[ChuckiSport]

So ive owned my car for about 4 weeks now and always wondered why the door switches were not lighted? I get in my f150 this morning cause the car is at road magnet and boom everything is much easier to see cause there lit! Is this just a lower end thing? Can I replace them with lighted ones? Or is there a current mod for this that I didnt see?

 

[Airfleet]

There's a thread on page 3, where Dimes2Dope did a mod.

 

[Dimes2Dope]

So ive owned my car for about 4 weeks now and always wondered why the door switches were not lighted? I get in my f150 this morning cause the car is at road magnet and boom everything is much easier to see cause there lit! Is this just a lower end thing? Can I replace them with lighted ones? Or is there a current mod for this that I didnt see?

yea.... supposedly its just cause its a compact car... low end sort of thing....

I got the 2014 s Touring which is one down from the top... and they still don't have lights in everything...

We don't even have a glove compartment light... although I added one...

here'ss a link to the thread where I added door lights.... not too hard... not the easiest thing either :001_unsure:

http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/2014-mazda-3-skyactiv-how-guides/55778-took-apart-power-window-trim-panel-pics-anyone-who-wants-see.html

 

[My Other Car Is DeLorean]

I noticed this bummer too during my first week with my new 3. I was driving at night and went to roll down my window but had a hard time seeing which switch was the driver side.

That kind of thing should really be standard, I mean its 2014 for pete's sake!

 

[PCGUY112887]

Yeah, my 2010 had such nice dim blue lighting on all door handles and in the center near the sunglasses holder. It's one of the most disappointing things to see in my 2014, the lack of it. The screen tends to make up for the "wow" factor, but so many bitches liked the sexy blue lighting.

 

[TheBobmanNH]

I noticed this bummer too during my first week with my new 3. I was driving at night and went to roll down my window but had a hard time seeing which switch was the driver side.

It's the one on the left. Like every car made since, oh, 1941.

 

[rolanie3]

It's the one on the left. Like every car made since, oh, 1941.

I swore it was the front right, even in the US, because Japan...


:yes:

 

[TheBobmanNH]

I swore it was the front right, even in the US, because Japan...


:yes:

Haha, damn, forgot about RHD. It's still pretty intuitive -- same side as the window.

I understand a complaint about aesthetics -- lights look cool for SURE -- but the "I couldn't find the button" stuff is just mind-boggling to me. I know there's a lot of 19-year olds around here but just use some common sense.

 

[bcroft686]

Am I the only one who doesn't look down at the switch, while driving, to roll my windows down?

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[hawaiian.monzta]

People want lit switches so they can tell which is which? Lol I guess the same people add footwell lighting so they can see which pedal the gas is

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[mrchowmein]

well, its cost cutting mainly for the US or North America market. people are already complaining that the Mazda3 is expensive. there are still tons of features on the 3 available in other markets, but not the US.

im sure mazda can make this car cross the $40k mark if all the little details were added back in such as closable center vents, better trunk/head liner, power folding mirrors, memory seats, power passenger seat, roof rack etc.

 

[kpatz]

Haha, damn, forgot about RHD. It's still pretty intuitive -- same side as the window.

I understand a complaint about aesthetics -- lights look cool for SURE -- but the "I couldn't find the button" stuff is just mind-boggling to me. I know there's a lot of 19-year olds around here but just use some common sense.

The problem isn't the window switches. Those can be operated by feel alone. The problem is the door lock/unlock button. If you don't use it every day it's easy to forget where it is/which "side" you need to press to unlock the doors. And in the dark you can't see the markings, when you are picking up a passenger and the doors are locked.

Since the doors auto-lock and unlock, it's not a commonly used switch, which means when you need to use it, you have to look at it. And it's impossible to see in the dark.

As for "cost cutting", surely they saved a few cents by leaving out an LED or two. Even one underneath the door handle area shining down on the buttons would work.

 

[hawaiian.monzta]

The problem isn't the window switches. Those can be operated by feel alone. The problem is the door lock/unlock button. If you don't use it every day it's easy to forget where it is/which "side" you need to press to unlock the doors. And in the dark you can't see the markings, when you are picking up a passenger and the doors are locked.

Since the doors auto-lock and unlock, it's not a commonly used switch, which means when you need to use it, you have to look at it. And it's impossible to see in the dark.

As for "cost cutting", surely they saved a few cents by leaving out an LED or two. Even one underneath the door handle area shining down on the buttons would work.

You have a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong. Surely you can spare a second or two if you do get it wrong to push the other side.

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[rolanie3]

Haha, damn, forgot about RHD. It's still pretty intuitive -- same side as the window.

I understand a complaint about aesthetics -- lights look cool for SURE -- but the "I couldn't find the button" stuff is just mind-boggling to me. I know there's a lot of 19-year olds around here but just use some common sense.

My post was sarcastic haha I agree with you. Who looks down while driving - in the dark of all times?

@bcroft686 I think it's mainly an aesthetic thing. Or frustrations in the dark before they learn where the switches are... but seriously 4 switches in a grid, 4 windows in a grid...

 

[rolanie3]

You have a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong. Surely you can spare a second or two if you do get it wrong to push the other side.

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Unlock is the bottom half - always! It's not going to change, so once you commit that to memory i cant see how it's a problem anymore. I like that the button is shaped in a way that you can quickly feel it for top/bottom - unlike my old highlander (that one had lit window switches, but not locks).

 

[Airfleet]

Yeah, my 2010 had such nice dim blue lighting on all door handles and in the center near the sunglasses holder. It's one of the most disappointing things to see in my 2014, the lack of it. The screen tends to make up for the "wow" factor, but so many bitches liked the sexy blue lighting.

I do miss the center light, on my 2010. I really thought that was a great idea. I was sorry it wasn't on my 2014. You could see just enough, around the cockpit, without it being distracting. I had many compliments on that feature. Only new car, I've ever owned, that had that. I'm thinking that it had a glove box light that only worked when the headlights were on. But, I may be confusing that with a previous new car. Lol

 

[Tom17]

You have a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong. Surely you can spare a second or two if you do get it wrong to push the other side.

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Butterfly effect:

Just imagine, you have something mind bogglingly important to tell the person you are picking up, but then in the lock-unlock-lock-sorry-unlock-again confusion, you forget and you start moaning to your passenger (once finally seated) about the annoyance that is your unlit lock/unlock button. You get talking about this and other such annoyances such as "I don't know which button opens the left window, is it the one on the right?" etc.
Finally, after much frustrated laughter, you realise that you forgot to give your passenger the mind bogglingly important news in time (It was a very time sensitive matter).

Not far away, the passengers sister was arriving at a Cafe and bumped into a guy on his way out. They exchanged glances and things just hit... She had just met the love of her life. These two went on to have a child who ended up being an incredibly insightful fellow who worked out how to finally solve world hunger and war once and for all.

However... The news that you were meant to give your passenger was something about them having to call their sister to to tell her to meet her mother at said cafe. It turns out that by the time she got there, the love of her life had just left. No insightful leader was born, the world was not saved after all.

But, if the switch was lit, the news would have been delivered on time, the sister would have met her future partner and the future saviour of humanity would have been born.

So, please, this is more than just a little inconvenience, this is the very future of the human race that we are talking about here! Sheesh!

 

[kpatz]

You have a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong. Surely you can spare a second or two if you do get it wrong to push the other side.

It's annoying to the person trying to get into the car. They pull the handle, it's locked, I fumble in the dark for the unlighted lock switch, hit it, we hear the solenoids "thunk", and they pull the handle again, and it's still locked. So I have to find the switch again (if I've taken my hand off), and hit the other side. By this time, my to-be passenger has been mugged and left for dead on the sidewalk next to my car.

If I used it every day, I'd have it memorized by now. But I rarely use it (maybe 4 or 5 times in the 6 months I've owned the car) so I still need the visual cue.

Maybe I should just turn off the auto-lock. I've done it in every other car I've owned, except this one so far.

 

[aballz]

I don't own the car but doesn't the door unlock when you put it in park? I guess for the manual transmission, you can reach over and pull the handle instead lol.

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[kpatz]

I have a manual, so the doors don't unlock until I shut off the ignition. When picking up a passenger, I have to use the button to unlock the doors so they can get in. When it's dark it's hard to find the switch and press it the correct way to unlock the doors, as there's nothing illuminating the panel.

If they're getting in the back, I can't reach over and pull the handle.