Broken center console latch (2016)

Great DIY Article. Extremely well written with great photos. Thanks!

I had the same problem! I had to wedge a water bottle between the console and seat to keep the console lid in place!

I tried calling the dealership... I spoke with service who said "come on by and we can take a look. We can schedule you for an appointment on... [date two weeks away]. I asked if I could just buy the part and the sent me over to the parts department. They claimed to not know what piece I was talking about. The dude kept calling it a "console lock" (I found out later that this is indeed the correct piece), but he "couldn't in good conscience allow me to purchase the item without knowing exactly what it was. So he kicked me over to the service department. So, I said "screw this! I'm gunna figure this thing out myself!" And I did.

Step 1: Gather the correct tools
Small slotted (flat-head) screwdriver or plastic pry bar.
A pair of small needle-nose (or similar) pliers.

Step 2: Take the center console apart

Using the pry bar or small slotted screwdriver, gently... I SAID GENTLY wedge the hard plastic under piece of the center console and the soft rubber/vinyl cover (don't pull TOO hard, but you should hear plastic pieces start to pop or separate within the console assembly...).

http://imgur.com/bStOIfl Pry near the red arrow

http://imgur.com/F4EL9Rz

Begin to gently work your way around the perimeter of the console. Eventually, you should be able to get your fingers in between the gab and pry the two pieces apart.

http://imgur.com/qonQ9Rv

Completely remove the plastic piece that contains the console latch and take it to a safe working area. We're going to be focusing on the top portion where my hand is holding it up.

http://imgur.com/6m3kcpF

Step 3: Remove the latch assembly from the plastic backing

Take a quick second to look over the piece. Notice the main pieces you're working with are the plastic backing, a metal rod, a spring and the plastic latch itself. You'll notice one end of the rod is pointy and the other is abrasive. Take your pliers and squeeze the pointy side of the metal rod so as to push it inward (see picture below).

Pointy end of the rod

When you have enough of the abrasive end sticking out, use the pliers to pull from that end and completely remove the rod.

http://imgur.com/jpfVU8W Pushing the pointy end.

http://imgur.com/EbOFp1r Pulling the abrasive end.

WARNING: There are small pieces. Pull the rod out slowly to make sure you gather the spring and the rod. If you lose either one, you'll have to buy the whole assembly as the new latch does not come with a rod or spring.

http://imgur.com/U7I8H1h The spring and rod.

Step 4: Placement of new latch

Take a quick look at the spring and rod together with the latch below (assembled outside of console for demonstration purposes):

http://imgur.com/5W6Palm
http://imgur.com/s7GDsST

Notice the placement of the spring... The pointy end goes outward. If you put it in incorrectly, the latch will not work properly.

Set the spring on the back of the latch and place it into the plastic backing. Hold the spring with your thumb and run the rod through the hole on the left side, pointy end first (the way you found it, originally). The rod will run through the holes on each side and through the coils on the spring. It should look like the picture below half way through...

http://imgur.com/svaw6SO

Push the rod as far as it'll go with your fingers and finish the job with the pliers, until the pointy end is showing on the right side and the abrasive end is flush with the left side:

http://imgur.com/8vGq46H

Test to make sure the spring is working correctly by pressing on the latch release multiple times. Place the plastic backing back into the console cover and snap into place. Squeeze around the sides (similar to closing the lid on a tupperware container) to ensure it's seated properly. Close the console lid. As long as it stays closed and opens when you press the release, you're all done! If it doesn't work properly, go back through steps 1-3 to ensure the spring is set properly.

http://imgur.com/Yz5MvUt ALL DONE!


This is a great explanation on how to replace the broken center console latc. Thanks for taking the time to document it.
 
I followed the instructions fro RichieRescue on my 2016.5 CX-5 and it was very accurate. The hardest part was pushing the pointy end of the rod out.
 
I repaired mine last month. I ordered the part from Amazon with free next day Prime shipping. I paid $10.50 for the part. I know I got ripped off, but being able to avoid the headache of going to the dealer was worth the $10.50 + 10 minutes of my time I spent swapping it out.
 
2nd time in 4 months for my center console latch. Ever since the original one broke, I have been very careful not to slam it and shut it gently. Called the dealer and they are gonna swap it out this Friday hopefully. If I had more time, I'd take the damn spring out of the lid and just leave it broken and not worry about it. But damn is it annoying holding it down with my arm going down the road or anytime I get into the car. I've driven a lot of cars in my life already and have never broken a center console lid up until this CX-5. Fricking annoying!
 
Lol, too funny! Mine just broke last night. Made an appointment for next week.
 
I had the same issue with in 3 months of getting my CX5.

I went to the dealer and the woman sitting next to me was there for the same reason.

6 months later I was back in the shop for the same thing.

Here I am again another year later with the same issue.

I think it has lasted longer because after the second time I have been very careful.

I am lucky that I am still under warranty, but I am still pissed that I have to take time out of my day to go to the dealer.

I had called Mazda customer service the second time it happened and called them again this time.

I loved my Mazda 3 and I love my current CX5, but this issue is about to break my loyalty to Mazda.
 
It's a poor design. Ours broke in the first six months. Replaced it ourselves with the instructions posted earlier in this thread (Thanks!). To keep the new one from breaking, we filled the voids with epoxy, as shown in the pics below. Bulletproof!
 

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Pictures in RichieRescue's reply

I am logged in, and trying to access Richie's post, but all the pictures appear as imgur links. Is it possible to get them to display inline here?

ON EDIT: working with Richie on putting together a downloadable pdf. Results soon, I think.
 
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PDF of the DIY

Here is my PDF translation of Richie's DIY, including ExExplorerGuy's addendum concerning epoxy reinforcement. I think their efforts (and this thread) need to be made as widely visible as possible, by a sticky here as possible, but I'll leave that to the mods.


View attachment Console latch.pdf

A direct link to give to others for download purposes:
http://tinyurl.com/y2m2rr6r




I can't delete what appears below. It's useless:
 

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Mine broke, too. We were on a trip when it happened. Stopped into a Mazda dealer and they replaced the latch in about 30 minutes. They would not give it to me to replace myself.
 
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