Need help from Mazda Community please!, CX-5 not stable on highway

First off, I have driven a few different mazda cars over the years. I got the CX-5 about a year ago and just hit 4k miles.

So, I drove on the highway last week and was having some difficulty controlling the car side to side. At anywhere from 50-70MPH I feel it pull to the left or the right. Feels like it is coming from the rear end of the car. I know road conditions change, wind, trucks passing etc, but this wasn't right. I had two friends/family members drive the car on different days/roads and they felt it pull in either direction. I took it to the dealership where they checked tires, put it on a lift, etc. Still had the issue. Had a mechanic drive it with me, it was fine when he drove it; we could not replicate it. Later, I noticed the tires in the back looked different. Took it to a tire place and he measured the tires (...with his hand..yeah) and said the left tires are a different distance to the TOP of the fenders than from the right tires. Took it back to dealership for the 3rd time and did another drive. He didn't notice anything and said the tire distance was fine. At the dealership, I find myself being talked into a loaded Mazda 3 for an even trade. The car is fully stock and came with 19inch wheels. I cannot figure this out, my only conclusion is it is the lightest CUV on the market and road conditions,wind, and trucks passing are causing this to be present at sometimes and nonexistent in other BUT I did not notice this for the first 3.8k miles. Extremely frustrated and I feel the car is not safe.

Anyone have a clue what could be going on? (I promise that its not the driver, haha)

All I can say is that the car is very unstable on the highway on windy days. As luck would have it, the first time I drove on the highway it was very windy and I felt like I was going to be blown right off the road. The car moves suddenly and almost violently 1-2 feet to either side without warning. I've noticed it again on windy days, but most days it is fine.

Next time it happens, take a look at the surrounding trees to see how much they are moving in the breeze.

I think you need to go to another dealership to get this checked out.

Having the car pull to the side is usually the alignment. You should also have them check to see if the alignment is out of spec. Sometimes pot holes and bumping into curbs while parking can throw off the alignment.

If you're going to check the distances of the tire to the fender wall, make sure you're on level ground and that the car is not unevenly loaded. Measure from the center of the wheel to the top of the wheel well with a measuring tape. See if there are any discrepancies. You can also reference other cx5's at the dealer lot, by measuring them.

I have found the cx5 to be really stable at freeway speeds. It's one of the main reasons in why I bought the cx5. The steering's precision is better than the CRV's and allows for easy control for freeway speeds.

Even on windy days I don't think the car gets blown around so much. Compared to a 2012 Kia Optima that I rented the other month, that car was wandering all over the lane on a windy day, and I felt like there was a lack of control in keeping the car in the lane because of it's imprecise steering.

To me at first glance, it sounds like normal crosswind sensitivity for a compact crossover/SUV.

Ignore the rookie tire person's measurements with his hands.

The wind is definitely a factor, I am just not sure if it is the main issue going on as I noticed it recently. Thanks though! I am gonna try measuring from the center like you suggested. As far as I remember, they checked the alignment. I go to school in a city with terrible roads so that was my initial concern.

TreyP and deepfriedsushi, what size wheels?

Never measure fender gap. Measure from the center of the wheel to the fender line...

Would heavy winds be a factor with the CX-5 at highway speeds? Yes. Much like any small light CUV. Though I would never say it is much of a issue because it only require a small degree of steering angle to correct (which is easy to feel given the superior steering of the CX-5). Of course like you mentioned, it is even more applicable for the CX-5 as it is the lightest in its class, yet has similar exterior dimensions to small CUVs.

You might also want to check your alignment.

One way to check alignment is by going out on a smooth freeway surface on a non windy day, get up to about 60-65mph on a straight section, with the steering wheel straight, let go of the steering wheel, but have your hands hovering over.

See if the car wants to veer to the right or left.

But if you really want to be sure, you gotta get the car up on an alignment rack.

1.I did the 60-65 hands off the wheel earlier and it veered slightly.
2.I measured on a flat surface (checked with level) from the center of wheel to fender line and it was identical on each side.
3.I noticed a the struts in the rear look slightly different. Where the pipe goes into a larger pipe, one is centered the other is a little off, i mentioned to dealership earlier and they said it was nothing.

Going to have a third party check alignment again.

faust222 said:

TreyP and deepfriedsushi, what size wheels?

Click to expand...

Stock 17s.

faust222 said:

1.I did the 60-65 hands off the wheel earlier and it veered slightly.
2.I measured on a flat surface (checked with level) from the center of wheel to fender line and it was identical on each side.
3.I noticed a the struts in the rear look slightly different. Where the pipe goes into a larger pipe, one is centered the other is a little off, i mentioned to dealership earlier and they said it was nothing.

Going to have a third party check alignment again.

Click to expand...

the larger pipe(around the shiny thin bar) on the struts is just a dust cover to help keep dust off the shaft(shiny thin bar inside the larger pipe, which is coming out of the smaller pipe) and help the seals last longer...most times it wiggles so if it's off center it's not a big deal...like they said it's nothing...

i have a '14 cx-5 and this weekend me and my wife drove 5hrs each way from the bottom of michigan to the top(and back)...i will say there was TONS of wind and the car was wandering all over the road...but it was probably 30-40 mph winds...
there were a few times where i crossed intersections and the wind blowing through not stopped by trees and stuff almost sent me into oncoming traffic(mostly 2 lane roads)...but i know in my old car it'd be much worse(even tho it was a compact sedan..not a cuv...)...i know it's inherent of light large vehicles to get blown around but i was surprised the cx-5 wasn't blowing around more

faust222 said:

1.I did the 60-65 hands off the wheel earlier and it veered slightly.

Going to have a third party check alignment again.

Click to expand...

Did you get alignment done again?