Feedback on 8 months of ownership

A

afticarab

Member
:
M5 GT 2006, P5 2003
Purchased our Canadian Whitewater Pearl GT Mazda 5 in August of 2005. We were impressed with the concept of the vehicle, its driveability, looks and overall function. Previously we owned a 95 Odyssey which apart from some brake issues was a solid vehicle. Having owned the Mazda 5 for 8 months & 15000 km I can provide some insight to a little more than its percieved capabilities.

We never looked at any competition for the Mazda 5 as in this sector there really didn't appear to be any. Never wanting to own a domestic vehicle the M5 seemed to fit nicely into our niche. 2 kids, 7 & 9 looking for a vehicle smaller than Odyssey with a bit of panache.

Driveability - Performance is excellent, never have had an issue with power, recently did a 2000 km (1200 mi trip), cruises great at 120km (75mph) and still gets 9 to 10 L/100km (25 mpg US). Handling is superb, a little tight on ground clearance with GT model ground effects, but looks cool. A 5 or 6 speed auto would be nice, in cruise even up smaller hills the thing drops to third and wails like a banshee trying to bring it back to cruising speed

Build Quality
Carpeting is not what I would have expected, we take very good care of the vehicle but the carpets are already starting to ball up.
Interior plastic very susceptable to scratching, soft.
Exhaust system recalled - lost it for over a month, seriously, what were they thinking.
Suspension as noted by many other members we have the dreaded suspension creak which has been repaired once and still creaks. Still awaiting word from the dealer on what Mazda Canada is going to do about this.
Door Latches - Passenger rear door latch froze open, also as noted by many other members. Dealer did the temporary fix per service bulletin and it froze open again 1000 km from home while on a ski trip. Was lucky enough to get it closed but it would not open again until dealer fixed it. Still don't have any word from dealer on a permanent fix.
Wind noise - from almost day 1 we had a wind noise around the drivers door area, took a number of trips back to dealer and many different repairs, moulding around door, assessment of aligniment of sliding door by body shop etc to finally track it down to a gap in the moulding around drivers window.

Don't get me wrong I really want to like this vehicle, I have always bought Japanese because I purchase not lease and want to own it as long as possible. My 10 year old Odyssey with 200000 km was sold for almost 20% of its original purchase price.

If I was buying today I might look a little further at potential competition, such as new Rav 4, although to find anything comparable it would be more expensive. Given the problems already and the less than expected quality, I can't see this vehicle lasting 10 years like my Odyssey, so perhaps I will just view it as a 3 - 4 year vehicle and look for a replacement sooner than anticipated.

I truly hope that my experiences are in the minority as I believe with a few tweaks this could be a real solid vehicle.

No, I'm not selling it just yet.............. (dunno)
 
I agree with your comments and have also experienced most of the things you have as well.

Although my door latches did not freeze on me they have been repaired.

I am disappointed with the functions on the audio system, eg. lack of input for IPOD or other MP3 player.

I am also having an ongoing problem with the car being very hesitant when cold and I'm talking engine cold not weather cold. Its been there since the start and does not seem to want to go away. We have the 5-speed manual transmission and have been told it has something to do with having the catalytic converter heat up. Now, I may not have owned hundreds of cars but I have never experienced this before. Hopefully, now that I have had some break in time, they will have a closer look.

I have numerous rattles and noises that just cannot be found, so I tend to agree with your comments on quality. We have just over 8000km and bought in July of 2005. We previously had a '93 Golf and a '99 Jetta and although the Mazda 5 is superior in the options and safety systems the quality is just not there.

I too had hoped this would be a 8-10 year vehicle for us but I think we'll be lucky to get 4 or 5 out of it before it annoys me enough to sell it.

I was very dissappointed to learn that you cannot tow ANYTHING with the 5. You can put a hitch on it but use for only a bike rack. I have a small utility trailer used to haul garden waste to the local compost and also to take the odd motorbike. After long discussions with the dealer - the bottom line is that if its wired for towing you pretty much forfeit your warranty.

For now we'll be keeping ours but once some serious competition comes along I might be tempted to take the trade.... only time will tell.

Although I have numerous complaints, and maybe its because, I expected more, I do enjoy driving the car and its many benefits to our young family - two girls 3 and 7.

Just my 2 cents...
 
Last edited:
I agree with what has been said about the various rattles, but everytime I drive the car by myself and get the revs above 3000rpm and rail through a few corners it redeems itself. This is my first brand new car and with only 5000mi I am dissapointed with the rattles. On the other hand it is great to have such a versatile vehicle that gets decent gas mileage and does not ride like a sh*tbox. Hindsight being 20/20 I should have waited a year before making the purchase. When it came out in July I had to have it. At the time I was disgusted with my Nissan Altima. I have no idea how long I will keep it. As long as there are no major problems I will keep it.
 
afticarab said:
Purchased our Canadian Whitewater Pearl GT Mazda 5 in August of 2005. We were impressed with the concept of the vehicle, its driveability, looks and overall function. Previously we owned a 95 Odyssey which apart from some brake issues was a solid vehicle. Having owned the Mazda 5 for 8 months & 15000 km I can provide some insight to a little more than its percieved capabilities.

We never looked at any competition for the Mazda 5 as in this sector there really didn't appear to be any. Never wanting to own a domestic vehicle the M5 seemed to fit nicely into our niche. 2 kids, 7 & 9 looking for a vehicle smaller than Odyssey with a bit of panache.

Driveability - Performance is excellent, never have had an issue with power, recently did a 2000 km (1200 mi trip), cruises great at 120km (75mph) and still gets 9 to 10 L/100km (25 mpg US). Handling is superb, a little tight on ground clearance with GT model ground effects, but looks cool. A 5 or 6 speed auto would be nice, in cruise even up smaller hills the thing drops to third and wails like a banshee trying to bring it back to cruising speed

Build Quality
Carpeting is not what I would have expected, we take very good care of the vehicle but the carpets are already starting to ball up.
Interior plastic very susceptable to scratching, soft.
Exhaust system recalled - lost it for over a month, seriously, what were they thinking.
Suspension as noted by many other members we have the dreaded suspension creak which has been repaired once and still creaks. Still awaiting word from the dealer on what Mazda Canada is going to do about this.
Door Latches - Passenger rear door latch froze open, also as noted by many other members. Dealer did the temporary fix per service bulletin and it froze open again 1000 km from home while on a ski trip. Was lucky enough to get it closed but it would not open again until dealer fixed it. Still don't have any word from dealer on a permanent fix.
Wind noise - from almost day 1 we had a wind noise around the drivers door area, took a number of trips back to dealer and many different repairs, moulding around door, assessment of aligniment of sliding door by body shop etc to finally track it down to a gap in the moulding around drivers window.

Don't get me wrong I really want to like this vehicle, I have always bought Japanese because I purchase not lease and want to own it as long as possible. My 10 year old Odyssey with 200000 km was sold for almost 20% of its original purchase price.

If I was buying today I might look a little further at potential competition, such as new Rav 4, although to find anything comparable it would be more expensive. Given the problems already and the less than expected quality, I can't see this vehicle lasting 10 years like my Odyssey, so perhaps I will just view it as a 3 - 4 year vehicle and look for a replacement sooner than anticipated.

I truly hope that my experiences are in the minority as I believe with a few tweaks this could be a real solid vehicle.

No, I'm not selling it just yet.............. (dunno)
Click to expand...


I am so sorry to hear that most of you have encountered several problems with the Mazda5. One thing to keep in mind that not every single vehicle is PERFECT, includind luxury cars! You will find something dislikes along the way. Before I bought my Mazda5, I had done extensive research about any vehicles out there by reading people's comments. Some really liked them; some hated them. I recently read some comments about 06 Lexus GS300 which cost around $60,000. Here are some of the comments: 1) I love the 2006 GS300. Unfortunately, it appears I will be getting rid of the vehicle after only 1800 miles. The problem is the low beams. The HID low beam headlights are set at a very low angle and, in my opinion, fail to provide enough forward illumination for the driver to safely react to road hazards or even to curves in the road. 2) I just got rid of the GS 300 AWD after 2400 miles and got a new 2006 BMW 530I. The problem is that the light beams are set at a very low angle.

I knew from the bottom of my heart that I had purchased a great car that has long history of Japanese reliability, good gas mileage and a perfect fit for my family. I will NOT regret it!!! :)
 
Great thread guys...Despite some concerns over quality etc...I would keep in mind that this IS the first year of the North American Mazda5 and it's not uncommon to have a few more kinks and bugs than you initially expected!

It's a known fact that Mazda scans these forums and I would not be surprised if they were reading this very thread. ;) In fact...I hope they are because you guys are providing some real world feedback that could really make the Mazda5 even better!
 
Great feedback but will have to agree ..... 25000 CDN bux and you get fully loaded beauty with a couple of problems but managable at that.

Secondly as a seller of the product I am more then satified and have done some long seat time in the Mazda 5; I am a proud owner. I am not saying this car is an angel but really nothing touches its versitality.

Keep up the smiles guys this CAR rocks (first).
 
I have had my Mazda5 for 5 months and close to 5,000 miles and I agree with just about everything afticarab said. I was really excited about the Mazda5 when it first came to the U.S. and I still like it very much. However, the 5 has not made me into a Mazda convert. The recall, door latch issue, and cheap/fragile interior material have really disappointed me. The 2.3L is neither as smooth or efficient as Honda or Toyota 4 cylinders.

On the positive side, the 5 looks good, has relatively low maintenance, is very practical, and the engine is decent for local driving. The main reasons I got the 5 were 3rd-row seating, sliding doors, cheap price, and made in Japan.

I recently had some relatives visiting and did lots of driving with 5 adults + 1 infant. Around town, the engine pulls great, the extra torque helps out a lot. However, on the highway, the 5 has difficulty getting up to speed. The worst was during a traffic jam after the engine got pretty warm. Once I cleared jam and tried to accelerate to 55 mph, the engine had nothing for me.

I still think the Mazda5 is a great deal, but if I were to shop for a vehicle right now, I'd definitely consider the RAV4.
 
I do agree that the mazda5 has some quirks - irksome to me are

1)the cold engine hesitation - not always, but definitely enough to notice -
2)some suspension squeaks (especially w/ 6 adults inside).
3)The black interior is SOO tough to keep clean with kids!

Other than that I love this car. I sure hope that it gets me to 100K miles and beyond. I don't regret buying it for an instant. I can drive the kids around without feeling like I'm driving a huge truck AND when in need I can fit more passengers in a pinch. Also, I love the way it looks. Even after 8-9 months of ownership - I still smile when I see it across the parking lot. I'm finding that going back and forth between my rear-wheel-drive/6spd miata and the front-wheel-drive/5spd Mazda5 - I'm having a tough time getting into the appropriate gear at the right speed/etc. and adjusting driving style is a little tough. I keep having to remind myself that I'm not driving the miata when I'm hitting a curve a little faster than a mini-van should!! However, the 5 handles the curves well - and it's pretty fun to drive. Definitely a fun, cheap ride that has the versatility to do well in everyday living.
 
Mazda5 Review

Hi,

I found the original review to be well written and I agree with all of the comments, since Ive also encountered all of these problems, except that with the door latch.

Basically, these problems are annoying little quirks that one has to expect with a newly designed vehicle. The most important point to note is that, quirks aside, the Mazda5 offers the best value for money no exceptions. I havent encountered any major mechanical problems, nor have I read of any. So overall, Im of the opinion that its a generally well designed car/van/MAV/whatever.

I also looked at the RAV4, but to get a RAV with similar features as the Mazda5 GT would have cost approximately $8K more. So, Im prepared to live with these little problems, with the hope that Mazda Canada comes up with some solutions to these quirks.

Having said that, I must admit that Im a Mazda addict, having owned only Mazdas for the past 12 years; so I may have a biased point of view.
 
I'm sorry to hear that people have been having problems with their Mazda5. So far, after six months of ownership we haven't had any problems with our 5 (knock on wood).

The 5 does have its quirks, but overall I really don't think there is anything else on the market that can match it. The RAV-4 would have been a good second choice, but it wasn't available when we got our 5, it would have been harder to get people in & out of the 3rd row seat, and the extra $$$ (as mentioned above). The mini-vans are too big, too heavy, not as much fun to drive, and they don't fit into my garage.

For me, the little quirks are outweighted by the pluses that the 5 brings to me in terms of fun to drive, flexibility, reliability and pricing. I mean, come on, where else can you get all this stuff for under $23k. Mazda has got to cut corners somewhere to keep the price down. :)
 
I have 8,300 miles on mine in 3.5 months and I have no rattles. I am also in a warm climate, so no suspension squeaks or frozen doors. I find the power to be quite acceptable. Now, when summer is in full swing, I might complain about the A/C and the black interior, but so far it is all good.
 
A month in and I still love it!
I get better gas milage than I did in my Scion tC and I think this engine is smoother than the 1fz 2.4L that was in that car. Its still rattle free and so quiet inside. I'm almost up to 2000 miles on it already and the long trips go by smoothly. I can hope for them to someday bringing the turbo-diesel version someday but I'm not holding my breath. (previous vehicle to the tC was a golf TDI...)
 
Rocket said:
I have 8,300 miles on mine in 3.5 months and I have no rattles. I am also in a warm climate, so no suspension squeaks or frozen doors. I find the power to be quite acceptable. Now, when summer is in full swing, I might complain about the A/C and the black interior, but so far it is all good.
Click to expand...

That is true for me too. It has been pretty warm in the DC area this past winter and I park the car in a heated garage. So no frozen doors or rattles for me either.
 
Mazda5 Issues

One other complaint that I have with the Mazda5 is a problem with squeaky brakes first thing in the morning. As I back out of my garage and I apply the brakes the noise is unbelievable. It only happens in revers, if I drive forwards there is no noise.
I plan to take this in to the dealer on my next oil change.
Hopefully they can do something about this.
Does anyone else experience similar problems?
Anthony
 
I was thinking about this thread and something funny came to mind. When I heard the first few rattles I was so upset. I asked the person I carpool with and she said she didn't even notice the rattle. The following week we were riding in her Honda CRV and I could hear a rattle in it. When I was tourqued up over the recall she told me that the CRV had three recalls on it. I still get a kick out of driving the 5, and for someone who is 6'1" it is hard to find something that is comfortable. The 5 is great!
 
Antoine said:
Great thread guys...Despite some concerns over quality etc...I would keep in mind that this IS the first year of the North American Mazda5 and it's not uncommon to have a few more kinks and bugs than you initially expected!

It's a known fact that Mazda scans these forums and I would not be surprised if they were reading this very thread. ;) In fact...I hope they are because you guys are providing some real world feedback that could really make the Mazda5 even better!
Click to expand...

Hey Antoine,

I hope Mazda does really read these posts.... hell, if they fix all the quirks we all have... maybe that trade in I talk about will be for a 2009 Mazda 5!! :)
 
Last edited:
antlind said:
One other complaint that I have with the Mazda5 is a problem with squeaky brakes first thing in the morning. As I back out of my garage and I apply the brakes the noise is unbelievable. It only happens in revers, if I drive forwards there is no noise.
I plan to take this in to the dealer on my next oil change.
Hopefully they can do something about this.
Does anyone else experience similar problems?
Anthony
Click to expand...

yup. only in reverse. and very rarely. could be due to either pad or rotor wear in.
 
I have the same problem and the squeals are as loud as the brake squeals you hear from those transport trucks -- you need to cover your ears!

Please be sure you let Mazda know. I already reported my brake squeal problem to the dealer and they wouldn't do anything unless I could prove it, which is actually kind of hard now that the days are getting warmer.

Luckily one cold night 2 weeks ago I left the car at the dealership in hopes that I could reproduce the problem for the mechanic. The next day, the temperature remained -4C and sure enough, I was able to show them I had it. They checked Mazda to see if there were any TSBs for this but none as of yet.

But at least now they might actually do something about it. I will contact the dealer tomorrow to see what is the next step.


Other odd things I notice is that the engine sometimes seems to suddenly drop RPMs -- similar to that of sudden downshifting, and the whole car lurches forward. Very unsettling. Typically only happens once when the engine is cold started and when gradually accelerating. Seems to happen between 2nd and 3rd gear. Oh and with an automatic of course :)

I had the mechanic check for this but he couldn't find any problems. As I expected, transmission is not as smooth/refined as a Toyota... but not really a big deal to me.
 
Last edited:
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Locating a drain or short (2012 Mazda5)
Replies
0
Views
636
Caseyc
C
T
2012 Mazda5 Touring with Shifting Problems
Replies
1
Views
693
negusm
N
C
Mazda5 Key and Electrical Issues (2012 1.6L Diesel)
Replies
1
Views
988
negusm
N

Latest posts

Back