I did not even realize there was not oil or temp gauge until after I purchased the car. Once I noticed it (on the drive home) I was a bit miffed. I grew up with every car I owned having some form of a temp, amp and oil pressure gauge. The issue I have is that typically when the light goes on by the time you pull over it's too late the damage is done. My prior cars all had V8 engines and were more performance oriented and being able to monitor trends as noted by Chris_Top_her is exactly what they are used for. So I decided I'm not going to worry about it and like someone else said my wife who is driving the CX-5 would most likely not even notice when a temp or oil pressure is off anyway, the light I hope does get her attention though.
Gauges disappoint
- Thread starter erhayes
- Start date
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- 2014 & 2019 CX-5 Touring(s)
Agree here.
Plus for me, a much more mundane use is for cold mornings, so I know when I can turn on cabin heat/fan (my car doesn't have climate control). I REALLY miss the gauge on my car, for this reason alone! Another reason is so you don't over-stress the engine (accelerate hard) until it is up to heat. Driving hard on cold/cool oil promotes engine wear and reduces ring and bearing life.
Now, admittedly, the majority of "soccer moms" and drivers here (given the "when would you need it?" responses above) know nothing about mechanical engineering and how to maintain their cars and so would not miss it. But others of us do. So why would you defend the absence of a gauge? What's it to you?
If cars had proper temperature and oil gauges you might have a point. But the dinky little dials you are lusting for are next to useless. Do you start going fast when the dial is 1 bar from the bottom? 2? 3? Do you stop driving when it is 4 from the top? Completely arbitrary. In contrast, the little blue light is actually more informative than a dumb gauge. From most of the data on here, the light turns on/off at very specific temperatures.
Arguing against nerd rage is my very mild superpower http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghxnKDBadSk
From past experiences with all sorts of vehicles I've owned, Oil gauges served little to no purpose but the Temp and Battery gauges have helped me identify a few issues. Do I look at them constantly? not really but I do know where they usually sit and if I do happen to look and they are higher or lower than where they should be that there may be a problem somewhere.
Here is an example of adding a couple of gauges.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...an-unemployed-engineer-does-to-his-CX-5-sport!!!
If it was an option I would probably go for it. As to why what do they do? They are as useful as carbon fiber look dash covers. If people like them then they are good.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...an-unemployed-engineer-does-to-his-CX-5-sport!!!
If it was an option I would probably go for it. As to why what do they do? They are as useful as carbon fiber look dash covers. If people like them then they are good.
Based on most of the comments here, in today's world, with computers to monitor everything, do we need anything other than a speedometer and miles to empty gauge?
I agree a tachometer with an automatic is silly. It serves absolutely no purpose. In the old days, only manuals had tachometers anyhow.
I agree a tachometer with an automatic is silly. It serves absolutely no purpose. In the old days, only manuals had tachometers anyhow.
New member here and apologies for minor necro post .....but Keke12 raises a good point. I've spent 10 years driving BMW diesels and the later models don't have temperature gauges. Now this, in my experience, is causing issues with not knowing when vehicles are getting up to correct temperature or indeed warming up correctly. On the Beemers, once you get beyond around 70,000 miles, the thermostats (there are two - main cooling system and also for EGR valve) get lazy and the car takes longer to warm up and does not reach the proper operating temperature. This causes issues on the BMW's with DPF regeneration - as in, the regeneration will not be triggered (worst case) or not triggered as frequently as necessary. I diagnosed thermostat problems on both an E92 and E46 by buying a cheap OBDII Bluetooth adapter and installing the Torque application on my android phone - provides all sorts of real-time data and code reading. Not sure if would work with Mazda. What I can say is the BMW E46 has a temperature gauge and after diagnosing a thermostat issue and replacing, the OEM temp guage would get up to where it was supposed to be more quickly, but it still reached the same mid point as with the lazy thermostat, despite the OBD II data telling me it had been running 8 degrees (Celsius) below optimum temperature. So what use is a temp gauge which is OEM but doesn't show this type of issue ? None. What is the value in knowing you are up to temp on a modern diesel with DPF ? Immense IMHO.
I also note that when driving my CX5 the blue light goes out real fast, and I suspect that it goes out way before full operating temperature is reached. Maybe there's some additional ECU logic which re-lights the blue light if the correct temp is not reached after x amount of time ? I still worry .. and when I build up more miles I'm going to try the OBD interface so I know what temp it runs at.
I also note that when driving my CX5 the blue light goes out real fast, and I suspect that it goes out way before full operating temperature is reached. Maybe there's some additional ECU logic which re-lights the blue light if the correct temp is not reached after x amount of time ? I still worry .. and when I build up more miles I'm going to try the OBD interface so I know what temp it runs at.
profiler - Nice reminder of why I don't want a BMW diesel with DPF, for reasons even more significant than lack of a temp gauge.
I don't worry about lack of temp gauge in my 2.0L Skyactiv gasser. I think Mazda did the right thing by including a tach, I actually require it.
I don't worry about lack of temp gauge in my 2.0L Skyactiv gasser. I think Mazda did the right thing by including a tach, I actually require it.
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- 2014 Mazda CX-5 GT w/ Tech
God. people will complain about anything and everything...
profiler - I agreed with you and what keke12 said.
The whole argument of whether a factory analog temperature gauge should be included ends up going out the window if all it does is provide a "dummy" mid-point stop, and if that's the case, might as well not waste the space for it.
But also consider this:
Even a tachometer on a manual transmission vehicle is not entirely needed, I mean, most people I know who drive manuals will shift by feel and engine sound, no one really stares at the tach while driving.
But I still want it there anyway!
I love gauges, rather, I love information!
It's good information to have when needed, even when not frequently used.
But then again, having access to too much information defeats its very purpose!
There are those that don't understand what to do with all that information, and would view all the mechanical gauges as an eye sore and a waste.
In this day and age, I'm thoroughly surprised that new cars dont have an option to drag and drop desired engine parameters to be displayed on a screen.
Something like the Nissan GTR, where the center screen can be customized to whatever information is desired by the driver.
The ecu requires all of these things in order to run smoothly, so all the sensors are already there anyway.
Most cars already have an lcd screen nowadays, so it's just a matter of writing code and firmware.
The whole argument of whether a factory analog temperature gauge should be included ends up going out the window if all it does is provide a "dummy" mid-point stop, and if that's the case, might as well not waste the space for it.
But also consider this:
Even a tachometer on a manual transmission vehicle is not entirely needed, I mean, most people I know who drive manuals will shift by feel and engine sound, no one really stares at the tach while driving.
But I still want it there anyway!
I love gauges, rather, I love information!
It's good information to have when needed, even when not frequently used.
But then again, having access to too much information defeats its very purpose!
There are those that don't understand what to do with all that information, and would view all the mechanical gauges as an eye sore and a waste.
In this day and age, I'm thoroughly surprised that new cars dont have an option to drag and drop desired engine parameters to be displayed on a screen.
Something like the Nissan GTR, where the center screen can be customized to whatever information is desired by the driver.
The ecu requires all of these things in order to run smoothly, so all the sensors are already there anyway.
Most cars already have an lcd screen nowadays, so it's just a matter of writing code and firmware.
I take it that's directed at someone else and not me ? Because I'm not complaining - just pointing out that knowing the exact engine temp is quite important on modern diesels with DPF filters. This issue is not isolated to BMW's (other than the replacement DPF's being pigging expensive) .... and having checked my temp numbers, replaced thermostats and changed coolant etc, plus enough of the right driving to force regeneration, I'm on 125,000 miles with original DPF.
I agree that an OEM temp guage isn't essential, especially if all it does is show a mid point with + or - 10 degrees variance not showing up, what is key for me is knowing that the engine is still working properly (and therefore that the thermostats haven't gone lazy).
Maybe the temp gauge could be included with diesels, but again (as with the Skyactiv gasoline engines) probably unnecessary.
I don't know the various warning lights and electronic monitoring already included with the Mazda diesels. The modern warning methods used by Mazda tend to be more sophisticated and better at warning drivers than buffered temp gauges that simulate accurate information. DPF problems and related expense is another significant topic of course...
I don't know the various warning lights and electronic monitoring already included with the Mazda diesels. The modern warning methods used by Mazda tend to be more sophisticated and better at warning drivers than buffered temp gauges that simulate accurate information. DPF problems and related expense is another significant topic of course...
