2018 CX-5 Low Speed Transmission Hesitation/Jerk/Lurch

So happy that this thread exists! Noticed the exact same thing the second day driving around my new 2019 GTR. I'll probably still take it in to have it looked at, but feeling more relieved that this is a common problem.
 
Well my 2015 cx-5 had no jerking, sounds like bull s*** from the dealer to me.
 
Well my 2015 cx-5 had no jerking, sounds like bull s*** from the dealer to me.

Hi Xtrailman. You had diesel versions and I had/have diesel versions with no jerking problems. Perhaps the common denominator as all the NA versions will obviously be petrol?
 
If I had to sum up my 2018 CX-5 transmission I would say, compared to the 2015 it replaced, I am much more aware of the shifting. This includes both accelerating and decelerating. The 2015 was smoother.
 
Any 19 drivers seeing this? Turbo or NA.

So far it seems to be almost exclusively 18s.
 
I have a 16.5 GT and a 19 GT-R. I find its more noticeable on the 19 but its also there on the 16.5.

Something that Im noticing on the 19, that I dont really find on the 16.5 that is more annoying(and concerning) is that it seems confused when going into second under some scenarios.

Scenario 1:
light acceleration from a stop, lift off the throttle slightly as it goes into 2nd, then get back on the throttle- the RPMs jump for a second then drop down as it engages into 2nd.

Scenario 2:
Slowing down to make a right turn with no stop sign, lift off the throttle, make the turn, get back on the throttle, the RPMs jump for a second then drop down as it engages into 2nd.

When the RPMs jump, its around 500 over where it engages.

If I dont lift of the throttle, the RPMs dont jump. However, it seems like its a softer shift into second than the rear of the gears.
 
My 2017 GT two years old and does that jerking thing all the time in the lower gears. When I had only 1500 miles on the car I have addressed this issue with the Mazda dealer. At the time the dealer installed recording device under my dash of my car that records engine and transmission behavior (error codes). Dealer told me to drive with device for 3 weeks, then it was removed by dealer and sent for inspection to Mazda top engineers (Per Dealer). After all inspections the reply from dealer was that *everything in this vehicle performs as designed that includes transmission. Well long story short the car is still lurching/jerking at lower speeds and Mazda not willing to admit that there is a problem and with my luck the transition will break when the car warranty runs out.
 
2018 CX 5 Low Speed Transmission Hesitation/ Jerk/ Lurch

Hey just saying me too.... haha. My wifes 2018 Touring does this as well. My 2014 6 doesnt. I notice it more when I drive. She never noticed it until I was driving her car, so maybe it has something to do with our driving styles as well.
 
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Hey guys. To find out more about this issue, I was looking to test drive a similar CX 5 to mine. Luckily, a dealer had a used '18 CX5 AWD on their lot. When I drove the car, I could hear the same noise when slowing down and accelerating especially at 90 degree turns. The transmission/ torque convertor makes the same clicking noise. In a way, I am relieved that its not just my car doing this. My CX3 doesn't have this issue at all. Hopefully, there is a fix for this issue.
 
Our 2014 does something like this, when backing out of the driveway and then putting it into Drive when everything is still cold. I try to be as gentle as possible and only touch the pedal after the car starts moving forward.
 
My EURO spec 2018 has same issue occasionally. For me it's just annoying don't consider it a safety issue. Unfortunately the dealer was correct when told you it was 'normal'. Normal maybe, but something Mazda needs to address. In this day and age a 6 speed transmission is old school technology. There should not be any more bugs to work out at this stage in the production life of this transmission.
 
My EURO spec 2018 has same issue occasionally. For me it's just annoying don't consider it a safety issue. Unfortunately the dealer was correct when told you it was 'normal'. Normal maybe, but something Mazda needs to address. In this day and age a 6 speed transmission is old school technology. There should not be any more bugs to work out at this stage in the production life of this transmission.

Is yours petrol or diesel?
 
There is a worldwide TSB that explains that some cars may experience notchy changes at some elevations which is why some of you may feel it and some not (over 1000m or 3300ft). Of course this forum has taken the pathetic move of allowing Mazda NA to insist that TSBs are not shown as if they dont exist so I wont show it (I tend to get warned in great big red letters if I tread on the mods toes) but the number is R069/17C if you need to quote it. It explains the installation of new gearbox firmware to improve the feel.
 
There is a worldwide TSB that explains that some cars may experience notchy changes at some elevations which is why some of you may feel it and some not (over 1000m or 3300ft). Of course this forum has taken the pathetic move of allowing Mazda NA to insist that TSBs are not shown as if they don*t exist so I won*t show it (I tend to get warned in great big red letters if I tread on the mod*s toes) but the number is R069/17C if you need to quote it. It explains the installation of new gearbox firmware to improve the feel.

Ummm....wat? Is this conjecture, or verified?
 
2018 CX 5 Low Speed Transmission Hesitation/ Jerk/ Lurch

There is a worldwide TSB that explains that some cars may experience notchy changes at some elevations which is why some of you may feel it and some not (over 1000m or 3300ft). Of course this forum has taken the pathetic move of allowing Mazda NA to insist that TSBs are not shown as if they don*t exist so I won*t show it (I tend to get warned in great big red letters if I tread on the mod*s toes) but the number is R069/17C if you need to quote it. It explains the installation of new gearbox firmware to improve the feel.
But many owners complaining this do not live in such higher elevations over 1000m or 3300ft. SKYCRUISE in Belgium certainly is not.

Like the TSB on electrical parking brake dragging issue, Mazda started with changing EPB control module (with modified firmware, trying to use software to fix the issue. Sounded familiar?) blaming on the cold environment. Later they changed the TSB and figured out the real culprit is the inconsistency of manufacturing tolerance on rear brake caliper and revised calipers are needed to fix the problem.

IMO this issue has something to do with changes made on transmission to accommodate cylinder deactivation. We have no such complaint on 6-speed SkyActiv-Drive transmission until 2018 MY CX-5 coming out with newly added cylinder deactivation.

The censorship to TSBs by Mazda applied to this forum certainly gives us a bad taste to our mouth! It'd only drive customers away!
 
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Our '15 never does this. Perhaps, they have modified the torque converter lock disengagement criteria to make it even more strict. Remember, SkyActiv transmission is much closer to the manual unit then to your average slush box. It unlocks torque converter very reluctantly in any gear, making it a direct drive. And it locks in any gear almost instantly. May be you are experiencing the enhanced direct - drive algorithms that give you benefits of fuel savings at the expense of low-speed, low-torque hesitation. Could be very normal.

My 2018 GT does the same thing, jerking on acceleration coming out of a sharp corner. The torque converter locking up mentioned here seems to make sense because it doesn't really feel like a gear change when it happens.
 
2018 CX 5 Low Speed Transmission Hesitation/ Jerk/ Lurch

My 2018 GT does the same thing, jerking on acceleration coming out of a sharp corner. The torque converter locking up mentioned here seems to make sense because it doesn't really feel like a gear change when it happens.
See, another 2018 CX-5 GT owner is complaining the problem. If such problem happens only on 2018+ CX-5 non-turbo owners, we can certainly believe the culprit is the modification to SkyActiv-Drive transmission made for cylinder deactivation.

Lock-up clutch in torque converter is not the issue. We have this lock-up most-of-time feature since 2013 MY. And we havent seen such complaint until 2018 MY which stated to feature cylinder deactivation and modified the transmission to accommodate the CD.
 
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