Crafty car thieves know no limits–witness the latest “How’d they figure that out?” courtesy of the Mazda3. Apparently, some enterprising miscreants have figured out that whacking the front passenger door just so, one can somehow trigger the lock mechanism and unlock the doors. Weird.
Apparently, a number of Mazda3 owners have returned to their vehicles to find their personal effects missing, but with no other signs of forced entry other than the door dent. The automaker learned of the issue last October, and has now begun installing a countermeasure in all Japanese-built Mazda3s.The company has also been retrofitting a protective bash plate and a specially reinforced door lock on certain vehicles, though it apparently isn’t paying for any damaged sheetmetal.
It is not known whether the problem affects any other Mazda products (or any other vehicles in the marketplace at all). There is no recall pending (voluntary or otherwise) at this time.
+ MobileMag.com: Breaking: Mazda 3 vehicles lock assembly issue causes alarm (via Autoblog)
Back in the 1970’s I worked in the Los Angeles Harbor as a mechanic at a shipping terminal. A guy locked his keys in a Cadillac Seville, and called the shop. Our shop foreman went over to the car, looked it over, walked around it a couple of times and then slapped the driver’s door with his hand just below the key slot if I remember correctly. All four door locks “popped.” The customer’s response was “Why do I bother locking it?”
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