Accelerator Pedal Issue

B

bgwilliams78

Member
:
Mazda CX-5 GT
I have a question regarding the accelerator pedal on the 2016 CX-5. The pedal in the CX-5 is new to me. I have had nothing but trucks over the last 10 years and the pedals were all connected from the top not the bottom.

My question is when I push the pedal down full throttle it goes to a point and stops, as I continue to push harder it feels and sounds as if it's catching on something then it goes down some more. That doesn't feel normal to me.

Any insight to this would be great.

Regards,
Blair
 
For 2016 2.5l models while in regular (non-sport mode) this is my observation. Say your cruising at 30 mph at around 1500 rpm or so. Quickly jab at the pedal and 3 things occur.

1: depending on how far you press the pedal, the needle in the RPM gauge will move up. In the above scenario lets say you pressed it so that the needle moves from 1500 rpm and finally stops at 3500 rpm. While gauge is moving there is little to no power delivered.

2: once the RPM needle finally stops at where ever it ends up (depending on how much you press the pedal) then power is delivered.

3: the broader the RPM needle has to move the longer this "delay" takes place before power is delivered.


As noted this is programmed as an "eco" stock mode to save fuel. Once you understand how to modulate the pedal in this mode you can either hyper mile for max mpg results or learn how/when to extract power as needed.

I also noticed that while in sport or manual mode, this delay is reduced when starting from idle and almost gone while the car is already moving along. For instance while at 1500 RPM at around 30mph if I press the pedal more then the car instantly accelerates as the RPM needle moves.
 
Oh wow. I didn't know this. Learn something new every day I guess. :)
 
What I would like to see is a clear, technically accurate explanation of just what the "kick-down" switch does and how it accomplishes it. The video above is not detailed enough and makes it sound like some sort of miracle pill that magically adds 25 horsepower! Having never driven a '14 or later CX-5, I've had a hard time understanding what this device does, other than force downshifts with increased throttle just like my '13 does without it. Let's hear from someone who owns or has driven both with and without versions and has the technical understanding to explain its function properly!
 
Last edited:
paris1 said:
What I would like to see is a clear, technically accurate explanation of just what the "kick-down" switch does and how it accomplishes it.
Click to expand...
Is this good enough for you? :)
It looks to me like the "kickdown" switch just provides extra resistance in the accelerator pedal to prevent accidental flooring of the throttle and sudden downshifting.
H7zQmfk.png
 
piotrek91 said:
Is this good enough for you? :)
It looks to me like the "kickdown" switch just provides extra resistance in the accelerator pedal to prevent accidental flooring of the throttle and sudden downshifting.
H7zQmfk.png
Click to expand...

Very cool, thanks for this post.

The use of "carelessly" was quite telling for me and amusing.
 
Brilliant! Where the hell did you find that piotrek91? So in effect, the "switch" is nothing more a mechanical damper of sorts that helps the driver avoid the downshift shock that the early 6at cars were susceptible to under certain conditions. Probably one of the very first running changes Mazda made to the CX-5 after some early critical media reports that I remember reading.

Hmmm; wonder if this is a "plug-n-play" replacement for the earlier pedal?
 
Last edited:
OK, I'll also add that I'm "floored" (band) by this new tidbit. Turns out I'd never fully depressed the accelerator until this afternoon (after reading this thread)! WTF, a whole month of ownership and I thought I'd put it through it's paces...there's quite a bit of power hiding down there, who knew.
 
Seriously though... it's in the manual. Read it from front to back. Lots of good information in there.
 
nXt said:
Seriously though... it's in the manual. Read it from front to back. Lots of good information in there.
Click to expand...
Seriously though... the owner's manual is too thick to read nowadays. We live in the modern days and we simply just don't have time to read that many pages. Especially much of the info in the manual is just the escape clause for manufacture's responsibility of any liabilities. And I don't see that excellent picture nice piotrek91 posted to explain the gas pedal issue anywhere in the manual. A picture is worth a thousand words! That been said, I still try to read owner's manual as much as I can each time we bought a new car.
 
OK, I guess it wasn't in the manual but was in the "Smart Start Guide" my 2014 came with, aka quick start. 2014_CX5_QT.pdf
Here's a photo:

P8yPJe7.png
 
yrwei52 said:
Seriously though... the owner's manual is too thick to read nowadays. We live in the modern days and we simply just don't have time to read that many pages. Especially much of the info in the manual is just the escape clause for manufacture's responsibility of any liabilities. And I don't see that excellent picture nice piotrek91 posted to explain the gas pedal issue anywhere in the manual. A picture is worth a thousand words! That been said, I still try to read owner's manual as much as I can each time we bought a new car.
Click to expand...

+1, I spent the better part of a day reading the portions of the manuals I thought were important, and I still only read through maybe 1/3 of the (3) manuals that came with my car (actually think I read through the entire Nav manual). Sometimes you gotta just go out and live it...
 
bgwilliams78 said:
I have a question regarding the accelerator pedal on the 2016 CX-5. The pedal in the CX-5 is new to me. I have had nothing but trucks over the last 10 years and the pedals were all connected from the top not the bottom.
Click to expand...
Actually Mazda's gas pedal using a hinge at bottom is the old fashion way. Many writers from car magazines applauded it as it can do heel-and-toe shifting more easily. sometimes the old design is better than new. Had Toyota used this design on their gas pedal there wouldn't be any class action lawsuits and heavy fines from their unintended acceleration issues.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

V
2017 CX-5 High pitch noise when accelerating
Replies
4
Views
1K
N7turbo
N7turbo
1
Brief scraping noise under acceleration
Replies
1
Views
1K
RedBaron
RedBaron
C
2016 CX-5 AC compressor cycles every 5 seconds?
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
cdmain
C

Latest posts

Back