Vibration while turning right and applying power

I

InTheBoilerRoom

Member
:
2014 Mazda CX-5 GT AWD
I've looked around to see if anyone else has experienced this, but there don't appear to be any postings. I've had my 2014 GT AWD CX-5 since April. Everything was going well with the vehicle for the first 5000 miles. My wife and I were about to drive from Seattle to Ann Arbor (moving permanently), and the dealer I purchased the car from offers the first oil change and tire rotation for free, so I took it in before the long drive across country.

The CX-5 handled the drive great, but shortly after getting to the Midwest I started noticing a vibration during a pretty specific maneuver. When making a right turn and applying power (such as pulling out of a parking lot onto a road or turning right at an intersection), I feel a vibration that seems to come from the front right quadrant of the vehicle.


  • The frequency seems pretty close to the axle rotation speed and is definitely lower than the engine speed.

  • The vibration does not occur when turning left or driving in a straight line under the same conditions.

  • If I let off of the gas pedal, the vibration reduces appreciably.

  • It typically only occurs at lower speeds and high steering angles. I never feel it at highway speeds. It's possible it would occur at higher speeds too, but I never achieve as high of a steering angle at high speeds.

  • I feel the vibration through the floor only, not through the steering wheel or pedals.
My first thought was to have the tires checked, re-balanced, and rotated, and see if the issue remains. The symptoms don't seem consistent with a tire issue, but it was worth eliminating that as a possibility. Now that I've completed that, the issue remains. I'll be taking it to a dealership to have it looked at under warranty.

I'm putting this here because it hasn't been determined if it is a powertrain issue or a wheels/tires/suspension issue. The symptoms are leading me to think powertrain/driveline. I'm curious if anyone else has encountered this issue on their CX-5 or any other vehicle. I also want to document this issue for any other people that may encounter it in the future.

I will return with more information once I've had a chance to take it in to have it looked at.
 
You have the luxury of free dealer service, take advantage of it!

But report back as to what they replaced.
 
Does seem like it is drivetrain related, given the variables.

I personally haven't seen this issue mentioned here.
But, perhaps associated with the front diff and/or axles.

Is the vibration easily noticeable and easy to replicate?
 
Does it happen EVERY time? It kinda sounds like traction control kicking in. Could you be driving over different types of pavement when pulling out to the right, like gravel on the right and concrete on the left? Or could it be wet along the right side of the road?
 
The OP has changed the tires.

I'll be interested in what you find, a shear guess would be the UV joint on the drive shaft.
 
I haven't been able to take the car in for service yet, but I've done a few diagnostic tests during normal driving, so I can address some of the questions above.

Does it happen EVERY time? It kinda sounds like traction control kicking in. Could you be driving over different types of pavement when pulling out to the right, like gravel on the right and concrete on the left? Or could it be wet along the right side of the road?
Click to expand...

It is very repeatable and it can occur on clean dry pavement. I don't think it's the traction control, since that uses the brakes and it definitely doesn't feel like what I'm used to traction control feeling like. My Mazda3 traction control kicked in often, and I always knew what it was and why it was happening when it did.

These were two of my guesses. A third guess is that the front tires are rubbing on something either foreign or bent in the wheel wells.
Click to expand...

Possibly, although it is definitely dependent on how much power I'm actually demanding from the car and the gear I'm in. I determined yesterday that I can't get it to occur if I stay in first gear, but as soon as I shift into second gear, the vibration comes on. It's difficult to tell if it remains when I shift to third gear. It seems to remain when I get into third gear, but by that time I've typically straightened out and gotten to a higher speed. I need to find an open space to be able to maintain the critical steering angle while I get up enough speed to get into third gear.

And for those of you who think I'm crazy doing this prior to taking it straight in for service under warranty, I like to do as much diagnostic work as possible before handing the car over to a mechanic, since the issue doesn't negatively affect the handling, braking, and safety of the vehicle (just ride comfort). The better I can describe the symptoms and conditions of the problem, the less time they'll have to spend doing that work. Also, the better I understand the symptoms, the better I'll understand the solution and whether or not it makes any sense. Plus, having this well documented here will be helpful to others if they encounter a similar issue.
 
Latest update: The dealer is going to replace the differential, covered under warranty. I will report back on whether or not that solves the problem.
 
The dealer has pretty much had my CX-5 since December 12. I picked it up briefly after they replaced the differential, but that did not solve the problem, so I dropped it off again before the holidays. Since then, they have also replaced the transfer case, to no avail. Mazda is sending a factory technician out to investigate. I'll update when I have more information.
 
Don't know how you can pull the axles/half shaft assemblies out of the rear diff and/or the front t-case, and not have found any issues with the axles themselves, or the hub/spindle assembly.
I'd guessed the front case earlier in the thread. I lose, I guess. lol!
Interesting, though. Wonder what part swappage is next. Sorry you have to deal with it, though. Good luck.
 
In your state, you don't have a lemon law? How many time can they repair the same issue?
 
Regarding the Lemon Law, I do have a tricky situation I need to look into. I bought the CX-5 in the state of Washington, but have since moved to Michigan, where all of the repair attempts have occurred. I'll have to look into how lemon laws work in that situation.

So far they have officially only attempted two repairs on the vehicle. It won't get into Lemon Law territory until four repair attempts have failed to solve the problem or it's been out of service for 30 business days. I'm not sure how "out of service" is defined, but the CX-5 is driveable with the vibration. I'll definitely be going down this route if they cannot solve the problem.
 
Another update for those interested. I got my car back from the dealer's latest attempt at fixing the issue. A Mazda technician came out to investigate the problem. They ended up swapping my wheels/tires with another CX-5 and driving both vehicles to compare. They then put my original wheels/tires back on my car and road force balanced them. They claim that the vibration I'm feeling is a characteristic of the vehicle, as designed. I find that hard to believe, since I did not experience the vibration for the first ~5,000 miles of driving the vehicle, and nobody from this forum has confirmed the same issue with their vehicle. I would have liked to drive that other CX-5 with my wheels/tires for my own comparison.

To summarize, since first encountering the vibration, the following has been done:
1. Rotation and balance of all wheels/tires.
2. Replaced rear differential
3. Replace transfer case
4. Tested vehicle with different set of wheels/tires with same behavior, then had original wheels/tires re-installed and road forced balanced.

The vibration issue is no better than it was when I first encountered the issue. At this point, Mazda is giving up on trying to fix it, so it looks like contacting a lawyer about Lemon Law applicability is my next course of action.

One last point I'd like to make. This experience by no means would steer me away from this vehicle. I love everything about the CX-5 other than this issue (well, and the audio/nav system, but that's not a major factory in my car buying decision tree). The car is totally drivable given the issue, the vibration just isn't something that should be happening.
 
InTheBoilerRoom said:
Another update for those interested. I got my car back from the dealer's latest attempt at fixing the issue. A Mazda technician came out to investigate the problem. They ended up swapping my wheels/tires with another CX-5 and driving both vehicles to compare. They then put my original wheels/tires back on my car and road force balanced them. They claim that the vibration I'm feeling is a characteristic of the vehicle, as designed. I find that hard to believe, since I did not experience the vibration for the first ~5,000 miles of driving the vehicle, and nobody from this forum has confirmed the same issue with their vehicle. I would have liked to drive that other CX-5 with my wheels/tires for my own comparison.

To summarize, since first encountering the vibration, the following has been done:
1. Rotation and balance of all wheels/tires.
2. Replaced rear differential
3. Replace transfer case
4. Tested vehicle with different set of wheels/tires with same behavior, then had original wheels/tires re-installed and road forced balanced.

The vibration issue is no better than it was when I first encountered the issue. At this point, Mazda is giving up on trying to fix it, so it looks like contacting a lawyer about Lemon Law applicability is my next course of action.

One last point I'd like to make. This experience by no means would steer me away from this vehicle. I love everything about the CX-5 other than this issue (well, and the audio/nav system, but that's not a major factory in my car buying decision tree). The car is totally drivable given the issue, the vibration just isn't something that should be happening.
Click to expand...

Thanks for keeping us updated.
I'm pretty easy going when it comes to these types of issues. Mechanical problems happen, no big deal. However, my attitude would change quickly if they tried to tell me "vibration I'm feeling is a characteristic of the vehicle, as designed." That's just an insulting cop out for "We don't know what's wrong and we hope you go away" =)
 
If the characteristic isn't in the other cx-5s, they're lying.

It probably a weird ball bearing in some bearing or CV joint and they've only done partial drivetrain replacement but are too lazy to fix it.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
2013~2016 CX-5 Vibration Issue…
2
Replies
23
Views
7K
mzoomalohahi5
M
C
2016 CX-5 AC compressor cycles every 5 seconds?
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
cdmain
C
R
  • Question
New owner of a CPO 2022 CX-5 Signature, have some questions
Replies
6
Views
1K
Koko_Bandit
K

Latest posts

Back