CMH Mazda Menlyn - ******* pre-delivery installation of tow bar on new CX-5

I purchased a new shape Mazda CX-5 in June 2017 from CMH Mazda Menlyn in Pretotria East (It has done less than 11 000 km) . Before delivery a tow bar and rear pdc’s were fitted by the dealership. In March 2018 an electrical fire started in the interior of the vehicle (left, back). The vehicle was subsequently inspected by another Mazda dealership and the following was found: 1. The pdc wires were not routed correctly and in fact two of these wires were resting on the exhaust tailpipe. It was also noted that the grommet through which the wires enter the frame was totally destroyed due to poor workmanship. 2. The tow bar harness that was used, was the harness of the previous model. It could thus not be plugged in and CMH Menlyn decided to cut into the wiring of the vehicle and to use soldering to secure the connections. Technically this nullifies the 3 year warranty of the vehicle. Subsequently these connections made a short and the converter box (surelink 2000 with CMH’s name printed on it) could not short out. It overheated to a point where the plastic melted and it caught fire. At this stage I am not sure whether the ******* cutting of wires and subsequent short did not damage any of the other electrical or electronic systems of the vehicle.

I informed Mr. Voges of CMH Menlyn that their actions suggest a lack of compliance with the directives from Mazda SA and/or possibly suggests that there is no supervision in their workshop. I am concerned that this modus operandi possibly also applies to other CX-5 vehicles that were sold by CMH Mazda Menlyn.