new owner... Hello!

[garyd9]

Purchased a 2014 CX-5 GT AWD (sky blue mica) w/ tech package this weekend and thought I'd drop in and say 'hello.'

I traded in (and took a loss on) a 2013 Ford Focus. To make a long story short, the focus has too many design defects (which Ford calls "undesired characteristic conditions") for my taste. The final straw was that the driver's seat was causing my physical pain due to the cheap bolsters. (They didn't want to use a better foam, so they support the bolsters with some kind of hard support inside - that was driving into my leg.) I kind of miss some of the tech toys in "myford touch", but I'd rather a reliable vehicle than one with lots of toys. Bye-bye, Ford!

First impressions of the CX-5 are positive. Oddly enough, due to transmission issues on the focus, the much larger CX-5 is actually quite a bit more fun to drive. My kids are also thrilled to have so much more room in the back. Overall, it drives like a mazda (I've had a 626 in the 90's, a 2000 MPV, and a 2007 Mazda3, so I'm familiar with the brand.)

The biggest flaw I've encountered so far is the whole iPod issue (which is documented here.) I read about the issue before I purchased the car, so it's not a really big surprise. (My ipod is a 5th gen and only has about 30GB of music.) I REALLY hope Mazda fixes this issue soon, though.

One other issue I'm encountering is that I can't figure out how to detail it. (I try to completely detail a new car very soon after owning it.) With the focus, I could easily reach the entire roof of the car. With the CX-5, I can't reach across the top. I guess I'm going to have to use some kind of step stool. (No, dealer prep isn't good enough.)

Take care
Gary

 

[Rafale]

Congrats on the new car!

Though between Tom Tom and My Ford touch, not sure which is better. .. they are both prone to crashes...

 

[paris1]

What kinds transmission issues did you experience on the Focus? I recently rented a '12 Focus with 38k miles on it and came away with a better understanding of Mazda's retention of a small torque converter that operates up to 5 mph. The Ford unit had a slight judder taking off from a dead stop, particularly noticable when starting on any kind of uphill. I attributed this to the lack of a torque converter in their double clutch 6 speed. I know they made some software upgrades as time passed to deal with this and I suspect the rental car I had was never taken out of service for these upgrades. I'm wondering if this was still an issue on your '13?

 

[garyd9]

What kinds transmission issues did you experience on the Focus?

DCT issues... Shifting between 1 and 2 at a low speed (such as while driving in a parking lot) is often a violent shift. It seemed to be more violent when my wife and kids were in the car (but it could just be that I drove slower then.) It felt like a person driving a manual transmission before they learned how to ease between the clutch and gas. According to Ford, this is a normal condition and operation of the dual-clutch transmission (DCT.)

The DCT also made a grinding noise that was unnatural and (according to several non-Ford mechanics) sounded like the car was trying to shred itself. Of course, Ford claimed that nothing was wrong. (Well, at least one dealer service dept tech thought something must have been wrong, but once he called Ford he came back saying that nothing was wrong... lol)

At only 2700 miles, I hadn't yet experienced the car dropping out of gear at highway speeds, thankfully.

What I found from my own experience, as well as from reading forums, is that Ford's DCT has a higher than "normal" rate of problems. I also found that Ford Motor Corporation's way of dealing with problems these days is to stick their fingers in their ears and sing "la-la-la" as loud as possible. This was a huge disappointment for me, as Ford was extremely responsive to problems back in 2008 (when I had an issue with a Mustang's brake fluid reservoir.)

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Congrats on the CX-5!

One of my friends have a 2013 Focus and having driven it, I agree with you. The transmission does need some refinement. Shifts are very slow for a dual clutch transmission, not very responsible, and at low speeds especially on a hill or in traffic, it is quite jerky. Reminds me of BMW's SMG in their old E46 M3's. VW's DSG feel and definitely operate like it is generations ahead of Ford's dual clutch transmission.

I must say though. I prefer Ford's MyTouch over the turd TomTom/Sanyo unit of the CX-5. Granted the CX-5's unit is easier to use and somewhat more stable, it still has its flaws. A tiny screen, slow to react, and limited usability/connection. MyTouch does have its potential to be upgraded with new firmware with ease, while there is so far no support for our units. It wouldn't surprise me if they phase out all updates entirely since Mazda have jumped on the infotainment operating systems with AHA by HK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE0AlVpCdxA

 

[Tuktanuk]

I picked up my CX-5 Yesterday same exact one as the OP. Traded in my 12 CR-V for it and I'm MUCH happier. The CR-V is fine but it's numb to drive and the Tech is Bar none; The absolute WORST in any car ever! The tom Tom and infotainment system in the Mazda is literally light years ahead of Honda. It does have some issues. Having a hard time Keeping my Gnex hooked up to stream Pandora and it is a bit frustrating but, overall; I could not be happier. It's my first Mazda so I'm hoping it's going to be as good to me as Honda and Toyota have been.

 

[CX-SV]

Welcome Tuktanuk. The '12 CR-V traded-away was almost new, must of been low mileage on the vehicle.

 

[Tuktanuk]

Welcome Tuktanuk. The '12 CR-V traded-away was almost new, must of been low mileage on the vehicle.

Pulled in on trade in Day @ 21,600 miles. I don't miss it.

 

[IHeartGroceries]

Congrats on the new purchase!

Compared to the Focus, I believe you will be satisfied.

 

[garyd9]

A couple days later... and I'm still thrilled with the CX5. I did notice some indentations in the sheet metal above the left rear door (on the area between the roof and door.) I swung by my dealership this morning, and they said that they'd take care of it. They took full responsibility for the issue and apologized for any inconvenience. Wow. A Ford dealer would have tried to stick me with a repair bill.

Some minor complaints I'm noticing: (Don't take these the wrong way - every car will have minor issues, and I try to identify them as early as possible so I can adjust to working with them.)

The "auto headlights" don't seem to come on automatically with the windshield wipers. Perhaps that's because I'm using the wipers in automatic mode, or perhaps there's just not a connection.

I made the mistake of updating the tomtom firmware, and now I can no longer use navigation "drive to..." voice commands if the car is moving. From reading here (and the tomtom forums), this should get corrected in a future firmware version. (Apparently it was intended to lock out keypad commands and not voice commands.)

Not a complaint, but being I mentioned tomtom... I'm finding the fact that I can edit the tomtom maps to be priceless. There are several construction projects near me that are resulting in several month long road closures (on minor roads) and being able to tell tomtom about those blockages is great. (Because they are minor roads, the traffic broadcasting systems don't report them.)

Voice recognition of both tomtom and the rest of the "infotainment" system is "so-so." It's not as good as the voice recognition in Ford's "sync" stuff. It's about the same as the recognition in my wife's 2013 Chrysler Town & Country (though she has many more possible commands and it flows better.)

Bluetooth messaging seems to work fine for SMS messages, but I have several things I wish it did better. For example, I really wish I'd get an audible alert when I get a new SMS. A silent message on the display is only useful if I'm staring at the display. I also wish it would automatically download the new messages. It's kind of silly to see the "new message" message, have to press download, wait for a download, and then wait for a message saying the download is complete before I can actually look at or hear the message.

Speaking of SMS messages, does anyone else find it amusing that the car won't display the text of a message on the screen for safety, but you have to look at the screen and actually press virtual buttons on the screen to listen to a message? If you want to reply to it, you'll spend quite a bit more time staring at the screen - including being forced to see the message that it won't show you the message. lol.

One other SMS thing: It would be nice to be able to send a SMS message without something already there to reply to.

...

Of course, all these are pretty minor issues in the grand scheme of things. The car runs (well), and is fun to drive. The seat is comfortable, there aren't any warning lights, the transmission is actually one of the better automatics I've driven, and the mileage is within expectations even before break-in.


Take care
Gary

 

[CX-SV]

The "auto headlights" don't seem to come on automatically with the windshield wipers. Perhaps that's because I'm using the wipers in automatic mode, or perhaps there's just not a connection.

No connection between wipers and headlights, normal.