Used 2016 CX-5 GT

dhayes16

Member
:
Mazda CX9
Hello All.
I have a 2010 CX-9 GT with about 128K miles on it. Other than the cracked transfer case issue at 95K (Mazda replaced no charge for parts) I am currently fighting the 4WD light on issue caused by the cable broken into the rear diff. Plus the CX9 really ate wheel bearings.

Anyway, I am going to trade the CX9 in. A local dealer has a 2016 CX-5 GT (not 2016.5) CX-5 that came off trade with 11K miles on it for about $ 24,400. Seems to be a good deal. But I am REALLY shell shocked by my tranny issues with the CX9 and I have been looking at these threads and see other people having transmission problems. I put a lot of miles on my cars and tend to be hard on them..Live in the NorthEast, etc.

So as is the case for many people it is between the CX-5 and the CRV and I don't want to buy new. My main concern is long term reliability. I need to get more that 128k miles on my car (assuming I take care of it). So are my concerns about the 2016 CX-5 unfounded.? It really seems like a nice car.

Oh and the 2016 the dealer has is certified so it has the 7 year/100,000 mile on the power train so that feels a little better.

Any thoughts? These posts on here with people burning through tranny's with low miles concerns me.

Thanks
Dave
 
Does it have AWD? Tech package with LED lights? If so $24k is an okay price if it has both. I'd try to get it down to $22k.

Mazda is hit or miss for reliability, and things like a replacement LED headlight unit costs ~ $1,100.
 
If it wasn't certified I would say get the CR-V since you are concerned about long term reliability. Since it is certified pre-owned, then I think you should get the CX-5. I have a 2016 CX-5 GT (not 2016.5) and my transmission was replaced at around the 15k mile mark. When you go test drive, try to see if you can reproduce the symptom of, going into reverse, then putting it in Drive and the car will pause for a bit before jerking forward, because you already had your foot on the gas pedal. Even if you cannot reproduce it during the test drive, it doesn't guarantee that you won't run into it in the future. That said, the certified pre-owned warranty should take care of that if it does need replacing.
 
is a crossover/SUV a must for you? There are other more sensible options that are cheaper and more reliable. You can pick up a brand new Mazda 6 for a huge discount right now.
 
Dave, 24.4 K USD on a used car is really confusing. Someone got an AWD GT fully loaded for about 26K with taxes (granted it was a 16.5 when 17s came out).
From reading these forums here is my take:
Touring owners are in general very happy with their Mazda's - its great value. Loaded with great features and is not expensive to maintain.
GT owners - are not too happy, mostly cause 19s are costly to replace, windshield if it cracks is 1100 dollars and in general MZD has packed more value in Touring than GT.

So if relaibility is your concern - a 16.5 Touring fully loaded with 100K warranty is the first choice.
2nd choice is 2017 Touring with PEP (it packages features in a smart way and does not force you to buy moon roof + Bose only like older models did)

A used 16 GT for 24.4 is something I can never recommend - certified or not.
 
Hello All.
I have a 2010 CX-9 GT with about 128K miles on it. Other than the cracked transfer case issue at 95K (Mazda replaced no charge for parts) I am currently fighting the 4WD light on issue caused by the cable broken into the rear diff. Plus the CX9 really ate wheel bearings.

Anyway, I am going to trade the CX9 in. A local dealer has a 2016 CX-5 GT (not 2016.5) CX-5 that came off trade with 11K miles on it for about $ 24,400. Seems to be a good deal. But I am REALLY shell shocked by my tranny issues with the CX9 and I have been looking at these threads and see other people having transmission problems. I put a lot of miles on my cars and tend to be hard on them..Live in the NorthEast, etc.

So as is the case for many people it is between the CX-5 and the CRV and I don't want to buy new. My main concern is long term reliability. I need to get more that 128k miles on my car (assuming I take care of it). So are my concerns about the 2016 CX-5 unfounded.? It really seems like a nice car.

Oh and the 2016 the dealer has is certified so it has the 7 year/100,000 mile on the power train so that feels a little better.

Any thoughts? These posts on here with people burning through tranny's with low miles concerns me.

Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave,

A lot of those early transmission issues were a certain set of 2016's (or was it 2016.5's?) that then got corrected. The only outlier I can think of outside of that was Chris's 2015. Otherwise, plenty of people with high mileage CX-5's with no transmission issues. I have 54k miles on mine and so far so good, very reliable. I know that's not high mileage yet, but just commenting that 4 years later, car is still going well. Only thing I've had to do was replace rear brake pads, and AC needs some maintenance, but the rest of the car has been perfectly reliable. Done all my oil changes every 5k miles, and tire rotations.

I agree with Kaps' post. A GT is going to burn a hole through your pocket more than a Touring. That is the tradeoff of getting fully loaded. A GT with rain sensing wipers, and other tech means super expensive windshield replacements as an example. Where-as mine was about $364.
 
Kaps is giving out the best advice on car purchasing again! And I agree with what he has said.

I'd like to add that for $24,400 you could get a brand new 2016.5 CX-5 Touring if you can find one. Or a little more getting a 2017 CX-5 Touring. This's what I'd do. And I'm always wondering why someone would trade in a 11,000-mile car taking a big loss unless something had been serious wrong on the vehicle or involved some accident.

If the hit-and-miss reliability on Mazda is your concern, get extended warranty only from Mazda directly (not the third party one).
 
Kaps is giving out the best advice on car purchasing again! And I agree with what he has said.

I'd like to add that for $24,400 you could get a brand new 2016.5 CX-5 Touring if you can find one. Or a little more getting a 2017 CX-5 Touring. This's what I'd do. And I'm always wondering why someone would trade in a 11,000-mile car taking a big loss unless something had been serious wrong on the vehicle or involved some accident.

If the hit-and-miss reliability on Mazda is your concern, get extended warranty only from Mazda directly (not the third party one).

Usually a leased car that got turned in. I wouldn't buy a cx5 gt with tech without having them put in words about replacing the headlights. I believe that is the main thing that is really expensive that seems to be going wrong for everyone.
 
GT owners - are not too happy, mostly cause 19s are costly to replace, windshield if it cracks is 1100...

What do you mean? Dont all the different trim levels have the same windshield?

I agree on the 19s however. It looks good whatever, but the ride will not be as comfortable.

Hi Dave,

A lot of those early transmission issues were a certain set of 2016's (or was it 2016.5's?) that then got corrected. The only outlier I can think of outside of that was Chris's 2015. Otherwise, plenty of people with high mileage CX-5's with no transmission issues. I have 54k miles on mine and so far so good, very reliable. I know that's not high mileage yet, but just commenting that 4 years later, car is still going well. ***Only thing I've had to do was replace rear brake pads,*** and AC needs some maintenance, but the rest of the car has been perfectly reliable. Done all my oil changes every 5k miles, and tire rotations.

Do they use salt in Colorado? People who live in snowbelt areas especially where salt is used like Toronto go through rear brake pads much quicker then in warmer areas.

Its important to keep your caliper pins lubed for best braking performance, but the problem with your rear brakes is that the e-brake mehanism traps salt and causes the pads to wear out faster otherwise you would get more life out of them.
 
What do you mean? Dont all the different trim levels have the same windshield?

No. If you have certain technology, for instance the rain sensing wipers, collision alert, smart city braking, etc., it requires a different kind of windshield that works with the sensors and such. There were reports of GT owners spending close to, maybe even over around $1k for windshields. Though I'd hope your insurance comprehensive is less than that. ;)



Do they use salt in Colorado? People who live in snowbelt areas especially where salt is used like Toronto go through rear brake pads much quicker then in warmer areas.

Its important to keep your caliper pins lubed for best braking performance, but the problem with your rear brakes is that the e-brake mehanism traps salt and causes the pads to wear out faster otherwise you would get more life out of them.

Out here they usually lay down sand and use mag chloride. Not straight up salt. But even so, with the mag chloride, I'm always getting my underside of the car washed after a snowstorm. I have not observed any rust.

But makes sense about the rear brakes. I definitely use my e-brake when I park. Mine is an actual handbrake, not the little button you newer CX-5/Mazda owners have.
 
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Dave, 24.4 K USD on a used car is really confusing. Someone got an AWD GT fully loaded for about 26K with taxes (granted it was a 16.5 when 17s came out).
From reading these forums here is my take:
Touring owners are in general very happy with their Mazda's - its great value. Loaded with great features and is not expensive to maintain.
GT owners - are not too happy, mostly cause 19s are costly to replace, windshield if it cracks is 1100 dollars and in general MZD has packed more value in Touring than GT.

So if relaibility is your concern - a 16.5 Touring fully loaded with 100K warranty is the first choice.
2nd choice is 2017 Touring with PEP (it packages features in a smart way and does not force you to buy moon roof + Bose only like older models did)

A used 16 GT for 24.4 is something I can never recommend - certified or not.
GT owner here. If I had to do it over again, no question GT. Automatic Climate Control. The LED headlights that turn 15 degrees with the steering wheel? I've wanted that technology ever since I saw the first BMW with it. Are they prone to failure? I don't think they are. We have seen a few failures here, only one outside the warranty. I have a friend that is a service manager for Mazda and he assures me failures are not common. Same with the tranny's. There was a bad batch on the 16s but that was corrected. The leather seats are the 2nd best leather seats I've owned. And I don't like leather. 19 inch tires are $20-$30 more then 17s. I just double checked as I don't guess when I post. Some Pirelli Scorpion Verdes were $22 more in 19. Less then $100 for the set.
$24 isn't a bad price for a car that was $29 new with that low mileage. Do agree $22 would be a great price.
I went to the lot to get a Touring. I'm glad I didn't.
 
When does a service manage would admit there're many failures on thier vehicl :)
When he's a friend? An actual friend? Not just some guy I met at the dealership. A friend before he worked at Mazda. I don't like to share stuff he's told me because it's told to me by a friend, not an official spokesperson. I believe him.

You are Mr Doom & Gloom around here. We all know it, and love you for it. I'm Mr. Optimistic. Someone has to balance you out.
 
⋯ The LED headlights that turn 15 degrees with the steering wheel? I've wanted that technology ever since I saw the first BMW with it. Are they prone to failure? I don't think they are. We have seen a few failures here, only one outside the warranty. I have a friend that is a service manager for Mazda and he assures me failures are not common.
I love AFS technology even back in '60's when I saw Citroen had that feature. But the failure on our 2016 LED headlights so far has nothing to do with AFS, but the hazed interior and burned-out LED DRLs! It'd cost as much as $1,500 with labor to fix one if you don't have the warranty!

Last time when I post a thread about LED DRL failures on 2016 CX-5 and you said you counted only 3 failures although I counted 10 at the time, there're a lot more since then with another thread, unfortunately including both of my LED headlights! Please get the facts straight.

When does a service manage would admit there're many failures on thier vehicle? We heard "I've never seen or heard such problem" too many times even if there's a TSB for it!

I believe almost all active members here with 2016 GT and LED headlights have experienced some failures on it. If yours still work, which may not be a good sign as they may fail anytime after your warranty expired. :)
 
What the .... Again, this happened? My reply appears...before your post? Happened once before. Tapatalk glitch or forum glitch?
 
I believe almost all active members here with 2016 GT and LED headlights have experienced some failures on it. If yours still work, which may not be a good sign as they may fail anytime after your warranty expired. :)

I'm not the most active, but absolutely no problems with my 2016 GT LED headlights or DRL's. Maybe it's a TX thing? (whistle)


I'm with you 7 regarding the GT trim level. For me the dual zone climate was a must and only available on the GT in '16. Before I purchased, I went back and forth in my mind between Touring and GT. Absolutely no regrets that I chose the GT.
 
I'm not the most active, but absolutely no problems with my 2016 GT LED headlights or DRL's. Maybe it's a TX thing? (whistle)

I'm with you 7 regarding the GT trim level. For me the dual zone climate was a must and only available on the GT in '16. Before I purchased, I went back and forth in my mind between Touring and GT. Absolutely no regrets that I chose the GT.
I hope the LED headlight problem is only the Texas thing but unfortunately it's definitely not if you check these two related threads I provided earlier.

For example banjos-n-beer from Maine and jhu8 from Maryland both just posted earlier in this thread had LED headlight replaced:

Usually a leased car that got turned in. I wouldn't buy a cx5 gt with tech without having them put in words about replacing the headlights. I believe that is the main thing that is really expensive that seems to be going wrong for everyone.

Just 3 weeks ago that I thought my LED headlights should be fine and the DRLs might not fail like others. But both LED DRLs suddenly failed within a week luckily I still have warranty to cover both. If you see 5 revisions for the same LED headlight unit within 2 years of production, you know the original version of the LED headlight unit must have some major issues and the failure is imminent.

I personally have no regrets getting a 2016 CX-5 GT with Tech. But when you're making suggestions to a person who is concerning the reliability due to his previous bad experience from his CX-9, the honest opinions which suit this person should be given!
 
Hello Everyone...MANY apologies for my lack of response. For some reason I did not receive emails that these posts were happening to my original thread. Thank you all so much for your very thorough and honest opinions.

So here I am on Sunday night. I spoke to the dealer on Friday and they have me $5,900 for my CX9 that has a bad rear wheel bearing, both rear brakes and rotors bad as well as the rear diff issue with the 4WD light on. I seriously thought this was a good trade. So I verbally committed to this vehicle on Friday and even have the finance people in the loop. But over the weekend I am having some serious second guesses. This car was put in service in may 2015. So the 7 year/100,000 warranty is only good for 4 years/8 months. The 12 year/12000 mile limited warranty is only good for 20 additional months since I only have 8 months left on the original warranty. So the entire warranty thing really is not wonderful...It is good but not like I was thinking. Also, the black leather interior concerns me as well. Even though I am up in the northeast it does get hot in the summer. It usually does not bother me with my tan leather interior but it is hot. I would imagine black will be even hotter. And, honestly, I could really care less about the moonroof and navigation system. I really wanted android auto so I can use google maps. So there are really some negatives here.

I believe I am going to back out of the deal and opt for a mid trim level. I have had leather in my last car and in all honesty it is really not a deal breaker.

Don't flame me but I am really checking out the 17 Honda CR-V. The mid trim level EX seems like it has more than the touring on the CX-5. But man I love the ride of the CX-5.

Oh and the 2016 I was looking at is AWD but it seems to only have certain aspects of the "Tech package". For instance, it has the rain sensing wipes and navigation but no LED. That is odd.

So thank you so much for your honest and helpful guidance. Much appreciated. I think it is back to the drawing board. I hope my CX-9 lasts that long.

Thanks
 
⋯ Don't flame me but I am really checking out the 17 Honda CR-V. The mid trim level EX seems like it has more than the touring on the CX-5. But man I love the ride of the CX-5.

Oh and the 2016 I was looking at is AWD but it seems to only have certain aspects of the "Tech package". For instance, it has the rain sensing wipes and navigation but no LED. That is odd.
It's correct that the rain-sensing wipers and GPS are standard on 2016 CX-5 GT, but LED headlights、DRLs、fog lights、taillights、and brake lights are part of optional GT Technology Package and apparently the particular CX-5 GT you're looking for doesn't have Tech Package.

If you really want Android Auto I guess 2017 Honda CR-V is a good choice. EX is the best cost effective trim level on Honda CR-V and it definitely comes with more features than mid-trim level CX-5 Touring.
 
Thanks all. I just signed on a 2017 CRV EX.. For just another $2100 I got a brand new vehicle. I did go mid trim level but the Honda gives so much more in that level. I will truly miss my Mazda.

Thanks everyone for all the support and guidance.
 
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