I have a 2007 Mazda CX7, my vehicle has 71,000 miles I have noticed a rattling noise for the past few months. I visit three mechanics and all three mechanics are telling me it's the vvt timing chain. The cost the repair my vehicle is $3,000 to $4,000 dollars. I contact the Mazda dealer and because I have no warranty I have to pay out of pocket. So I begin to do my research online. I realized that there are hundreds of other Mazda CX7 owners that are having the same issues as I. what a coincidence Mazda has discontinued manufacturing the Mazda CX7. This is a manufacture issue and Mazda needs to own up for it. Hundreds of people are losing their vehicles due to this vvt timing chain issue and Mazda needs to make this a re-call. I know one thing I hope and pray nothing happens to me while driving my vehicle because I will not hesitate to file a lawsuit against the Mazda Corp. I hope someone can help all of us who are current owners of Mazda CX7. I will use social media to spread awareness.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

Vehicle stalled in sams club parking lot. It did restart but started making a rubbing or grinding noise. Turns out the ac compressor locked up. According to internet postings it is a known issue with 2007/2008 models. Apparently it was addressed for 2009 model. I've ran 7 or 8 vehicles for 200,000 plus miles and have yet to have a compressor go out until this know anomaly. Where is the resolution from Mazda?

- Columbia, SC, USA

I was driving 60 mph in the freeway suddenly I smelled burn rubber inside the cabin and I heard a loud noise came from the engine, after a few minutes the serpentine belt was broke. I found out the ac compressor lock-up. I was lucky there is no incident happen. Hope there is a recall for this concern.

- Stockton, CA, USA

Air conditioner compressor failed and started smoking and rattling while driving on freeway. Mechanic advised that the ac compressor was close to detaching completely and could have caused even greater damage to the vehicle if I continued driving.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Car did not want to move and white smoke came out tail pipe was in rush hour traffic.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

Timing chain stretched and variable valve timing, and throttle went out. This is the 2nd time that the timing chain has been stretched out on this vehicle. The first incident was at around 64000 miles. The 2nd incident was at 124966 miles. Mazda extended the warranty on the timing to 70,000 miles on January 12. However, I did not get that letter and it happened after I had already gotten the problem repaired under a separate warranty.

- Fontana, CA, USA

Compressor kit was already having issues when driving and when stopped to fuel up, the car would not start as the pulley on the compressor kit was catching and not turning correctly to start the ignition. The car is only a 2007 and only had 60,000 miles on it.

- Fulshear, TX, USA

Started smelling strong burning rubber odor emanating through vents of car while in operation, exited highway upon seeing white smoke fuming from under hood. Loss control of steering and vehicle shut off and would not crank again. Mechanic determined ac compressor has seized and serpentine belt was snapped due to friction from pulleys. If I had stayed on freeway instead of exiting, with the lost of steering I surely would have posed a danger to myself as well as others on the road. This complaint is one of numerous thousands that have been filed on behalf of Mazda and its Cx-7 model. There should be a recall issued for the ac compressor before it causes serious injury and/or fatality.

- Memphis, TN, USA

In November of 2012 my family was driving home from seattle, wa to san diego, ca. When we were driving we smelled burning rubber so pulled over to see if we could see something wrong under the hood. Since it was 10pm and dark outside we couldn't see anything and decided to find the nearest hotel to stay at until we could take it to a shop. After we started driving we saw there was a freeway exit 1/2 a mile away so my husband was driving really slow(about 35mph) hoping we could make it without any problems when all of a sudden there was a huge jerking motion that felt like we ran into something even though we didn't. we stopped immediately and got a tow truck. It ended up being the ac compressor and serpentine belt that needed replaced, although Mazda was aware of this problem as they stated in their extended warranty that it had "defect in workmanship or materials, " the warranty was only extended to 5 years or 60,000 miles. My Mazda was 6 years old and had only 48,000 miles but wasn't covered because it was a year passed the warranty even though the miles were still under. We ended up paying $2,000 to fix it as well as another $300 to stay in a motel for 5 days. Ever since the day that the car broke and had the huge jerking movement, by back has hurt everyday since then. It especially didn't help that I was almost 5 months pregnant and although nothing happened to the baby, I'm hoping there was no permanent damage to my back since I've never had back pain or problems since before this incident. I didn't know who else to contact about this but I think this is a huge problem and Mazda needs to fix it before more people get hurt, especially because they already know this is a problem which is why the extended their warranty.

- San Diego, CA, USA

I started the car, like I regularly do and the engine/timing chain made a horrible sound that got me very worried since this car is taking care very good since its the only car in the household. I contacted Mazda and they said the car had a warranty extension for a L3T engine variable valve timing noise and timing chain noise which is cause by " actual failure due to defects in workmanship or materials in accordance with Mazda warranty policy and procedures. This warranty extension was for 70,000miles or 7 seven years which ever came first, so my car was not cover since it had 101,000. My concern and disappointment is that after searching and taking to other Cx-7 owners the (2007-08) models all had issues with this and Mazda did not made a recall just extended the warranty. Cars with mileage of as low as 24,000 were affected by it, so its clearly not a wear and tear issue of the car. If that is not replace the engine might be damage and Mazda will not even offer a goodwill assistance. I still make monthly payments on the car and its impossible for me to pay $1200 in something that is clearly stated by Mazda is a "defect in workmanship or materials". its a shame that so many other customers are still battling with this issue and Mazda just hides behind their power and attorneys.

- Heartland, TX, USA

I wanted to report a safety issue with the 2007 Mazda Cx-7. there is a known problem with the ac compressor and instead of doing a recall on the product they extended the warranty to 5 years or 60,000 miles (instead of 32,000 miles). I bought my car right around the time they sent these letters out, so was unaware of what was going on. Recently I was driving the Mazda and I smelled smoke. I saw some smoke coming from under the hood, and when I pulled over and opened the hood the ac compressor was on fire. Had I not been pulling into work and on the highway I would?ve been in worse shape. It was scary considering it was next to the engine which has oil, fuel, etc...going through it. There were no warning signs that there was a problem with the ac compressor until all of a sudden it caught on fire. I have made attempts to call Mazda and try to get some help on this issue, and they seem to not care at all. I wanted to report this in hopes some other owners of the vehicle could be aware and not expect any help from Mazda's end. It is a safety issue and it needs to be addressed/recalled.

- Victoria , VA, USA

My 2007 Cx-7 experienced a catastrophic failure of the A/C compressor resulting in smoke in the cabin. After parking to allow the car to clear it would not re-start and I had to be towed to the local dealer. This occurred late on a Friday afternoon and so they were closed until the following Monday. The potential failure was known and Mazda had issued a letter extending the warranty on this item but not a full recall. The dealer installed new parts but since then it has been back several times because of lack of performance. I have received explanations of too much/too little refrigerant block dlines with particles from the original failure. After the third return visit in June 2012 the problem appeared to be fixed and the system worked until last week so I scheduled another visit. The problem has now being diagnosed as a failed hose fitting and they are expecting me to pay for the part but not the labor. My view is that parts like this should not fail at the current 41,000 miles and that some of this is related to the previous fixes. Also co-incidentally the check engine light came on as I was scheduling a dealer appointment. This has gone on and off several times over the last month. It has been diagnosed as a failed egr valve and will cost $700 to replace. Again this is not something that I would expect to need at such a low mileage and on a car that has all routine serving and has been babied. This prompted me to go on-line to research and there appears to be lots of similar issues with this model of Mazda and yet they are not performing recalls. I am hoping that my experience will add to the case to pressurize Mazda to be more customer orientated with their Cx-7 owners and/or to support a class action suit to help recompense owners against these non routine mechanical failure issues.

- Richland, WA, USA

While driving the vehical started to make noise took it to first mechanic shop near bye and they told use the ac compressor was failing but it would be ok then on the way back home the car started to smoke from the compressor because the clutch had seized up we pulled over otherwise im sure we would have broken the belt causeing more damage.

- Great Falls , MT, USA

While driving home from work 8/23/12, my husband noticed that the A/C was not cooling and that the engine started making a squealing noise. He stated that the A/C compressor was failing. Fortunately for us, he made it home safely. If it failed completely while driving, the car (or he) could have died in the middle of the interstate.we had received the extended warranty notice for the A/C compressor. So, we took it to our local Mazda dealership/service department for repair. The technician stated that we had just exceeded our warranty coverage. Our vehicle turned 5 years old on 6/30/12 and has 60,598 miles. He stated that we would have to contact the Mazda corporate office to request assistance. The corporate representative stated that they would contact our dealership and take the matter under review. She stated that if they denied the claim there was no one else at Mazda that would discuss this with us. I agree with other complaints filed to date...apparently, someone will have to be killed before anyone issues a recall.

- Piney Flats, TN, USA

I was driving on my way home on the highway and all of a sudden the ac was not cold. When we got home the belt was smoking from under the hood. We recently bought the car from a GMC dealership at just under 39K miles. Only owned the car for maybe 4 months. Turns out the car needed a whole new compressor for over $800. The compressor had locked up. I find this very crazy that a car with such little mileage would have such a big problem. The car has been well taken care of. Reading up online I have noticed the 2007 models have had ac compressor issues.

- Deltona, FL, USA

After owning our 2007 Mazda Cx-7 for over 5 years, we received an extended warranty notice that the timing chain was defective and at risk of breaking. Having noticed a slight ticking noise already, we immediately took it to the dealership where it was purchased. They examined it and notified us that even though our car was 5 years old and at risk of failure due to a factory defective part, the warranty was only extended to 70,000 miles and Mazda would not cover any costs since our odometer was at 80,000. I went home, did some online research, and discovered that our year and make of vehicle also had a tsb from Mazda for a defective timing vvt actuator that could cause the same clicking sound. We had never been notified of this by Mazda or the dealership. I called Mazda customer care immediately and they assured me that the timing chain was the source of the clicking noise. Two weeks later the vvt actuator in question did fail. Mazda assumed liability and replaced the defective vvt assembly and timing chain, but refuse to cover any of the costs to repair the severe damage caused to our engine as the direct result of this part failure.

- Riverside, CA, USA

We have a Mazda CX7, 2007, that we purchased brand new in April 2007. We have had all oil, filter and other services by our local Mazda dealership in accordance to Mazda guidelines. Recently while driving 70 mph down interstate 81 with our 10 year old son in the car, our Mazda stopped working. Lucky for us we were able to get off of the road and call a tow truck, who took us to a local Mazda dealership where we had to leave the car until Monday (it was a Saturday afternoon) and find other means of transportation home (70 miles away) on Monday morning my husband received a call from Mazda stating that our vvt plug came apart causing the engine to jump time and that we could pay to have a vva kit ordered and installed to see if it would fix the problem, at a cost of $1300, but this may not fix the problem because due to the plug coming apart our engine lost compression. And if this was the case, we would be out the $1300 and it would cost an additional $7950 for them to replace the engine. When we questioned them about the "service bulletin" released re: The problems they were having with this vvt they said that they really couldn't help us with this.... our car was over in the mileage... well to me a problem they recognize and admit to they should take care of no matter what.. had we have know of this pending problem, we would have opted to have this kit replaced long ago and gladly paid the $1300 instead of being out a car, that we really have enjoyed, and now looking for someone to replace an engine!! oh and by the way.. don"T let Mazda do this for you!! it is much cheaper to have your engine rebuilt and replaced by an outside source. We have contacted a machine shop in Virginia who will pay shipping and do this for us for $3000 and we have a local mechanic that will do the work for $1000 oh and they give you a 5 year warranty!! Mazda needs to be responsible.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda CX7. The contact started the ignition and a loud clunking noise emitted from the engine. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the faulty variable valve timing would need to be replaced. The manufacturer mailed a notification, which indicated that the replacement of the variable valve timing would be free of charge; however the vehicle was ineligible because it exceeded the 70,000 mileage requirement. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

- Cortland, NY, USA

I was heading West out of denver on interstate 70 when my car completely failed and the engine shut off. I was in the left (passing) lane and was fortunately able to pull into the median to avoid a crash at high speeds. My four-month old son was in the back seat so I was shaken and frightened for his safety, and unable to re-start the vehicle. We were stranded there for an hour waiting for a tow-truck with other cars pushing past us at very high speeds. To add insult to injury, this is a known issue for this make and model of Mazda. The company does not stand behind their vehicles--instead they are discontinuing the Cx-7 B/C of it's poor engineering. They also offered an extended warranty for this issue (up to 70,000 miles so my car is not covered.) if they were a responsible company they should issue a total recall of this vehicle in order to replace the timing chains. Other problems with this car in the short time I had it (bought it at 53,000 and it has a dead engine at only 76,000) -mysterious electrical problems causing all gauges to go haywire when I accelerated or turned -leaking valves in the transmission (just paid $800 to have that repaired in October) -faulty air conditioning compressor (also extended warranty) basically, this car is a total lemon. If you have one that still runs--beware! if I had been 2 miles farther down the freeway I would have had no where to pull over and would have been stalled dead on the freeway in heavy traffic... with young son in the back seat.

- Winter Park, CO, USA

I own a 2007 Mazda Cx-7, which I purchased in Nov. 2006, brand new. Over the past 2 years, I have heard a tapping noise coming from the engine compartment of the vehicle. Twice in the past 9 months, the vehicle lost complete power. I asked Mazda to check the vehicle and they stated that it was common, nothing to worry about. In January of 2012, I received a safety notice from Mazda in regards to a possible defect part, V.V.T. component and a loose timing chain. I took my vehicle to the Mazda dealership, who advised me that my vehicle contained this defective part, but stated that they were not going to repair the defective component due to the lack of receipts for oil changes and other maintenance records. The reason for the lack of receipts is because my brother-in-law, who is a mechanic, performed the oil changes and other maintenance work to the vehicle. I asked Mazda if the defective part could be hazardous and they advised me it was not harzardous or dangerous. Approx. 3 weeks ago, my wife ordered the necessary parts and paid for them in full. After 3 weeks, I was advised that the parts or not available. After reading numerous websites and complaints from Cx-7 owners, this is happening across the country. I further read that if the V.V.T. component fails while the vehicle is being operated, the engine will immediately cease, possibly causing the operator the inability to safely manveur the vehicle off the roadway. In my opinion, this is a danger to the occupants of the Mazda Cx-7 and other motorists. I have not heard of any accidents being reported as a result of the defective part, but I feel that Mazda is not taking the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the motorists. I feel that the matter should be taken care of by Mazda before someone is seriously hurt or killed.

- Blackwood, NJ, USA