Front-end vibration coming through the steering wheel on 2012 Mazda5.

Did the same on a very windy day yesterday. Smooth as silk, but definitely a "both hands on the wheel at all times" drive. Also, the MZ5 is seriously lacking power at highway speeds.

There are stock 16" alloys with tires for sale all the time for this platform. Maybe pick up a set for winter?

I find passing is adequate, but definitely not out of this world, then again that's just me driving alone with no extra weight.. I drove in the winds too last night on I-287, windy as all hell here in Jersey, I felt the winds battered the sides constantly, and was a struggle between that and the vibration to keep in my lane. This vehicle just BEGS to be lowered. Don't know why the GT doesn't come lowered from factory.
 
This vehicle just BEGS to be lowered. Don't know why the GT doesn't come lowered from factory.

If I lived in a warmer climate, new springs, shocks/struts, sways, 18" wheels and summer compound tires would be on this thing. Should help the crosswind stability tremendously!
 
Yay! I'm getting 4 brand new Toyo Proxes A18s. I only had to wait 2 weeks plus all the service visits and the certified letter to Mazda. Too bad I have absolutely no time to get to the dealer to get them put on. Maybe next week. Working with Mazda and these dealers has been a royal (butthump).
 
Going to the dealer Monday to get my new Toyo's installed. Let's see if this makes a difference. Hopefully they won't pour sugar into my gas tank. (nailbyt)
 
Okay, so they balanced and installed 4 new Toyo Proxes A18s and there is a clear difference in the vehicle's handling now. Though the severity of the vibration is greatly reduced, you can still feel very slight feedback coming through the steering wheel. I can live with it, it's no where near what I was dealing with prior. While I was waiting I test drove a 2013 Mazda5 GT, has the same 17" Toyos as does my 2012, and while the ride was smooth, the steering wheel does feel like there is definitely something not right. At this point it would not be fair to say it's a flaw in the vehicle because I am replacing the old tires with the exact same make/model tire. I don't intend on paying for new Michelins or Goodyears anytime soon. But, if I were to replace the Toyos with a brand known to be better and I have the same problem, then it would point to flaw or defect in the vehicle itself. The fact that just by changing the tires the problem is has been greatly reduced would lead me to believe these tires are just crap, and I've purchased crappy Pep Boy's brand tires in the past, really cheap, but none have performed like these Toyos have, I must admit.
 
Have driven a few hundred miles on the new Toyos. Problem is back, seems to be when tires are cold, after they heat up it essentially goes away. I have other things to worry about so I'm just going pass sentence on these tires as one of the crappiest tires your money can buy. Moving on to bigger and better. My son was born last night at 9:18pm!!! I will post a link later on. Thanks for all your comments/help guys.
 
CONGRATS on your new bundle of joy!! Hope he settles well into the captain's chair of the 5! I have a 20month old and 5.5year old girls. They love the 5 we just got. Great for naps too!
 
Mazda 5 Vibrations

Hello, not sure what you have experienced in the past year or so with your 5, but I am curious.

I just bought a 2014 5 and I believe it has Good years on it, I can't be certain because it is back at the dealer for the second time with that same vibration problem. I noted the issue after 68 miles on it. I wanted to make the dealer aware ASAP so that it is on record. It now has 400 miles on it and still doing it.

wheels were checked for balance the first time. I had gotten an email for a survey of the dealer for the new car experience. Well I gave some of them a good mark and some not so good. I specifically noted that they told me the "flat spots" would run themselves out after a few thousand miles. I could not believe that this brand new car vibrated more than my 1995 geo tracker does. Unacceptable I wrote in the survey.

The very next day (yesterday) I got a phone call from the dealers' owners' grandson telling me they were going to RECTify my problem. They had me come in and they swapped the tires and wheels off of a just received mazda 5, less than 7 days USA old. I was all excited. I left the dealer went up the road 2.25 miles turned around and dropped off the van. worse, these "new" "better" wheels and tires shook sooner and with more vigor than the originals.

So Now I wait till Monday to see what they will come up with. I have, by the way, copied your letter with hopes to not have to send a version of my own to Mazda. Ridiculous, seriously, if I wanted a car that drove this poorly I would have bought something for 1500 off craigslist and saved the rest of the money for renting a nice car once a month or something.
 
Still an issue

I know this thread is old but I'm at wits end with my 2012 Mazda5 Touring. I've been through two different brands of rims, two different brands of tires. I've had the tires balanced over and over and over. I've had the alignment and suspension checked, I've changed the spark plugs, and I've cleaned the throttle body. Nothing I have done has fixed the vibrations at highway speeds. It digs at me every day on my drive to and from work.

Has there been any conclusive solution to this? Is it a common issue? I'm going to pull my hair out.

Hello, not sure what you have experienced in the past year or so with your 5, but I am curious.

I just bought a 2014 5 and I believe it has Good years on it, I can't be certain because it is back at the dealer for the second time with that same vibration problem. I noted the issue after 68 miles on it. I wanted to make the dealer aware ASAP so that it is on record. It now has 400 miles on it and still doing it.

wheels were checked for balance the first time. I had gotten an email for a survey of the dealer for the new car experience. Well I gave some of them a good mark and some not so good. I specifically noted that they told me the "flat spots" would run themselves out after a few thousand miles. I could not believe that this brand new car vibrated more than my 1995 geo tracker does. Unacceptable I wrote in the survey.

The very next day (yesterday) I got a phone call from the dealers' owners' grandson telling me they were going to RECTify my problem. They had me come in and they swapped the tires and wheels off of a just received mazda 5, less than 7 days USA old. I was all excited. I left the dealer went up the road 2.25 miles turned around and dropped off the van. worse, these "new" "better" wheels and tires shook sooner and with more vigor than the originals.

So Now I wait till Monday to see what they will come up with. I have, by the way, copied your letter with hopes to not have to send a version of my own to Mazda. Ridiculous, seriously, if I wanted a car that drove this poorly I would have bought something for 1500 off craigslist and saved the rest of the money for renting a nice car once a month or something.
 
I bought my 2012 new in June 2011

Taking it from dealership had vibration at highway speed only 55mph-65mph shimmy

Dealership said normal. I brought it back and drove another new mazda5, same problem

Two months later they got another mazda5 new from factory. That didnt have it, so dealer owner let me swap wheels and tires with that car and mine has been perfect since

I am at 98,000 miles this morning. Second set of tires. Factory toyo dead at 30k. Michelin premacy from 30k mile to 77k Miles, no vibration

At 77k miles went wih continentals . Car runs great

No vibration in 7 years
 
It could've been the wheels not being balanced sufficiently. Tires can do this if they have flat spots from sitting too long or if the shocks have failed, but the factory typically pressurizes the tires above the recommended pressure so that flat spots don't occur.
 
Back