the fit n' finish of the 5

[zoomzoomV]

how do you guys rate the the fit n finish of the 5? i noticed a few little things of the car that has little things just getting loose...anyone else experiencing this??

[zoomzoomV]

btw....

i will take pics of it later

[Zoom5Zoom]

nope

[2cam16]

Nothing loose here either but I do hate how the black plastic easily gets scratched !(wow)

[jandree22]

Let's just say it was a drastic improvement over my Sunfire. Well, that's still not saying a whole lot I guess ;)

[antlind]

I think the fit 'n finish is exceptiona for a $22K vehicle.
The problem I have is the quality of the interior plastic sucks...It scratches way too easily.
Anthony

[doctorz]

I think the fit and finish is quite good. The build materials are pretty inexpensive and flimsy, probably to meet that price point.

[jandree22]

I agree with the hard plastics, although the leather wrapped, 3 spoke steering wheel is nice and meaty... has a sporty feel to it.

[Kid Red]

I got mine loaded and with NAV for $20k, so I can't complain. Although the plastic scratching (and foot scuffing) does annoy me some.

[ChadSpeed]

Yes it is a bit lacking in the fit and finish, but we all knew that going with a $20,000 car anyway. Coming from an 03' Maxima it is a huge change, but I have gotten used to it and its nothing I can't cope with for 60 months.

[flomobile]

Far better than my Chevrolet truck was.
Better than my Jeep was.

Not quite as good as a Honda. Nothing big, really, just panels that aren't as exquisitely aligned, and the paint is too heavy along the driver's side rocker panel. Also, the flip-down cup-holder on the back of the console is a piece of crap.

Still, in a world where a Chevrolet is a D, a Kia Sephia is an F, and a Honda is an A, overall, I'd give it a B+, and note that it's a 1st year model.

[NYMZ5]

seems pretty close to Honda/Toyota fit & finish but the materials (the plactics) aren't as good.

Not only that, when I removed my side sills one side had no lower clips in place, and they wern't just missing, they even had the mounting holes on the body plugged like they would be on a Sport! the other side was attached correctly. guess mine was built on a Fri afternoon (or Mon morning...;)

[zoomzoom mazda5]

(friday) So far fit and finish is ok!

[Antonio DiMarco]

how do you guys rate the the fit n finish of the 5? i noticed a few little things of the car that has little things just getting loose...anyone else experiencing this??

Yeah I agree with others. The 5 is screwed together very well and parts fit perfectly, but plastics are very easy to scratch, especially the interior door panels. After only 2 years the driver's door panel is scuffed up and scratched around the speaker and door handle area, as are the plastic door sills. The silver plastics around the shifter and radio also have many scratches. It's annoying, but understandable considering the under $20K price. To put it in persepctive I compare it against my 3S whish carries two less people, has less interior space and no sliding doors for about the same money. That said, the interior plastics in my 3 after almost 3 years are holding up 100% better.

[opus]

The surfaces that you touch, steering wheel, shift knob, radio controls etc.... are all very nice. The rest of the interior is easier to scratch than my Saturn's. I mean to hit the price point you have to take something out when you put something in. You get 17" rims, moonroof, six disk CD, leather wrapped steering wheel, fog lights etc.... you have to cheapen the interior and cutback in the tire quailty and HP department.

[X10James]

I think they did a pretty good job of cheapening the car without ruining the car... Rather, they made the right choices for me on the parts that are important and the parts that are less important. The car is terrific, it's rock solid for me and drives like a dream. The interior plastics are flimsy compared to a 40k car, but this is half the price. The important things were not skimped on.

[Antonio DiMarco]

I think they did a pretty good job of cheapening the car without ruining the car... Rather, they made the right choices for me on the parts that are important and the parts that are less important. The car is terrific, it's rock solid for me and drives like a dream. The interior plastics are flimsy compared to a 40k car, but this is half the price. The important things were not skimped on.

You said it best...

[ChadSpeed]

I have also noticed when detailing our 5 that the exterior fit and finish is really very nice with a couple exceptions. The gaps around the taillights are a bit larger than anywhere else, and the gap between the spoiler and roof is about a Half inch( may be due to opening clearance though). I can also feel that the plastic used for the bumpers is a low strength plastic, just rubbing it down with wax and it easily flexes in and out, our Maxima didn't do that. But like I said it is great for a 20k car, and looks amazing for a van like vehicle.

[coolmazda5]

Wife is the primary driver so I have not really looked at the finish issues in detail. The only thing noticed here is that the 2006 Sport does not have those grayish plastic "covers" on the front door armrests (the covers seem to have the same finish as the one in the front console), so possibly that makes the door handles' scratching less obvious.

With regards to the final quality, I guess time will tell, 3-4 more years or so down the road. If things start falling apart or breaking before that, be sure I'll be here ranting and calling Mazda if still under warranty :D.

In the meanwhile, as almost everyone here has said, for the price paid (I even got that 500 bucks check for the initial exhaust recall), it has been worth so far.

[jandree22]

A way I feel that a car has overall good build quality is how the doors shut. In my past domestics the doors slammed shut violently... kind of a "clunk" noise combined with minor rattles. In my Mazda I get a smooth "vwoom" sound when it shuts, like it's perfectly making a seal and without any loose components. I'm especially impressed with how smoothly the hatch shuts.

[zoomzoomV]

i have 2 kids..so it might be the problem as well..but i always have the cupholder on the rear fall out...the exterior window rubber guard (underneath the windows)came loose..so i had to glue it with glorilla glue. lol.

btw.. does anyone know where i can get the 2 circle rubber plug things under the steering wheel. its where the bolt for the steering wheel is. one of my kids pushed them in. =/

[Antonio DiMarco]

i have 2 kids..so it might be the problem as well..but i always have the cupholder on the rear fall out...the exterior window rubber guard (underneath the windows)came loose..so i had to glue it with glorilla glue. lol.

btw.. does anyone know where i can get the 2 circle rubber plug things under the steering wheel. its where the bolt for the steering wheel is. one of my kids pushed them in. =/

Why would you use Gorilla glue and not bring it in for warranty work? Now if it comes loose they may say you voided the warranty. Is the dealership too far?

How old are your kids? I have two boys, 2 and 7 and they are pretty good about not damaging things :-)

[zoomzoomV]

Why would you use Gorilla glue and not bring it in for warranty work? Now if it comes loose they may say you voided the warranty. Is the dealership too far?

How old are your kids? I have two boys, 2 and 7 and they are pretty good about not damaging things :-)

i just figured it was a small little fix..i didnt want to leave a appointment, and make time for a fix like that. =/ the dealership is not far at all.

my kids are almost 2, and the other will be 6 in june. its the older one thats kinda clumbsy.:)

[Antonio DiMarco]

i just figured it was a small little fix..i didnt want to leave a appointment, and make time for a fix like that. =/ the dealership is not far at all.

my kids are almost 2, and the other will be 6 in june. its the older one thats kinda clumbsy.:)

I'm lucky, my dealership is close. Other's aren't so lucky. My 7 year old is kinda clumsy too. I think it's tha age. He loves the 5 though. He'd much rather take the 5 over my 3. :D

[NY5GT]

I bought a phantom blue 5 last October and the fit and finish was perfect. Everything was held together tight and panel gaps were even and small throughout. Then it got totaled by an idiot making a u-turn on the highway in upstate NY. I was devasted. I loved that car and the color so much. So I bought a Galaxy Gray Mica 2007 Mazda 5 GT. Love this one even more. Especially love the leather seats and the HID light. But I do not love the fit and finish on it. An interior panel on the passenger side of the front dash came loose and is now sticking out. I took it to the dealer who tried to fix it but the problem is still there. Now that panel is all I see in what is an otherwise gorgeous car inside and out. The panel is by the glovebox and I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem or how it could be fixed.

[NY5GT]

"I can also feel that the plastic used for the bumpers is a low strength plastic, just rubbing it down with wax and it easily flexes in and out,"

My 2006 Mazda 5 got totaled by a rear-end collision and those bumpers, along with the rest of the car, did what they were supposed to. However they may seem, they do work when it matters.

[Woochifer]

Just joining the chorus. The fit and finish on our MZ5 so far has been very tight. No real defects per se that we picked up on. But, I do see where corners got cut to hit the MZ5's very attractive price point.

As everybody else has mentioned, the interior materials feel cheap. Mazda did a good job at mixing up the textures so that it's less obvious. But, you can only do so much with hard surfaces that scuff easily.

Other areas where I see the corners getting cut

- the lack of finishing trim around the rear windows
- the large and inconsistent gaps around the door panels and taillights
- that creaky cover on the front bumper
- rigid floor mats that slide around too easily

But, as others have pointed out, it seems that the MZ5 puts the quality into areas that count, and at $20k I can't ask for a better combination of utility and drivability.

[Kojack]

Fit and finish is great compared to my CTS. which was just lame. a 50,000 dollar car should not have such shitty fit and finish