Topic: Dent's 2012 Mazda 2 GX

[dkaz]

Great report. I should give an ownership report on my 3 at some point.

How do you feel embarrassed to be seen in something that blends in?

[redman]

Your 808 had 70hp (when new) and your new Mazda2 has 100hp that's over 40% more hp. How do you contain yourself.

[johngenx]

Good update. Glad to hear the 2 has worked out famously.

But did you hear the news? Gas is cheap now so you can have to buy a V-8 car V-10 truck on an 84 96-month term. 

[dkaz]

The locks are less annoying after my wife figured out that if you hold the key when unlocking it will unlock all doors. I suppose I could have read that in the manual. 

Well, at least you haven't locked yourself inside the car and almost died... http://www.autoblog.com/2014/12/16/new-zealand-seniors-lock-themselves-mazda3-nearly-die/

I spent 10 minutes figuring out how to release the parking brake of an Audi Q7 a week ago before conceding and asking the owners. Then I spent another 3 minutes figuring out how to set the parking brake again, then gave up and decided the parking pawl would do the job.

[Fobroader]

The locks are less annoying after my wife figured out that if you hold the key when unlocking it will unlock all doors. I suppose I could have read that in the manual. 

Well, at least you haven't locked yourself inside the car and almost died... http://www.autoblog.com/2014/12/16/new-zealand-seniors-lock-themselves-mazda3-nearly-die/

That sounds like a blonde joke, Im sorry, there is no reasonable explanation for that. Thats like the seniors that follow their GPS to their doom, RTFM or just use a little common sense.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

So, I'm a little bit behind the ball here, but can we go back to the locks?

Does the car have electric locks?  You mentioned there's a button in the dash that allows you to lock/unlock all the doors, and I'm getting the impression that you can unlock all the doors if you put the key in the keyhole and hold it to one side, right?

So, it has electric locks, but is missing the remote.

Would you be interested in installing remote start on your car?  You seem like the perfect candidate, as most remote start fobs also have lock/unlock functions.  Since your car already has the electric locks, it would probably be a small task to wire the remote start receiver to the locking system so that you have remote start AND remote locks.

I think the average price for a remote start system would be about $400 installed. 

[Arthur Dent]

There is one button to lock/unlock the doors in the center console. Just ahead of the handbrake. And yes you can unlock all the doors with the key by holding it to one side. I didn't initially realize that so to unlock for a passenger I was unlocking driver's door, reaching in to the middle to press button.

So yes electric locks without the remote. I have no interest in a remote start. I don't want someone buggering with the wiring and don't generally have the need to remote start. Probably not a great idea in a manual gearbox car anyway. If I could add a key fob I guess that would be ok I guess but honestly I hate carrying them around. Too big and bulky. The holding key trick is working good for me. Beside $400 would buy me a whole new car. 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Okay.  It was just a thought in case the locking situation was still bugging you.  It sounds like it was just a painful adjustment, but now you're used to it.  At least you know there's a solution out there to a problem that doesn't really exist for you anymore.

remote start works in a manual car with a clutch interlock.  There's a special procedure.  When you park the car, you leave it in neutral, release the clutch, apply the parking brake, release the brake pedal, then turn the car off and remove the key.  The engine will continue to run.  Then you get out of the car, and when you close the door, the engine will shut off.  The car is then 'primed' and is ready to be turned on by the remote.  If at any point you tap the brakes after turning the car off and removing the key, the engine will turn off and the system won't be primed anymore. 

The biggest danger is if at some point after the car has been turned off, but before it is started, the shifter gets moved into gear.  That being said, I owned a manual car with remote start (my '02 accent) and once I became used to the procedure, it became like second nature.

[Arthur Dent]

The locks are less annoying after my wife figured out that if you hold the key when unlocking it will unlock all doors. I suppose I could have read that in the manual. 

Well, at least you haven't locked yourself inside the car and almost died... http://www.autoblog.com/2014/12/16/new-zealand-seniors-lock-themselves-mazda3-nearly-die/

That sounds like a blonde joke, Im sorry, there is no reasonable explanation for that. Thats like the seniors that follow their GPS to their doom, RTFM or just use a little common sense.

They were only in their 60s too. Hardly the image of very elderly folks. I'm guessing they were just morons and age had nothing to do with it. 

[Apok]

There is one button to lock/unlock the doors in the center console. Just ahead of the handbrake. And yes you can unlock all the doors with the key by holding it to one side. I didn't initially realize that so to unlock for a passenger I was unlocking driver's door, reaching in to the middle to press button.

So yes electric locks without the remote. I have no interest in a remote start. I don't want someone buggering with the wiring and don't generally have the need to remote start. Probably not a great idea in a manual gearbox car anyway. If I could add a key fob I guess that would be ok I guess but honestly I hate carrying them around. Too big and bulky. The holding key trick is working good for me. Beside $400 would buy me a whole new car. 

There is a way to have a remote FOB without remote start. I distinctly remember having it added to a customer's 2. IIRC it wasn't a major job and likely plug and play. Hell the receiver might already be in the car.

[Fobroader]

The locks are less annoying after my wife figured out that if you hold the key when unlocking it will unlock all doors. I suppose I could have read that in the manual. 

Well, at least you haven't locked yourself inside the car and almost died... http://www.autoblog.com/2014/12/16/new-zealand-seniors-lock-themselves-mazda3-nearly-die/

That sounds like a blonde joke, Im sorry, there is no reasonable explanation for that. Thats like the seniors that follow their GPS to their doom, RTFM or just use a little common sense.

They were only in their 60s too. Hardly the image of very elderly folks. I'm guessing they were just morons and age had nothing to do with it. 

People forget that morons come in varying shapes and sizes....and ages. 

[Arthur Dent]

There is one button to lock/unlock the doors in the center console. Just ahead of the handbrake. And yes you can unlock all the doors with the key by holding it to one side. I didn't initially realize that so to unlock for a passenger I was unlocking driver's door, reaching in to the middle to press button.

So yes electric locks without the remote. I have no interest in a remote start. I don't want someone buggering with the wiring and don't generally have the need to remote start. Probably not a great idea in a manual gearbox car anyway. If I could add a key fob I guess that would be ok I guess but honestly I hate carrying them around. Too big and bulky. The holding key trick is working good for me. Beside $400 would buy me a whole new car. 

There is a way to have a remote FOB without remote start. I distinctly remember having it added to a customer's 2. IIRC it wasn't a major job and likely plug and play. Hell the receiver might already be in the car.

That is good to know. My wife likes the remote fobs but she hasn't driven the 2 in months.

[Mike]

I might be like Dent.

[Arthur Dent]

Buying a 2? They are cheeky fun and hold a lot thanks to a hatchback design.

[Mike]

We're now brothers.

[initial_D]

2 is a crowd?

Good choice!! 

[OliverD]

Congrats! Is that a '14?

[Arthur Dent]

Nice! Yours looks like a higher spec version than mine.

[Mike]

Congrats! Is that a '14?

Yup.

[Mike]

Nice! Yours looks like a higher spec version than mine.

Yeah, it's the fully loaded GS with a few accessories.