Vehicle began to smoke from under the hood. Pulled to shoulder of expressway and shut engine off. Looked under hood, then tried to restart. Engine would not crank. Had vehicle towed to dealership. Found A/C compressor seized and starter damaged from attempting to restart engine. Dealer replaced starter, A/C compressor, exp tank, belt and freon. Vehicle is a one owner with 43,203 miles. Dealer did split cost $1879.92/$939.96. When searching on line, found many customers of same vehicle w/same problem seems Mazda knows of problem and has changed design of compressor, but will not recall this item, even though vehicle can loose power steering.

- Medford, NJ, USA

The air conditioner compressor on my 2007 Mazda Cx-7 with approximately 45,000 miles quit working and the air conditioner started blowing hot air. The faulty compressor caused the engine to seize, start smoking profusely and started an internal fire that severely damaged the engine and nearly caused an accident on a busy highway.

- Richmond, VA, USA

I have been driving a 2007 Mazda Cx-7 for two years now, at 48,000 miles, my ac compressor locked up. The air started blowing warm then started seeing smoke from under the hood. I had to pull the car over to the side of the road and smelled burning plastic. Took the car to the dealer and they told me the air conditioner compressor gave out and would cost 1200 to fix. I read online posts and this seems to be a widespread problem and clearly Mazda is selling a defective product. The smoke is a environmental hazard and dangerous if it leads to fire.

- Livingston, NJ, USA

We have a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. we were driving home from camping and started to smell this horrible burning rubber smell coming from the truck. After a few mins I started seeing smoke coming from the right side of the hood. At that time our friends called us. We had them following from camping. They said they seen alot of smoke and smelled something bad. We got off at federal way and pulled into a shell station to look and get gas. My husband lifts the hood and there is a small fire and lots more smoke coming from the A/C compressor. He then notices that the serpentine belt is almost melted threw. So we pull into a parking spot and out of the way when we heard a loud noise and snap. The belt came off. So we had to call Mazda roadside service and get it towed to the auburn dealership. It was Sunday night so we had to wait until Monday morning to call. We had our 3 year old son with us. We thought we were buying a safe car and wouldn't have to deal with something like a small fire with 2007 safest vehicle of the year. Now it turns out our warranty ended 2,000 miles ago we have 38,000 and there is nothing they will do to help, other than say its 1500 to fix your car. We are a single family income and that's alot of money to come up with. I have found out there are a hundred or so people this has happened to. Why is there no recall already? it obviously causes small fires and is not safe for children. Please consider recalling the A/C compressors, clutch packs, and serpentine belts. Mazda must know there is a problem. They have a deal for the parts. "genuine Mazda Cx-7 air conditioner compressor with clutch and belt new lower price $484.85", but I was still quoted $1,500.

- Marysville, WA, USA

My ac compressor froze at 45000 miles while driving on the highway. I was told by the dealership that this is not a common occurrence. That was obviously a lie. Cost for repairs- $1600.

- Vineland, NJ, USA

Ac compressor has locked up. Further damage unknown at this point.

- Elizabeth City, NC, USA

Air compressor blew off with broke in pulley and belt.

- Blythewood, SC, USA

My wife's 2007 CX7 A/C comp froze up and seized the motor on a busy highway which could have caused harm to my child and other by standards this seems to be a bi problem with Mazda and they should fix the problem.

- Norwalk, OH, USA

At 41,000 miles, my air compressor failed. It started by running the ac and then the compressor locked up. The belt got ruined because of the friction and now I'm having to replace it all. I just recently browsed the internet and found that I'm not the only one with this problem. It seems to be a trend with this vehicle. I can save the old compressor if need be.

- Thorsby, AL, USA

Smoke started to come from the engine compartment and smelled like burnt rubber. There was no leak and all the belts looked ok. Lost power steering and engine died. Did not turn on and had to have it towed to the dealer. The dealer explained that this was caused by the A/C compressor and wanted to charge around $1900 (with taxes and everything). Since I had an extended warranty that took care of most except $180. I would not file a complaint, except that the only other friend that has a Cx-7 had the exact same problem and now looking at the internet it seems to be a widespread problem that needs to be fixed. It may be too late for me, but they should do a recall so other people could be potentially saved from harm.

- Katy, TX, USA

The ac on my 2007 Mazda Cx-7 stopped working while driving on freeway about 14 months after I bought it. I had an appointment within a couple days to bring it in for an oil change so I didn't do anything immediately. The next day, while driving locally I saw smoke coming from the rear of the car and then the power steering stopped working. I forced the car over to the side and got it towed to the nearest Mazda dealer. After 2 weeks without the car, they finally fixed it saying that the belt tensioner had "frozen up" and the belt had melted onto the ac compressor and power steering drive wheel. They had to replace both pulleys and the belt with parts shipped in directly from Japan. The car should not have had this major of a problem within 25K miles and less than a year and a half of driving, and I'm wondering what other damage it may have caused that will crop up in the future.

- San Diego, CA, USA