I just checked out a Mazda 3 yesterday and love it except for the fact that I had trouble reading the speedometer guage (during bright daylight). Any comments on this from 3 owners?

I didn't check out how the rear hatch opens. Have the problems that so many people have mentioned been rectified?

 

i havent had a problem with reading my speedo....it doesnt exactly jump out at you during mid day like you said, but i can still read it. I keep the backlighting on maximum, and set it to have a blue backround. Whatever it is lacking in the daytime, it sure makes up for at night...its one of the coolest interiors compared to cars of its class, in my opinion.

 

how do u set it to be blue i thought it comes red

 

Mine is red too, tell me how to switch it to blue....that would rock!!!

 

it should just turn blue when you turn on your parking lights or headlights...

 

mine turns red when i put on my lights

 

mine are orange

 

to change it to blue, i depress a **** to the top left of the speedo. Theres one **** that looks just like it to zero out your Odometer...if you press it, it will change the backlighting of the guages. I own a 2006 S...i dont know if that makes a difference.

 

Okay so if you have the "i" trim then your speedo isn't lit unless you have the lights on, and then it's lit red. There is no blue lighting on the "i" gauges.

If you have the "s" trim then then you have blackout gauges (black when the car is off) and they are lit differently depending on a few variables.

With lights off:
-numbers are backlit in red
-the button between the speedo/tach will toggle between several brightness settings (bright -> dim)
-there's no blue light with the headlights/parking lights turned off

With lights on:
-the button between the speedo/tach will toggle between night/day mode
-Night mode has the red backlit numbers at the dimmest setting (see "with lights off") and a blue light is projected onto the front of the faces (it's up on the top of the gauge) so that the gray circle around the gauge looks blue.
-Day mode is the same as night mode, only the red backlit numbers are at the brightest setting. The blue lights are on, but you won't really see them in daylight as they're pretty dim.

With keys out, and door open:
-The blue lights in the gauge cluster will come on with the dome light as an accent light. They stay on for about 30 seconds, or until the doors are locked/keys are put in the ignition.

so a few questions for your problem. Are your headlights on or off? Have you tried pushing the button between the speedo/tach to toggle the gauges to a different brightness?

What's the problem with the rear hatch opening? I haven't had any problems with mine.

EDIT: Added info. on blue lights.

 

The gauges are only blackout type and only have the blue light in the S model and the SP23. The headlights must be on for the blue to be on during driving. Once you take the key out of the car however, the blue lights come on when the door is opened to provide a little light and will stay on for about 30 seconds.