traffic or we probably would've been dead

Filed Incident Suspension · Power train · EngineNHTSA 11378612
2010 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 mazda cx-7. The contact stated that while her in-laws were driving, the vehicle stalled and shutoff. Upon inspection, it was discovered that oil leaked under the vehicle and a hole was present on the side of the engine. The cause of the failure was not determined. Murray mazda located at 85 griffith rd, muncy, pa 17756 was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11355546
2007 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

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.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11351539
2007 Mazda CX-7Seats & seat beltsBody, doors & structureEngine & cooling

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...

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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. *Tr

Filed Incident Seat belts · Structure · EngineNHTSA 11320474
2008 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mazda cx7. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that her spouse diagnosed the failure as a mass air flow sensor failure. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for repairs nor was it diagnosed by a dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, there was no assistance provided. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11309268
2009 Mazda CX-7Electrical systemEngine & coolingVisibility & wipers

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mazda cx-7. The contact stated that the front driver side window and both rear windows failed to operate as intended going up and down. The tire pressure monitor light illuminated and remained despite having the tires checked for proper tire pressure and following the instructions provided to reset the tire pressure light. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The check engine warning light was reset by an independent mechanic. The contact stated that while...

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driving at 55 mph the vehicle decelerated to 20 mph and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic and was informed that the mass airflow sensor and oxygen sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 98,800.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Engine · Visibility / wiperNHTSA 11300056
2007 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

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...

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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.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11279145
2010 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

I started getting noise from the engine for last 6 months. But when the rpm is greater than 2000. The noise decreases, when I took to the dealer service, they mentioned that timing chain need to be replaced. Mazda knows about the issue and admits it but never performs a recall.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11270849
2009 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

The mazda has multiple issues with turbo booster functioning and malfunctioning causing air pollution issues with billowing white smoke fr tailpipe, mazda does not warranty this by ongoing issues with some repairs having to be done as early as 60000 miles,. My car is less than 100000 miles with extensive repair required to resolve issue, repairs as expensive as 3000 dollars. The smoke is so thick is impairs the vision of cars that maybe behind vehicles with this problem. This issue needs to be reviewed and...

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resolved, car owners should be made aware when purchasing these mazda of this heavily unreliable important part of the vehicle to make the decision beforehand if they will be responsible for these expensive repairs should they occur.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11266866
2007 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

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...

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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.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11181220
2010 Mazda CX-7Engine & cooling

Took car in for air bag recall (which was fixed). Dealer did a full circle inspection and found the timing chain needed replacement. We received a letter from mazda january, 2012 stating they were extending the warranty to 7 yrs from the original warranty date or 70,000 miles whichever comes first for repairs to the timing chain. This letter leads me to believe they knew there were issues with the timing chain. Our car has 39,100 miles (obviously low for the age of the car). We were required to pay for the...

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repair out of pocket because it was outside the warranty period. It seems very unfair that our car was not covered for an issue mazda was clearly aware of in 2012. While it was not an actual recall, something was wrong with the timing chain and all owners should be compensated for failure of the chain. I do not know exactly what can happen to a car if the chain breaks, but my best guess is it will stop running, which is a huge concern regarding safety of the vehicle.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11166081

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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