CX5 Alternator

mhj

Member
:
CX-5, 2013
The alternator on my 2013 CX-5 gave out after 60K miles. Any ideas on a good brand to get? I am think Advanced Auto, hoping to avoid OEM. What are you thughts? Also, has anyone had an alternator go bad this early?
 
That is very early for an alternator to go bad. I'm not a fan of aftermarket parts, especially when its dealing with the electrical. If you are sure its the alternator and are mechanically inclined. I would take it out and check the brushes. Looks like brushes are sold at the dealer for about $8 each. Youtube videos show some soldering required for some alternators. But you can always check and see how the brushes are in there on the CX-5.
If they are worn down I would just replace the brushes.

The link is for 2013 CX-5 sport.

https://www.jimellismazdaparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=300580&ukey_product=1818701
 
Yeah thats what I was wondering that it seemed odd for this thing to fail so quickly. I am not in town so my sister took it Autozone and jump starting the battery and was told the alternator failed.
 
FYI, while on a long trip with other Miata owners; one car had its battery die.
After jump starting and driving to an Autozone, we too were told that the alternator wasn't charging properly.

HOWEVER, after replacing the battery the alternator suddenly tested as GOOD!
The bad battery was causing a false reading on their tester.

Suggestion ... try first replacing the battery and then retesting the alternator.
You may find that it's actually good.
 
Good point on replacing the battery if it's original and winter is coming.If you're not comfortable tearing into the alternator yourself, I'd look for a local business that does automotive electrics and have them check it out and rebuild it if necessary.The factory parts are the best quality and aftermarket starters and alternators and other parts are a real crapshoot especially chain stores.That "lifetime warranty" is little consolation when the part fails within a year or two and leaves you stranded especially in winter or away from home.It doesn't cover labor generally either so figure that if you don't DIY.

Years ago, NAPA and carquest carried high quality reman parts.Not so sure anymore and Advance Auto now owns CARQUEST so don't know where their quality is now.

It might be worth checking with the Mazda dealer.I don't know if it's covered under 5 year, 60,000 mile drivetrain warranty (haven't checked).Maybe you can get some goodwill help from mazda.Might be worth a try.

The thought of chain store alternators and starters makes me cringe .Hope to not have to deal with that again. Good Luck.
 
Jump starting, then driving around like normal, does not sound like a bad alternator, but a bad battery. I would not drive the CX-5 around with a bad alternator. Our cars have electric power steering. So I am sure the car would die quickly with a bad alternator. I would suspect just the battery

When my old 626 alternator went bad, it was at about 200,000 miles. The dash lights light told me there was a charging problem before it got to the point of not starting.

I just replaced my original battery in my CX-5 last month. I went to the Mazda dealer and they priced matched Interstate battery at $120. They told me its just a rebadged interstate battery.
 
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Interesting ideas guys! I am actually not in town to take a look at it myself but the car was jumped, came back to life. Then restarted again after the engine was turned off. I will get back in town Saturday and check it out with a battery. If it is the alternator, I will just pay someone to fix it, don't wanna waste my precious vacation under the hood.
 
FYI, while on a long trip with other Miata owners; one car had its battery die.
After jump starting and driving to an Autozone, we too were told that the alternator wasn't charging properly.

HOWEVER, after replacing the battery the alternator suddenly tested as GOOD!
The bad battery was causing a false reading on their tester.

Suggestion ... try first replacing the battery and then retesting the alternator.
You may find that it's actually good.

Good suggestion. Wonder who told OP it was the alternator though? Some mechanics will do so to rip customers off. I once had an honest mechanic explain to me why my Honda CRX didn't start. It was a small fuse. He gave me one for free and started right up.
 
Interesting ideas guys! I am actually not in town to take a look at it myself but the car was jumped, came back to life. Then restarted again after the engine was turned off. I will get back in town Saturday and check it out with a battery. If it is the alternator, I will just pay someone to fix it, don't wanna waste my precious vacation under the hood.

I am curious if it was the first time that your sister has driven the car? Sometimes the START/STOP ignition button can fool new users into leaving the car in accessory mode when exiting the car instead of turning the car completely off, which in turn would run the battery down. Doing this could cause a battery to need a jump.
 
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The only reman alternators I buy are Mitsubishi or Denso
The original is made by Mitsubishi (nothing to do with the cars of the same name, different company)... Mitsubishi Electric USA remans their starters and alternators here in the US and sells them only to select distributors (such as Makoto Corp)/repair shops... it's a professional level part that's not easily found... Amazon might have it listed (sold under 3rd party) so long as you search via the Mitsubishi number (it will say something like M0000A2311) you find on the sticker

Denso is easiest to get but might be more expensive... they're also an OEM supplier and remans Denso alternators, starters, and compressors in house... they also buy from Mitsubishi their remans and box as their own... being so new, I'm not sure if Denso has a CX-5 listing in their catalog... worth looking
 
Nope not the first time driving it. I drove it myself plenty. I will get back in town this weekend so I'll check it out then. The alternator issue was brought up by the guy at Autozone.
 
Nope not the first time driving it. I drove it myself plenty. I will get back in town this weekend so I'll check it out then. The alternator issue was brought up by the guy at Autozone.

$10 says alternator is fine.
 
Yeah I hope you're right! This is my first Mazda and if the alternator is bad, then this will be my last.
 
Yeah I hope you're right! This is my first Mazda and if the alternator is bad, then this will be my last.
I think we saw people saying this a few times here before. Thanks for your honesty and many ex-Mazda owners wouldn't say anything just left including some of my best friends. I hope Mazda can hear you and keep up the quality and reliability as these two are the most important thing for car buyers.

Like others, I do believe your alternator is fine, otherwise you or your sister should see this warning light in the instrument cluster:
Battery_Actual_Battery_Red.jpg
 
Anyone have good luck finding batteries tat are reliable for this car? It does seem to be pretty demanding.
 
Anyone have good luck finding batteries tat are reliable for this car? It does seem to be pretty demanding.
You need a Group 35 battery although I usually get OEM battery from dealer for better fit. Here is a thread with good info on CX-5 battery:

Battery Suggestions?
 
Just to update everyone, I drove the car around for a while with no issues, autozone test showed bad battery so I put in a walmart battery for $93 with 3 yr warranty. It drove just fine, no issues with battery test and no issues since.

Moral of the story: don't trust Autozone guy or a woman's opnion when it comes to a car (sorry ladies)!
 
Just to update everyone, I drove the car around for a while with no issues, autozone test showed bad battery so I put in a walmart battery for $93 with 3 yr warranty. It drove just fine, no issues with battery test and no issues since.

Moral of the story: don't trust Autozone guy or a woman's opnion when it comes to a car (sorry ladies)!

Cool beans!!
 
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