2015 CX-5 Inspection passed but note on bushings, brake fluid and rear shocks

[Jozet808]

Daughter's 2015 CX-5 touring. 114,000 miles. Just got new tires -- Michelin CrossClimate (she regularly drives to Michigan and Maine).

Notes from the garage's "start saving money" list were
-- Brake flush (dark fluid) $106.00
-- Both lower front control arms (bushing tearing) $730.00
-- Rear shocks (mileage/worn) $380

She's about to take off to Michigan for 6 months (works on schooners).

Which, if any of these things, should we get done right now before she leaves?
Do these prices look reasonable or do they send up any "flares"?
This is a garage we've been going to for years, but recent change in ownership and some staff. Should I go to dealership to have any of this done? Called one Mazda dealership and they said they only replace entire control arms, not just bushing. Quoted $1,1000 plus alignment.

I'll spend the money right now to get it done if any of this is something not to wait on.

Thoughts? Notes? Suggestions?

Thank you!

 

[RL911]

Very reasonable for all that work. Brake fluid is a priority if it’s been a while, like more than 3 years. Control arms are replaced as one unit, not just the bushing.

$380 for rear shocks seems kind of cheap. Was that parts and labor?

If it were me, I’d get it done. Will last you another 100k miles.

 

[wlong01]

Very reasonable for all that work. Brake fluid is a priority if it’s been a while, like more than 3 years. Control arms are replaced as one unit, not just the bushing.

$380 for rear shocks seems kind of cheap. Was that parts and labor?

If it were me, I’d get it done. Will last you another 100k miles.

Don't think they were saying replace the bushings but that they were tearing so replace both control arms.

 

[Jozet808]

Don't think they were saying replace the bushings but that they were tearing so replace both control arms.

You're right. I think I confused myself when talking to the guy. Yes, all prices include parts and labor. I just spent a grand on tires there and with four used cars, we're "frequent flyers." Maybe I'm getting the "here she is again" discount.

Thank you!

 

[Jozet808]

Very reasonable for all that work. Brake fluid is a priority if it’s been a while, like more than 3 years. Control arms are replaced as one unit, not just the bushing.

$380 for rear shocks seems kind of cheap. Was that parts and labor?

If it were me, I’d get it done. Will last you another 100k miles.

Thanks! Will get everything done.

 

[joemazdacx5]

I had my 2019 cx5 sport in for inspection at mazda dealer and they said I needed
a brake flush = cost $214 ....... wow....... I said let me think about it.

 

[Snorting2.5]

I would not be replacing the entire control arm assembly and balljoints just for some worn bushings. No big deal.

Unless your rear shocks are flopping all over the place, that's fine too. My 6 has 190k miles on the original shocks, they're fine.

Brake fluid, sure. No to other two , I vote

 

[Jozet808]

We're driving about 100 miles today on highway and city. I'll try to pay attention to what the car is doing, although I'm sure the new tires will hide a multitude of sins, as they say.

 

[RedBaron]

I would not be replacing the entire control arm assembly and balljoints just for some worn bushings. No big deal.

The bushings/balljoints are not available or replaceable separately. And if the LCAs are not replaced, you can have your wheel(s) collapse while you're driving. Not a good idea. HOWEVER, you will usually get some advanced notice from them clunking before they fail spectacularly.

Also, the control arm replacement can be quite a challenge for a typical DIY'er. This was my experience for the passenger side: CX-5 Suspension control arm failure. The driver side was even worse due to access to the front inner bolt. This may be why the price is high. By the way, another poster was quoted $1600 to replace both sides, so the OP quote is half that already!

 

[Snorting2.5]

The bushings/balljoints are not available or replaceable separately. And if the LCAs are not replaced, you can have your wheel(s) collapse while you're driving. Not a good idea. HOWEVER, you will usually get some advanced notice from them clunking before they fail spectacularly.

Also, the control arm replacement can be quite a challenge for a typical DIY'er. This was my experience for the passenger side: CX-5 Suspension control arm failure. The driver side was even worse due to access to the front inner bolt. This may be why the price is high. By the way, another poster was quoted $1600 to replace both sides, so the OP quote is half that already!

Yes, hence, which is why I don't see the point in replacing the entire assembly just for the bushings.

Yes, the quoted price is reasonable for parts and labour.

So long as there is no play in the balljoints, it's fine.

It's quite rare for a balljoint to fail even when loose. Once it's loose, replace it.

My left balljoint has the tiniest play. Neither me nor the mechanic who found it is particularly worried. Once the play becomes pronounced enough. I'll replace that control arm (again.)

Japanese cars are designed for smooth roads, so their components tend to fail sooner unless you drive on smooth roads. Cx5 is better built than my 6 for bumps, but the suspension components are still near identical.

On my 190,000 mile 2015 Mazda 6, other than a tie rod, both control arms and endlinks, The rest of the suspension is original and in quite fair condition. I drive on lots of bad roads, and I can be quite hard on the chassis round turns.

So I would be significantly questioning A shock/ strut replacement at such a mileage, under most scenarios.

 

[RL911]

I would not be replacing the entire control arm assembly and balljoints just for some worn bushings. No big deal.

Unless your rear shocks are flopping all over the place, that's fine too. My 6 has 190k miles on the original shocks, they're fine.

Brake fluid, sure. No to other two , I vote

Eh, I’d still do it. You’ve got 114k miles, daughter leaving for 6 months to Michigan and also drives to Maine, that’s a lot of driving on some pretty crappy roads. The mechanic, who is quoting a pretty fair price and has been working on this guy’s cars for a long time, suggests it needs to be done. We don’t know the extent of wear on the CA bushings or the rear shocks, but the mechanic does. Maybe rears are starting to leak?? If you trust the mechanic, do it. If these things fail while she is away, the prices could be double, or more if she finds herself forced to go to a dealer.

If the car was staying local and I had access to the mechanic, then I’d agree to wait.

 

[RedBaron]

It's quite rare for a balljoint to fail even when loose. Once it's loose, replace it.

Well, in an (admittedly small sample) case of my cars, the one in our 2014 CX-5 broke, folded the wheel, and popped the drive shaft CV joint. Fortunately for us, it happened while moving the car in our driveway. (See the thread I linked above.)

 

[dunhillmc]

I would not be replacing the entire control arm assembly and balljoints just for some worn bushings. No big deal.

Unless your rear shocks are flopping all over the place, that's fine too. My 6 has 190k miles on the original shocks, they're fine.

Brake fluid, sure. No to other two , I vote

It's much easier to replace the control arms and probably less labor too. A 9 year old CX5 with 100k+ miles is a perfect candidate for control arms, esp as such a reasonable price

 

[Jmaz]

Yes, hence, which is why I don't see the point in replacing the entire assembly just for the bushings.

Yes, the quoted price is reasonable for parts and labour.

So long as there is no play in the balljoints, it's fine.

It's quite rare for a balljoint to fail even when loose. Once it's loose, replace it.

My left balljoint has the tiniest play. Neither me nor the mechanic who found it is particularly worried. Once the play becomes pronounced enough. I'll replace that control arm (again.)

Japanese cars are designed for smooth roads, so their components tend to fail sooner unless you drive on smooth roads. Cx5 is better built than my 6 for bumps, but the suspension components are still near identical.

On my 190,000 mile 2015 Mazda 6, other than a tie rod, both control arms and endlinks, The rest of the suspension is original and in quite fair condition. I drive on lots of bad roads, and I can be quite hard on the chassis round turns.

So I would be significantly questioning A shock/ strut replacement at such a mileage, under most scenarios.

Considering that the OP or his daughter don't sound like the DIY type such as yourself and she'll be away from home and needs a safe and reliable car, your logic tends to escape me. Peace of mind is worth a lot.
Regardless of whether the ball joints have some life left in them, they still have 116,000 miles on them and it needs control arm bushings NOW so it makes sense to replace the control arms which come complete with new bushings and ball joints. The ball joints also have the same mileage on them so what's the sense of trying to milk the remaining life out of them when an alignment is needed after the LCA's are replaced anyway. And what about the cost of the parts and additional labor required to replace just the bushings even if they are available.

I replaced the LCA's at 60,000 miles on my 2014 because the bushings were torn ( yes, it appears that Mazda has had some issues with these bushings) and the ball joint rubber boots were torn and leaking grease. The outer tie rod ends boots were torn and leaking grease as well so they got replaced too even though they weren't worn out yet but still had 60,000 miles on them. At ~ $25 each it made sense to replace them at that time before the car got the alignment needed as part of the lower control arm replacement. The ~$50 was still cheaper than the cost of the alignment needed if they were replaced later. I can't always coordinate replacing front end parts along with new tires so as to save the cost of an additional alignment.
I think the OP should have the work done to provide a safe, reliable car for his daughter.

 

[Snorting2.5]

Considering that the OP or his daughter don't sound like the DIY type such as yourself and she'll be away from home and needs a safe and reliable car, your logic tends to escape me. Peace of mind is worth a lot.
Regardless of whether the ball joints have some life left in them, they still have 116,000 miles on them and it needs control arm bushings NOW so it makes sense to replace the control arms which come complete with new bushings and ball joints. The ball joints also have the same mileage on them so what's the sense of trying to milk the remaining life out of them when an alignment is needed after the LCA's are replaced anyway. And what about the cost of the parts and additional labor required to replace just the bushings even if they are available.

I replaced the LCA's at 60,000 miles on my 2014 because the bushings were torn ( yes, it appears that Mazda has had some issues with these bushings) and the ball joint rubber boots were torn and leaking grease. The outer tie rod ends boots were torn and leaking grease as well so they got replaced too even though they weren't worn out yet but still had 60,000 miles on them. At ~ $25 each it made sense to replace them at that time before the car got the alignment needed as part of the lower control arm replacement. The ~$50 was still cheaper than the cost of the alignment needed if they were replaced later. I can't always coordinate replacing front end parts along with new tires so as to save the cost of an additional alignment.
I think the OP should have the work done to provide a safe, reliable car for his daughter.

I am knowledgable with cars but not a DIYer.

I respect everyone's opinions. leaving it up to the OP to do what he feels right is the sensible choice.

It's nice for us to all throw opinions out there.

If he has money to throw around on the repair, I say, go for it.

My personal reasoning, is that for these bushings, to go through the effort of taking apart half the suspension, and replace control arms and ball joints which are still supposedly in good shape, and to do an alignment, all for some cracked bushings sounds a bit unreasonable.

I like to get as much life as I can out my parts before I have them replaced. I would do this even if I did had ample money to throw at my car.

Whether OP replaces them or not, either way I'm sure will be totally fine for his daughter. At that mileage, over rough roads, other suspension components will begin to wear. Whether you take the front suspension apart now, or wait until more things start to require replacement.... Based on my first hand experience driving these cars on rough roads, while being particular about my vehicles suspension and cornering performance, I choose the latter, though of course I totally understand and respect your opinions the same.

 

[dunhillmc]

I am knowledgable with cars but not a DIYer.

I respect everyone's opinions. leaving it up to the OP to do what he feels right is the sensible choice.

It's nice for us to all throw opinions out there.

If he has money to throw around on the repair, I say, go for it.

My personal reasoning, is that for these bushings, to go through the effort of taking apart half the suspension, and replace control arms and ball joints which are still supposedly in good shape, and to do an alignment, all for some cracked bushings sounds a bit unreasonable.

I like to get as much life as I can out my parts before I have them replaced. I would do this even if I did had ample money to throw at my car.

Whether OP replaces them or not, either way I'm sure will be totally fine for his daughter. At that mileage, over rough roads, other suspension components will begin to wear. Whether you take the front suspension apart now, or wait until more things start to require replacement.... Based on my first hand experience driving these cars on rough roads, while being particular about my vehicles suspension and cornering performance, I choose the latter, though of course I totally understand and respect your opinions the same.

For control arms, nothing else on the suspension has to be touched other than the control arms. There is no "taking apart half the suspension" involved

 

[Jmaz]

Since it wasn't the subject of this post and therefore not mentioned, has the transmission and cooling system been serviced in the past and have the spark plugs ever been changed. If AWD, has the transfer case and differential been serviced also. These are major contributors to reliability also. Just throwing it out there.

 

[AL Cx5]

X2, replace the suspension parts and rear shocks.

I wouldn't want my daughter broke down or a broken part cause an accident.

Not all parts are created equal. I would go back with Mazda suspension parts and a quality shock. Pay the difference and do it once.

EDIT: There maybe some confusion about when shocks are worn out. The shock is the device that holds the tire to the pavement. Keeping the tire in contact with the surface IS important. Waiting for the shock to leak is way beyond the life of the shock. I change my shocks out 50 to 60K miles.

I push down the car on front and rear bumper. If the car come up and stops the shock is good. If it comes up and goes down it's worn. If it does that several times, replace it.

Worn out shocks wear out tires and other suspension parts. Our CX 5s have independent rear suspension. Worn rear shocks wear out the control arm bushings and end links. Same goes for the front, worn front shocks prematurely wear out the parts.

Tire life is compromised as well.

Fuel efficacy is hurt too.

Safety is compromised with worn out shocks. Making an evasive maneuver with worn out shocks/suspension may result in not making the maneuver or loosing control.

Back to "Penny wise VS. Dollar Foolish".....

 

[Jmaz]

X2, replace the suspension parts and rear shocks.

I wouldn't want my daughter broke down or a broken part cause an accident.

Not all parts are created equal. I would go back with Mazda suspension parts and a quality shock. Pay the difference and do it once.

I second that. That's why I went with Mazda control arms. Especially after reading about peoples experiences with aftermarket parts which was confusing and as usual were contradictory in some cases. In my somewhat limited searches there seemed to be agreement that the upper quality levels of Moog and Mevotech (Mevotech Supreme) were decent and the lower level to be avoided. Same for those brands tie rod ends as well. Also saw mentioned with some off- brand control arms were off dimensionally and didn't fit or if installed changed the camber of the front wheels.
I couldn't imagine supplying a willing mechanic with parts I purchased and that didn't fit and then tieing up his lift while replacements (whatever's available quickly) were sourced. I remember back in the early 1990's sourcing many parts from either NAPA (back when NAPA was better) or the dealer because of shoddy aftermarket parts.