2017 CX-5 Soul Red Crystal Metallic

paulj said:
Hi all,

Came across this thread as I’m thinking of buying the Soul Red CX-5 this week. I’m glad I did as there seems to be some horror stories that some of you are dealing with.

Does anyone know if this issue is affecting newer cars or if it’s still the same as the ones describered here? From my reading it seems like the Machine Gray suffers from the same issue. Is is limited to these 2 only?

Thanks in advance and I hope everyone has a satisfactory ending to their problems.
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Appears to be just these two colors. As you no doubt know, they are both $595 retail options and apparently employ the same paint technology and application methodology. I would stay away from them (particularly the red) until the issues are resolved. This is a drag for prospective buyers. I may be in the market for the 2019 Mazda 3 next year and right now these would be my top two color pics!
 
Thanks for the reply. Good to know. Thats a real shame as my interest in the Mazda stems from seeing the Soul Red one in my building, it really does look great. Not being able to simply get the color you want is annoying. Mazda seem to have really screwed up here. Even if its only affecting a small number of people, it has people like me reconsidering a purchase.
 
paulj said:
Thanks for the reply. Good to know. Thats a real shame as my interest in the Mazda stems from seeing the Soul Red one in my building, it really does look great. Not being able to simply get the color you want is annoying. Mazda seem to have really screwed up here. Even if its only affecting a small number of people, it has people like me reconsidering a purchase.
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If car color is your main USP - your out of luck. That Soul red is rivaling and beating some premium brands. Though not sure about chips. I would get it - respray it if it gets bad in 3 years and mentally be prepared for a hood repray every 5 years which should not run a lot - couple of hundred bucks.
 
Kaps said:
If car color is your main USP - your out of luck. That Soul red is rivaling and beating some premium brands. Though not sure about chips. I would get it - respray it if it gets bad in 3 years and mentally be prepared for a hood repray every 5 years which should not run a lot - couple of hundred bucks.
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Not necessarily the USP but it would be nice to be able to freely choice the color, assuming you are willing to pay the price premium, without worrying about excessive chipping. Ill probably go with the Sonic Silver at this stage.
 
I've got machine grey, and zero chips. Paint is fantastic and I get a lot of compliments on the colour.

1 year into ownership, 13K km, mixed hwy/city driving.
 
Just wondering;

Since both the Soul Red and the Machine Gray have those metallic bits in the paint, I wonder if they are getting hotter which could undermine the paint coat? These are different from the usual metallic paints with these rectangular bits in the coat.

The other colors do not have this and we are not hearing about chopping issues with the Sonic Silver or the other colors.

I have the silver and have yet to find any chipping. (Knock on wood)
 
Puyapim said:
Just wondering;

Since both the Soul Red and the Machine Gray have those metallic bits in the paint, I wonder if they are getting hotter which could undermine the paint coat? These are different from the usual metallic paints with these rectangular bits in the coat.

The other colors do not have this and we are not hearing about chopping issues with the Sonic Silver or the other colors.

I have the silver and have yet to find any chipping. (Knock on wood)
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You will get some with Sonic Silver unfortunately but because of the colour, it hides them better than SRC or MG
 
Puyapim said:
Just wondering;

Since both the Soul Red and the Machine Gray have those metallic bits in the paint, I wonder if they are getting hotter which could undermine the paint coat? These are different from the usual metallic paints with these rectangular bits in the coat.

The other colors do not have this and we are not hearing about chopping issues with the Sonic Silver or the other colors.

I have the silver and have yet to find any chipping. (Knock on wood)
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I think you may be on to something there. I took delivery in September, and noticed very few chips last time I checked, about 3 weeks ago. When I looked at it today, it was like negative measles-- tiny chips everywhere. What has changed? The extreme heat, obviously. But I've also been driving some different routes which might be "dirtier", so I'm not placing blame. But these don't look like rock chips to me. They're too uniform and too small.

Makes me really glad I'm leasing.

Has anyone else in the northern hemisphere noticed an increase in chips with the heat? Anybody in southern/central Arizona?
 
BTW, how are any that've been repainted locally holding up??
 
Just a quick update: I called the collision center at my dealer today and they told me to bring it in anytime this week to get a few pictures taken for Mazda. Emailed that info to the Mazda rep and she replied less than 30 min later to say she'd already called and spoken with the manager to give him instructions on how to proceed when I come in this week. I'll keep posting back. This part of the process has been painless so far...I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.
 
shadonoz said:
I think you may be on to something there. I took delivery in September, and noticed very few chips last time I checked, about 3 weeks ago. When I looked at it today, it was like negative measles-- tiny chips everywhere. What has changed? The extreme heat, obviously. But I've also been driving some different routes which might be "dirtier", so I'm not placing blame. But these don't look like rock chips to me. They're too uniform and too small.

Makes me really glad I'm leasing.

Has anyone else in the northern hemisphere noticed an increase in chips with the heat? Anybody in southern/central Arizona?
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That sounds interesting. My theory is that those metallic rectangles which I believe are aluminium, might be heating up in a focused manner weakening the paint structure.

Now I’m no paint expert but this is different from the usual metallic paints which are finer. I would think that the Mazda engineers have thought of this as well or have contacted their paint supplier to investigate.

Remember, there was a slight change from Soul Red to Soul Red Crystal. This issue keeps coming up on that color in particular though it’s not alone in that regard.
 
Hi all,

I've posted this to a different forum, but I was told I might have some more luck here. Though I have a Miata, this is the same color and CX-5s with this color were out AFAIK long before Miatas, so you have might some more experience.

My problem are not chips (yet), but spots.

The car was delivered at the end of May. It was already polished at the dealer because of the same issue (and it was resolved at that time).

Under normal conditions, this is invisible, but with strong light source, near its reflection or in the sun (near its reflections) there are these spots which cannot be removed.

The dealer did not know what this is, and the car is usually in the garage, I park outside rarely (except 2 weeks ago on holiday, there was some rain, and it was sunny afterwards).

did anyone encounter this problem, or know what this might be?

80-7139d236_ebef_4353_b378_6f966cbafb87_b991b00b1a42235da738153db8bed9e51b0d02d2.jpeg


Video (at the beginning this is the trunk with the spots, after that the hood without spots (except for a bird): https://www.dropbox.com/s/78upw3r1d9y76jh/Video 2018. 07. 16. 11 48 04.mov?dl=0


Others told me that it might be water spots, but other than the few days it was on the sun, the only water which touched was rain.

Any ideas? thanks.
 
grizzancs said:
Hi all,

I've posted this to a different forum, but I was told I might have some more luck here. Though I have a Miata, this is the same color and CX-5s with this color were out AFAIK long before Miatas, so you have might some more experience.

My problem are not chips (yet), but spots.

The car was delivered at the end of May. It was already polished at the dealer because of the same issue (and it was resolved at that time).

Under normal conditions, this is invisible, but with strong light source, near its reflection or in the sun (near its reflections) there are these spots which cannot be removed.

The dealer did not know what this is, and the car is usually in the garage, I park outside rarely (except 2 weeks ago on holiday, there was some rain, and it was sunny afterwards).

did anyone encounter this problem, or know what this might be?

80-7139d236_ebef_4353_b378_6f966cbafb87_b991b00b1a42235da738153db8bed9e51b0d02d2.jpeg


Video (at the beginning this is the trunk with the spots, after that the hood without spots (except for a bird): https://www.dropbox.com/s/78upw3r1d9y76jh/Video 2018. 07. 16. 11 48 04.mov?dl=0


Others told me that it might be water spots, but other than the few days it was on the sun, the only water which touched was rain.

Any ideas? thanks.
Click to expand...

Have you tried a good claybar? I had some spots like that (not that many) from IFOs on my hatch after the winter. Went away with a good clay. If it's fairly new it may be from say rail dust, as an example, that wasn't cleaned off through normal cleaning.
 
Sideswipe said:
I've got machine grey, and zero chips. Paint is fantastic and I get a lot of compliments on the colour.

1 year into ownership, 13K km, mixed hwy/city driving.
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Thanks for the info. Good to heart that its not everyone. Will go to the dealer tonight and hopefully come away with a good deal.
 
Grizzancs,


I’d might consider checking with a detailer. The dealer might not be the best option when it comes to paint correction. A detailer would be more proficient in this area.

I agree with the clay bar idea. If your car was transported by rail then rail dust is a culprit most commonly known. A good iron treatment followed by a coating will bring that paint coat back to showroom quality.
 
We have had our machine gray since December. Drove 2200 miles with only one small chip on the fender. Installed a clear bra about a month ago before we took any road trips. We are at 5K miles now (2800 miles in 3 weeks) and no chips at all beyond where the bra covers.
20180622_074543.jpg
 
Grizzancs - I've been doing my own paint corrections for years and your picture and video would have me concerned. It almost looks like contamination or early clear coat failure - could be a portion of the car was repainted prior to delivery to you, or just a factory defect. Tough to tell without seeing the car in person, but i would think, in my useless opinion, that those symptoms will go away temporarily by applying a glaze, but they will eventually reappear. I would take the car to a reputable detailer in your area and let them look at the paint. Hope you can get this resolved.
 
Stopped by the dealer today and the collision center manager took photos. He confirmed Mazda had been in touch with him about my case and would get back in contact with me. He said his shop has already done 3 resprays on Soul Red Crystal CX-5's, although he didn't say whether Mazda covered the cost...so I continue to wait on that. I could tell he was trying not to discuss liability or badmouth Mazda too much, but he did say he strongly believes there's a fault in the clearcoat on this color -- that it's too brittle leading to the chips. He also said that while it's possibly the best color on the road, it's just an absolute nightmare to work with and that his painters hate seeing these cars come in. As everyone knows, it's a tricoat and the clear is tinted. It's impossible to blend, so they have to do the entire hood, pillars, panels, etc.

I'll keep updating...
 
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