Considering a Mazda5...What should I know?

[Kluch]

Hi All,
I'm new to these forums and had a question for the group. We've currently got a 2016 kia soul - it's our only car. It's a pretty nice little car but now that it's over 100k it's starting to burn oil and that seems to be causing other issues. I was at the dealer yesterday for an ECU update and they had a used 2015 mazda5 on the lot and it caught my attention. From what I can tell these are pretty reliable cars that are decently fun to drive but don't get the best gas mileage. I'm trying to gather all details about them to get an idea of whether this would be a smart buy or not long(er) term.
This one had the leather seats, sunroof, seat warmers, etc. The listing online said backup camera but I don't think it has one, haha. Anyways, it's got almost 73k miles on it so I'm a little concerned about how it would hold up long term. The dealership is selling it for 15k (not sure if that's what would be considered a good/great/decent price or not?).
We've got two (younger) kids so the extra room for stuff (compared to the soul) would be appreciated somewhat. Tell me your thoughts... is this a good long term vehicle? Anyone have horror stories I should be aware of?

 

[theblooms]

BUY IT!!!

There are only a few things that will go bad.

Rear shock mounts. Cheap and easy to replace.

Motor mounts. Cheap and easy to replace.

TCU's are also a known weak point, because Mazda mounted them directly to the top of the hot transmission. Simply move it to the firewall while replacing the transmission/engine mount that I already mentioned.

That's it. That's literally all that generally goes wrong.

Keep the oil changed, keep the ATF changed, and ride forever.

The Mazda5 is one of the coolest minivans you can get. And the third row seats are an added bonus.

 

[Kluch]

BUY IT!!!

There are only a few things that will go bad.

Rear shock mounts. Cheap and easy to replace.

Motor mounts. Cheap and easy to replace.

TCU's are also a known weak point, because Mazda mounted them directly to the top of the hot transmission. Simply move it to the firewall while replacing the transmission/engine mount that I already mentioned.

That's it. That's literally all that generally goes wrong.

Keep the oil changed, keep the ATF changed, and ride forever.

The Mazda5 is one of the coolest minivans you can get. And the third row seats are an added bonus.

Cool - appreciate the feedback!

 

[teetee1]

Hi All,
I'm new to these forums and had a question for the group. We've currently got a 2016 kia soul - it's our only car. It's a pretty nice little car but now that it's over 100k it's starting to burn oil and that seems to be causing other issues. I was at the dealer yesterday for an ECU update and they had a used 2015 mazda5 on the lot and it caught my attention. From what I can tell these are pretty reliable cars that are decently fun to drive but don't get the best gas mileage. I'm trying to gather all details about them to get an idea of whether this would be a smart buy or not long(er) term.
This one had the leather seats, sunroof, seat warmers, etc. The listing online said backup camera but I don't think it has one, haha. Anyways, it's got almost 73k miles on it so I'm a little concerned about how it would hold up long term. The dealership is selling it for 15k (not sure if that's what would be considered a good/great/decent price or not?).
We've got two (younger) kids so the extra room for stuff (compared to the soul) would be appreciated somewhat. Tell me your thoughts... is this a good long term vehicle? Anyone have horror stories I should be aware of?

I am so glad I got my 2015 sport trim with 66k miles right before the lock down for $9k.

If it does not come with backup camera, you can install an aftermarket infotainment system with the rear camera. There are some inexpensive and DIY options.

It doesn't have any of the modern safety devices such as pedestrian emergency brake, blind spot warning, rear cross track warning. I think both Toyota and Subaru have those in their new cars but we're talking about a lot higher budget.

Does the inner rear tire premature wears their thing in 2015 due to the camber angle?

 

[1987cp]

I am so glad I got my 2015 sport trim with 66k miles right before the lock down for $9k.

If it does not come with backup camera, you can install an aftermarket infotainment system with the rear camera. There are some inexpensive and DIY options.

It doesn't have any of the modern safety devices such as pedestrian emergency brake, blind spot warning, rear cross track warning. I think both Toyota and Subaru have those in their new cars but we're talking about a lot higher budget.

Does the inner rear tire premature wears their thing in 2015 due to the camber angle?

Hooboy, does it wear rear tires. Factory setting is like -1 degree, which I disagree with running on the street. I just today finished installing and adjusting some adjustable rear UCAs to finally get 0 degrees static camber. I'd been aware of the expensive tubular UCAs from the performance people like Corksport for years, but I discovered affordable cast ones on RockAuto when I finally broke a shock mount after having needed shocks and struts for months.

What's been really surprising to me after having owned mostly double A arm cars is the utter lack of adjustability of the suspension from the factory. Even on a Cavalier, you can adjust front camber by way of a slotted bolt hole connecting the strut to the steering knuckle. And after years of reading Mustang magazines, the fact that the $300+ performance camber plates for MZ3 allow adjustment of camber ONLY is just baffling.

OP, did you end up getting your 5? I hope it works out well. My biggest annoyance has actually been rust on braking and suspension components. I've lived in Salty-Rustville all my life and have owned several very old, very rusty cars (including one with the original floor completely rusted out), but this is the first car where I've been utterly unable to remove a brake rotor or had to use a great big hammer to remove FWD rear wheel hubs. I've also developed exhaust leaks in unusual places, but my experience is that replacing exhaust bits on a 10yo northern car is not unusual, and it probably hurts mostly because this was the very first car I ever purchased brand-new.

The other stupidity, though perhaps I'm in the minority in finding such things unusual, hating ABS, etc., is the car having only one exterior keyhole and coming stock with weird keys that have RFID thingies built in. The sales manager all but guaranteed the 5 used a "normal" key, but perhaps he had a different definition of normal. Anyway, the parts department were very offensive about wanting something like $160 just to hook me up with a spare key and pretended like I was a three-headed psycho for thinking that "programming" a regular car key needed any explanation. I hate carrying big lumps in my pocket, so I eventually opened up the steering column trim and zip-tied a factory key head inside the little sensor ring before buying a "doors only" key from the hardware store. So much better.

 

[IamFODI]

We bought our 2012 with >150k miles on the clock for under $8k. Manual trans, so possibly a bit of a premium. There were a grand total of 6 manual-equipped 2011+ Mazda5s in the whole country at the time I was shopping, so I had to pick rust, accidents, or miles. I chose miles.

With that odometer reading, we knew we'd have to do a bunch of rehab. Suspension, powertrain mounts, maybe clutch. We had to do significantly more than we had thought. The amount of money we've had to spend relative to the purchase price is eye-watering. Could have bought a much newer and "nicer" vehicle with the same money.

The whole effort was 100% worth it. There is nothing else on the market like this vehicle.

One thing I'd add to the previous commenters is that this vehicle is far, far more rewarding to drive than you think it will be. You may or may not notice on a quick test drive, but put some real miles in it and it will get under your skin.

I wrote the following post as a comparison with modern SUVs, so it has a bunch of content that's not really relevant, but I'm pretty sure it's the most complete summary I've yet posted of how I feel about this vehicle having owned and driven it for the past year and 15k miles: Alternative to Mazda5?

 

[Dave Brown]

Hope you bought it!

We've had our 2012 Mazda5 Touring since 2012, bought as an ex-daily-rental with 36,000 km. It's a fabulous little van that has taken us across Canada three times with no issues (the latest 10,000 km trip had 4 adults and one 12 year old aboard, and we were towing a luggage trailer. We averaged 9.1 litres /100 km (26 mpg US / 31 mpg UK) fully loaded on all kinds of roads, with aircon on the whole time).

It's now at 190,000 km, and the only issues we've had are a failed horn relay and very slightly noisy rear wheel bearings (which are still original, still in place, and not worth replacing since they still perform perfectly). Good tires are definitely worth the outlay... the standard-issue Continentals are dreadful and short-lived; we splashed out on a set of Michelin all-seasons and can't believe the difference in ride and performance.

We added:

- a Mazda OEM tonneau cover for the luggage compartment, which looks good and adds security;

- a set of Mazda OEM side window screens to protect our then-infant daughter from the sun (still useful for privacy);

- an aftermarket U-Haul trailer hitch, used to pull both a 13' Eriba Puck caravan and a homebuilt luggage trailer (right across Canada this year - Maritimes to BC coast);

- a rear backup camera.

During COVID, we temporarily yanked one of the second-row seats and replaced it with a Porta-potti. With our electric cooler in the back and the window screens on for privacy, we had a great little day-tripper van that made negotiating the pandemic a lot less onerous.

Niggles about the vehicle:

- crappy driver's seat in the base and Touring models (durable but cheesy black 'wetsuit' fabric, with poor lumbar support and inadequate height adjustment - I use two gel pads as a result).

- factory sound system is awful - the worst stock speakers of any car I have ever owned. Head unit is proprietary, requiring an adapter kit to swap out (never bothered... too much fuss). Controls and features are OK, but it's

Overall, it is a fantastic little van, much more versatile and economical than any SUV, and capable of seating six comfortably.

We don't drive ours on our salty winter roads... it goes into storage at the first sign of road salt, and comes out in the spring, which is probably the main reason it has been so trouble-free.

 

[Kofinator]

Hope you bought it!

We've had our 2012 Mazda5 Touring since 2012, bought as an ex-daily-rental with 36,000 km. It's a fabulous little van that has taken us across Canada three times with no issues (the latest 10,000 km trip had 4 adults and one 12 year old aboard, and we were towing a luggage trailer. We averaged 9.1 litres /100 km (26 mpg US / 31 mpg UK) fully loaded on all kinds of roads, with aircon on the whole time).

It's now at 190,000 km, and the only issues we've had are a failed horn relay and very slightly noisy rear wheel bearings (which are still original, still in place, and not worth replacing since they still perform perfectly). Good tires are definitely worth the outlay... the standard-issue Continentals are dreadful and short-lived; we splashed out on a set of Michelin all-seasons and can't believe the difference in ride and performance.

We added:

- a Mazda OEM tonneau cover for the luggage compartment, which looks good and adds security;

- a set of Mazda OEM side window screens to protect our then-infant daughter from the sun (still useful for privacy);

- an aftermarket U-Haul trailer hitch, used to pull both a 13' Eriba Puck caravan and a homebuilt luggage trailer (right across Canada this year - Maritimes to BC coast);

- a rear backup camera.

During COVID, we temporarily yanked one of the second-row seats and replaced it with a Porta-potti. With our electric cooler in the back and the window screens on for privacy, we had a great little day-tripper van that made negotiating the pandemic a lot less onerous.

Niggles about the vehicle:

- crappy driver's seat in the base and Touring models (durable but cheesy black 'wetsuit' fabric, with poor lumbar support and inadequate height adjustment - I use two gel pads as a result).

- factory sound system is awful - the worst stock speakers of any car I have ever owned. Head unit is proprietary, requiring an adapter kit to swap out (never bothered... too much fuss). Controls and features are OK, but it's

Overall, it is a fantastic little van, much more versatile and economical than any SUV, and capable of seating six comfortably.

We don't drive ours on our salty winter roads... it goes into storage at the first sign of road salt, and comes out in the spring, which is probably the main reason it has been so trouble-free.

Dave,

Agree with the notion that the 5's head unit is the worst.

However, I replaced it years ago with a Sony with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from Crutchfield, installed rear camera, and recently an under seat subwoofer. Also, all 6 speakers replaced. Crutchfield wiring harness and PAC Audio interface maintain steering wheel controls. Now it slays with a 21st century sound system! I highly recommend it.