Maybe if our long term 1994 Mazda Miata were a 1990 Mazda Miata, maybe I could have taken it directly home last night instead of having to come back to our offices after I met some friends for dinner.
See, the rub is that I have my laptop with me virtually all the time. And the Miata doesn't have a roof. And even if it did, who cares, that wouldn't keep anyone out who really wanted a slick new (not so much) computer. So what, right? Dump it in the trunk. Right?
Not so fast. See, for 1992, Mazda added a trunk release button to the center-console of the Miata. While that little bin does, in fact, lock, saying it's safe is like saying your sister's diary with its lock was safe. Pretty much, if you have fingers you could pry that box open. That's assuming the one you're dealing with isn't broken. Ours is broken. The slot the metal tab fits into is sort of jacked up and doesn't hold tight.
So the options were: Take my own car. Risk it. Come back to the office and pick up my stuff once I was done street parking.
None were ideal as I really do enjoy driving this Miata and wanted to take a drive up the coast later that night-- Top-down, heat on-- I'm rallying against Jay's desire to ruin the open-air feel with a hardtop. It's not a racecar, I vote to keep it a roadster.
Maybe I'm getting soft, but it seems to me that if you're going to have a soft-top, access to the fixed and locked part of the vehicle should not be a box-cutter away.
Mike Magrath, Associate Editor, Inside Line
sniperruff says:
12:13 PM, 07/23/10
But then again it's really not that difficult to find a brink to all cars, as I've seen it happen in my neighborhood several times a year, sadly.
hurls65 says:
12:34 PM, 07/23/10
(Never did it b/c mine's a 90 and doesn't have this "feature", but...)
There's a mod (http://www.miata.net/garage/techtrunk.html) for that
sharka says:
12:46 PM, 07/23/10
There's a couple of ways to disable that trunk release. I'd recommend any of them. Nice to have some lockable storage.
1: You can take the trunk cylinder out and dremel it slightly. hurls65 above beat me to it. Very easy modification. I've done this for a couple friends.
2: Disconnect the trunk cable. You can choose how and where to disconnect it. Pulling the trunk end involves removing the rear carpet panel. Pulling the console end involves removing the console. I like this method. I don't have to remember to turn the trunk key to "secure" the trunk and the remote release very obviously feels like it doesn't work.
3: Remove the trunk cable. Obviously the more hardcore version of #2.
jkavanagh says:
01:17 PM, 07/23/10
hardtophardtophardtop
srlracing says:
01:22 PM, 07/23/10
I cannot believe you guys are getting a hard top in the middle of summer. Once my hard top is off for the summer it stays off unless I'm going on a drive longer than 2 hours or I have to pick up a convertible hating soulless person. But the hard top is a easy 2 minute swap from hard top to not as long as you have 2 people or the hard top hoist.
carlisimo says:
01:32 PM, 07/23/10
My opinion is the opposite of srlracing's; I think summer daytime is worst time to have a convertible. Direct exposure to the hot sun is pretty uncomfortable. I'd rather drive top-down when it's 40º and raining (if I'm staying above 50mph) than when it's 90º and sunny. And so I do. On hot days I put the top up and turn on the A/C.
Anyway, I don't know if this applies to older Miatas, but in my 2002 if you lock the trunk with the key the alarm system beeps and disables both the center console trunk release and the key fob trunk release. Give it a shot.
ptcdawg says:
01:34 PM, 07/23/10
Hang out in better neighborhoods.
breadwagon says:
01:48 PM, 07/23/10
As a Miata owner, I only ran into this issue when I was first getting acquainted with the car. As posted earlier, there are simple mods that can be reversed (or permanent ones if you're so inclined) to remove the interior trunk release function (there are about 4 different ways with different pros/cons for each).
Apparently the locking mechanism for the trunk has the ability to lock out the interior trunk release, but Mazda didn't use it from the factory.
Once this 10 minute mod is complete, you can store things in the trunk without worry.
Sadly, security is always a problem with a soft top :(
jm1212 says:
02:43 PM, 07/23/10
no offense guys, but the Miata is sounding more and more like a POS with every post.
dont get me wrong, it probably drivers great, but this car sounds like a screaming metal deathtrap.
jkavanagh says:
02:53 PM, 07/23/10
You think it's a POS now, you should have seen it six months ago. Hoo boy.
teampenske3 says:
03:17 PM, 07/23/10
agree w/ carlisimo, a convertible w/ top down in 90+ weather may look cool, but can be rather uncomfortable. especially with leather seats. also, props to jm1212, the miata is sounding like a screaming metal death trap. (and one that isn't secure either)
You say in the intro, "it will be built with an eye toward track durability while remaining a street car at heart." That being said, my vote goes to...hardtop!
firstwagon says:
04:47 PM, 07/23/10
Wow you guys really need to get back in your Camrys... and move to a better neighborhood.
hybris says:
08:28 PM, 07/23/10
HARDTOP!
End of story.
firstwagon says:
07:16 PM, 07/24/10
Buying a convertible and putting a hardtop on it is like buying a house with hardwood floors and then painting them.
It's just wrong.
If you wanted a hardtop Mazda then you should have bought an RX-7.
jkavanagh says:
09:18 AM, 07/25/10
firstwagon, we couldn't find any piston-engine'd, 2300-lb, $2k 1994 RX-7s. Where have you seen them?
epbrown says:
05:51 PM, 07/25/10
I've run into this on my Solstice GXP as well. The trunk release is in the glovebox, which would hold off a not-too-bright 5 year-old for about 10 minutes. That means going to the hassle of putting up my top and I still have to put my iPad in the trunk since honestly, anyone with a rock could get in.
As for parking in nicer areas - cf Willy Sutton on why he robbed banks. Parking in a nicer area just means the thief wasn't a junkie.
blueguydotcom says:
05:49 AM, 07/26/10
Um, as if trunks are safe anyway. People act like cars offer some protection. You don't want something stolen from a car? Don't leave it in a car.
milt721 says:
09:50 AM, 07/26/10
Why was taking the laptop with you into the restaurant not an option?
makakio says:
01:24 PM, 07/26/10
Cut the cable, throw away the softtop and get a rollbar. You guys live in LA...
torrey151 says:
09:10 AM, 07/28/10
Thanks for the mod info. I have the same problem/worry with the 1994 I just bought. That console thing bent my key as I was trying to see if the lock on the console actually worked (it locked but wouldn't unlock -- so I just pulled it open in a half second). thankfully I had 2 other keys made.
I'll chime in on the hardtop discussion. Have both!! I live outside DC and the summer days here are miserable. The nights are great for top down driving. My car came with the hard-top, and all I had was the soft-top frame. I put a new top on it, and the hard-top is in the shed where it will go back on Dec. 1 and stay on until April 1.
I love them both, so buy a hardtop, and fix the soft-top.
halmcgee says:
09:00 PM, 07/30/10
Miata security has been debated endlessly on the Miata.net forums. Generally out of sight out of mind.
I love my hardtop for long trips. Scored it off eBay and got lucky to find a Montego Blue to match my car.
I find my car stays cooler without the hardtop in the summer. Heat gets trapped inside..
I did the power door locks upgrade and with the hardtop it actually makes sense. Otherwise not really worth it.
I am thinking about using an Arduino and making a proximity detector and making a 'car alarm' to either scare away intruders or at least amuse them.