The things Mazda screwed up...
 

....or, actually, how Mazda could have made my ES perfect. I've had it a month now and am tremendously impressed with it. I love to drive it. Last night I accelerated up the on ramp, ran thorough the gears onto the expressway, sped up to the next clover, downshifted, took the leaf off, over the bridge, around the next leaf, took the on ramp, accelerated up through the gears and so sped down to the interchange I started at. Off that interchange, over the bridge, fast it up and through the gears onto the expressway...and so on up and down the x-way four or five times.

But seeming to share an obsessive-compulsive nature with others on this list who really care about this car and unhappy unless I have something to complain about, I thought I'd list the things that irritate me. You can tell by the list below I'm pretty desperate to find stuff to bitch over:

1. Tripmeter reset. Tripmeter's's electronic, for Pete's sake! Why is it in the same place a mechanical would be: behind the steering wheel where you have to snake your hand to reset, run off the road, kill yourself. Put the reset switch where it's in easy reach.

2. Odo/tripmeter display. Why only 999.9 miles on the tripmeter? Why can't you show tenths of a mile in odometer? Is one more digit on an LCD that much more expensive? And the odo display shows a gap between the 1 digit and the ten digit to accomodate the (absent) decimal point.

3. Power window switch grouping. Four in a bunch? I often lower the rear window when I want the front. Put the window lock switch between front and back as a divider.

4. One-click window down (whatever you call it where you briefly click the driver window switch for full down of the window). This is ok but I'd really rather have One-click window up. It's cold here. I want to pay my toll and git. To close the window I have to hold the switch up continually. That takes one hand, the gear shift the other. Nothing left for the steering wheel.

5. Power lock switch is placed awkwardly.

6. Cruise-control on the lower wheel is in a dumb place...always have to take my hand off the wheel to adjust/control. My old Pathfinder (pic on left) had CC on the wiper stalk--much better place. And the controls should be lit.

7. Steering wheel isn't sticky enough. Hands slip. Leather cover is in my future.

8. A three spoke wheel is cool but the 3 and 9 position is where I like to wrap my hands.. Why not a one spoke wheel (at 12 or 6)? Even cooler.

9. Fogs off on high beam. The fogs light the pavement right in front of the car. High beam nicely lights up those trees half-a-mile away but I don't get a good feel of the road just coming up. There's a law? The law's an ass.

10. Should come with a front strut-tower brace. An obvious need. $5 part will put me back $125. Rear is integral. Good!

...That's all I have for now. A pitiful list, I know. I'll try more in the future. It's a beautiful car. Does Mazda read this stuff?

I strongly agree with you on #3. Its very annoying. I aslo agree with #8 and #9, but at 12 and 6? That wouldn't look good IMO, but the wheel does need improvement. lol I have a 2000, so the steering wheel doesn't apply to me, but have drive the 01+ often considering I have a 2000.

I'm glad that those are the only complaints that you have, seems like mazda built a terrific car if your only complaints are minor ones. Here's something I don't understand, how does the Ford Focus make C&Ds 10 best list for the past 2-3 years or whatever and the pro pro gets passed up?

I think the worst of the bunch is the door lock switch...I literally have to turn half way around to get to it...what a moronic spot...

Re: The things Mazda screwed up...
 

#2 - I can't think of any cars that show tenths of a mile in the odometer, actually. Maybe if it was there, when you went to sell your car, the dumb people would think you had 1 million miles on it instead of 100000....

#8 - I've seen this on a few cars (older citroens come to mind) and its not pretty. The single spoke has to be very thick (like 4 inches) in order to give the steering wheel perimeter some semblence of rigidity

#9 - Yes it is a law. But there must be a way around it by doing some do-it-yourself wiring. Careful not to tax the electrical system if you do so though, I'm not sure if the combo of the highs and the fogs would be too much of a drain. You'll know if you start eating alternators.

The solution to that problem is to use your other hand. I set all my finger but my thumb on the window sill and press the lock with my thumb. Works fine for me.

I agree somewhat. I used to roll up/down one of the rear windows when trying to access a front window switch. It was pretty annoying, but over about a week I learned how to feel if there's another switch below the switch I'm about to pull (or above). Now I can do it without thinking.

There may be a law, but one of (possibly the) main reason the foglights come off with highbeams is you are not supposed to use your highbeams in fog or foul weather. It's only a safety precaution so ignorant people don't use their highbeams in un-optimal weather.
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I only have one major complaint for my '03 P5:

The absence of door lock switches on every door but the driver's. IMO not only is that stupid, it's pretty pathetic.

My old SVT foci and my friend's mustang shows 10ths of a mile.. in the odo and the trip.

I agree with 4,5,6 (placement would be less bothersome if they were at least lit), and 9...

Tech

lol i love your complaints...

well ya i hit the rear windows down when i want the fronts...everytime,

and the power locks of course. but i'm sure my passenger door has a power lock botton too.

i love the 3 spoke wheel...i dont need to buy an after market one.
and cc seems fine to me i use it daily and i always know where it is.

honestly...i have had it for over a year and hardly ever have something bad to say about the car.

Ever had a passenger constantly flip the lock switch?? Even when you tell them not to??

I would rather have the cruise control on the steering wheel than a bunch of little buttons on a stalk.

But I would like one touch on all of the windows (not just the front) and a passenger side door lock button, preferably on the control panel with the window controls and not on the side of the freakin door.

Other than that I loved my 3-spoke steering wheel. But I love it even more since I replaced it with a leather one from a P5.

I would like to add:

11. High RPMs while driving at 75-80 mph.

I definately agree with #3. Many times I have opened the rear window, instead of the front window. Locking the rear windows is a good idea, I can't remember why I unlocked them!.

#4, I have had that thought pass through my mind many times, but then I remember that there will be someone who WILL get their arm, or finger stuck/pinched in the wndow on the way up. Where there's a will, there's a way. So, I can see why they made it a quick down, rather than a quick up.

If the Mazda genie came to me a said I could have two wishes, they'd be moving the tripmeter reset and fogs on high.

The t-meter reset button location is just flat-out dumb. No reason except habit to have put it there.... and I use the tripmeter a lot. Lots of people don't and so isn't an issue with them.

The fogs. Now, c'mon. How many of us use the fogs only when it's foggy? We use 'em all the time 'cause it's a) cool and b) actually has a use and function. It the use-and-function part that I want when on high-beam. I want that upcoming pot-hole brightly lit. Seems to me the power-draw of high plus fogs would not be much higher than lows plus fogs. 10 watts is it?

Good point on the one-click up on the power window. I hadn't thought of getting something caught (my left ear?) while it's upping. So #4 goes off my list.

I haven't had many people ride in my brand-new car....they breathe and shed skin flakes and are generally messy and human-like. I make my passengers wear haz-mat suits; this keeps the dandruff contained and off my seats. So I hadn't noticed the lack of power-lock switches on passenger doors. That goes where #4 was removed. Some kid cycles the power-locks? Smack him! and shove him out the door!

I've seen the Citroen one-spoke steering wheel and agree it's very ugly. The steel spoke is way too thick--but what of Citroen is not ugly? Citroen is comfortable in its little world of eccentricity. But I also get the point of the one-spoke. How about a carbon fiber wheel? The spoke could be thin.

TheMan said:

using fog light is "cool" is completely baseless
watching for upcoming pot holes with fog lights? with the amount of light cast with them, by the time you see the pot holes it's too late.

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Well, ok. Remove "cool" and replace with "highly functional." Fog lights during the night cast a good bright light on the road. The low location of the fogs in relation to the ground and the viewer puts the texture of the pavement in high relief. --You can see what's coming. Avoiding the pot-hole depends on how fast your a) car is going and b) reflexes are. I find them very usefull for exactly the reason I stated. This is my experience. Your MMV.

Fogs/lights on during the day increase visibility. Since the car is silver, it can blend too easily with the background, cloudy days especially. I've noted this with other cars of certain colors--they blend. Lights make me stand out to oncoming traffic, thus functional.

Henceforth, having been chastised by Mr. Man, I promise to never attempt to do anything "cool' with my car.