2007 Mazda CX-7: whining or grinding noise

Filed Jul 6, 2019 · Airbags, Body · 150,000 miles · NE

' takata recall' it seems after having my car for 4 months I ran into issues. I was driving on a residential street when my car started making a strange whining noise and small plumes or white smoke began to come from the hood, near the pulley systems. I drove home approximately 4 miles away . I went to start it the next day and it won't start it seems to be the alternator.

Filed Apr 10, 2013 · Engine · 57,000 miles · IL

I was accelerating to merge into expressway traffic when I heard a loud whine/squeal from under the hood and the car lost a significant amount of power. The noise was so unexpected and unrecognizable that the shock I experienced when I heard it caused me to tense up and veer off to the right. Fortunately as I was on a ramp there were no vehicles to the right of me to hit. I was able to get up to highway speed by gradually accelerating on the shoulder before merging and then exited at the next exit. The vehicle is now at a mazda dealership and I've been told it was a turbo charger failure. My research into this issue on this make, model and year, has proven that this is a known issue for mazda and they have extended their standard warranty coverage to owners for additional months and/or miles. There has not been a recall however and I think that considering the number of these incidents that have occurred, one would be warranted.

Filed Aug 31, 2012 · Engine · 55,000 miles · PA

My husband was driving home when he suddenly heard a loud whining noise then lost power. On the way to the dealer, he noticed it was smoking.

Filed May 29, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 77,312 miles · TX

After six months, we began to have mechanical issues with the vehicle. A diesel-sounding chug coming from the engine seemed off for an unleaded four-cylinder SUV. The common issue seemed to be a part called a vvt actuator. No recalls or service advisories had been issued for engine parts at this time. However, in january 2012, an entire half-decade after the vehicle rolled off the assembly line, we received a 'variable valve timing noise and timing chain noise warranty extension' notice by mail from mazda. A month or so after we received the notice, the vehicle began leaking oil. We took our vehicle into a roger beasley mazda center and had it examined. The oil cooler on the vehicle was beginning to fail. We explained the notice that we received in the mail and they were already well aware of these issues. We were told the engine had engine sludge and with it being a second-owner vehicle, we did not have the documentation to prove that regular oil changes had been performed. Instead, all repairs and replacements would come from our own pockets. The result ended up being a need to replace the vvt actuator, the timing chain, the oil cooler, and replacing all of the gaskets. The technician showed us a side-by-side of the current timing chain and the new replacement ' the used chain had literally stretched to be about half-an-inch longer than the replacement. We drove off the lot and hoped that the problems had been solved. Within two months of the repairs, the engine began making a high-pitched whining noise. My wife contacted the dealership that day while at work and they said to bring it in. On the way to the dealership, which is less than ten miles away, the vehicle died on the freeway. This ended up being the result of a blown turbocharger. Again, we had to take money from our nest egg to replace yet another part on this vehicle.

Filed Feb 10, 2011 · Engine · 29,900 miles · CA · fire · 1 injury

While driving home with my A/C on, my 2007 mazda cx7 began making a terrible whining & grinding sound, followed by billows of smoke coming from under the hood. I immediately pulled off the road, turned off the car and opened the hood, which continued to smoke for some time and there was a smell of burning rubber. I burned my hand in the process. The car was deemed unsafe and undriveable and had to be towed back to the nearest mazda dealer where we had also purchased the vehicle. It was late at night, so ,the next morning I received a call from the dealer telling me the fire started with the A/C compressor, which then ignited the drive belt. That's why it smelled so awful. He said it was "burned badly". The parts were not in stock, so, they have to order new parts. So, I'm without transportation. No offer from the dealer for a rental. They also did not tell me that there was a recall on 2007 mazda cx7 A/C compressors, which I learned about by online research. I never received a letter from mazda regarding the recall. So, it turns out that many, many people are experiencing the same issue and not enough is being done about it to fix the problem. The car has less than 30k miles and recently had a full inspection by the dealer. I'm now waiting to find out if the dealer will try to get me to pay for this or if they will honor the warranty. Many online complainants are being denied and are being forced to pay for this themselves. This is not right.

Filed Aug 3, 2010 · Engine · 43,636 miles · CA

2007 mazda cx-7 grand touring. (family car)! 43,636 miles(out of warranty) first off, my wife and I have a had our car serviced and oil changed every 3000 miles! And we have taken the car in numerous times for the A/C not working in over 90 degrees temperatures. And have been told by 2 dealerships that the cx-7's A/C doesn't work well over 90 degrees. Living in southern california its over 90 degrees for almost 6 months of the year. A couple days ago, my wife, young daughters and I were driving our car to a destination only 3 miles from home. (the car had been sitting all day, in the garage.) we had the A/C on half way(85 degrees out). About ready to get off the freeway and only going 60 MPH. The air blowing out of the A/C started blowing hot, easily over 100 degrees. The A/C started whining, though it was a belt slipping. Immediately turned off the A/C and fan motor. And then began to smell burning plastic. Drove 1/4 mile to destination and right before parking it, a plume of white smoke started coming out of the engine compartment and A/C vents. I opened the hood to put out the fire, I thought would be there. But the car just kept smoking with no visible flame. Smoked-no it "plumed", for about 15 minutes. I called aaa , and had the car towed to a local mazda dealership. When I told the service what happened, he smiled and shook his head and told me that the A/C compressor blew. Without even looking! He said, he couldn't understand why mazda has not recalled this problem yet. And that he has had a lot of upset cx-7 owners spending over $2500 because they didn't turn off the A/C when it stopped working. Resulting in timing chains, blown engines and other expensive parts going out due to the stress caused on the A/C belt when the compressor blows. And if I hadn't been reading blog after blog online since 2007 when we got the car, about the A/C compressor problem, I would of been paying $2500 or more too! One day of service and $1025 later. The car seems to be fine.

Filed Jun 23, 2010 · Engine · 57,239 miles · WA

Stopped at traffic signal 1 mile after leaving office. Loud howling noise from engine compartment accompanied by burning smell . Smoke began pouring from front left side of engine area. Engine fire and/or complete failure averted by immediate shut down of vehicle. Problem diagnosed as A/C compressor failure. Vehicle has 57k miles. Subsequent search of web forums on the problem details numerous complaints of same issue. Filing complaint today as this is an obvious design flaw that has not been addressed by manufacturer, through recall or tsb, that could lead to engine fire/failure and serious injury to vehicle occupants; either through vehicle fire or loss of control from engine or system failure, as a result of the defect.