Maybe an issue, maybe just a normal thing (transmission vibration)

My wife and I just bought our first Mazda last week, a 2014 Black CX-5 sport with the HD touch screen upgrade. The car is AMAZING, absolutely amazing. Before the Mazda I had a Toyota FJ and a Honda fit (manual transmission) and wanted something in-between the two.

The issue: when the engine is running and the car is either in park or neutral its as smooth as silk. When it's in drive and I'm stopped at a light or a stop sign there is a slight vibration. Its not anything extreme but since we're almost out of warrantee (56xxx miles) I just rather be cautious. Other than that it runs and drives just fine.

I have the 2.5L 2014. Got it new but only have 10 000 km's clocked on it so far. Cant say I ever noticed any sort of vibration. There may be a very very slight difference between Drive and Neutral/park, but never noticed it. Will check when I drive it over weekend.

The Sport has the smaller engine (2.0) so you can't really compare to the 2.5. I have a 2.5 and it's totally smooth at stops/lights.
Most of the forums participants probably have the 2.5.

Is the vibration more like a shudder? Do you see the RPM's move up and down? Was the A/C on? Does it do it with the A/C off?
Lot of times the smaller engines increase RPM's when the A/C compressor kicks in, I know my wife's 164 hp Honda CR-V does and it gets kinda annoying in the summer.

Sorry for the delayed response, I was in the hospital. But Thank you for answering and yes it does have the 2.0 . Its just a totally new car and brand, so I'm still learning all of its traits.

No its more like the engine is just a little more rough (very slightly) when stopped. A good way to explain it is I would know if I was blindfolded and you shifted if from drive to neutral or from drive to park. The car seems to just smooth out.

I did notice the RPM's increasing when the compressor kicks on and off, which happens all the time living in florida and having a black car. Like I said, maybe its nothing...I just rather get everything sorted out before the warranty runs out.

I think with the FJ the size helped hide any fluctuations and with the Honda Fit being a stick shift..I was always in neutral at stop lights.

If I were you I would take it into the Mazda dealer and talk to the service mgr or maybe a tech. They should be able to tell you if it's normal or something else. It may be something as simple as a software upgrade. You might want to check on TSB's for the 2.0 and see if anything is mentioned.

There's a sticky somewhere on this site that lists the TSB's.

I had a 2013 2.0 and it was smooth in gear as well as in netural/park. The transmission is implemented so that at normal operating temp it will actually unload the torque converter when stopped with the brake applied in D to save fuel slipping the torque convertor so it should not vibrate differently unless a sensor has failed and it is not going into unload position when stopped. Watch the tack and after stopping for a few seconds move the shift to N and see if the tack or vibration changes as I don't think it should.

Ok, we're back from Disney and we took the CX-5. I also tried what you said GAXIBM, at a stop light I kept an eye on the RPM's..
Stopped in D they are 750, when the ac compressor kicked in it got rougher and they dropped to just under 750

When I shifted into neutral it was instantly smoother and the RPM's went up to around 900 then slowly back down to 750.

When in park they are between 500 and 750 and when the ac compressor kicks in they rise to 750.


I also notice a clicking/binding sound when turning the wheel to the extreme at low speeds. It's more pronounced when turning the wheel almost to lock in the clockwise direction like when I park

mine is 700 in D at a stop, and when the compressor kicks in its just over 750. smooth as silk