I just picked up my brand new Mazda3 with the Moonroof and Technology packages. When I started playing around with the bluetooth audio on my iPhone, I realized that the music was a little scratchy and tinny. The normal radio/satellite/CDs sound fine. Is bluetooth audio in a car not going to sound as good as a direct connection? Or is there something up?

Also, it snowed the other day, and I turned on my rear defroster. At the very top of the rear windshield, there are a few sections of defroster lines, but they didn't seem to do anything. Most of the snow melted, but the snow above this section of the defroster remained.

Has anyone else had any similar problems?

 

I have the tech package and have used the BT phone link (works great) but have not tried streaming BT audio. I would imagine that a direct connection would be better than BT for music however.

I ended up having the dealer install the full blown IPod interface module which works well but is pricey (~$400 depending on how much they want to gouge you). There is a separate thread or two here on the forum about the Ipod module if you are considering that. Or, you can go buy a cable for $20 or less that just goes from the headphone jack on your IPhone to the Aux input in the console.

For the defroster, it sounds like the grid is broken somewhere. It is just a grid of wires on the glass. I'd give it a quick visual inspection and see if one of the wires got damaged or cut somehow. I guess you could turn it on and touch various spots to see if it is hot or not, that could help isolate the problem. If you find some wires that are unheated, a trip to the dealer is indicated. My car is garaged at night so I don't need the rear defroster much, but I will take a closer look at how much of the window is covered by it.

 

I went to the dealer today to have the defroster looked at. The service guy went outside and started another brand new Mazda3 on the lot that had snow on the rear windshield, and upon returning said that the same thing happened to that one. The top portion of the windshield did not defrost. He said that the gridlines at the top of the windshield are separate from the defroster, and are part of the car's antenna.

Part of me believes him, another part of me says that he told me it's just part of my antenna so I'd head home a happy customer. What do you think? Is this possibility even considerable? Are parts of radio antennae built into windshields?

 

Sometimes the radio antenna is incorporated into the glass but I don't think it is that common anymore. Also, the 3 has the mast antenna on the roof so I am having trouble buying his explanation.

When I get a chance, I will test on my car and report back to you.

 

That would be great. My friend said his Civic is the same way, however. Let me know when you're able to check this out! Thanks.

 

Checked it today. I think you better find a new dealer or someone there who isn't gonna blow smoke up your a$$............I put the rear defroster on for about 15 minutes.

All of the area covered by the wires was warm, all the way up to the top of the glass right under the spoiler.

As far as I can tell, all of the wires are for the defroster and I don't see any that appear to be antenna related.

 

You're kidding! When you say "right up to the top near the spoiler", which spoiler are you referring to? Did you see what I was trying to describe, about how the defroster lines nearest the antenna on the roof appear to be on a separate grid? These are the ones that don't seem to do anything for me.

I emailed Mazda, and I'll call them during their customer service hours so I can get this looked into further. That's total bull if the service center sent me on my way and told me it was "normal" just because they didn't want to deal with the problem.

 

Usually in the world of car audio... anything directly connected is usually better than some sort of wireless, at least in my experience and several others. However me, nor anyone else I know, have used streaming bluetooth, so I could be wrong in this case.

 

I took a closer look at my rear defroster and noticed huge gaps in the grid lines in the section that I'm talking about. Can people please look at their rear defrosters if you have a 2010 M3, and see if they have the same thing on theirs? It doesn't look normal, and would probably explain the malfunction if it indeed is defective. The gaps are marked by the red arrows.

I felt the lower portion of the defroster, and like you said, it was warm to the touch. The upper portion however, was cold as can be. I don't see how, even if it were an antenna, there could be one grid line that is completely detached altogether. Look at the pictures to see what I mean!!

http://i46.tinypic.com/2dlw6k0.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/261z3pf.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/21j3kub.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/swxzyd.jpg

 

We may be on two different pages, my car is a hatchback so it has defroster wires on the back window all the way up to the top. At the top of the hatch is a spoiler. It does have a short mast antenna on the roof, and I do not see any wires in the rear glass that appear to be something other than defroster related. I'm thinking you have a sedan which is probably different, so maybe what the dealer says is true.