driver's door lock & electronics
 

We own a 2010 Mazda 3 Sport (hatchback) with about 15K miles. A week or more ago my wife found herself unable to open the driver’s side door and was forced to exit the other front door, which did unlock. Mazda Roadside Assistance got a tow truck to come when we discovered that the battery was also dead. Our dealer’s shop charged the battery, but said the door lock unit would not arrive for three days. We drove the car home but a few hours later it again would not start. The tow truck driver was unable to start the car using his charger, but the day after it was towed back to the dealer the service manager said they were able to start it. Today we picked up the repaired car. Door lock works and it seems to start OK, but the lights on the instrument panel are acting strangely. They go dim with the headlights, but light up brightly when the headlights are off. I fear there may be further electrical developments. Also, inability to unlock your door might be a real problem in a fire.

the door lock switch may be stuck, or have a short in the wiring holding it "locked". That would explain having the door stay locked, as well as draining the battery.

While you're in the warranty period - may have a lemon on your hands. record every little problem & repair needed just in case.

Right!
 

Thanks, djs--you were right about the problem--otherwise, no lemon, I think.

glad you found the problem, and with the auto industry best case average is 2 faults per vehicle (JD power initial quality research http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/JD...df/2008115.pdf), so it's not alarming to find one issue. I know my fuel gage and trip computer weren't set correctly, and headlights were misadjusted, when I got my car.

Keep in mind that the lead acid design is not meant for deep discharge, so by this fault draining the battery, the capacity is deminished. So it may fail a few years early in cold weather (typical winter dead battery).

Thanks for the final update too - many of the topics here are left to discussion with no closure.

1st post! This just happened with mine. I couldn't even budge the interior lock release. I couldn't open it from the outside either with the key as the key would not turn. While I was in the car I ended up applying constant pressure on the manual lock release and pulling on the interior door release handle at the same time.