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Mazda5 Owners - Give Us Your Report

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  • bobbartbobbart Member Posts: 3
    First time Mazda owner, metropolitan grey mazda5. I have 4700 miles on the car and was quite pleased with it until I went to change the motor oil. While I was under there I noticed transmission fluid leaking of the tranny somewhere. You can see where it was dripping and coated the undercarriage of the car. I have to say I am not at all happy. Called the dealer which is 3 hours away to make an appointment. Of course they can't imagine what would cause such a thing and the service manager had to look in the owner's manual to see if it had an automatic dipstick so I could check the levels. Which I had already found on my own. I hope it is a quick fix.
  • microrepairmicrorepair Member Posts: 508
    Wow, you and I have had exactly opposite experiences with GM and Mazda. Back in the 90's, I owned two Buicks that pretty much disentegrated mechanically in the 50-60 K mile range and got traded immediately with expensive problems that I refused to pay for. I've also owned another 5 or 6 GM products over the last 50 years and never had one I would call a reliable vehicle and never could trust keeping one beyond the 60K mile point. On the other hand, I had a 1988 MX-6 which I kept to the 100K mark and it only cost me tires, brakes and oil changes. And maybe one refill on the AC. I have had a 2009 Mazda6i GT since 11/2008 and it appears to be well on the way to repeating my experience with the 1988 model. I have 41K on it now and just last month the dealer said I don't even need to worry about the brakes as yet..! And that is amazing for me personally because I have not owned ANY car where I could get more than 35K out of the brakes.!! And the 2009 hasn't needed anything so far except oil changes..

    In August 2011 we bought a 2012 Mazda5 and are very happy with it so far. I will need to call the dealer this week and have them check out a small vibration when the brakes are applied moderately at 40MPH. The only complaint we have with the Mazda5 is that a power seat was not available and for me the lack of lumbar adjustment and seat tilt makes it less than comfortable for long trips. But it is primarily my wife's vehicle so we take the 6 on long trips. But the 5 is a delight to drive; responsive steering, brakes, and throttle along with a slightly softer ride than the 6. And the smaller size makes it easier to park in congested areas. The 2.5 engine is almost identical in both cars and is a great engine...!

    It may be that you got one of the rare lemons from Mazda..?? Or maybe Mazda is improving after their almost divorce from Ford??
  • ben70ben70 Member Posts: 16
    After owned Hondas for years lately some serious issues made our Odyssey unsafe to drive (brakes didn't work). Madza5 is zero defects and is $10K less expensive too. Would have kept the Odyssey if it weren't for life-threatening safety issues.
  • jjac28jjac28 Member Posts: 2
    Cant recommend this car. Bought it based on looks , handling and Mazda reliability... did i say Mazda reliability? lol
    at 75k km Im having noisy back suspension issues. Also had problems with front engine mounts, luckily these were replaced before my warranty expired.
    Ive been many times to the dealership to be told that its a design issue, the suspension is improperly designed not suitable for a van ...
    looks like theres no solution either.
    Be prepared to have this problem and having to constantly pay for it to get it fixed. Im not sure if the new 2012 model will have the same suspension issues but stay away from older models imho
  • dave594dave594 Member Posts: 218
    My wife's 2008 Mazda 5 has had both rear struts fail within a month or so after the car left the warranty coverage period. Good thing the dealer worked with Mazda to go 50-50 on the cost of replacements. But seriously, two bad struts for a low mileage car that is very gently driven? I've owned a bunch of other Japanese and American cars over the years and NEVER had any suspension parts go bad even over 120k miles. Looking online I see many other complaining of bad struts on the Mazda 3 and 5 models. This would seem like a pretty well known problem but Mazda doesn't seem to be doing anything about it.
  • dave594dave594 Member Posts: 218
    Took the car in for an oil change and brake flush and the dealer tells me the suspension bushings on the front and back are all shot. This is at 40k miles. I've never owned a car in 30 years that has ever needed any suspension work like this car. Mazda has a problem with the 3 and 5 series models and the internet boards are full of talk about the suspension components going out at about the 40k mile mark. I'm not going to buy another Mazda after this experience.
  • jay_gloabjay_gloab Member Posts: 2
    My '09 has had to have the rear shocks replaced twice in under 50,000 miles (first time under warranty, second time a few months after the warranty expired). Needless to say I didn't get OEM shocks the second time.

    Otherwise, I'm fairly happy with the car. It's reasonably economical compared to its larger minivan cousins, and fairly fun to drive with the stick shift. It's fantastically maneuverable for a 6-passenger car.

    My peeves (aside from the rear suspension problem) are relatively minor: I find the driver's seat cramped, and I'm not especially tall at 6'0"; the auto climate control needs to be much more flexible. Replacing the headlight bulbs is incredibly difficult.
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    How did the cargo space go down from 35CuFt to 25CuFt when the car hasn't gotten smaller? Did Mazda just allow the rear seats to go back further in their tracks? If so, that would mean if the second row was slid up a little you'd still get the 35CuFt? Or were there other changes?
  • nomadman1nomadman1 Member Posts: 2
    I agree the Mazda 5 we have is the best. I bought a 2012 GT in April, 2013 new and now have almost 11,000 miles on it. At 5000 mi. I changed the oil to Mobil 1. Manual calls for 0w20 oil so that's what I put in. We just finished a 2700 mile trip and averaged about 30.3 mpg. High was 31.6 mpg. Around town I get about 26.5 mpg. I drive easy on the gas and braking but the AC is almost always on. The car is very nimble, predictable, and fairly quiet. Super versatile, and comfortable to drive...I like the sliding doors in the garage for clearance next to our other car. I hope to drive this car for many years as it does everything well!
  • keep_it_simplekeep_it_simple Member Posts: 5
    edited October 2013
    So does everyone love their Mazda5 or are they simply hard to find?

    There are 21 Mazda5 for sale within a radius that includes Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville. 9 of them have leather seats (a huge positive with young kids in my opinion), and only 1 is a manual transmission (not leather and they want $2000 above blue book).
    Hmm.
    The Mazda5 seems to meet my needs on paper. Just need to drive out a few hours to test drive one. I was hoping for 4-5 years old with less than 100,000 miles on the engine, but looks like I may be choosing from MY2012-2013 or MY2008 with <100,000 miles.
  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    edited January 2014

    @keep_it_simple said:
    So does everyone love their Mazda5 or are they simply hard to find?

    I found it hard to find a 2013 model in my state this past December, so I settled for a 2014 Touring. I've racked up slightly less than 400 miles so far. It is much quieter than my old vehicle, has a parking sensor (unexpected bonus) which is really useful on the small streets and tight parking spaces I navigate on and into, and Bluetooth which makes interaction with my phone So. Much. Easier. (I had some doubts about it working because the web site didn't list my model, the LG 800G. I then realized that Bluetooth is a standard that should work most anywhere.)

    My first fill-up yielded a MPG figure of 21, not too far from my old ride and just under the city figure estimated by the EPA (expected).

    My brother, who's all legs and taller than me, finds the front passenger seat harder to fit into because of the way the glovebox and dash intrudes into the passenger space. He's much happier in the second row.

    Except for a wavy scratch on my front bumper that managed to imprint itself there :@ after a week (!!) of ownership, I'm happy with my purchase.

  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    After nearly a year of of ownership, I'm still mostly happy with my purchase. On most fill-ups, I achieve near 22 mpg (mostly city miles). A recent fill-up did produce a much lower figure (around 17 mpg). There were more than a few days where I had to use the air conditioning unit to keep the windows clear.

    I've taken one long road trip with the car earlier this summer. Like other cars in my price range (and buses and planes), I've found that I can't sit in the vehicle for more than 1.5-2 hours before the area around my coccyx starts crying out for relief. The so-called trucker's massaging chair pads I bought a few years ago hit every place but where it was the most needed. I'll have to buy a pad to compensate for that. (If you find yourself thinking about taking a trip to Chincoteague Island on the eastern Virginia seashore, do it. It is a very nice place, but there is only one road that leads there. Pick the right day, and you'll see a rocket launch.) The USB port gets extensive use as a phone charger and mp3 player. It plays songs placed on a memory stick fine. The car's radio can't play music on the model of iPod nano that I have, and it doesn't appear to be able to find music stored on my brother's Android phone.

    Hauling people and stuff: people have commented that my vehicle is more like a wagon than a very small van, and it is a capable hauler with the third row down. It has handled multiple runs to the bulk product retailer that I go to, and was able to handle a 50" TV loaded vertically and diagonally (one middle row seat was folded). One of the third row seats was occupied by a teenage girl once, and she appeared to be comfortable. I did have some trouble once with getting my mom from the hospital: her condition had caused her body to swell. Although there was enough room for her in the second row once inside, getting her through the opening was a problem. The patient transporters suggested that I kick the seat back as far as it could go, and that allowed her to get in. She had problems pulling herself in, and folding her legs enough to clear the B pillar.

    On retrospect, she would have had an easier time getting into my sister's Grand Caravan, and was about to call her when the seat back suggestion was mentioned.

    Because my vehicle is gray, it is harder to distinguish from other vehicles. Sometimes, I use my keyfob's lock feature to get the car to sound out its location.

    Maintenance: aside from replacement of a tire because of an unfixable puncture, the vehicle hasn't given me trouble. The previous Suzuki I had started with rotor and electrical (starting) problems throughout much of my ownership experience.

    I wish for many happy years with my vehicle until the day that I wear it out, or Mazda NA comes to its senses and brings back the Mazda6 wagon.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Quiet in here. I'll see what I can do about that as I pick up my nice 2013 GT CPO. Seemed like a very good deal other than there was not a manual to be had.

    I agree about the loss of the late, lamented 6 wagon. I have an 2004 6s wagon that was to die for. Unfortunately it need four cats. All four are clogged beyond saving. If I'd known that was going to happen I wouldn't have done the clutch and tires. Oh, well. I loved that car. I'm sure I'll like this one.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Let's see if anyone is in here. I bought a 2013 5 Grand Touring with 20,000 miles on it Tuesday. Very nice and certainly not a thing wrong with it. I can see things I'd do differently were I designing the car - mostly storage for little things by the driver. I'd put a better stereo in it and I do wonder why they never went Skyactive on it.

    That said, it gets about 25 MPG overall. 28+ on the highway. I'll be up in Manhattan on Monday so I'll have a real city number. Very quiet and competent. Not the tiger that the 6 was but no problem ferrying around the family and still has a Mazda personality which is a good thing.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited May 2015
    Shopped these several times - always felt too narrow somehow, at least coming from a full size van. Coming from a sedan it probably feels plenty big enough, and would be something you'd get used to in a couple of days even downsizing from a big van.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Yeah, it is a bit narrow but it does the trick.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • Tee709Tee709 Member Posts: 1

    I have 08 mazda5 grand touring and I just went to the used dealer ship to change the compressor and by the 2nd day my ac is only working on the passenger side, the driver side isn’t blowing hot air it’s just not cold. Even the back blows cold air. Does anyone know what it could be?

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