"Auto" sliding doors?

M

m5pa

Member
:
08 Mazda 5 GT
A question for all you 5 owners out there: Will your sliding doors slide shut "automatically"? I mean, when we were shopping for this car, I remember the sliding doors almost closing themselves with just a tug of the handle. No real effort on the part of the operator, just pull the handle and the doors would slide forward and latch themselves closed. Being on mostly level ground anyway, not expecting miracles here.

Our 2008, which we bought last year new, has never done this. The doors require that you shut them securely, they won't "automatically" do it. I was reminded of this when I looked at one on display at the local autoshow.

So, should I call my Mazda dealer and have them look at it? I mean, it's not a huge deal, but it was one of the reasons we liked the car. Did Mazda make a design change or have all 5's done this since it was introduced? Looking for answers or suggestions.

Cheers!
 
our will close very easily, but not automatically. if the car is parked on level ground, the door does close slightly downhill, and mazda designed it that way to make it easier to close. that being said, your might just need a little lubrication to bring back the easiness.
 
My Canadian GT model has the automatic closer. I'll take a video of it tonight. Great when the baby's sleeping, no need to slam the door. Just get it to an almost closed position and the mechanism will close the door securely and quietly.
 
DKaz said:
My Canadian GT model has the automatic closer. I'll take a video of it tonight. Great when the baby's sleeping, no need to slam the door. Just get it to an almost closed position and the mechanism will close the door securely and quietly.
Click to expand...

the USDM version never had the auto-close mechanism.
 
In the US version NONE of the Mazda 5 doors close automatically. They are all manual.

Mine is a 2008 too. They close very easily (can slide it with my pinky) but definitely not automatically.
 
Yeah, I know there isn't an automatic closer, but the one I looked at at the auto show took just pulling on the latch to get it to close. It is possible all the ones we looked at were slightly downhill. Our doors still don't take much to close them, not nearly as much as the old sliding doors on old minivans and full size vans, but they aren't as effortless as I remember them being on other Mazda 5s I've looked at.
 
What we have here in Canada doesn't close by itself although its easy to slide compare to any typical minivan, but it locks by itself when its in nearly closed position (only in GT models).
 
m5pa said:
Yeah, I know there isn't an automatic closer, but the one I looked at at the auto show took just pulling on the latch to get it to close. It is possible all the ones we looked at were slightly downhill. Our doors still don't take much to close them, not nearly as much as the old sliding doors on old minivans and full size vans, but they aren't as effortless as I remember them being on other Mazda 5s I've looked at.
Click to expand...

OK.. I think you are just confusing us... or maybe just me. :)

You know there isn't an automatic closer (in US).
But then you say the one at the auto show was? "Just pulling the latch" closes it. Isn't that the definition of automatic? Or is the auto show one not available for sale in the US?

no biggie, just a bit confusing.
 
This is confusing.

Definition of Auto sliding doors is like the large mini vans like the Odessy/Seina that when you push a button, a motor slides the door shut.

The Mazda 5s (GT) in Canada for sure had what Mazda called "Easy Close Sliding door System". This basically had an auto latch that pulled the door close once it slid into the close position by manually moving it.

Kind of like the Lock mechanism on the Lincoln Town cars or the Pontiac GTA. You close the trunk/hatch and then a mechanism pulled the door into a latched/lock position.

Does this clear it up any?
 
SonicBoy said:
This is confusing.

Definition of Auto sliding doors is like the large mini vans like the Odessy/Seina that when you push a button, a motor slides the door shut.

The Mazda 5s (GT) in Canada for sure had what Mazda called "Easy Close Sliding door System". This basically had an auto latch that pulled the door close once it slid into the close position by manually moving it.

Kind of like the Lock mechanism on the Lincoln Town cars or the Pontiac GTA. You close the trunk/hatch and then a mechanism pulled the door into a latched/lock position.

Does this clear it up any?
Click to expand...

understood. the us never had that feature.
 
The camaro hatches have this feature so you dont have to slam it.


but.....
The doors are so friggin lite thats got to be the most useless feature known the man.. i could see the auto open for trunk and doors for people that have their hands full, BUT, its so lite that if you hit the button on the remote with one finger, thats all you need to physically open the door anyway. Its not one of those tank minivans that have these big 500lb doors.
 
I have resisted the urge to add to this post for many seconds....but what the hell.

While the side doors on my (Canadian) GT slide almost friction free, they do require human effort to get to the almost-latched stage.

Just before closing, an electronic switch is tripped and the door is pulled into fully latched position.

The beauty of this system is that I never have to slam the door. The pins, posts, latches, handles etc should last much longer on my 5 as I am always trying to see how gently I can close the door and have it reach the auto-latch position.

Also, on the other heaps around the driveway, one of the four doors always seems to catch on the first latch, leaving the door partially open. Never happens on my 5.

Finally, another system to fail when the warranty runs out:)
 
lol yeah...something else to break...but

on the plus side... I see all kinds of new dodge's (new town and country's mostly) at drive throughs that the power windows dont even work on, no wonder they are doing so badly.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Mazda5 Sliding door issue
Replies
4
Views
5K
pkthomas
P
M
Mazda5 2006 - Loose door handles
Replies
4
Views
3K
MZ5black
M
P
How to fix a hole on the sliding door trail?
Replies
0
Views
2K
pigvet
P

Latest posts

Back