Minor Gripes with my '07 GT AWD CX-9

[Armchair Bronco]

OK, so I've been putting my new (used) 2007 Grand Touring AWD CX-9 through its paces for the last month or so.

I really like this car A LOT, but here's my short list of things that I *don't* like or that piss me off or that make my scratch my head.

1) Why is there no trip computer on this car? Come on, fellas. This is the Grand Touring edition! At a minimum this car should have a trip odometer, current trip duration, miles before empty, current fuel efficiency, and average fuel efficiency. And there should be 2 separate banks, one for the current trip and one for keeping track of multiple trips. This is how my '04 Audi A4 does it, and I really miss it on the CX-9.

2) Why doesn't the center display show the current date? It's infuriating. It only shows the time.

3) Why can't I set the clock to be slow or fast? On all my other cars I like to have a clock randomly set fast to something between 5 and 10 minutes. But on the CX-9 with the Nav package, I can only set the hour. Now, I understand that the Nav system may need the correct time. Fine. But I want to set the clock fast. This car should support that.

4) The center display puts the AM/FM radio band right next to the time, so when you're driving around in the afternoon listening to talk radio you get something like this:

2:30 | AM ..... 710

Huh? Why not:

2:30 pm | ..... 710 AM

It makes it appear as if the clock thinks it's 2:30 in the morning. Really dumb.

5) Why not have 2 banks of radio station presets for AM just like they do for FM? I like AM talk radio and I don't have enough storage space for all my favorite channels.

6) I wish the seat could be moved down about 1 more inch

7) I mentioned this elsewhere, but I really hate not being able to fully adjust the brightness of the internal display. If you click it "ON", it's blindingly bright. If you click it off, you get to adjust the display, but for me it's too dim. Why have a dual-mode plunger? Again, really dumb. Just give us a single dial that's adjustable over its entire sweep, from completely off (counter-clockwise) to bright as the sun's surface (clockwise).

Anyway, none of these things is a deal breaker, but IMO the group that designed the dashboard electronics and the various displays need to spend some time in an Audi or another German engineered car. They could learn a lot!

 

[Armchair Bronco]

Forgot another one:

Why can't I fast forward and reverse *inside* of a song with the 6-CD player? There are only controls for Next and Previous songs. Sometimes, I want to listen to a raging guitar solo again without restarting the whole song. This, too, is utterly lame.

 

[Whitesnake]

How about when the headlights are set to auto, the buzzer sounds telling you that the headlights are on LOL..

 

[vikefan7]

You can rewind a song if you hold the next track button down or up on the steering wheel. And btw, I think it's find that you're bitching, it's been done before and it won't be the last time.

 

[Armchair Bronco]

No offense, but this forum is for exchanging information, as you have experienced in other threads. Asking questions about aspects of the car you may not understand, providing information to others, etc.

Coming on and pissing about things you don't like about your CX9 but can't change is a waste of time. With a list of dislikes like that, you shouldn't have bought it.

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...

Enough already. As legitimate questions or keep it to yourself.

No offense to you, CX9 SportOwner, but somehow I knew that you would be the first to reply *and* that you would have this exact response.

Here goes my passive-aggressive reply: you provide a lot of valuable feedback on this site and certainly I value your input...in most cases. But in this instance, you've gone over the line.

For some reason, you seem to be the self-appointed defender of the Mazda CX-9 against anyone who has even the most MINOR complaint! You started this when I made my initial comments about the car, and for EVERY FREAKIN' COMMENT I MADE, you came back with with some rejoinder. Why is that necessary? Why can't I have a negative opinion about the seat or the radio without having you immediately reply with some rejoinder about how I'm wrong?

And I'm not the only one you do this to. For example, you criticize people who buy the GT trim because (surprise, surprise) you DON'T have the GT trim. Fine with me that you bought the entry-level trim. Your purchasing decisions are yours, not mine. But that doesn't give you the right to pass judgement on folks who want a bit more luxury with their cars.

If you don't like my gripes, then for CRIPE'S SAKE -- don't read the thread! And don't start preaching to me about how I shouldn't have bought the car or how I shouldn't make posts on this site. Are you the site Admin? No, you're not. Have I added value to this site? Yes, I have. Does every post have to be about "things that are awesome with my CX-9"? Not at all. Do you need to chime in with some pearls of wisdom whenever someone says ANYTHING about the CX-9? Apparently so.

And don't go polluting someone else's thread with your tripe. This is MY thread, dude, not yours. You've now hijacked my thread, and in most circles "thread hijacking" warrants at least a warning from a site admin if it's done regularly. You do it A LOT!

Dude, deal with it. I'm not leaving, I'll continue to make posts on this site, I'm not really interested anymore in ANYTHING you have to say (notwithstanding the fact that if you manage to get off your damn grandstand you have some some valuable feedback from time to time). But not with this last bit of feedback. (eekfu)

 

[Armchair Bronco]

BTW: I just took the time to read through your "replies"...

Sheesh, it's as if you decided to say something about every point I made without really caring whether what you said makes any sense.

You say a trip computer isn't important because you don't think it's important. (Brilliant!)

You say having the date on the display isn't important because you don't think it's important. (I'm sensing a pattern here.)

You say that AM radio is dead (HUH?) so I shouldn't care whether I can program in AM stations. WTF? Dude, that was just LAME!

And you still can't get it through your skull that I don't like the way the dimmer works. I don't need you to explain to me (again) *how* it works -- I figured this out on my own a month ago. *How* something works is not the same as the set of features something exposes. And I don't like the feature set, so explaining to me how it works is a non sequitur, which seems to be the primary device you used above.

Looks impressive, but you'd be shredded in any formal debate for using such a device.

 

[ceric]

Armchair Bronco,
Let me try to answer some of the points you raised.

- TRIP COMPUTER:
Well Australia model has it since 2007. However, US model didn't have it until 2009 model.
You got the wrong year. If you must have one, get a ScanGaugeII-X for $150. It gives you much more than a trip computer. You can checking detailed OBDII readings (water/coolant temp, intake temp, battery voltage, etc.), reset/check error codes thrown, and, of course, a load of trip computer functions (today, yesterday, this tank, last tank, this trip, distance, range, ....)
I mount it in front of the odometer so it looks like part of the instrumentation.

- CAN'T SET MINUTES: On model with NAVI, the time is from GPS satellites, which is as accurate as the atomic clock in Colorado. The minutes/seconds are forever accurate. Therefore, they "think" you should have no need to adjust them. Hours are adjustable due to DST. I understand your need to adjust it forward (my wife does that also), however, it is not possible with NAVI.

 

[Armchair Bronco]

Another thing I didn't notice at first but don't like:

Why do the power windows (in the front) go down a centimeter or two and then stop, requiring me to push the button a second time to get the window down? When I push the window button down, I want the window to go...DOWN! Down until I stop pressing the button! Not down 2 centimeters. Even worse, they don't just stop smoothly but rather violently stop dead in their tracks. Really dumb.

Back in the 1980's, I had a Datsun 280-ZX. Whenever I used the wipers, they were programmed to throw in 2 extra wipes "for free"! It's was ridiculous. Most of the time, I got to hear rubber streaking across a bone dry windshield. Who thinks up these things? This car also had a woman's voice that would say "A door is ajar!" if you started moving forward with a door ajar. My friends and I used to force the issue & then say: "A door isn't a jar! A door is a door!"

 

[Armchair Bronco]

Armchair Bronco,
Let me try to answer some of the points you raised.

- TRIP COMPUTER:
Well Australia model has it since 2007. However, US model didn't have it until 2009 model.
You got the wrong year. If you must have one, get a ScanGaugeII-X for $150. It gives you much more than a trip computer. You can checking detailed OBDII readings (water/coolant temp, intake temp, battery voltage, etc.), reset/check error codes thrown, and, of course, a load of trip computer functions (today, yesterday, this tank, last tank, this trip, distance, range, ....)
I mount it in front of the odometer so it looks like part of the instrumentation.

Thanks for the info on the ScanGaugeII-X. I just did some research and it looks perfect. Is this something I can install myself or do I need my repair shop to do it?

 

[ceric]

Armchair Bronco,
ScanGauge can be installed in 5 seconds. You just plug it in to the OBD-II port below the CX9's steering column. Then, take your time to plan the routes for the cable and location you want it. It comes with velcro etc for you to fix it somewhere.

The window 1" rolldown is supposed to be a "feature". Too bad you do not appreciate it.
I used it a lot during summer time for ventilation. W/o it you might have to adjust it up and down a couple times to get it right (not too big, not too small, you know what I mean?)
However, my friend, you can actually deactivate it.
Let me find the procedure and I will post it here. Stay tuned.

 

[ceric]

Note that words in () are from me.

------------------------------------------------------------

WorkShop Manual 09-12-15
Two-Step Down Function Operative/Non-operative Switching Procedure
Note: by following the procedure below, the two-step down function is switched to non-operative when it is operative, and to operative when it is non-operative (i.e. toggling)

#1
1.1 Turn the ignition switch to ON position
1.2 Perform auto open two times. (auto open it - w/ window down, auto-open it again!)
1.3 Perform auto close two times. (auto-close it - w/ window up, auto-close it again!)

#2
2.1 Turn the ignition switch to OFF position

start #3 within 45 seconds of completing step #2 (don't wait too long)
#3
3.1. Turn the ignition switch to ON position
3.2. Perform auto open two times (see above)
3.3. Perform auto close two times (see above)

#4 Switching completed
(write down this procedure, you might regret it later and want it back again)

 

[vikefan7]

You can avoid the window crack feature by just holding the button a second longer.

 

[ceric]

You can avoid the window crack feature by just holding the button a second longer.

True, but somehow I doubt that is what Armchair Bronco wanted.....

 

[vikefan7]

I don't even think it's a matter of holding it down for a second, it's just making sure you fully depress it.