CX-5 P0171 Code - HELP

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swargo

Member
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2013 Mazda CX-5 Touring
Back in the middle of December my wife's CX-5 threw a P0171 code - A lean condition. No noticeable change in drive / fuel economy is present.

Obviously that could mean anything. At this point, the vehicle has roughly 38K miles so the factory warranty was no longer valid. I checked for vacuum leaks / contamination on MAF / anything in the induction system that may cause this. I finally took it down the the dealer and they said "The check engine light came on because of a glitch in outdated software. We updated your software, you are good to go". In retrospect, I have my suspicion that they cleared the code and made a cool $99.64 for the "diagnosis".

Fast forward two month and the check engine light has reappeared with the same P0171 code. I am a little hesitant to take it back to the dealer in fear that the same procedure will be followed and I'll be out another $99.64.

Has anyone had experience with this particular code, specific to a sky active vehicle?
 
I can't help you with the code, but for future reference, when you have a vehicle 2k miles outside of warranty, I would press the dealer (and Mazda US if necessary) to "goodwill" the repair under warranty. That kind of thing is fairly common practice.
 
I believe your Federally mandated Emissions warranty is 50,000 Mi. If you threw an emissions related code your covered! Plus, you should never of been charged in the first place!
 
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It has been my understanding that in order for a part to be covered under the Fed. Emissions Warrant, it would have to cause a vehicle to fail a federal emissions test. At this point I do not believe that it would fail such a test.

I am inclined to believe that there may be some sort of anomaly occurring that is causing the code. I have cleared it today and will make more decisive decisions if it reappears. It was my hope that someone else had seen this occurrence (not hoping someone has car trouble (gah), but that there was information out there).

The vehicle is well out of warranty now, so I doubt I can coerce a free diagnosis. Perhaps contacting Mazda USA with my particular situation could help? - to be clear, I am not trying to get anything for free. I understand I have a product that Mazda has no obligation to fix for me, but I would rather pay once for a problem.
 
If it has only been 2 months since the last repair, take it back and make them rediagnose your car since their last repair did not fix your car. They shouldnt charge you again for diagnosing your car for the same code in such a short period of time. emission warranty should be 8year or 80kmiles and usually only covers a catalytic converter failure, which this code most likely is not a result from unless your cat is cracked. Im surprised your power train warranty did not cover the update and diagnosis.

Your best bet at diagnosing your car is getting a scan tool to monitor the air/fuel ratio, then you can determine if its a mass air flow sensor, intake leak or exhaust leak.
 
A lean condition could be due to MANY different things, but it could easily be related to emissions or the powertrain - both of which extend beyond 36k miles. As well, they failed to properly "repair" the issue previously, so I don't think they can charge you another diagnostic fee...
 
swargo said:
It has been my understanding that in order for a part to be covered under the Fed. Emissions Warrant, it would have to cause a vehicle to fail a federal emissions test. At this point I do not believe that it would fail such a test.
Click to expand...

A CEL or any code thrown automatically causes a "fail" on your emissions test,,, there fore covered! Contact Mazda, get your money back and get it repaired correctly. Most emission testing places plug in to your port and check for codes and readiness. Any code for any change in your emissions is a instant fail. 2000 and newer cars can have no codes. '96-'99 can have 1 code stored, but must still pass a tailpipe test.

http://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/aq_apps/emissions/testinfo.htm
 
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What is a federal emissions test? I believe that task is delegated to the states/municipalities.

Typically, if you return with the same issue, which was documented previously, they'll waive some charges, cut you a deal, etc.

Or, if you don't want to go that route, you can invest in an OBD-II Blutooth scan tool, and Torque app for your phone or other device. I know it is available on Android devices. Not certain about Apple.
Either way, you're looking at a cost of $30-$40, which can assist your troubleshooting, or you can throw it at the dealer, and likely come away again without a permanent resolution.

The Torque app will allow you to monitor certain engine parameters, which might aid in your diagnosis.

By the way, are you certain P0171 is your only trouble code? Or, is there another accompanying it?
 
I cleared the code and it came back a week or so later. That is the only code present. I spoke with the service tech at our dealership and explained the situation. He agreed to waive the $99.64 diagnostic fee and have another look at it. I had an appointment for today that has been rescheduled for tomorrow due to technical updates to their systems.

This morning the engine light went off, which makes this even more difficult to diagnose. Normally if I threw a code once and it went away I would chalk it up an O2 sensor not responding quickly enough or something along those lines, but after three times I am inclined to believe it may be a failure of some sort.

I am not as familiar with these vehicles as I am with my own, so there may be some internal protocol that has resulted in the engine light no longer illuminating. I plan to speak with the service technician again this morning and see what he has to say.
 
I just got off the phone with the service technician. They went through a series of troubleshooting to resolve the problem.

-Replaced the air box with as they have seen problems with them in the past. That did not resolve the lean condition.
-Tested the fuel in the tank, everything came back fine.
-Replaced O2 sensor (not sure which one yet) and the lean condition has not returned. Obviously we will have to let time be the determining factor, but they seem confident that they found the problem.

Because this has been an ongoing issue, they have agreed to the "good faith" repair as paris1 mentioned, something I had not brought up. My only issue was the diagnostic fee. It's good to know my our dealer has our best intentions at heart. I am considering using there CJDR service department as well.

Hope this helps anyone else who may have this problem.
 
Last time I had a lean condition on my wife's Jetta, it was a crack in the valve cover causing a vacuum leak.
 
jjw6455 said:
Many auto parts stores will diagnose for free. I've used autozone, they run the diagnostic and print out the codes.
Click to expand...

I understand this. I have the ability to pull codes and get all the information I need on them. That does not mean I have the ability to definitively deduce what has caused the error. The dealer does, for the simple fact that they can eliminate possibilities by replacing parts (something that would cost be a lot of money).

If you pull a code and then take it to a dealer you will be charged anyway as part of the diagnosis. The only difference is that they are required then to tell what IS wrong, not what could be wrong like the auto part store is going to do. If you have any OBDII tool you can do exactly what the auto part store is going to do.
 
A good technician isn't a parts swapper.
It is possible to troubleshoot, diagnose and repair without swapping in a dozen different components.
 
I was wondering if you were ever able to get this resolved through your dealer? If so, what ended up being the problem? Did they end up paying for it as your vehicle was out of warranty?

I am in the same situation as you. The check engine light came on today while driving and I stopped by Advanced Auto Parts to get the code read. It was the same P0171 lean condition. My car is at 38,400 miles and out of the basic warranty. I talked to the Mazda dealer nearest to me and they charge $110 to diagnose the problem and then they can quote me for the repair cost. I asked if they would do a good faith repair based on the fact that it is only a few thousand miles outside of the warranty, but the service manager told me no. I haven't called Mazda USA yet, but may once I pay the $110 to get the problem diagnosed to see if they will make the repair free of charge out of warranty. (Appointment is scheduled with the dealer for service tomorrow morning).

The car is still driving fine despite the check engine light and we have been average 33.6 mpg since we purchased the vehicle in 2013. It is a 2013 Mazda CX-5 Touring. One thing I will note, I replaced the engine air filter several months back and I checked the air filter housing today and the clamps were not secure. Not sure if this could of eventually led to the check engine light or not, but it is secure now.

This would be the second problem we've had with our CX-5. We had the transmission valve body replaced under warranty back in early 2013.
 
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If it involves a o2 sensor then it is part of the emission system and should be covered 5 years/50,000 miles.
 
The sequence of events that I detailed on the previous page explains what the Mazda service department did and how they handled the bill. The only thing I can add is that replacing the O2 sensor resolved the issue. 76K now and it hasn't come back.
 
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