Does or should the shifter panel illuminate?

A

Armchair Bronco

Member
:
2007 Mazda CX-9 GT AWD
Can someone tell me whether the shifter panel should be illuminated? Or does it light up (even faintly) when you turn your lights on?

On the '07 CX-9 GT that I just bought, the panel DOES NOT illuminate and I find this a little disconcerting when driving the car and shifting into reverse at night. (dunno)

Sure, I can look at the dashboard graphic (or the backing camera display on the nav) to see what gear I'm in, but I also want to SEE what gear I'm in when I'm manipulating the shifter. I'm hoping that this is supposed to work but I just have a burned out light bulb or LED.
 
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Armchair Bronco,
It is a gated gear shifter. Very soon, I got used to not looking at the shifter totally. If I need to make sure, I look at the dash.

No, the shifter panel does not illuminate. There is a small blue LED inside the shifter, though.
 
ceric said:
Armchair Bronco,
It is a gated gear shifter. Very soon, I got used to not looking at the shifter totally. If I need to make sure, I look at the dash.

No, the shifter panel does not illuminate. There is a small blue LED inside the shifter, though.
Click to expand...

Darn! I'm sure I'll get used to it, but I consider this a mild oversight. A user-adjustable light illuminating the various "D" gears, "N", and "R" would have been nice.

So far, my biggest complaints with this car have to do with dashboard (and now shifter panel) illumination.

Anyway, I'll survive...
 
brightwhite said:
In the GT, there is a blue LED in the roof panel that shines down on this. I've never thought this was an issue.
Click to expand...

I'm mentioning this only because I'm comparing it to my Audi which is subtly illuminated.

The tradeoff I guess is that the CX-9 has a lot less visual "noise" going on...and that's a good thing.
 
The GT doesn't have lighted characters next to the gate? My Sport does.

I don't get the blue accent lights, anyway. Especially in an interior with orange graphics. That alone is why I wouldn't buy a GT.
 
CX9 SportOwner said:
The GT doesn't have lighted characters next to the gate?
Click to expand...

Nope. And it's caused me more than a couple of double-takes. I get ready to shift @ night, I look down at the shifter, and I see...NOTHING. Nuttin' but blackness.

WTF?

Call me "Old School", but I kinda like seeing what gear I'm in right at the place where I'm shifting gears...
 
Shifter...

Yes, it should be lit. On my 2007 GT AWD the shifter display next to the gate is lighted in orange like the rest of the display.
 
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There is a blue LED on the ceiling console illuminating down on the shifter.
There is a small blue LED inside the sliver part of the shifter. You have to pay attention to see it.
It is intended to help you locate the shiter, I think.
I don't know why, but the letters next to the gated shifter do not illuminate at all (on GT trim). For a straight-line shifter, I can see the need of it. For a gated one, it is less needed IMO.
 
OK. Turns out I was mis-stating the problem. I'm still learning about this car, so I can plead ignorance.

Turns out that the shifter panel is only dark when I *don't* have the lights turned on. I guess that makes sense. On my Audi, it senses that it's dark outside, and it automagically illuminates the shifter for me.

As soon as I turn on the lights, the shifter on my CX-9 brightens up. (hand)

Also, I see the faint blue LED coming from the ceiling, so it seems that everything is OK.

I still wish there were some kind of visual hint about which gear I'm in on the shifter panel (like maybe a light square around the active gear or maybe a brighter color or something). I think my original gripe must have been that I couldn't tell which gear I was in unless I looked at the dashboard. And that's still the case.

If I kept the lights in "Auto" mode, the car would sense darkness like my Audi, but I like to use running lights in the daylight, so I have to use "On" rather than "Auto". I wonder if it's possible to get my car re-programmed to behave like a Mazda sold in the Canadian market where daytime running lights are required?
 
I took my 07 GT in for a service recall and they ended up breaking the light bulb in the shifter column. I had to make another appointment for them to replace it seeing as they had none in stock.

On another note, I actually find it disturbing that someone would want to take their eyes of the road/horizon to look at the shifter panel to see what gear they are on when a 6" drop of the eyes tells you all you need to know.
 
Armchair Bronco said:
OK. Turns out I was mis-stating the problem. I'm still learning about this car, so I can plead ignorance.

Turns out that the shifter panel is only dark when I *don't* have the lights turned on. I guess that makes sense. On my Audi, it senses that it's dark outside, and it automagically illuminates the shifter for me.

As soon as I turn on the lights, the shifter on my CX-9 brightens up. (hand)

Also, I see the faint blue LED coming from the ceiling, so it seems that everything is OK.

I still wish there were some kind of visual hint about which gear I'm in on the shifter panel (like maybe a light square around the active gear or maybe a brighter color or something). I think my original gripe must have been that I couldn't tell which gear I was in unless I looked at the dashboard. And that's still the case.

If I kept the lights in "Auto" mode, the car would sense darkness like my Audi, but I like to use running lights in the daylight, so I have to use "On" rather than "Auto". I wonder if it's possible to get my car re-programmed to behave like a Mazda sold in the Canadian market where daytime running lights are required?
Click to expand...


No reason to look down. The CX-9 automatically shows the current transmission gear on dashboard display when in automatic mode. When in auto-stick mode, it automatically shows you which gear you are in.

Why not keep eyes forward when shifting. You can go faster, safer that way...
 
CX9 SportOwner said:
I think he meant when he first gets in, and it's dark. I hope
Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I meant. I was only complaining about not having any feedback when I first get in at night and I initially shift out of "Park". It's a very minor complaint to be sure. But the only other frame of reference I have is my Audi A4 -- that car auto-illuminates at night, and the current main gear (Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, Sport) is a little brighter than the others.

Obviously, once I'm rolling this isn't an issue.
 
You will get used to looking at the dash pretty quick. Mazda did a much better job by showing the gear you're in all the time, rather than just in manual mode, too.
 
I prefer the prop rod. It will never wear out and cost me money.

I also don't mind the non trimmed washer hole, either. One less part to crack and need to be replaced.

You must be a GM fan. GM LOVES to over trim their cars.
 
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