Good bye Mazda5

M

markuszoom5

Member
:
Mazda 5 Sport
Finally at 51k miles, I had enough of the annoying problems with this van. I had it for 5 years and changed rear shocks, all bushings, all brakes, crappy original tires, the insides of both sliding doors due to freezing, one cluster light burned out, a rattle that the dealer cannot figure out, a whob whob whob I lived with for almost 5 years, and the annoying pull to the right after 4 alignments. My wife had a civic for 8 years and she changed oil and one set of tires. Subaru Dealer was generous after looking at the Van (clean and not one dent or scratch), and said what the hell is that? Was able to get $9000 trade in. Bought a 2015 subaru xv crosstrek with 5 speed manual, and backup camera and other tech gadgets which come standard now. No more CDs in my 6 cd changer. Price was just a couple grand more of what I paid for the mazda brand new. I never used the 3rd row. Nobody could ever get in it. I used the car to haul stuff quite a bit. But that's about it.
 
good for you. we have had ours since 2008, bought it brand new off the lot. still going strong to this day with over 95,000 miles.
 
They gave you a pretty good value for trade, good luck with the Subie. We have two of them and have been very happy with one of them. At 51k over five years you don't drive much, I think i put that much on mine in about fourteen months LOL
 
I'm jealous. Just spend over $3K on a transmission, few hundred on shocks, and now I have some kind of electrical issue where it won't start.
 
Dave88LX said:
I'm jealous. Just spend over $3K on a transmission, few hundred on shocks, and now I have some kind of electrical issue where it won't start.
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Maintain the tranny and they last. The shocks are the weak link, but considering the price to play, it's still a cheap car compared to the competition.

Have you checked your battery and pulled codes? Will it turn on at all?
 
Had the crosstrek for a few weeks now. What a car. Backup camera, blutooth, awd and raised suspension. The quality is amazing. Soft touch all over the dash. Fog lights standard. Mazda needs to buck up cause their cars are too expensive for what you get lately. I know skyactiv is more costly but so is the boxer engine...these things are particularly what kept me from the cx5 although I like the looks. Subaru gets you all the stuff I wanted for under $23000 and Mazda CX-5 tops out at over $25000. It's a no brainier. I get a manual with 50/50 continuous awd, then cx5 can only have fwd with manual. Sorry mazda, that is why I passed up!
 
Glad to hear the Subbie is working out for you. It is not worth the headache to sit behind the wheels of a car that frustrates you.

FWIW, the back-up camera will be a mandate requirement, just some manufactures are adopting it early. Just like TPMS, R134a, airbags, etc… Bluetooth is also a common commodity (really easy and cheap to add on). When Mazda release the 5 you purchased, these weren’t common. Whereas, any car you look at moving forward will have these techno nannies. The AWD is a hands down winner. I haven’t been in the new Subbie but the early 2000s were going down hill too. I though the post-Ford Mazda material quality was better, just build in Mexico, no?
http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Pr...nal+Rule+Requiring+Rear+Visibility+Technology
 
Robotaz said:
The shocks are the weak link, but considering the price to play, it's still a cheap car compared to the competition.
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I will add the plastics/electronics, motor mounts and battery. But still, if you don't mind the interior falling apart around you, the car is able to take the beating I give it.
 
thaxman said:
I will add the plastics/electronics, motor mounts and battery. But still, if you don't mind the interior falling apart around you, the car is able to take the beating I give it.
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I replaced the passenger mount and battery at six years. Still on the first set of Michelins from '09. I also upgraded to Koni FSD shocks, although both rears had to be replaced under Koni warranty.

I'm surprised you have interior issues. Ours looks and sounds literally brand new.
 
markuszoom5 said:
I know skyactiv is more costly but so is the boxer engine...
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LMFAO! This made me laugh! I love Subies but I like how you make yourself feel better for your purchase. Skyactiv is indeed more expensive to make since it is a whole new power plant then the old MZR engines but the Subie boxer has been the same damn powerplant since probably the late 90's if not older, but whatever floats your boat brother.
 
Actually the old EJ is no longer used except in the STI. All new cars have an FA/FB series, which is also new.
 
tuanies said:
Actually the old EJ is no longer used except in the STI. All new cars have an FA/FB series, which is also new.
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Have they fixed the software problems on the new ones? I very seriously considered a '15 WRX before I bought my Honda.
 
Robotaz said:
I replaced the passenger mount and battery at six years. Still on the first set of Michelins from '09. I also upgraded to Koni FSD shocks, although both rears had to be replaced under Koni warranty.

I'm surprised you have interior issues. Ours looks and sounds literally brand new.
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Here's the rundown on the interior. 2006 mind you:
Bought it @ 29K with 2 seatbelt clips and both sliding door latches broken. Since then, another belt clip broke and the RR exterior door pull fell off and is in my MBR. The kids have learned to deal with it b/c I have no idea when I will get around to digging into the door.
Otherwise, BOTH sun visor clips broke off and had to be replaced, the turn signal stalk no longer returns after signaling a right turn. All windows except the driver's began to intermittently not respond to the driver's window panel. The central locking also started to act up. Replaced both in 2-3 minutes, but the RR window still sometimes acts up. I somehow put some undue downward pressure on the right 2nd row seat lever that controls the seat back and now it points toward the floor. Don't forget the CD changer that becomes a black hole for CDs only to mysteriously begin spitting them out months later, oh and that unfixable wind noise from the drivers door mirror panel. Its something I can ignore b/c the Subie had probs with both mirror panels at speed, but the cold weather causes INSANE creaking noises where the windshield meets the frame somewhere around the upper right corner, but no one can find the actual source.
Now don't get me wrong. It really is a good vehicle. I have done more to cars that promised to be more, and even with low gas prices, I still take the 5 out for errands after work and not my 250hp V70.
 
Wow. It's hard to imagine all of that going wrong in our 5. I haven't had the slightest issue after six years. I can honestly say that the only thing I can complain about is a small rattle from the plastic pieces at the front of the rear second row windows by the frame adjacent to the front row, if that makes sense. I could fix it, but it's so minor that we don't even care. That's it.
 
Subaru?? Really?? Hey, I'm not doubting you had any of those issues, you probably did, and Mazdas are not for everyone, I know that for a fact. Let's look at the numbers... http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/ocp/lemreport/lemonvin.pdf I know that Subaru has PAGES UPON PAGES of 'LEMONIZED" vehicles as I like to call them, vehicles that have been branded a lemon on their titles, since I live in NJ, I use the NJ list. But as for the XV Crosstrek vs. the Mazda5, let's go to the board: Subaru XV Crosstrek LEMONS by MY: 2013=21, 2014=11, 2015=0 (double-check the list, some are listed as XV CROSSTREK and some just as CROSSTREK). Mazda5 LEMONS by MY: 2013=0, 2014=0, 2015=0. I use this list when people ask me for advice on what car to buy, I haven't steered anyone wrong yet. I also use other things like SAFERCAR.GOV and I sit and read pages of upon pages of complaints, even though 50% of them are bulls*** to begin with, so you have to filter out the complaints with merit. I also look at IIHS.ORG, good stuff there too. Back to the board... Formal complaints lodged with the NHTSA (safercar.gov): Subaru XV Crosstrek 2013=8 w/1 recall, 2014=6, 2015=0 (these #s do not include the hybrid XV Crosstrek for simplicity sake). All things being equal, like sales volume (which they are probably not) you can see the Mazda5 is a more reliable car to begin with. What about safety? For 2013/2014 MY the XV Crosstrek earns a Top Safety Pick and for 2015 earns a Top Safety Pick+! Congrats! Looks as solid as a Volvo. I know the Mazda5 hasn't done so well over the years in this area... let me check... Yep, i'm right, i'm not even going to list the ratings the FRONT SMALL OVERLAP test is a b**** and Mazda failed miserably with the 5. I'm sure the redesign will address this issue.

So it's 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. I would never buy a Subaru until they stop producing so many lemons. I'm sure there are better options as far as reliability out there for you, but you have your personal reasons why you went with Subaru and I have to respect that. Good luck!!
 
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To be truthful, there are only a handful of vehicles that are found en masse with more than 250K on them driving around like normal. Bugs, Volvo, Subaru, American pickups and Honda Accords and Civics. My MIL has a 94 Legacy that I went to the Legacy forums over. There is a guy in AK with a 600K example who's wife is driving a 400K example and his MIL's Legacy has 850K by his claims. My MIL's has 274K and the powertrain shows no fatigue other than being oily.
 
My 2004 Forester has 258k on it and i see no reason it wont go a half million miles. My wifes 2011 Forester on the other hand....
 
thaxman said:
To be truthful, there are only a handful of vehicles that are found en masse with more than 250K on them driving around like normal. Bugs, Volvo, Subaru, American pickups and Honda Accords and Civics. My MIL has a 94 Legacy that I went to the Legacy forums over. There is a guy in AK with a 600K example who's wife is driving a 400K example and his MIL's Legacy has 850K by his claims. My MIL's has 274K and the powertrain shows no fatigue other than being oily.
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Age is a car’s worst enemy. If you rack a lot of miles in a short period of time, most new cars can do that. The real test come after 8-10 years when all the cheap seals, gaskets, low grade metals/plastics start to dry/harden and start to fail. The list you mention are all good ‘old’ cars, not so much with current ones. I blame the breed of MBAs…

On other news, Honda’s President has been was under fire from their own board and past Presidents for dragging down Honda’s “quality” for profit. Look forward to a new invigorated Honda more focused on quality and awesome chassis –foundation of everything that makes a great car! :)
http://wot.motortrend.com/1502_takanobu_ito_steps_down_as_honda_ceo.html



Rally Man said:
I'm hoping on driving my Mazda5 into the ground hopefully.
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I get the idea behind the saying but it sounds terribly morbid and not very financially responsible… But I get the gist :p
 
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