Mazda5 is friggen awesome... longevity?

[tomwitt]

I have 3 kids and the wife and I have owned Honda forever. When our third kid was born we knew we needed third row, we shopped and bought an acadia about 2 months ago... well that thing has been in the shop for 6 of the 8 weeks and so yesterday the dealership did the right thing and offered to buy it back from us at full price.

I thought we were destined to do the minivan thing, came across the Mazda5 today, holy crap! This thing is AWESOME. So I see myself as a Mazda5 owner in the next week.

I love love love the 5, the ONLY thing I really don't like is the passenger seat space... I am 6'3 so on long trips I will always be the driver as my knees just about hit the dash in the passenger seat.

My question, I search the board for a longevity thread and couldn't find anything on Mazda5... so I am curious...

How long have you had your 5?
How many miles?
What major problems have you had with it?

I put 220k on my 03 accord and I have 170k on an 03 Civic. If I buy a 5, I want to drive it til the wheels fall off, and hopefully that isnt until close to 200k miles.

Is that an unreal expectation?

 

[Silentnoise713]

I'm only had my Mz5 for a few hundred miles so I'm not the best person to ask about longevity specific to this car but my family has gone through almost all Japanese brands (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Subaru, Mazda), except Mitsubishi, and am sort of the family shade tree mechanic. In terms of reliability, I would put Toyota/Honda at top, Nissan/Subaru in the middle, and Mazda/Suzuki/prob Mitsubishi too at the bottom in terms of longevity with minimal added cost of ownership.

The number one thing Mazda falls short on is material quality (same with Suzuki). Everything they source is pretty much on the bottom end and as such will not endure high mileage without either maintenance or replacement. Think of them as Ford since Ford had a large stake in Mazda and share many components (some still has FoMoCo stamping).

Can it last up to 200K? That depends on how much money you want to spend to upkeep it. Don't expect it to be as trouble free as the Hondas (yes, I know Honda has they share of problems too). Family had '00 Accord (167K and still running strong and will easily go up to 200K) and '97 Civic (60K then stolen).

Of couse, this is just IMHO.

 

[tomwitt]

I had heard that Mazda was purchased back from ford and the 5 is made in Japan, look for J in vin. Is this accurate?

 

[bootman]

Bought new in 2009 and have 40K on it so far (barely broken in)
No issues besides a factory power steering recall, that I just bought in due to the multiple reminders not because I had issues with the steering.

 

[jeffismrmom]

Well, I've had my Mazda5 for about 30 hours now and 350 miles; I can tell you nothing about longevity.

However, I also have an '05 Pontiac Vibe AWD (virtually a Toyota Matrix/Corolla, made at the former NUMMI factory), and as far as interior materials/quality, the Mazda5 is on par if not better. I think it's a fabulous value: For about $1000 more than I paid for my Vibe, I got dual sliding doors, six seats, more horsepower/torque, traction & stability control, Bluetooth, 17" wheels and shiftable A/T. Now I'm not knocking my Vibe at all, as it's a great winter car and one of the few domestic products that was actually recommended by Consumer Reports, KBB & Edmunds. But again, the Mazda5 is an unbelievable value, IMO.

Good luck!

Jeff

 

[othercarasaab]

I've had my 2006 for 30k miles (bought used in '08, so I'm 2nd owner).

55k on ODO now, and only thing I've done is rear shocks and tires. Given the first owner was a car rental agency, I have no clue how the first 25k miles were put on it, but probably not gentle So overall, I would say I'm pretty happy with the lack of substantial issues.
(70/30 City/Highway, not rush-hour traffic usually, spirited driving)

I'm like you and will probably drive it till it falls apart (or kid 5, yikes), but I'm only a moderate user in terms of mileage, at ~12k a year, so it will be a while before I could provide any insight on 150/200k longevity.

Silentnoise, thanks for the insight, shade tree mechanic is a valuable perspective IMHO. Nice to gauge expectations for 100-150k miles.

 

[DKaz]

I'm close to 140,000km on my 5, but whether it will beat or even get close to 363,000km in my 91 Corolla is another question. The engine still feels solid which is good.

 

[pwrpf01]

I bought my 2009 5 used in Sept 2010. It had 29,xxx miles and new tires when I got it. Only things I had the dealer do under warranty was a blown fuse for the MP3/charger outlets & I had a few problems with the 'vent/ac' knob lights. It was all under warranty though. Also, at about 40,xxx miles I had to use the power steering recall.

All I've had to do so far to it (and my 5 now has 52,xxx on it) is the rear shocks were replaced. Apparently they all have issues w/ crappy shocks! One of the dealer mechanics said he's seen them come in w/ less than 15xxx miles needing new rear shocks.

I did a lot of investigating on the 5 before I bought mine. I felt so comfortable about it, that I found the one I wanted online and didn't see it in person until they delivered it to me (I live in the St. Louis area and the dealer I got it from is completely across the state)

GOOD LUCK!! (boobs2)

 

[flcruising]

...I would put Toyota/Honda at top, Nissan/Subaru in the middle, and Mazda/Suzuki/prob Mitsubishi too at the bottom in terms of longevity with minimal added cost of ownership.

I also own a 12yo Mitsubishi that just rolled over 231k miles. I would beg to differ about longevity as the only 'repairs' I've done on mine are the cv axles and a rear hub bearing. I upkeep & maintain everything - brakes, timing belt, etc. Any vehicle that still runs with this mileage needs some suspension and steering components needing replacing, so that is in the near future for me as well. I believe a vehicle is only as reliable as it's owner. My brother also owns a Mitsu, and our mother did as well before she had to upgrade to a larger vehicle. My father-in-law has an old Civic with about 50k less miles than mine that is on it's second engine, so I 'longevity' imo is relative.

 

[DKaz]

Toyota is middle of the pack at best now while Honda I would stick in the basement with Nissan. Suzuki and Subaru have always been my top picks for reliable cars although parts for the Suzukis can be expensive if something needs fixing. Mazda and Mitsubishi are probably in line with modern Toyota.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Toyota is middle of the pack at best now while Honda I would stick in the basement with Nissan. Suzuki and Subaru have always been my top picks for reliable cars although parts for the Suzukis can be expensive if something needs fixing. Mazda and Mitsubishi are probably in line with modern Toyota.

DKaz has a good point this key word. I will say the cars I am referring to are older late 90s cars and I still stand by that pecking order for that period. However, initial quality and longevity of cars today are not made the same and order has changed. Most notably the rise of the big 3. I was really looking forward to owning a Ford C-Max.

 

[flcruising]

Stand by whatever order you will, but owning a '00 Mitsu built in '99, that would certainly qualify as a late 90's vehicle. Conjecture doesn't equate to reliable information, so the op should take this as a grain of salt. How many owners on here even have over 100k miles? I believe 200k is achievable, but my point is that the owner plays a major role in the longevity of any vehicle.

My sister has an '03 Toyota Sienna that has been abused and has a POOR resale rating because of it's condition - but still runs albeit with a nice oil leak that has been there since 60k or so - would that qualify as 'longevity' to you or not?

 

[njaremka]

Stand by whatever order you will, but owning a '00 Mitsu built in '99, that would certainly qualify as a late 90's vehicle. Conjecture doesn't equate to reliable information, so the op should take this as a grain of salt. How many owners on here even have over 100k miles? I believe 200k is achievable, but my point is that the owner plays a major role in the longevity of any vehicle.

My sister has an '03 Toyota Sienna that has been abused and has a POOR resale rating because of it's condition - but still runs albeit with a nice oil leak that has been there since 60k or so - would that qualify as 'longevity' to you or not?

i've been reading this thread over the past few days, and i totally agree with this post. owner influence has as much to do with the longevity of a vehicle. any modern vehicle manufactured after, say, 1989 has the "Capacity" to last over 200k miles. but, its owner has to keep up with regular maintenance and not beat the snot out of it. all of the cars that i have owned over the years have lasted well past 100k miles, and some into the 200k miles on the original engine, clutch, tranny, etc. and i attribute this to being religeous with regular maintence. thats not to say that you wont have any troubles taking a car to that high of a milage, but you shouldn't have any major trouble with them.

as a side note, and i can't remember where i read it, so take it with a grain of salt... i thought i read at one time that ford would life prove their vehicles by driving them at least 100,000 miles with a sealed engine, only opening them to top off the fluid levels - gas, oil, coolant, etc. for instance, they wouldn't change the oil, only top it off if it got low. but, like i said, i cant remember where i read that...

 

[Wishmaster]

Have an '07 with just over 90,000 Kms on it, have replaced shocks on all four corners + sway bar bushings, but who hasn't... seems to be the one issue that everybody experiences with this vehicle - poor quality shocks and bushings, but once you switch away from the OEM Mazda parts (Monroe and KYB are cheap - about $350 in parts total) you're fine.

Couple other little issues - passenger door lock stopped working at one point as did the Driver's side seat heater, dealer fixed them at different times for abut $50 each I think.

Am happy to report that with regular maintenance this car still feels new and parts (fluids, filters, wipers, pads, rotors, plugs, etc..) are pretty cheap, so it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to keep maintenance up.

The only other thing I did was add a hitch so I could pull a small trailer around for our long road/camping trips. With three kids you'll probably want to look into this as once you're using the third row, there's not a lot of storage. It's great for the odd time I need extra storage and beats the hell out of buying a much bigger gas guzzler vs the almost 28 to 29 mph I get on the highway. May get a roof rack for next winter as it's my turn this year to act as chauffeur for our monthly "Man" trips to Whistler.

Pull the trigger, as long as you take care of it, I'm sure it'll last you well past the 200,000 mark.

 

[kleptomaniak]

I have a 2006 Mazda 5. Aside from the fact that I had to deal with 3 major TSBs for a first year model, I have had no problems with the car. There was a rear wheel tire wear issue with the first two model years, but it hasn't been a show stopper for me. The 06 honda civic had the very same issue, but I think Honda handled it better than Mazda, because Mazda didn't handle it at all. I have 81000, and the car still pulls like it came from the showroom. I'm taking it on a 1500 mile road trip next month in the desert, and I have no concerns at all.

I saw the latest model 5 in the showroom yesterday, and it's better than the outgoing 5 in almost every way, except for the styling. The sliding doors are even easier to open, and they have a silkier feel. The quality of the interior is WAY better. They made significant improvements on interior - materials quality and more importantly, touch points. The sterring wheel and rotation of the climate controls feels expensive. The seats also have better support. They improved the front seats, so that they more comfortable on long trips. They have better arm rests on the first two rows.

I personally like the 2.3L better, but the 2.5L is Just enough to make the car more driveable without having to resort to the tiptronic to gain power when the car is loaded. They also resolve the rear tire wear issues.

Would I buy the new one? Yes. Why? Because all in all, the new model is mechanically and practically better in almost every way. The platform is the same and demensions and size are still the same, which is a good thing. It's also become a better car for long trips.

 

[was98strat]

I have a 2006 and aside from having the TSB's done. the only repair work has been due to normal wear. rear shocks (both) and brakes (127,000 fronts and 145,000 rears) note that this is the FIRST set of replacments brakes. I'm now at 156,000km and at the rate the 5 is going, I'm going to break 300,000km with this vehicle.

I've replaced both actuators for the sliders but then I have little kids that seem to like playing with the locks !!

by the time I put the same number of km's on my Dodge Stratus, it was basically trashed!! I was already on my third set of brakes, 1 engine rebuild ( long story) 2nd set of fron struts, second set of tires, heavy rust on the front of the hood, etc. etc.

 

[tomwitt]

I ended up buying a certified 2010 with 7k miles... so I have 30k mile bumper to bumper remaining and 7 year 100k mile powertrain. I opted not to buy any additional warranty right now. Thanks for all the replies!

 

[chief_wiggum]

congrats!

 

[thaxman]

I also own a 12yo Mitsubishi that just rolled over 231k miles. I would beg to differ about longevity as the only 'repairs' I've done on mine are the cv axles and a rear hub bearing. I upkeep & maintain everything - brakes, timing belt, etc. Any vehicle that still runs with this mileage needs some suspension and steering components needing replacing, so that is in the near future for me as well. I believe a vehicle is only as reliable as it's owner. My brother also owns a Mitsu, and our mother did as well before she had to upgrade to a larger vehicle. My father-in-law has an old Civic with about 50k less miles than mine that is on it's second engine, so I 'longevity' imo is relative.

I think the peckin gorder can only be judged by the type of original owner the brand attracts. Toyota has always been a magnet for non-drivers needing an option to the bike or bus, but in the last decade has gone to the greyhairs. They did this by cancelling fun cars like the Supra, Celica, MR2, and the supercharged 4X4 truck, while focusing on the Avalon, Sienna and small SUVs, which are bug lights to retirees.

Honda over the decade has killed off emotional purchases by replacing above-the-pack sheetmetal with poorly-executed German knockoff design. Excepting the reborn Civic 5 years ago, they have progressively adopted coffin styling. Mitsu's bad rep came from their turn of the millenium customer aquisition tactics. At the time, they went for the youth market, and as part of that, removed almost all buyer qualifications for credit-worthiness. Ask any insurer why the credit-risky pay higher premiums. So, no matter how well the cars may have been engineered, putting them in the hands of the irresponsible and/or uncaring meant certain doom for average longevity. I bet flcruising has been taking care of his cars vs. letting them go neglected, which explains why the cars are still going strong. Wonder how often his F-I-L changes the oil in that Civic of his.

 

[minimo3]

I have an 08 Touring. Like others I've had to replace rear shocks and bushings. I expect I'll have to replace them every 30k or so. The other issues I've had have to do with the sliding doors. They get stuck in cold weather and creak/squeak like crazy in warm weather. The front dash squeaks in cold weather too. Other than that its been reliable.