Interesting day in court sorting out who is to blame for injuring the camo’d hunter at the side of the road. Proving a negative is very hard. The failsafe is to assume the positive.
Ah, thats the source of the claim.
There are reports of similar issues in Japan with Mazda SUV, which might be related to tyre/wheel fitments. I struggling to see how that would impact the performance of a g-meter.
Guys, the car already has systems that detect an impending collision and applies the brakes i.e. “the Pedestrian Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) System monitors the surroundings and aids the driver if the system detects a potential collision involving pedestrians, making driving safer.” Mazda’s own words. Admittedly this is only on the higher spec models but the technology is already there for use with the Active Bonnet system. Software does not add any weight. Like I said you can make the operating band very wide and safe fail. I thought that I had made a reasonable suggestion . I will get my coat!
A suggestion of several sensors:
It’s the ‘at a speed sufficient to activate the system’ that’s the puzzling bit. As they mention that speed is a factor the system will presumably be programmed to only operate above that speed.
What is that speed?
No one knows because no one has asked Mazda.
Mazda dealership investigated my car and says the Active Bonnet activated accordingly. I replied saying that’s ridiculous, minding the fact that the car was being parked at a low speed hitting the curb. They haven’t replied at my question at what speed the Active Bonnet shouldn’t be activated. They said it’s activated, and I quote, “probably” because my MX-5 ND is lowered (MX-5 ND option!) and so it will hit curbs faster. And referring to their manual, hitting anything with the front can activate the Active Bonnet…
They only want to repair the car official by Mazda’s standards, so no dummy’s. However, what’s my warranty that this doesn’t happen to me again? I said I want them to remove the MazdaSpeed front splitter on my car. At least that creates a bit more space between the car and whatever object the bottom of the car may touch. Again: my MX-5 ND came as it is with all official Mazda accessoires, no aftermarket parts involved.
I’m still in negotiation about this matter and I will take this easter weekend thinking about further steps. Mazda covers themselves saying the Active Bonnet works just fine so I have to pay the bill myself. I think it’s poor design.
If I’m proceeding their way the repair bill is 4.356 euro (3.769 GBP).
I would suspect if you can prove that the bonnet deployed due to the front splitter touching a solid object at just 1kmh while parking solicitor would have a very credible case for a defect or spurious triggering as pretty much stopped and a bee flying into the car is likely to trigger this. Assuming that the sensory array is not damaged in the triggering then with the right diagnostic equipment it should not be beyond the wit of a competent engineer or mechanic to devise a simple test to see at what point the deployment command is given. At 1kmh it is taking over 7 seconds to rotate just once or move 2m. It is very hard to judge such slow speeds.
Totally agree with you there NickD. If enough of this goes on it might be a case for contacting the BBC series Watchdog.
Having to pay out thousands of pounds as a result of small impacts with kerbs is NOT acceptable. What would the situation be if the airbags went of with a minor impact, it would not be acceptable. Mazda cannot say this is normal, if it was, nobody would touch an ND with a bargepole and Mazda needs to be made aware of this.
Hi All,
Yet another victim of this system here . I was driving along today at around 30MPH or so and a cat suddenly ran out onto the road. I slammed on the brakes but must have hit it with my front bumper (on the driver’s side, somewhere next to the daytime running light). The cat simply bounced off and ran away but the system activated so I’m now staring down an insurance claim and a long wait for the repair. I live in Malta so the chance finding the required parts in stock are an absolute zero.
I’d rather have the spray repair work done by a specialist; that way I can double check with him what’s being done and ensure things are done right. I’ve just got a few questions I was hoping you could help me with (even partial answers might be of help):
- I understand that the bonnet, hinges and the actuators (pistons?) of the active bonnet system need to be replaced. Does anything else need to be? In particular I’m worried about whether the wiring harness, the ECU for this system and the sensors would need to be or whether it’s just a case of resetting them?
- Would anyone have part numbers for these items? I think having them at hand would be helpful (it nothing else to ensure the correct parts are ordered etc.).
- Has anyone figured out a way to reset the hinges so that I can remove the actuators and at least use the car in the interim period?
Thanks in advance for all your help.
Joe
We have re set the hinge on our race cars and used a counter sunk bolt to secure them, this is when we built race cars from damaged cars…
This just makes me sad! Mazda dealer haven’t specify to me which parts need to be repaired. Only a total repair $$ number. I haven’t said yes to any reparation yet, the car is currently just parked at the dealer. I’ve had a call last Friday to Mazda Netherlands and I’ve send a long email last Sunday about this case to Mazda Netherlands. Not taking any action till further notice. I don’t feel like repairing the car if there is no warranty that it can happen again.
To the person who said that maybe I can prove it. I can’t. I haven’t installed a dashcam (yet) (picked up the car that very same day remember) and there are no camera’s in the surrounding on the incident where it happened. I only took pictures right after the activation of the bonnet, but Mazda is not interested in it. The dealer says the bonnet worked just fine: any touch with the bumper can activate it, look at your manual yada yada.
Coming at this problem of an over sensitive active bonnet from a different angle, how many people have had low impact situations with out the system being activated ? Is this just a problem with the ND ? Have not heard mention of the NC system being over sensitive ?
I have had someone reverse into me when i was stopped. Front bumper heat straighten and respray, grill/number plate replacement, and a bracket replacement. No bonnet activation.
Hi Mark, was this an NC or ND ? Jez
For what it’s worth, here’s the information I found so far.
The system is called “Deployable Hood System” (DHS) and there’s a good write up about it here: http://www.roadster.blog/2015/07/mx-5-roadster-nd-safety-features.html. The article claims it’s at speeds above 20Km/h (but I’m not sure what the source of the information is - I haven’t seen that claim from Mazda).
MX-5 Parts actually seem to be able to supply the actuators:
https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/bonnet-actuator-mk4-p-4250.html
I’m not pretty sure that on the ND, the actuators, bonnet and the hinges need to be replaced (the article mentioned above also claims as such). I am, however, still unsure at what else would need to be done on the ND. Incidentally, MX-5 parts also has a control unit for the NC/MK3.75: https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/control-unit-mk375-p-4251.html, the description of which states “This unit operates the DHS system and will also need replacing along with the bonnet actuators in the event of an accident should they deploy”. This being said, I don’t know if the ND has an equivalent unit which also needs replacing or whether this has now been integrated into the ECU etc.
Joe
There is obviously a great deal of concern about the inconsistency and oversensitivity of the Active Bonnet system on the ND. It is not acceptable that what may be an otherwise innocuous kerbing incident or hitting a cat/bird at low speed should result in thousands of pounds of damage and long waits to have your car repaired.
Is there anybody (such as the Chairman of the club) who has a line into Mazda UK (such as Steven Bird MX5 Brand Analyst who contributes to the club magazine) who can lobby Mazda as to the concerns of the club membership?
I personally think that it is unfair of Mazda to expect the customer to prove that the system has operated incorrectly and it should be Mazda who should prove that the system has operated correctly by providing the relevant data. If this problem becomes endemic, insurers will start to take notice and increase premiums as a result (probably hitting sales). As I have said before if the problem becomes widespread nobody will touch an ND with a bargepole (in fear that it may explode like a clown’s car!) and it may become publicised via the TV programme Watchdog for example which would be very bad publicity for Mazda.
There appears to be sufficient anecdotal evidence that something is wrong with the design of the active bonnet system. It is obviously causing much concern amongst owners of the ND, including myself. Mazda UK are not being as open and helpful as they could be. Something needs to happen and soon before the reputation of Mazda and the ND suffer, if it hasn’t already. How to proceed though? Could not The Club help and advise on this, engaging with Mazda on behalf of its members. You’d certainly hope so…
My NC 3.75 is just back from the repairer following my previously posted incident with a dog. I’ve no idea what the total cost is to my insurer, but pleased to say that they have done a good job of matching the Pearlescent White paint.
Only problem now is that the DHS warning light is still flashing and I am waiting for the repairer to get back to me and take the car back in to sort that out. I suspect that it needs the control unit, mentioned above by @joeborg, replacing.
MX5 Parts’ write up on the control unit states that the system is active at speeds above 12.4mph (20 kph I guess) and as MX5 specialists, they should probably know. Interestingly, they list this control unit for the NC, but not the ND and the actuators listed are different for each model (cheaper for the ND).
Subsequent to writing the above, I took the liberty of chatting to somebody (forgot to ask his name) at MX5 Parts, who was very helpful (big thumbs up for them), and he believes that the control unit does need replacing (on the 3.75) but the ND DHS is controlled through the airbag system. However, even they aren’t sure how the ND system is set up as regards activation speed and so on - as everyone else has found, Mazda aren’t making that public.
20+ years ago, the club, as it was then, helped out a Harvard owner with a noisy gearbox, and no help from Mazda UK. Ended up needing engineers from Japan to discover mismatched parts. Was on Watchdog.
These days, an interested owner could write a short piece for STHT, recounting personal experience, and asking for others to share similar experiences, if indeed they have occurred. STHT certainly goes to Mazda, because their brand manager regularly makes contributions.