Mazda features three different key designs and our CX-9 features the switchblade one (there's also the credit card and the 3's old school). I'm a big fan of the switchblade design, having had one with my old Jetta for seven years. While some people chew gum or twirl their fingers through their thick luxuriant hair, I would incessantly open and close the switchblade either in the open or stealthily in my pocket -- and I know I'm not alone in this. Plus, it was a compact key design that took up minimum real estate in my pocket...
Unfortunately, our CX-9's switchblade gets stuck, or more accurately delayed, 50-percent of the time. Sometimes it whips right up, other times there's a lag. There's nothing gumming it up, so I figure it's a minor design flaw considering the key to a Mazda 6 I rented was also stuck. That was much worse, though, and I couldn't open it without pulling at both ends. There was never a problem with my Jetta, and at 55,000-plus miles our Jetta TDI's fob is still flippin' strong.
Southpaw editor Bryn MacKinnon also commented that switchblades are annoying for lefties because they open into their hands when the button is pressed with a thumb. Of course, pressing the button with your index finger fixes that, but perhaps Ned Flanders' Leftorium has a solution.
skw0123 says:
09:43 PM, 06/17/08
Yeah mine is the same. On the other hand I love the click when I snap it shut. Sometimes I have to do it two or three times...snap! thwick! snap! thwick! snap!
Isn't life rich?