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Ghost touch and dial problem

25K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  Starcough 
#1 ·
Hi all,
New to the forum and hope you can help. You guys seem like an amazing source of information, thank you for your contributions.

I’m in a bit of a dilemna. I want to purchase a 2014 Mazda3 Sport with touchscreen from a non-Mazda dealer. When I went to look at the car, the radio was acting up. It seemed to have the ghost touch issue, but also, the dial was not working properly - it wouldn’t always respond to turning and pushing the home and back buttons.

I’m wondering if the dial not working is possibly RELATED to the ghost touch issue.

My dilemna is that the dealer I’m working with seems clueless about this and we have both called Mazda dealer to ask if it’s covered, but Mazda says they can’t guarantee it unless they see the problem for themselves and diagnose it to be ghost touch.

The dealer I am considering purchase from will not guarantee that they can commit to making the radio work or that it will be covered upon purchase.

Mazda dealer says if problem exceeds that of “ghost touch” issue, and is related to the dial or head unit itself, costs could be upward of $1000 + $500 Canadian for parts alone, plus labour.

Has anyone had this issue where dial is not function properly due to ghost touch issue and see it resolved when touchscreen was replaced under bulletin SSPB6?

Normally I would run away from a dealer who is so clueless, but they are asking an excellent price for this car with no accidents, and Immaculate body, so I think there is an opportunity to be had here, but not if the radio isn’t fixable under warranty and ends up costing me another $2000 - No thanks.

Thank you.
 
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#4 ·
I just took my 2014 sGT in a couple days ago for the ghost touch-screen issue at the local stealership. They were able to witness the issue and ordered some parts to repair/modify the issue... 2W lead time, by the way.
Alternatively, I bought a 2017 touch-screen/nav unit from ebay for under $300. Fixed the whole ghosting issues.
 
#5 ·
What disadvantages are there to using an aftermarket unit? Other than no CarPlay and integration with the car’s computer systems.

I assume the unit you’re talking about includes the touchscreen and box (connectiviy master unit). Do the steering wheel buttons still work? Did you have to replace the control knob with an aftermarket knob?

Thanks.
 
#8 ·
I had mine replaced under SSPB6. No problems at all. Maybe call Mazda first and make sure the warranty would apply to a second owner. My dial also didn't work well, because the ghost touch was overriding it. If you are driving (no ghost touch) and the dial works well, then I would be confident your dial is OK.
 
#10 ·
I believe Hamster is referring to the infotainment screen from a 2017 model Mazda 3. I did the same with my 2015, and it works great. No ghost touch issues, and everything works as it's supposed to since it's a Mazda system. I think the 2017 bezel looks better than the 2014-2016 model's bezel, too. Mine did include the CMU (not necessary, but was very happy that it was included), and all that was needed for everything to work properly was to factory reset the CMU. I didn't do this at first, and the only thing that wasn't working was the maintenance monitor wasn't counting down on the mileage. After resetting the CMU, it counts down like it should.

I also agree with lucasdsf in regard to the command knob. If you come across another car that seems to have the same issue, give it a test drive, and test the knob while driving.
 
#11 ·
Guys, Mazda extended the infotainment system warranty to 7 years to cover the ghost touch issue. Call your local dealer to get it replaced under warranty. If they tell you that's not a thing call corporate. I recently got a letter in the mail telling me and the dealer in Torrance confirmed it. Good luck!
 
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