2013~2016 CX-5 DIY Control Arm Replacement Difficulty?

[yrwei52]

Garages don't figure it the way you did. For example, one Mavis tire dealer broke it down this way, $214 per LCA, discounted from $315, labor and wheel alignment coming out to $875. State inspection and Emissions would be another $100. Then the state has to get its cut at 6% tax. I checked a few Mazda parts places, including MazdaSwag, a sight mentioned on here and the 2 lower control arms would be about $468. Mazda-Parts online was higher. I've seen them for considerably less at Rock Auto, I'm not too sure I'd trust the quality. I don't know where or when you got yours but it sounds like a steal nowadays if it's OEM. Labor rates are going through the roof if you want to pay for something done.

I went to Brakes Plus to replace the right front LCA which got bent by a hard hit to the curb. As mentioned I paid $285.22 for an OEM LCA from my Mazda dealer with 20% off from MSRP. Took it to the shop and they suggested to install a front camber adjustment bolt just in case and it costs $50. The labor to install the LCA is $250. The 4-wheel alignment is $89 (it was $69 last time when I put on the new Radar Dimax AS-8 tires in Sep. 2021). Yeh labor rates are going through the roof if you want to pay for something done!

 

[madar]

Apparently Mazda uses different front LCAs for your 2014 CX-5 and @madar‘s 2016.5 and my 2016 CX-5. The part numbers on your front LCAs are KD35-34-350S / KD35-34-300S and ours are KA0G-34-350J / KA0G-34-300J L / R.

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For the price, I paid $285.23 for a right LCA which is 20% off from current MSRP $356.52 and it’s the same as @madar’s. You paid $165.15 each on 9/2/2022 from MazdaSwag and look at now how much higher they are from the same seller:

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That’s a big 50% increase in 19 months! Talk about the inflation that we currently have!

And I agree that using Mazda OEM LCAs to avoid fitment and reliability problems. Aftermarket LCAs have one size to fit all CX-5 MYs which is a turn-off to me too.

Yep, those curbs can get expensive...
It was $1000 for me when all was said and done. That was with breaks on some of the things I got done like SI and wheel alignment which I got done purely because of new tires I just bought. ,

 

[madar]

I went to Brakes Plus to replace the right front LCA which got bent by a hard hit to the curb. As mentioned I paid $285.22 for an OEM LCA from my Mazda dealer with 20% off from MSRP. Took it to the shop and they suggested to install a front camber adjustment bolt just in case and it costs $50. The labor to install the LCA is $250. The 4-wheel alignment is $89 (it was $69 last time when I put on the new Radar Dimax AS-8 tires in Sep. 2021). Yeh labor rates are going through the roof if you want to pay for something done!

Interesting on the camber bolt. An OEM part shouldn't have that problem, right? I probably would've said to check the angles first to see if it was needed. It's an annoyance that manufacturers aren't making camber and caster adjustable. I guess it's a good thing it's in there. You really don't know if the angles are right until after thousands of miles of driving when you start to see wear on the sides of the tire if you aren't supplied with a printed readout. I wonder if they've seen problems with LCA replacements after the fact.

 

[madar]

I went to Brakes Plus to replace the right front LCA which got bent by a hard hit to the curb. As mentioned I paid $285.22 for an OEM LCA from my Mazda dealer with 20% off from MSRP. Took it to the shop and they suggested to install a front camber adjustment bolt just in case and it costs $50. The labor to install the LCA is $250. The 4-wheel alignment is $89 (it was $69 last time when I put on the new Radar Dimax AS-8 tires in Sep. 2021). Yeh labor rates are going through the roof if you want to pay for something done!

I just ordered an OEM rear brake hose for my Scion XB online. Came to $67!! Hose, gasket, and banjo bolt. Crazy. Thing is about a foot long. Must be lined with gold. The dealer wanted $66 just for the hose alone. Gasket and bolt came to about $8 each online.

 

[yrwei52]

Interesting on the camber bolt. An OEM part shouldn't have that problem, right? I probably would've said to check the angles first to see if it was needed. It's an annoyance that manufacturers aren't making camber and caster adjustable. I guess it's a good thing it's in there. You really don't know if the angles are right until after thousands of miles of driving when you start to see wear on the sides of the tire if you aren't supplied with a printed readout. I wonder if they've seen problems with LCA replacements after the fact.

I actually didn’t aware there’s such bolt available to install on the front strut and be able to adjust the front camber. The shop said I may need it just in case the camber is still off with a new LCA. I personally would like to have such feature with camber adjustment at front and took the offer. I may install another one on the driver side if the opportunity arises.

 

[yrwei52]

I just ordered an OEM rear brake hose for my Scion XB online. Came to $67!! Hose, gasket, and banjo bolt. Crazy. Thing is about a foot long. Must be lined with gold. The dealer wanted $66 just for the hose alone. Gasket and bolt came to about $8 each online.

Yeh the price increase on car parts after the pandemic is outrageous!

Mentioned in previous post here, @jmaz paid $165.15 each for his OEM LCA in Sep. 2022, but now it’s $248.35 from the same seller, a 50% increase!

The Group 35 interstate battery at Costco was $78.99 with 36-month replacement / 60-month prorated warranty before pandemic, now it’s $119.99 with only 36-month prorated warranty. That’s 52% increase with much worse warranty!

An OEM brake hose with some hardware for $67? I still remember a high quality stainless steel braided brake hose was about $10!

After a trip to Spain and France last year where I thought everything should be more expensive there than in the US, I found it’s totally opposite!