Consumer Complaint Detail

MAZDA / MPV / 2002

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 002202898 Incident Date: Dec, 25 2002
Consumer's City: WILLITS Consumer's State: CA
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Mazda Motor Corp.
Model Name: MPV Model Year: 2002
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Power train:automatic transmission:lever and linkage:column shift
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: JM3LW28JX20 Date added to File: May, 16 2021
Date Complaint Received: Feb, 25 2003 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Aug, 18 2002
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 6 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: This is about a potential safety hazard and a couple of near accidents. i love everything about my new mpv except for the incredibly poorly designed steering column mounted shifter. it is unnecessarily long and interferes with access to and view of the climate and audio controls. i have knocked it out of gear more than once (including once when i was driving down the steep downhill grade of the i-5 grapevine) reaching to turn on or off the radio, and i hopped a shoulder once on the freeway when trying to look around it to find the a/c button. my husband also knocked the shifter into neutral when reaching to turn the radio on. the problem is the brace on my right wrist, which i wear when driving due to a recently broken/severely sprained wrist . *jb i asked the dealer's service manager if they could replace, shorten or bend the handle and he refused. (my husband would even try to bend the handle, but we're concerned about damaging the shifter and/or voiding the warranty) i have serious concerns about the potential for accidents posed by this poorly thought out lever (the only bad design on this wonderful van). i hope that you can convince mazda to correct it.