FYI

Thieves have figured out a way to defeat the Mazda 3 lock and alarm system and gain entry to
vehicle without any tools. Mazda aware of the problem. Apparently affects all 2006 and maybe other years
with same body style as the 06. Also may affect other Mazda vehicles with same lock/alarm design

Vehicle is entered, alarm does not go off, contents of vehicle and trunk typically stolen

Hopefully Mazda will design this problem out and offer existing owners some method of defence.

In meantime suggestion is to leave vehicle empty with glove box and all console covers open
and if necessary leave vehicle unlocked or face loss and repair costs.

(I have a baseball bat ready for the next lowlife druggy that breaks into our Mazdas again)

 

Yup,

We've got a 2004 Sport and it looks like we got hit with this on Friday so it's more than just the 2006s. We Didn't even realize we were broken into until today when I took it to the body shop for an estimate on a bit of body damage I thought we'd gotten in a parking lot. The body shop clued me in that we'd probably been broken in to because of the type of damage.

The thieves were very subtle and only went through one of my bags, took what they wanted, and then put it back - leaving the rest of the car undisturbed. That's why I didn't make the connection at first. I spent all weekend looking for my camera and PDA that I thought I'd misplaced - guess I can stop looking now.

Coming up on third anniversary of buying this car we still really like it but this is very disappointing. A call to Mazda tells us they're aware of the problem and are working on a solution. We're considering upgrading to an after-market alarm now.

A note to anyone continuing this thread. The body shop gave me the details of how the thieves broke in to the car but I have purposely not given those details here. I'd rather not give out lessons on how to break in to cars belonging to anyone else - especially other members of this forum. Let's try not to broadcast the details until Mazda can give us a fix.

MetroGnome

 

Can you tell me what City you are in?

Surprised to hear the same problem with the 2004

There are about 25 -30 break ins reported to the Dentex removal folks here. I have seen many
2006 M3s with the characteristic damage here - thinking about getting together with them to get Mazda to respond
(I think Mazda just wants ot to go away, but I think as owners we should have reasonable expetation of performance of the
locking system and this system is not meeting a reasonable standard)

Would you share what the mechanic said on one to one email? jhindson@telus.net

Thanks

 

Last (2) times I had vehicles broken into:

1) Shattered passenger window - 93 Chevy S-10 (Armed alarm in my driveway)
2) Mushroomed lock assembly (lock pulled completely out of the door) - 84 Cavalier

If they really want what's in your car. Nothing will stop them.

 

@jhindson

I'm in Victoria, BC. Body shop said they're seeing about 3 a week. Apparently every low-life in town knows how to do this.

Waiting for word from Mazda... This sucks.

At least they didn't hurt or let our dogs out. They're great barkers until you open the door - then they just want a cookie.

MetroGnome

 

Well, Mazda Canada finally got back to us. They'll reinforce the door lock but they won't fix the damage to the door or replace contents.

They told my wife that their enigineers can't reproduce the problem so they're not admitting a defect. She suggested they hire the guy the police caught here in Victoria to show them how it's done...

Has anyone else gotten any word or additional information?

MetroGnome

 

just get a viper alarm installed boys......

 

My friend's Volvo S80 just got broken into. The alarm worked great, but that didn't stop them from bashing in the side window, and stealing the radar detector. sstlaure is correct. If they want something there is not a damn thing you can do to stop it.

To top that, a friend of mine at work, told me that his brother-in law's motorcycle was stolen from inside his garage. The kicker is, that his brother-in law is a cop.

 

will this fix only apply to new mazda 3's or will it be for older as well?

 

Thought this might be of interest to some of you....
ugh oh!
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/354/C11410/