Must have CX-5 Tools and Items

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2019 CX-5 AWD
Every vehicle has certain tools or items that enhance the safety or usability.

What are some of the tools or upgrades on your CX-5 that you like or appreciate the most?

I've only had the vehicle for about a month, but I just ordered this pinch weld jack adapter for about 12 bucks for my floor jack. It is solid aluminum with a UHMW insert. This is the best rated metal one I could find compared to all the rubber adapters.

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Common hand tools aside:

Cheap OBD 2 bluetooth scanner + torque pro app. ($15-$30 range)
1/2 inch Torque wrench. Mine is made by Teckton ($38 via Amazon )
Good small LED flashlight like the free ones from Harbor freight. (Free with any purchase Coupon)
 
Every vehicle has certain tools or items that enhance the safety or usability.

What are some of the tools or upgrades on your CX-5 that you like or appreciate the most?

I've only had the vehicle for about a month, but I just ordered this jack adapter for about 12 bucks so that I could lift the vehicle with my floor jack. (Without this, you would damage the unibody while lifting it with any other jack other than the slow, emergency oriented scissor jack). This is the best rated metal one I could find compared to all the rubber adapters.

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https://amzn.to/2KUtnTe

So, you can't just jack it up from the frame rail like all other modern vehicles?
 
So, you can't just jack it up from the frame rail like all other modern vehicles?

It can be jacked up from either the pinch welds or specific spots on the frame rails. Have to be careful not to put a jack in the wrong place because unibodies can be damaged if jacked up wrong.
 
Mazda is very specific that only the pinch welds should be used for jacking the vehicle. May just be to keep the lawyers happy, but those are the 4 points I will use to lift the vehicle. I will use multiple 6 ton jack stands (I have a set of 4). I may even buy another 3 of the pinch weld adapters so that they will not be damaged if the vehicle needs to be fixed at a repair shop. If you just jack up the pinch weld without an adapter using a floor or bottle jack, you can easily fold down the metal on the pinch weld. Even a shop hydraulic lift can damage them. Both front pinch welds on my old 04 ES were damaged when I got the vehicle. Probably the front ones were damaged because there is more weight on them in a V6 sedan.

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Mazda is very specific that only the pinch welds should be used for jacking the vehicle. May just be to keep the lawyers happy, but those are the 4 points I will use to lift the vehicle. I will use multiple 6 ton jack stands (I have a set of 4). I may even buy another 3 of the pinch weld adapters so that they will not be damaged if the vehicle needs to be fixed at a repair shop. If you just jack up the pinch weld without an adapter using a floor or bottle jack, you can easily fold down the metal on the pinch weld. Even a shop hydraulic lift can damage them. Both front pinch welds on my old 04 ES were damaged when I got the vehicle. Probably the front ones were damaged because there is more weight on them in a V6 sedan. I'm not a fan of the pinch weld design (obviously), but it is very common and the adapter fixes the problem.

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We've only had our CX5 for two weeks and I have not yet delved into the manual. The jacking points information is GREAT to know...thank you for posting!

Do you have a link to the jack adapter you bought?

TIA!
CV
 
Yeah, this forum is a great community. Already learned some useful things to check (spare tire for sure, going to make a trip to the local LKQ).

I decided to buy the other 3. For 50 bucks I have all 4 corners covered.
 
Yeah, this forum is a great community. Already learned some useful things to check (spare tire for sure, going to make a trip to the local LKQ).

I decided to buy the other 3. For 50 bucks I have all 4 corners covered.
So you have 4 floor jacks for 4 pinch weld adapters? ;)

IMO pinch weld points are better suited for jack stand. If Im going to lift front or rear of the CX-5, Id jack up the front or rear cross member or rear differential case like Mazda Workshop Manual suggested with powerful enough floor jack, then put 2 jack stands under the pinch weld point on both sides. To me, I dont need pinch weld adapter as I seldom actually jack up the car at pinch weld point with floor jack, may be only doing the tire rotation, then I use a piece of 2X4 to serve as a cushion.

Yeah according to service manual see post #19. Attachment picture, link below

https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123823081-How-to-jack-up-your-CX-5/page2

Per general public owner's manuals, you can also jack the CX5 at the four pinch welds under near each door when you have a flat using the flimsy OEM trunk jack when you're in a bind , make sure to loosen the lugs first before you jack up, also don't drive with the donut in the fronts, if you have a front flat you need to get a good tire from the back wheels and move it to the front. So basically if you have a front flat, you need to change twice, first replace rear good tire with donut , then take the removed rear tire and replace front flat tire and throw front flat tire in the trunk and drive to shop to get flat fixed. It helps to have an emergency long breaker pipe in the trunk, last thing you want is not able to remove the damn lug.

Donut should only ride in the rear wheels, it should be in the manual, something about better driving control and braking power with both front full size tires, dangerous to have one front full size and one front donut in emergency braking situation.

Weird that mazda doesn't point out the four corners where the independent shops use when they lift the cars by the four corner lower control arms, mazda only list the dimpled front cross member and rear differential case

attachment.php
 
I use a hockey puck (heavy rubber) as a protector/adapter for my floor jack. Some other items that may come in handy:

- tire compressor/inflator that plugs into 12 volt cigarette lighter
- jumper cables
- anti-freeze tester
- telescoping magnetic pick up tool (for screws and nuts that you drop)
 
The other 3 are only for shop work, they usually have hydraulic lifts with flat pad lifts that aren't ideal for pinch welds. Want to avoid potential damage.

I don't trust wood or slotted rubber blocks, they can shatter. Seen it before. Sometimes wood blocks will give you a warning before they fail, sometimes not. I'd trust a solid heavy rubber block (not slotted). Plywood is also more than strong enough to hold a heavy vehicle and my preferred material.
 
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Mazda is very specific that only the pinch welds should be used for jacking the vehicle.

In my recollection, every unibody car I've ever owned has specified that same thing.

Seems mandatory if you use the supplied jack, but there are many suitable placements for a floor jack.
 
There are probably a number of placements you could lift the vehicle other than the specified points. For $50, I'm sticking with the factory points 100% to avoid headaches. : p
 
Part of those factory-specified locations is so you don't jack up the car at the midpoint, where balancing/tipping come into play.

They probably want to avoid someone who will try to get both tires on a given side up off the ground at the same time.
 
so doesn't anyone know if a regular sized tire fits into the spare compartment
and also be able to close the spare top cover ???
 
so doesn't anyone know if a regular sized tire fits into the spare compartment
and also be able to close the spare top cover ???
A regular sized tire will fit into the spare well, but it will be too wide to make the trunk cover flat.
 
The other 3 are only for shop work, they usually have hydraulic lifts with flat pad lifts that aren't ideal for pinch welds. Want to avoid potential damage.

I don't trust wood or slotted rubber blocks, they can shatter. Seen it before. Sometimes wood blocks will give you a warning before they fail, sometimes not. I'd trust a solid heavy rubber block (not slotted). Plywood is also more than strong enough to hold a heavy vehicle and my preferred material.
Not if you align the wood grain vertically to pinch weld line so that the wood won't get cut split.
 
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