Cracks in Tailgate

5truth · April 2011

I just bought a 2006 Mazda5 with very low miles. I quickly discovered however that there are two cracks in the tailgate "body" just above the hinge locations for the tailgate. They are starting from the edge by the end of the roof where the body (or spoiler?) bumps out to accomodate the hinges below. They both are toward the inside of the "bump-out". The one on the left side is about 7 inches long. The vehicle is out of warranty. I have seen discussion of this issue in two other forums from a couple of years ago. Mazda USA doesn't have any TSB's out on this, seems to not have any info. when I called their customer service number. Early European models seemed to have this problem along with Canadian models and some US vehicles from what I gathered from the other forums. I want to know how many American 2006's (and beyond) have this problem? Does anyone know what the fix is? The tailgate is one piece and to replace it per two bodyshops I have taken it to will be about $2500 to $3000 !! They don't think a "repair" will last. Mazda seems to be playing ignorant of this problem. What do other owners know about this?

athenasius · April 2011

I will have to have a look at mine when I get back as I also have the 2006 GT model. My warranty runs out in Dec this year.

I find it hard to believe that Mazda would play ignorant (tongue in cheek),they were very quick with a fix of the squeaky suspension. Well they were when peoples warranty ran out.

xman2006mz5 · April 2011

I have a 2006 Sport model. I noticed the cracks last Fall. It was repaired under warranty. They replaced the complete tailgate including the cover you spoke of. There was some regional manager dude there to "authorize" the repair. I now wish that I had kept his business card so that I could give you his name! My car was repaired at Rosen Mazda Waukegan Illinois. Have you called Mazda's corporate office to see what they will do?

nutdriver · July 2011

My daughter has the same problem with her Ford Explorer. Ford refuses to do anything & then the rear view mirror fell off. I have a Mazda 5 2009 model with no problems. I guess it pays to buy made in Japan. But it's getting hard to find a decent van or car anymore.Nutdriver.

nutdriver · July 2011

I can't find out which cars, vans, trucks are made in America & which are foreign made. It seems all are made from parts from all over the world no wonder the all look the same & fall apart so quick. Nutdriver.

davicho · September 2011

I used to own a 2006 Strato Blue M5 Touring that had these cracks. I had it replaced under warranty before it ran out. It took a whole month for the Mazda rep to come out and inspect it before authorizing the repair. He authorized it and I had the entire rear hatch replaced. The repair took one week. I now own another 2006 M5 Touring in white but this one does not have any cracks (yet..fingers crossed).

5truth · September 2011

I've been slow in updating my situation on these cracks. After about 4 weeks of discussing the situation with the manager of the dealership that I bought my used Mazda5 from, he offered to pay for a local body shop (of his choosing) to do a repair of the upper tailgate where the cracks are. I didn't really have any other choice, so I said yes, I'd go for the repair that they would pay for ( I don't know what they paid though). They repaired both sides that were cracked without taking the tailgate apart per the guy who did the work. Apparently they used some type of reinforcing mesh material to give the repair strength and smoothed it all out and repainted. I have to say it looks good and here I am 5 months, 10K miles later and it still looks good. I don't know much about body work, but so far, so good for my vehicle. I hope it lasts. I check it every so often to make sure the cracks aren't coming back. Good luck to you all who own one of these 2006 models.

jankes · March 2012

hello, I'm living in Poland and have European version of M5 (2005). Unfortunatelly there are the same cracks on my M5 tailgate :mad: do you know what repair method was used in your case?

5truth · March 2012

Hello Jankes in Poland. I'm afraid I can't add anything more than my last update on what the repair method was, since I don't know much about car body work and I didn't really deal with the repair facility first hand (the dealer interfaced with them). All I know is that they said they did not take the tail gate apart which was surprising to me, and reinforced the repair with some type of mesh material, which may be standard practice for all I know. It still looks pretty good though, but I try to close the tailgate carefully to not jar it too much. I'm watching it to see if the cracks ever come back, but if they do I don't know what I'll do about it. Good Luck to you!

jankes · April 2012

Thanks! In the meantime I found some manual issued by Mazda to give directions how to fix the problem. They recommend to use some three-component glue mixture. I can share with this manual if anyone of M5' owners wants to look at details. cheers

davicho · April 2012

The tailgate is made of fiber glass/composite material. So I would imagine that the repair was somewhere around the guidelines of repairing fiber glass surfaces which the "mesh" type of material that 5truth mentions sounds like the ticket.

I had a similar issue with my first Mazda5 (I dont own anymore) but it happened within warranty period and they wanted to repair it as well but i made a big stink about it and got the regional manger for Mazda involved and eneded up getting the entire tailgate replaced.

Cracks in Tailgate

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