Although I M not a fan of Mazda's Smartkey card it sure beats having to stick a key in the door lock and turn. The double press on the drivers door button is safety overkill.
When I bought my CX-9 last year, I referred to the whole advanced keyless entry and keyless ignition as a "smart-ass key system" rather than a smart-key system. But from what I've been told, it is signficantly improved over the 'card keys' used previously. They switched to the remote fob like mine either in 2010 or 2011.
I love that I can lock, unlock and start the car without the fob ever leaving my pocket! The only minor complaint I have is opening the Power Liftgate as I'm approaching, which requires me to get the remote fob out and (once I'm close enough) press the UNLOCK button TWICE to unlock ALL doors (one press just opens the driver's door). Then I have to press and HOLD the OPEN button for at least one second for it to work. Most of the time, I end up standing there like a douche waiting for it to finish opening....just pressing the OPEN button should automatically trigger the doors to unlock, IMO.
Most of the time, I just open the rear gate manually. But I do use the CLOSE button mounted on the bottom of the liftgate door to close it automatically.
There were several 'personalization' features that the dealer could modify in the ECU to change certain functions of the system. One that I had them activate is that it automatically locks all doors and sets the alarm if I walk more than 3-5 feet away with the remote fob and all doors and windows are closed. It works like a charm, then I use the 'request button' to unlock when I return.
I was concerned about inconsistent or temperamental behavior, but in 11 months it has only had one minor glitch. About six months ago, I took it thru a car wash that uses high-pressure water jets only. I've used the same car wash before and since that time, but I always go directly home and park in the garage where I don't lock it. But that one time I stopped by the grocery store about 10 minutes away from the car wash and it refused to lock using the request button or the LOCK button the fob! It just beeped at me every time I tried. I drove around for about 15 minutes and hand-dried the door jambs and anywhere else that water could have affected it. After I did that, it locked as I walked away, as always.
I'm not sure how long the battery lasts in the card-type system, but my salesman told me to expect no more than 12 months or 12,000 miles out of the battery in my remote fob. Mine died a few weeks ago (around 10.5 months but with 14,500 miles). Again, I have no idea how the card key is designed or how most smart key systems in other cars work, but my fob has hidden 'rescue' key hidden inside. The salesman made sure to show me how to use the physical key to enter the vehicle AND how to start the engine with it.
Speaking of starting the engine...the one thing that EVERYONE comments on when they ride in my CX-9 is the plastic starter 'knob' on the steering column. It is so much more intuitive and simple than a BIG round START button taking up valuable space on the center control stack! It makes sense from a cost perspective since the Sport and many Touring models have a regular key hole in the same spot. I also like the fact that if I ever needed to turn off the engine in an emergency (unintended acceleration, for example), it's no different than how I would shut off the engine on any car I've ever owned. I just turned the plastic knob instead of an actual key. I wouldn't be hitting a START/STOP button or holding it down for X seconds to make it do what I needed.
In my opinion, all keyless ignition systems should be set up just like the CX-9!
