New CX-5 owner hello!

I just recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2015 CX-5 Touring with about 20,000 miles on it. I'm crazy excited so far (had it a few weeks now) and I'm starting to look into ways to customize and take care of it.

I've never really been much of a car enthusiast so my knowledge is limited, I've always gotten by with old beater cars and never took much of an interest in keeping it up other than my oil changes and yearly checkups at the local auto shop. Now with the CX-5 I find myself browsing accessories and videos to learn more. I've also washed this car more times in a few weeks than I did my last car in a few months! I've gotten most of the basic care products like rubber floor mats cleaning supplies etc.

I don't have a long commute to work ~10 min or so. I don't rack up many miles because of this but I keep getting the urge to go on longer trips in my new car =P

So my main question is, what are some reccomendations from the experienced owners here?

I've been looking at different headlights, like led or hid. How hard is this to switch?

I have read some things about the noise levels, I don't notice it yet but then again my last car was loud so comparatively the cx-5 is quiet. Any suggestions on this?

I do live in Wisconsin, so should I look into different tires for winter? It currently has yokohama geolandar g91 tires. I believe the last owner lived in Texas. Anything else I should look into for cold weather? Rusting was a big issue on my last car.

There are a few small scratches on the car, I've looked at the mazda color certified pens to fix those, anyone have any experience using them?

Waxing the car, do you do it? How often?

Any thoughts are appreciated to help this new, unexperienced owner!

Thanks,
K-Dubbs

KDubbs said:

I just recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2015 CX-5 Touring with about 20,000 miles on it. I'm crazy excited so far (had it a few weeks now) and I'm starting to look into ways to customize and take care of it.

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Cool

I've also washed this car more times in a few weeks than I did my last car in a few months! I've gotten most of the basic care products like rubber floor mats cleaning supplies etc.

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Stay away from Armor type brands. There are meguair's and few other good brands. a meguiar's kit on eBay / Amazon will have good interior / exterior cleaning supplies.

I have read some things about the noise levels, I don't notice it yet but then again my last car was loud so comparatively the cx-5 is quiet. Any suggestions on this?

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In another thread someone wants to upgrade to 17 due to noise in his 15. I have posted an option he can try. Basically beefing up your door / window seals with Foam Backing rods from Lowe's etc.

Waxing the car, do you do it? How often?

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I have to do it. Problem is cleaning and washing can take time if you dont have proper setup. You clean / Clay and wax. I would say if you really want to keep it nice - Waxing 1nce in 8 months or 6 is recommended.
I may bite the bullet and get it professionally cleaned and waxed. Seems to be about 150 or so at Kwik Car.

Kaps said:

You clean / Clay and wax. I would say if you really want to keep it nice - Waxing 1nce in 8 months or 6 is recommended.

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Clay?

You need a bucket, a good car soap like meguiars, and a big stack of about 50 microfiber towels.

Watch videos online, but essentially if you wash with good soap and always use a clean never dropped microfiber towel, you're 50x better off than anything else.

For wax, if you want something quick, I highly recommend Meguiar's X-press Wax http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-xpress-spray-wax.html - Spray and wipe like pledge

You can go beyond this, but this is the basic care you need when you have little time and want to inexpensively care for your paint. Don't get complicated!

shaendra said:

Clay?

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You spray Quick Detailer (chemical used to clean small bird poops / debris etc.) - and use a clay to capture fine dirt etc. This step is after you wash your car and before you Wax
In world of detailing its more work than raising a child specially for dark cars.

Kaps said:

You spray Quick Detailer (chemical used to clean small bird poops / debris etc.) - and use a clay to capture fine dirt etc. This step is after you wash your car and before you Wax
In world of detailing its more work than raising a child specially for dark cars.

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LOL, that sounds tedious! Man, I don't have a garage, so I'm wondering if any kind of regular washing would be worth it, or a waste of time with me vs. Mother Nature.

Claying is tedious, but for my black CX-5 made it better. If your run your hand along the paint, you can feel small bumps, dirts, and other things that imbed into the clearcoat.

Washing alone does not remove the embedded stuff. Claying will.

After I clayed my car, I run my hand along the paint and it is super smooth. Now that it's clayed, I'd feel better about polishing/waxing.

The Meguiars stuff is great. Ive used it for many years.

Claying is not something you normally need to do very often. Its great for restoring neglected paint so its ready to be polished and waxed.

For the OP - it may be worth claying on your new-to-you car to get the surface up to a good standard, then follow with a polish (I use Meguiars Ultimate Polish) and then finish with wax (Ultimate Wax). After that, a 6 monthly wax and a yearly polish/wax will keep it looking good. Wash every few weeks with Ultimate wash.

The Meguiars website has videos showing you how to use the clay bar and how to hand polish and wax.

eyedocorlando said:

You need a bucket, a good car soap like meguiars, and a big stack of about 50 microfiber towels.

Watch videos online, but essentially if you wash with good soap and always use a clean never dropped microfiber towel, you're 50x better off than anything else.

For wax, if you want something quick, I highly recommend Meguiar's X-press Wax http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-xpress-spray-wax.html - Spray and wipe like pledge

You can go beyond this, but this is the basic care you need when you have little time and want to inexpensively care for your paint. Don't get complicated!

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To do it right you really need two buckets. One with your soapy water and another with just clean water. Use the clean water to rinse your wash rag after you wash a section of the car. This way if your wash rag picks up anything that can scratch your car it should be removed when you rinse.

And ALWAYS wash/wax your car in the shade out of direct sunlight, even if you have to move the car at some point to keep it in the shade.

One last thing, do not ever use dishwashing soap on your car. It can remove your wax along with the dirt. Get some dedicated car wash soap.

Claying is a LOT of work but if done right is well worth the effort. If you've never done it be sure to see some videos of the process on youtube.

ALWAYS use PLENTY of lube (whatever your choice of lube is) while rubbing the clay over your paint. If you drop your clay bar, you're done with that bar. DO NOT try to reuse that bar or try to clean it off and reuse. You'll be very unhappy with what may happen.

Take your time and do it in the shade. Claying will remove any wax that may be on the car so be sure to apply a coat of wax when you're done. With washing, drying, claying, and waxing, this is an all day affair so be prepared for that. Also be sure to have plenty of beer on hand as it's at least a 6-pack job.

Conrad 16.5 said:

To do it right you really need two buckets. One with your soapy water and another with just clean water. Use the clean water to rinse your wash rag after you wash a section of the car. This way if your wash rag picks up anything that can scratch your car it should be removed when you rinse.

And ALWAYS wash/wax your car in the shade out of direct sunlight, even if you have to move the car at some point to keep it in the shade.

One last thing, do not ever use dishwashing soap on your car. It can remove your wax along with the dirt. Get some dedicated car wash soap.

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Excellent advice. I'd also add that you should look into Grit Guards for the buckets to really get the crap out of your wash mitt when you rinse it in-between sections.

As well as the recommendations for waxes that other posters have listed, take a look at the Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant and its companion Deep Gloss Spritz Sealant. The DGPS gives a superb wet look to the paint and provides months of protection, while using the DGSS every couple of washes only takes 15 minutes and will keep the protection topped off. They're not cheap, but a little goes a very long way given that you only need to use the DGPS every 6 months or so.

hello. I am a new CX-5 owner too. The wife and I just picked ours (a CPO 2016 Touring) up 9 days ago.

As speedie95 said, pick up some grit guards for your buckets, both the soap bucket and the clean water rinse bucket. don't forget to get a separate wheel bucket and a separate wheel cleaning item/rag/towel/sponge/brush. Do not use the wheel items on the surface of the car; they will be for the wheels only - forever and ever.

Have you thought about picking up a (soap) foam cannon; either garden hose or pressure washer type?

Claying is a time intensive process and when done once, should not have to be done for quite some time. I heard that very warm water can be used in a pinch if you run out of the detailer spray. The water/spray is only there to provide a lubricant for the clay bar to glide over. If you want to be anal, I guess you can use distilled water spray to avoid that pesky tap water with minerals and chlorine and stuff added to it to make it safe to drink.

Question - what are you going to use to help keep the waxes/polishes off all of the black trim that adorns the CX-5? Painters tape?

I like watching the Chemical Guys Videos on youtube, i like and use there products as well they have lots of tutorials