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Comments
So, just in general, seems to have a lot of issues that someone used to Honda CRV reliability and driveability without some kind of steep learning curve would not be used to dealing with.
Any thoughts or experiences from those more knowledgable then I on the subject?
I'm guessing you didn't go to forums about other car models. When we were shopping for a sport cross over I looked up the customer reviews on the cx5 and went to the cx5 forum. I saw some complaints. I then noticed I couldn't find a car without complaints about it.
The honda crv has many problems and complaints. Consumer affairs has customer reviews with 49 serious complaints about the crv (consumer affairs problems) They do not have a file on the mazda cx5. When you look at the crv forum there are many more complaints there then when you go to the mazda cx5 forum. I just looked at both out of curiosity again after reading your post.
I remember all the sport utility crossovers had various issues but after looking again I would say the crv has more reliability concerns than the cx5 if you are going by the reviews.
23,000 miles in one year and still love it. averaging over 30mpg by tank to tank milage check
I have to agree. I owned a 2003 CR-V for three years and it was great, yet there were lots of issues then, including engine fires and A/C compressors blowing up - but I had no problems (got a good one, I guess). One also has to remember that Honda sells a lot more CR-Vs than Mazda does CX-5... so there are more Honda's to report on
2012 sales (US Only)
CX-5 43,219
CR-V 281,652
I spoke to a Mazda dealer about these issues I saw on another blog of dedicated Mazda owners. And what he said was, that they did have some problems on the 2013s and a firmware update corrected those. And that the the new 2014s have the software update already installed at the factory. Its a plausible explanation given that all the Edmund's reviews of the 2014 are positive where as these slightly older blog entries I was reading were probably 2013s.
Its undeniable I think that at least as far as their CUVs Mazda has definitely taken the lead in terms of technology, especially transmission and the 2.5L engine. So there is a part of me that hates to buy into old technology especially if I have to live with it for 3 years e.g. Honda.....and yet there is the comfort going with something familiar. It looks like you took the leap and are satisfied with your choice.
But what ever the problems were never occurred in our car so the update was a mute point
I will say that the best way to lower your gas mileage in this vehicle is to take advantage of the 75 and 80 MPH speed limits on the roads we travelled between Texas and Utah and back. At 70 MPH or less the MPG stayed above 30 MPG, and even sufficiently high that some segments of 75 and 80 MPH speed limits brought the MPG down, but often not below 28 MPG before it was time to refill the gas tank. I guess there were enough small town slowdowns, road construction slowdowns, and idiots blocking the 2-lane segments of our drive at 15 or 20 MPH below the speed limit that we seldom drove at 75 or 80 long enough to cause the MPG to plummet. The engine purred like a kitten all the way. No idling problems, no rough running, etc., no matter what gas we used. And our dealer has never offered to do any kind of firmware upgrade, nor did we know (at the last service visit) to ask about one. Maybe they can make my baby perform even better!
My only complaint about the drivetrain is that the transmission seems to downshift kind of roughly sometimes if I am on the highway at a high speed limit (like 75 or 80) with the cruise control engaged, when I come to a hill or something that causes the car to need to make some more horsepower. I don't doubt that the circumstances call for a downshift, just that it seems to slam into gear (downshifting two gears at once) kind of harshly and rev up the RPM's a lot.
But during the whole trip, or for that matter, for the entire year plus that I've owned the vehicle, I have had only a single highway encounter where I was on the edge of trouble due to a lack of horsepower. I have to take the blame for that close call and not fault the vehicle. I am very pleased with the performance of the vehicle and at this point would NOT trade lower MPG for more MPH or more acceleration. Sensible driving habits, and particular care when entering a highway where the traffic is busy, the openings are small, and the speed limit is 80 (with lots of cars and trucks going at least that fast) should be sufficient. Just my $0.02, anyway.
For whatever reason, I have found that traveling at higher altitudes brings better MPG.
As to the firmware update, most dealers do it automatically when a car is brought in for service.
The dealer has no explanation other than it is a break-over-gas computer problem that can not be corrected.. This is turning out to be a dangerous car to drive with a lot of attendant anxiety and even though it is a fun car to drive (with 31+mpg so far) I wouldn't buy it again. It has about 10000 miles.
The CRV is my benchmark because I was lucky enough to get two excellent vehicles in a row. But I note that others were not as lucky and have suffered through their ownership of BMWs, Audis, VW, Toyotas, Buicks and whole host of other vehicle models.
So does it even pay to ask the question how good is Mazda in responding to technical problems that rise above the dealership level or are there too many local variables to even make it a meaningful question?
It seems if you have a serious problem your state's Lemon Law might be a more important factor in getting a problem taken care of then the quality of Customer Service and support your going to receive from the seller of the vehicle. Maybe Edmund's should have a 50 state guide to using the Lemon Law to resolve unresolvable problems.
Getting Some Lemon-Aid From Your Lemon Maker
And yeah, a good dealer can make living with a lemon tolerable. But lemon laws are so weak, why should the manufacturer or dealer bother? Just look at the limits and exclusions in that Autopedia link.
The BOSE sound. I thought it would be much better. I was a Bose fan but I am not so sure anymore.
I don't like how the volume knob turns. It takes to many turns just to increase the volume a bit. It is not smooth turning. I also don't like the volume function on the steering wheel. It is not smooth also. After a bit of time pressing it, you get an annoying beep.
Depending on what you are listening to on the radio (it's hard to pinpoint), the tunes seem to go freakish and sound like they're coming from different speakers and then switch back. It is hard to describe but it is not consistent.
That last part,does it switch speakers while your using the navigation? That just happen to me the other day and I had to turn up the volume on the Nav equal to the radio.First time that ever happen to me but I don't use the nav very often.
My wife has issues with her neck, and for our Civic, I turned the headrests around backwards and put them back in. Then I purchased a soft headrest wedge to install. I don't know if the ones in your vehicle will work that way, but it might be worth a try.
Push the button that turns off the HD radio and listen to regular radio and see if the same problems continue...good luck.
"25.7 average." That's using cruise control and driving like a bluehair. Mazda's sales hustle is a load of crap.
Shame on Mazda!
ps I am a devoted carhead, using Mother's and Maguire's products especially their yellow carnauba wax to protect the finish.
The command start sucks. Won't start half the time. Comes back with ER on the screen which is supposed to mean "error". But when I look out the window the vehicle is running. Having to walk outside to get within 100 feet in order for it to work.
I hate the fact that you cannot lock the doors while the vehicle is running.
No running lights come on when you start it with the command start unless you leave them turned on when you turn the vehicle off.
Does not get the fuel mileage that they claim it does.
Next time I go to purchase a new vehicle I am going to rent the one that I am looking to buy so I can check it out thoroughly before I throw away $42,000.
I was recommended to undo the HD option and I have to say that the system sounds much better at times without it. Apparently it is an HD issue in general and not related to Mazda components, according to what others are saying.
Also, I took someone else's instruction on this forum to remove the beeping sound in set-up for the steering wheel volume. I did that and oddly enough the steering volume works smoother to me without the annoying beeping sound.
It happened again, two more times: Yesterday and this morning just after I started the car and inserted the brakes at the end of my street, it squeaked loudly. After that it didn't happen again for the remainder of the day on each day.
I have to say it is embarrassing that the brakes squeak on a brand new car?
Kathy, Your brake pad or Rotor may be grooved and not be lining up. If you had a very hard sudden stop it may have groved the Rotor. This noise will go away as you do more braking. If problem persists let dealership check the pads and rotor for a defect. This has happen to me on several vehicles. The noise will go away as the brakes wear.
23 Telluride SX-P X-Line, 23 Camry XSE
"Federal safety regulators are just beginning to post 2015 crash scores, so it's a little difficult to do a head-to-head comparison at this point. But it should be noted that the 2015 CX-5 already outpaces of several competitors in this area, including the 2014 Ford Escape and Toyota RAV4, which earned four-star overall ratings."
2015 Mazda CX-5 Earns Five-Star Safety Rating From Federal Government
I have seen some posts from earlier about using premium fuel. I have played around with this (using regular, mid grade, premium etc) and I have to say that premium fuel DOES make a big difference. The drive train is smoother, less hesitant on gear changes, less noise and vibration and overall it feels like a different car. The cheap stuff 87 octane will work, but I have decided to stick with premium because it's worth it to me. Say what you want about it being non-scientific and a mental illusion, but I can certainly tell the difference and $5 extra at the pump is worth it for the better driving characteristics. Generally cars with high compression ratios would need premium fuel so to me it makes sense even though technically it is not required.
I can't wait to see what the diesel model will be like when it finally makes it to the US! Lots of low end torque and amazing MPG....