A few days later, on the 21st of December, my dealer called me to inform me that Mazda had seen the latest pictures, and retracted their approval to have the car fixed under warranty, since the rust had not perforated the metal! The dealer told me that they had already begun work on the vehicle, so they were not sure what I wanted to do! I was furious, and told the dealer so, which then reluctantly agreed to complete the work for free. I simply find this ridiculous, as I clearly would not have brought the vehicle in at all if it had not been covered under warranty! How can Mazda even justify retracting an offer to fix a vehicle under warranty after they have approved it? It seems that Mazda is continually shocking me with their poor business practices.
At this time, my right rear passenger door lock has stopped responding to the key fob... it looks to me as though the lock is broken. I have not yet bothered to tell the dealership about this as I simply do not have the time or patience to constantly bring my vehicle in for servicing! Especially as my Mazda dealer does not provide a complementary loaner vehicle.