Musings on NVH in the CX-5

paris1

paris1

:
23 CX-5 Premium
The more time I spend with this car (3500 miles in 3+ months), the more I realize that this is a vehicle that was put into production with certain unresolved NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) issues. I'm wondering if others are coming to the same conclusion, judging from several threads here on dash and door panel buzzes and other noises. I haven't spent much time in my 2013 Touring in the past 3 weeks as my wife has been using it for commuting while her clutch leg heels from knee replacement surgery and I get to use her Miata as my daily driver. Yesterday we took a leisurely drive out to the coast. On the way I noticed that the intermittent dashboard buzz was back and when we got to our destination and were driving down a coarsely paved road at slow to moderate speed, I could feel/hear "waves" of buzzy noises passing through the interier plastic from front to rear as the Yokahama Geolanders passed the coarseness of the road up through the suspension and into the body. You could actually sense the vibrations traveling up into the cabin, setting off the plastic panels front to rear as the car progressed down the road. I know this is an entirely new body for Mazda and that they took a lot of weight out from previous CUV efforts, but they were supposed to have replaced the bulk with new, high strength materials. If this is the result, I'm not impressed. I'm also wondering if this is more of an issue with the Yokahama tires on the Touring. Any thoughts?
 
I dont know about other's but mine is mostly noise/vibration free.
Except for lately but any car at -25/28 (-15 deg/f) is prone to crack and vibrate at least a little.
I have a rattle in the back hatch and a few noises coming from the dash but that's only due to extreme cold weather lately.
Normally in warmer weather i have no complaints at all. Especially since my hood vibrations as been fix.
 
My GT is absolutely smooth and vibration/noise free as well. In fact was just praising it the other day on the Garden State Parkway, was doing 80 mph and did not even realize it cause it certainly did not feel that way. Very pleased with the comfort and noise levels of the CX-5.
 
Gio26NJ said:
My GT is absolutely smooth and vibration/noise free as well. In fact was just praising it the other day on the Garden State Parkway, was doing 80 mph and did not even realize it cause it certainly did not feel that way. Very pleased with the comfort and noise levels of the CX-5.
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Sounds like my 2013 CX-5 Touring with AWD. It's been solid and vibration free from day one. I didn't need to have the mirror and hood TSB's done (perhaps because mine was not one of the very early builds - made in Aug. 2012). I beat it up pretty good on a regular basis with 25 trips to Mount Baker Ski Area in Washington State and the road is getting worse every year as the state budget is tight. Potholes and the usual re-frozen slush, ruts and ice pot holes. The CX-5 feels very tight with no perceptible chassis flex (unlike my 2010 F-150 4x4). Mazda did it right, using the long travel suspension to absorb the bumps rather than body flex.
 
I have a pretty early build.

Mine rattles in several different areas; a-pillar, steering column and somewhere on the upper dash on the driver's side. They're all pretty subtle. The CX-5 is my 3rd Mazda. They have all rattled. My Speed6 was never too refined.

My CX-5 rides well and isn't harsh or noisy on rough roadways. I do get some vibes at cold start - shift from park into drive, and when the RPM drops suddenly, it vibrates a tad about 1200-900 RPM or so. Kinda strange. I wonder if it isn't the balance shaft.

Overall, I don't consider it anything unreasonable for the price point of the car.
 
My CX5 sport doesn't have as many NVH problems as the OP is stating. Then again, I drive 70% highway and so most of my driving is on smooth asphalt.
I only have the hood and driver side mirror vibrations which I will get fixed if they ever publicize the TSB#.
 
Gio26NJ said:
My GT is absolutely smooth and vibration/noise free as well. In fact was just praising it the other day on the Garden State Parkway, was doing 80 mph and did not even realize it cause it certainly did not feel that way. Very pleased with the comfort and noise levels of the CX-5.
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Agreed based on my 14K miles on my GT, and I think that good OEM 19" Toyo tires might contribute to the low amount of road noise/vibration transmitted into cabin.
 
Coming from a 7 year old Korean hatchback (solid, reliable car), I'm sitting in a pretty quiet, fun to drive vehicle. I have heard a rattle from the dash on a very cold morning and seen a little vibration in the driver's side mirror (which I noted on my Elantra the other day with my wife driving) that has zero effect on my psyche, but no hood issues (am I not tall enough?). And the overall consensus from the family and other passengers is that it's pretty darn quiet inside the vehicle.
 
CX-SV said:
Agreed based on my 14K miles on my GT, and I think that good OEM 19" Toyo tires might contribute to the low amount of road noise/vibration transmitted into cabin.
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I'm used to driving a top of the line Volvo Sedan (S80) with grand touring tires and my CX-5 is impressive in terms of low road noise even with it's current 17" snow tires. I hear slightly more road noise than with the S80 but considering how much attention Volvo engineers paid to making a quiet ride the CX-5 has nothing to be ashamed about.
 
MikeM. said:
I'm used to driving a top of the line Volvo Sedan (S80) with grand touring tires and my CX-5 is impressive in terms of low road noise even with it's current 17" snow tires. I hear slightly more road noise than with the S80 but considering how much attention Volvo engineers paid to making a quiet ride the CX-5 has nothing to be ashamed about.
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Yes, NVH the CX-5 (GT w/19" Toyos in my case) compares well with premium cars. My Lexus IS is louder from road noise standpoint but tires are much lower profile T1R summer tires and handling is far different too. My Mercedes C-class on grand touring tires is about the same as the CX-5 GT.
 
paris1 said:
Question: What in the world is a "grand touring" tire?
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Better handling, higher speed rating usually. Just like vehicles there are different categories of tires like Touring, Grand Touring, Performance, High Performance etc...
 
Gio26NJ said:
Better handling, higher speed rating usually. Just like vehicles there are different categories of tires like Touring, Grand Touring, Performance, High Performance etc...
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I see what confused me. Tire types are generally referred to as "performance summer", "high performance all season", etc. Tire Rack does show some of these listings with Touring or Grand Touring tacked on the front, but I have never heard anyone refer to a tire type by these adjectives alone. Doesn't seem like a very definitive way of describing a given tire.
 
Yes, you've recognized some slick marketing backed up with (some) substance in terms of tire specs and characteristics.
 
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