Complain about a product or service

Rosenthal Mazda

Arlington, VA

J. of Falls Church, VA June 14, 2007

I purchased a new 2002 Mazda Tribute in March 2002. At 41,000 miles (Sep 2005) I first encountered a security system defect which disables the engine so that it cannot be started. Situation has re-occurred about 10 times since Sep 2005. Always occurs during hot weather and continues throughout the summer months. I have had the vehicle towed to Mazda approx 4 times and driven it in for service approx 6 times. Mazda has been unable to fix the problem after many, many attempts. The vehicle's security system re-sets once the engine cools. However, this can take up to 1 hour in the hot sun or in hot weather. I don't look forward to summer driving in my Mazda SUV. No "Zoom - Zoom" for me. I worry if this condition will worsen over time. I have an extended warranty (3rd party) that I purchased at the time I financed my car loan. Mazda has only billed my warranty provider once and has said on all of the other occasions that they are performing repairs or attempting to diagnose the problem at their own expense. None of their attempts work. My warranty provider has said that if Mazda bills them, they must guarantee their work for one year. Well, clearly Mazda cannot do that because they can't fix the problem. My extended warranty provider says there is nothing they can do about this situation and suggests that I take the vehicle to another Mazda dealership for service.

Raymond of Arlington, VA July 16, 2004

Was promised that I was eligible for a 500.- rebate as a previous Mazda owner by Mr. Awad. I agreed to a price based on this promise that I would get the rebate. After purchasing the car I pursued the rebate by following the information given to me by Mr Awad only to find out that I was not eligible. It is my belief that Mr. Awad knew all along that I would not get the rebate and used the ploy to get himself an extra 500.-

Mary of Arlington, VA July 27, 2009

While on I 95 in Richmond, using cruise control in heavy Interstate traffic, my nephew, husband and I suddenly heard a rumbling sound, the RPMs increased and the car began to slow. I was unable to let off the accelerator to get the gears to change or the RPMs to decrease. Nor could I speed up. I pulled off the exit ramp, at risk of getting hit in the process of changing lanes to get off. I called Mazda road service and got directions to a local dealership where they rode with us in the car, ran a test with the computer modules and inspected the vehicle. Nothing could be found and we proceeded to drive to NC without further incident.

We then ceased using the cruise control on the advice of a mechanic at Rosenthal Mazda who said these systems are interrelated so that might be the problem. Since purchasing the car in November, I have not used the cruise control a feature we are paying for on this vehicle.

In late January we stayed near Charlottesville. On the way home, on a winding country road, the same sequence happened – the car shook, the rumbling sound happened and we lost power. Turning the car off and then back on again was the only resolution. We were not using cruise control at this time.

The one thing in common with the previous event is that there was a frequent acceleration, deceleration due to the curves in the road int his case and due to traffic in the previous case.

In May, in the way to the beach in North Carolina, we had the same incident occur on a country road. This time smoke came pouring out of the sides of the two front tires. In all cases, except the most recent, a chemical burning smell accompanies the incident.

Similar incidents have occurred three times since February, two on interstate 95 and one on GW Parkway on July 12th. At that point I called Rosenthal service and spoke to the cashier since no one else was available – she promised to put this into the system but when I arrived on the 13th to leave the car for repair I was told no one had entered this information.

In all ,with only 6000 miles on the car and five attempts to get it fixed, and no prospect of a trip without incident, we have been told no mechanic can replicate the incident. All in all, about 150 miles have been put on our new car by mechanics at Mazda trying to replicate what happens. At one visit, I was shown a small thread that was found on the sensor of one of the front brakes and told this might be causing the problem. Even after this, in May, the incident recurred.

I am disappointed that a dealership that I have bought from four times now and that as a six time Mazda owner, I am not being treated more fairly. We were recently offered a similar replacement vehicle if we paid 7,000. This is an insulting offer if I have ever seen one.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

Back to the top | Automotive Section