Remove your door pin switches and see if the light goes off, if not remove the trunk pin. If you remove all the pins and the light is still on you have a short somewhere. Also check the position of the switch on the dome light it self. There are three positions off, door, on. Then check the dome light to make sure it is not grounded to metal in the roof. If you are not the oiginal owner, some one may have had and alarm in the car and removed it. We see this alot. The installer doesn't take the time to cap off the door line, and it ground out leaving the dome light on. Hopefully it is a bad pin switch, they are cheaply built and cheap to replace.
Mazda 3 Door Ajar Issue
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 1
Hi everyone, so I own a 2008 Mazda 3 GS 2.0L and I seem to have an issue with my door ajar light coming on in my dash while driving. I will notice it flicker on and off occasionally and also at times it will just remain on.
I have narrowed it down to being my trunk, with the door ajar light on and car in park I went around opening and closing every door and nothing changed until I opened and closed my trunk, the light goes out.
Sometimes the door ajar light will remain on once after I close the trunk, but if I have the car running and I push up and down on the trunk with it NOT popped, I can see the door ajar light flicker inside the car on the dash.
I assume it is a sensor in the door latch system, but I would just like to know if anyone has an idea what exactly might be going on here and how I could go abouts fixing the issue, thanks!
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Queensland Australia
Posts: 6,787
Most likely its a internal fault in the lock assembly. Not alot you can do apart from replacing it.
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12-15-2010 07:14 AM
Your Mazda 3’s door ajar message can help you get a door all the way closed when you otherwise wouldn’t notice when it was open. Over the life of the vehicle, it is possible for the door ajar warning to stay on even when the doors are, in fact, not ajar. The door ajar warning staying on is usually caused by a bad door jamb switch.
Door Ajar Symptoms: Mazda 3
Here are the most common symptoms when the door jamb switch has failed, or the door ajar warning stays on.
- Dome light on– If your 3 thinks that the door is ajar, it’ll leave the dome light on. This can create some visibility issues at night. Most vehicles have some sort of switch that can deactivate the dome light.
- Dead battery– Some makes and models will automatically turn the dome light off after a certain period of time with no key in the ignition. Some don’t. If it stays on all night, that may be enough to drain some battery. Be aware of this. If you don’t have a dome light cut off button, you may wish to disconnect the bulb or battery overnight, or at least verify that the dome light turns off after 20 or so minutes.
- Wind Howl– If you are hearing a windy noise while driving that used to not be there, that’s an indication that some form of structural issue is causing the door ajar switch from being deactivated. This can happen often after an accident.
Door Ajar Light Causes: Mazda 3
Usually, the door ajar light is going to be caused by a bad door jamb switch. Most of the time, they are pretty easy to find. Typically, it’ll look something like the switch pictured below. It’s usually one or two bolts to replace, and they’re cheap.
If the vehicle has recently been in an accident (like a bad one), the door jamb switch may no longer be making proper contact with the door. If that is the case it’s just going to be part of the larger amount of body work that is needed to get your car safely back on the road.
Is Driving With the Door Ajar Warning Safe?
It is safe to drive with the door ajar warning on, as long as you’ve made sure that all of the doors are securely shut. Your 3 thinking that the door is ajar can keep the power locks from working. If that is the case, make sure that you manually lock the doors when you feel the need.
The biggest concern regarding your safety with the door ajar light on is the dome light. It’s not a big deal to have it on during the day time, but at night it can decrease your visibility, which is not safe. Most vehicles have a manual override button for the dome light, which turns off all the lights in the vehicle at all times.
If your 3 doesn’t have this switch, we recommend removing the bulb(s) over driving with them on overnight. Even if you feel like you can see fine, most people eventually get a headache from driving this way.
Conclusion: 3 Door Ajar Stays On
Replacing a door jamb switch is a very simple repair. It typically fixes this problem. You’ll need to figure out what switch has gone bad. It’s best to start by pushing down on all of them and seeing if one is stuck or feels different.
Usually the driver’s door wears out first since it gets the most action. Good luck fixing your 3. If there is anything that you could add, please feel free to leave a comment below.