[skyking]

The Dealer informed me that the AD in my 5-week-old CX-3 needs to be replaced. At first, the service advisor said only the screen itself can be replaced (as that is the damaged component) and it would take a half-hour. A few days later, the service department said the entire AD system needs to be replaced and it will take several hours as the upper dash needs to be disassembled (plus they've never done one before - oh joy). They told me I'd get a loaner to use during the repair/replacement. Anyone know how involved replacing the AD is?

 

[Snoogie]

It involves removing the cluster components which does take sometime especially if no one at the shop has done one before. We at our dealership so far has not encountered any damaged ADD so it would take even our master techs a great deal of time to disassemble and make sure everything is properly assembled. The ADD unit is very fragile as theres a lot of tiny gears and such that may get easily damaged during installation. You shouldn't fret over the shop not doing one before as theres always a first for everything as well as Mazda technicians have access to these repair instructions. Hope this helps. FYI normally removing the cluster by itself takes about an hour + learning process time. Either way you won't be paying for any of it so very little to worry.

 

[DJ9999]

I'm curious as to what caused it break or did it just quit on its own? Any reason you can share may help others.

Thanks as always, Snoogie for the support and providing reassurance. I'm sure many find it comforting.

 

[Snoogie]

I'm also curious as to what happen to your unit. The biggest warning we give to customers is to never put anything even just tissues or paper over the display as it may mess up the motor within the unit itself (basically have nothing touch it ever). We maybe exaggerating but imagine if it wasn't a warranty work and paying out of pocket, that unit is several hundred dollars alone in addition to labor time.

And no problem there DJ9999. Anything I can do to help I'm more than willing.

 

[crf50racer]

Wow, I knock mine around all of the time. Not being used to having one, I start the car with my sunshade in place, and as I remove the (oem)sunshade, it hits it all of the time. I was surprised to find that the control adjusts to the position where I hit it into and I can adjust it normally. I figured no harm, no foul. Guess I need to be more careful.

 

[DJ9999]

The finance guy put a scare in me while trying to sell me an extended warranty - warning me of the displays fragility and high cost of repair. I only make contact with the display when I am dusting and do so with the utmost care.

 

[Geezer]

I would never touch the display with anything (even micro cloth). If there is dust on it, a gentle dusting with a feather duster front and back (no loose feathers, please).

 

[skyking]

First, my sincerest appreciation for all the replies. A special thanks to Snoogie for providing the explanation and reassurance. Nobody wants to have their new car taken apart and re-assembled, especially electrical components. This particular dealer has a very good reputation for service, and like other dealers, I am sure has access to an online service tech database, if needed. The source of my initial concern was that the service advisor originally told me that the combiner (only) can be replaced; turns out the entire unit has to be exchanged out. From the PDF, it appears that a critical step is getting the main wiring harness back together correctly. I guess when I heard what has to be done, I started having flashbacks to ten years ago when I owned a new Honda Pilot. I had the local Honda dealer install the Honda accessory cassette tape deck into the dash (replacing a useless tray). This involved taking the dash plus the center console apart, which is why I would not even attempt it. When I got the car back, there were scratches and scrapes on the dash and console trim pieces, including the gear shift knob, which looked like it was removed via a vice-grip pliers. I trust this dealer will take extra precautions to prevent anything like that from happening.

As to why the AD needs to be replaced: long story-short is it was not the car's fault. The unit does still work. Appears that when a car is shipped from the port to the dealer there is protective clear wrap covering the various instrument components. (Snoogie - or anyone - please feel free to comment if that is not correct). A piece also covers the back of the (closed) AD. Seems that when the protective strip was removed from the back of the AD, some adhesive residue was left on the unit (combiner). When I took delivery in the beginning of September, it was a bright sunny 90 degree day, and the combiner looked okay on inspection. However over the past 5 weeks I began to slowly notice several streaks looking like accumulated dust sticking to the back of the combiner across the entire back of the unit. Rather than fooling around with it with some cleaning chemical, I called the dealer's service dept and asked if they could clean it off for me as I felt (rightly or wrongly) that that (adhesive residue) should have been checked for prior to delivery. Ten days ago, I took it in and whatever someone did, it now looks ten times worse than before. That is when the service advisor stated the dealer would replace it with a new unit. I guess Mazda is lenient with warranty reimbursements. I'll try to put up a picture here so all can see what I am talking about.

Again, my thanks to everyone here. Great forum.

 

[17CeramicMetallicGT]

Why would you consider that lenient with regards to the warranty? If there is a problem with they way Mazda is protecting that component during shipping, Mazda is on the hook. Can't really blame the dealership for trying to correct the problem.

 

[Snoogie]

Wiring harnesses are much easier and cleaner to work with no compare to 10 years ago. You are correct that there is a protective film that covers the ADD but when I peel those off it feels more like a static cling type of thing, never notice it being an adhesive but I could be wrong. Now from my understanding my trainer who taught a Mazda Training class on the ADD you can clean it carefully but do not use any harsh chemicals especially with ammonia (think of it as tinting glass where you should use the mildest cleaner to not damage the film).

Also stuff like that should be no problem to be claimed for warranty. Most honest dealerships will honor it no problem and go ahead with the fix (they get paid by someone anyway). You had residue, they tried to clean it, it got worst, boom warranty. For me when I write up the warranty report I just word it in a way where its the fault of the component and no way to fix it please give me new one. As long as it doesn't look intentional or obvious many dealerships will go ahead with the warranty repair. An example to not getting warrantied is if you damaged the unit by touching it and broke the motor than it becomes and honesty thing and even then most dealerships will just claim it as warranty if they can get away with it.

 

[DJ9999]

I actually removed the plastic film that was attached to my display. It was like a static cling as Snoogie noted. No adhesive. I picked mine up with 2 miles on the odometer and while the dealer was getting the key, I was removing the film. Its weird that yours had adhesive but regardless, glad its getting fixed.

I reviewed the PDF Snoogie posted and its quite precise, even showing the care of connecting the wiring harness. I'd have confidence in the process and not worry.

 

[jtonline]

...The source of my initial concern was that the service advisor originally told me that the combiner (only) can be replaced; turns out the entire unit has to be exchanged out..

Looking at the PDF, the combiner can be removed from the AD Display, but perhaps it's not an orderable part.

A manufacturer of protective films at About Protective Film - Surface Armor makes this point "...For best performance, it is desirable to use the lowest tack value that adheres sufficiently well enough to keep the film on the surface during its life cycle. Using a higher tack level than is necessary can increase the risk of the film being difficult to remove or of leaving adhesive residue behind..." I should imagine the problem is exacerbated in countries that have a hot climate.

Another culprit of goo on the combiner may be over spray of the polish that car dealers/valeters often use to put a shine on the dashboard.

 

[skyking]

Why would you consider that lenient with regards to the warranty? If there is a problem with they way Mazda is protecting that component during shipping, Mazda is on the hook. Can't really blame the dealership for trying to correct the problem.

I am not blaming anybody, so I do not know where that came from. I had asked the selling dealer if they could clean the AD combiner, and somehow several thin lines of dirt turned into one hideous caked-on smear. That is not blame - that is a fact. Regardless, I know they (service dept) tried their best (and I did thank them for their time and efforts).

Also, this is my first Mazda, and as such, I have no prior history with their warranty policy, nor of Mazda's relationships with their dealers. Over the last 15 years, I have bought three new Honda/Acuras. Honda can, at times, be a bastard on warranty issues. Before that, I bought Nissans. A service advisor friend told me Nissan sends parts it determines not defective back to the dealer with a note saying they own it. Of course, as a new car, I do not care who pays for it so long as it is not me. To that point, the AD is still fully functional; all information does display on it. It just does not look very nice. So I was just wondering if maybe Mazda might send some flack back at the dealer about them maybe not following proper protective film removal procedure or something like that. That's all. OK? Thanks a bunch.

 

[skyking]

Looking at the PDF, the combiner can be removed from the AD Display, but perhaps it's not an orderable part.

A manufacturer of protective films at About Protective Film - Surface Armor makes this point "...For best performance, it is desirable to use the lowest tack value that adheres sufficiently well enough to keep the film on the surface during its life cycle. Using a higher tack level than is necessary can increase the risk of the film being difficult to remove or of leaving adhesive residue behind..." I should imagine the problem is exacerbated in countries that have a hot climate.

Another culprit of goo on the combiner may be over spray of the polish that car dealers/valeters often use to put a shine on the dashboard.

That is an excellent point. My car has a build date of June. I picked it up first week of September. Here in the northeast, we had a brutally hot summer, with many days 90 or above. I do not know where or what port Mazda ships it's cars to, but I have to figure that in any case it spent a number of days in the scorching hot sun. Figuring the AD screen is directly behind the windshield, could that small piece of protective film had gotten a bit "baked" on?

 

[17CeramicMetallicGT]

I am not blaming anybody, so I do not know where that came from. I had asked the selling dealer if they could clean the AD combiner, and somehow several thin lines of dirt turned into one hideous caked-on smear. That is not blame - that is a fact. Regardless, I know they (service dept) tried their best (and I did thank them for their time and efforts).

Also, this is my first Mazda, and as such, I have no prior history with their warranty policy, nor of Mazda's relationships with their dealers. Over the last 15 years, I have bought three new Honda/Acuras. Honda can, at times, be a bastard on warranty issues. Before that, I bought Nissans. A service advisor friend told me Nissan sends parts it determines not defective back to the dealer with a note saying they own it. Of course, as a new car, I do not care who pays for it so long as it is not me. To that point, the AD is still fully functional; all information does display on it. It just does not look very nice. So I was just wondering if maybe Mazda might send some flack back at the dealer about them maybe not following proper protective film removal procedure or something like that. That's all. OK? Thanks a bunch.

OK