Oil leak from timing cover seal CX-5 2019

[rockpaul]

I have a 2019 CX-5 with 71k miles and a few weeks ago I noticed a tiny drop of oil here and there on my garage floor. I check the oil level and it was and still is perfect. Even though the oil drops were burly noticeable it bothered me so I took it to the dealership and they did an inspection and found that the Timing cover seal is leaking and the cost to repair is $1500. Does anyone know if i need to fix the leak asap? or i can wait? Is this common in Mazda? I read online that sometimes the fix is not 100%. I am so disapointend in Mazda I thought Japanese-built engines are among the best in the world.
For reference, I bought this car for 3 months and it had no leak and it ran perfectly. I did get a second opinion from a local Japanese mechanic who basically quoted me the same price. Any thoughts on what do to do. Obviously, this car is out of warranty and has no extended warranty.

 

[Hawke]

yes, unfortunately that seems to be the case.

 

[ceric]

My '14 Mazda3 has this issue found by Mazda dealer that did the oil change.
The mechanic said he would do it for only $1700 (the way he said it, sounded like a favor to me).... Not planning to spend that kind of money on an 8-yr old car that I might trade it in soon....

No oil on the floor yet. I am keeping an eye on it.

 

[rockpaul]

Actually the oil seepage on timing chain cover is the least you should be worry about. The cracked cylinder head and failing switchable hydraulic lash adjusters are 2 possible major problems, however they may be rare, on your 2019 CX-5 2.5L NA with cylinder deactivation.

Cracked Cylinder Head with Oil leaking...How common is this?

CX-5 Tapping noise

Honestly I did tons of research on reliability of the Mazda cx5 before I bought it had rave reviews. I was so impressed I thought I finally a found nice “Honda” Or “Toyota” with cool twist.. but maybe it’s all luck or Mazda is just no Honda/Toyota

 

[yrwei52]

Honestly I did tons of research on reliability of the Mazda cx5 before I bought it had rave reviews. I was so impressed I thought I finally a found nice “Honda” Or “Toyota” with cool twist.. but maybe it’s all luck or Mazda is just no Honda/Toyota

It’s hard to predict the longterm reliability for a vehicle nowadays. It’s so complicated with many computers in a modern vehicle. The best we can do is to track a certain brands with good reliability reputation, and be aware of any new development and trend of these car brands. IMO Mazda’s reliability reputation has never been the top notch from its long history. The rotary engines by Mazda since 1960’s although it’s very nice in theory, but the reliability has always been a big issue. Not until in 2012 when Mazda came out the SkyActiv Technology the reliability improved greatly, Unfortunately the subsequent engine development, the 2.5T and the 2.5L NA with cylinder deactivation, IMO have been proven a failure on longterm reliability because the major engine problems have been exposed however they may be rare.

Honda is going to the wrong direction too with it’s problematic 1.5T and 3.5L V6 with cylinder deactivation.

With the ICE ban coming up soon worldwide, we have to consider EVs very soon. Unfortunately the best EVs nowadays with 1,000 km / 631 miles range and 10-minute fast charging time such as a BYD aren’t available in the US.

 

[ceric]

Honestly I did tons of research on reliability of the Mazda cx5 before I bought it had rave reviews. I was so impressed I thought I finally a found nice “Honda” Or “Toyota” with cool twist.. but maybe it’s all luck or Mazda is just no Honda/Toyota

I have FOUR Mazdas under in household now.
'14, '16, '17 and a '22.
I have a bigger sample space than most of you.

Reliability wise, it is good, not superb.
(I had an '91 Integra that was bullet proof. Not a light bulb went out for 8 yrs. Same for '05 Prius. Just 4 recalls. Nothing went wrong.)

Problems I have had with my four Mazdas.
1. '14: timing chain cover. Only issue for 9 yrs.
2. '16: belt tensioner. Only issue for 7 yrs.
3. '17: SD card went bad. Got one from Amazon for $50.

Before these four, I had '98 CX-9 (which was a mix of Mazda, Toyota and Ford).
Rear transfer case had bad seal. Only issue for 8 yrs.

To be fair, Mazda reliability to me is above average, not the best.
However, Mazda vehicles provided best overall package/value to me than Honda or Toyota. (I owned them before) I am sticking with Mazda unless the reliability gets worse in coming years.

 

[rockpaul]

It’s hard to predict the longterm reliability for a vehicle nowadays. It’s so complicated with many computers in a modern vehicle. The best we can do is to track a certain brands with good reliability reputation, and be aware of any new development and trend of these car brands. IMO Mazda’s reliability reputation has never been the top notch from its long history. The rotary engines by Mazda since 1960’s although it’s very nice in theory, but the reliability has always been a big issue. Not until in 2012 when Mazda came out the SkyActiv Technology the reliability improved greatly, Unfortunately the subsequent engine development, the 2.5T and the 2.5L NA with cylinder deactivation, IMO have been proven a failure on longterm reliability because the major engine problems have been exposed however they may be rare.

Honda is going to the wrong direction too with it’s problematic 1.5T and 3.5L V6 with cylinder deactivation.

With the ICE ban coming up soon worldwide, we have to consider EVs very soon. Unfortunately the best EVs nowadays with 1,000 km / 631 miles range and fast charging (less than 20 minutes) such as BYD aren’t available in the US.

Ah, that would suck. I can't see myself getting an EV anytime soon. We take lots of road trips and range anxiety is very real. I hope Mazda keep it up because I love what they stand for and the thoughts they put into their cars.

 

[rockpaul]

I have FOUR Mazdas under in household now.
'14, '16, '17 and a '22.
I have a bigger sample space than most of you.

Reliability wise, it is good, not superb.
(I had an '91 Integra that was bullet proof. Not a light bulb went out for 8 yrs. Same for '05 Prius. Just 4 recalls. Nothing went wrong.)

Problems I have had with my four Mazdas.
1. '14: timing chain cover. Only issue for 9 yrs.
2. '16: belt tensioner. Only issue for 7 yrs.
3. '17: SD card went bad. Got one from Amazon for $50.

Before these four, I had '98 CX-9 (which was a mix of Mazda, Toyota and Ford).
Rear transfer case had bad seal. Only issue for 8 yrs.

To be fair, Mazda reliability to me is above average, not the best.
However, Mazda vehicles provided best overall package/value to me than Honda or Toyota. (I owned them before) I am sticking with Mazda unless the reliability gets worse in coming years.

 

[rockpaul]

Okay, you definitely have the sample space. I have only owned Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissan.

So with your 2014 Mazda timing cover issue, was it a leak? and did you get it fixed?

I agree I love Mazda and I am sticking with it for now as long as this CX-5 holds up well over the next 5 years.

 

[Greg_J]

I noticed the same problem at 6K miles two months ago (2022 n/a). As many have mentioned here, the leakage is pretty slow and maybe someone considered switching to 5W30 (as it's much thicker)?
As I understand the dealer/warranty doesn't 100% fix the problem and in many cases, the leakage or sweating appears again. So maybe 5W30 can solve this problem?

 

[yrwei52]

I noticed the same problem at 6K miles two months ago (2022 n/a). As many have mentioned here, the leakage is pretty slow and maybe someone considered switching to 5W30 (as it's much thicker)?
As I understand the dealer/warranty doesn't 100% fix the problem and in many cases, the leakage or sweating appears again. So maybe 5W30 can solve this problem?

Hard to predict if the thicker 5W-30 oil could resolve this timing chain seepage issue. If my 2.5L NA is having this problem it’d be a difficult decision if I should take it to a Mazda dealer for the repair under warranty if I still have one.

Switching to 5W-30 oil would be my first step and see if it helps the situation.

 

[madar]

I noticed the same problem at 6K miles two months ago (2022 n/a). As many have mentioned here, the leakage is pretty slow and maybe someone considered switching to 5W30 (as it's much thicker)?
As I understand the dealer/warranty doesn't 100% fix the problem and in many cases, the leakage or sweating appears again. So maybe 5W30 can solve this problem?

Had my timing cover sealant replaced (not going to call it a gasket) and then the oil pan replaced 4 years ago, haven't had any leaks since. It's not all doom and gloom. I'm still using 0w-20

 

[madar]

Hard to predict if the thicker 5W-30 oil could resolve this timing chain seepage issue. If my 2.5L NA is having this problem it’d be a difficult decision if I should take it to a Mazda dealer for the repair under warranty if I still have one.

Switching to 5W-30 oil would be my first step and see if it helps the situation.

5w-30 won't solve anything. A leak is a leak.

 

[rockpaul]

I noticed the same problem at 6K miles two months ago (2022 n/a). As many have mentioned here, the leakage is pretty slow and maybe someone considered switching to 5W30 (as it's much thicker)?
As I understand the dealer/warranty doesn't 100% fix the problem and in many cases, the leakage or sweating appears again. So maybe 5W30 can solve this problem?

Wait

I noticed the same problem at 6K miles two months ago (2022 n/a). As many have mentioned here, the leakage is pretty slow and maybe someone considered switching to 5W30 (as it's much thicker)?
As I understand the dealer/warranty doesn't 100% fix the problem and in many cases, the leakage or sweating appears again. So maybe 5W30 can solve this problem?

Wait a second?! yours is doing it at 6k and it’s a cx-5 2022? You’re thinking about not doing it even though it’s still under warranty

 

[edmaz]

.... If my 2.5L NA is having this problem it’d be a difficult decision if I should take it to a Mazda dealer for the repair under warranty if I still have one. ...

For any competent DIYer, there are multiple steps which can be done to potentially resolve any leaking 'cover', such as this one (excluding the reseal job, which of course is also possible for a DIYer to do). So would you not want to try some of this yourself, before taking it anywhere else?

 

[yrwei52]

5w-30 won't solve anything. A leak is a leak.

My personal experience here. One of my relatives bought a 1983 AMC Renault Alliance new. I was doing the oil change for him and used recommended 10W-40 oil (yes, much thicker oils and shorter oil change intervals were used during that era). Strangely the drain plug kept developing small oil leak even though I had used a new OEM drain plug cooper washer. I changed the washer a couple of times at no avail. At the second oil change I decided to use thicker 20W-50 (also recommended by AMC / Renault) and the oil leak stopped.

Yes a leak is a leak. But that may only apply to the condition that the seal or the gasket is aged or physically broken somewhere. The thicker oil COULD help the oil seepage problem like I encountered on the Alliance with new washer, or the timing chain cover with fairly new RTV seal.

 

[madar]

My personal experience here. One of my relatives bought a 1983 AMC Renault Alliance new. I was doing the oil change for him and used recommended 10W-40 oil (yes, much thicker oils and shorter oil change intervals were used during that era). Strangely the drain plug kept developing small oil leak even though I had used a new OEM drain plug cooper washer. I changed the washer a couple of times at no avail. At the second oil change I decided to use thicker 20W-50 (also recommended by AMC / Renault) and the oil leak stopped.

Yes a leak is a leak. But that may only apply to the condition that the seal or the gasket is aged or physically broken somewhere. The thicker oil COULD help the oil seepage problem like I encountered on the Alliance with new washer, or the timing chain cover with fairly new RTV seal.

There's a big difference between 10w-40 and 20w-50, use to use it myself in my old Toyota, not the same difference between 0w-20 and 5w-30, or maybe you just found the washer that didn't leak which is probably more likely. But hey, if it works then more power to you...

 

[yrwei52]

⋯
or maybe you just found the washer that didn't leak which is probably more likely.

No, I use only the OEM drain plug cooper washer all the time. The first one came with the new OEM oil filter. The second and the third one were bought from the AMC dealer. All of them failed to stop the leak until I switched to 20W-50 oil and the washer from OEM oil filter.

 

[ceric]

Okay, you definitely have the sample space. I have only owned Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissan.

So with your 2014 Mazda timing cover issue, was it a leak? and did you get it fixed?

I agree I love Mazda and I am sticking with it for now as long as this CX-5 holds up well over the next 5 years.

No. Not going to spend $1700 just to fix oil spots (or seapage, whatever you call it) on the timing chain cover. As long as there is no oil spot on the floor, I am fine with it for now.
For the subsequent Full Circle Inspections, the mechanics did not even mention it again....
It is not that obvious, but I did see it myself. Watched the video from the 1st mechanic also.

One of my co-workers did recommend a special sealant. I have not looked into that.
Again, a minor issue to me if oil does not drip on the garage floor.

 

[dunhillmc]

I noticed the same problem at 6K miles two months ago (2022 n/a). As many have mentioned here, the leakage is pretty slow and maybe someone considered switching to 5W30 (as it's much thicker)?
As I understand the dealer/warranty doesn't 100% fix the problem and in many cases, the leakage or sweating appears again. So maybe 5W30 can solve this problem?

You're under warranty. Take it to the dealer

 

[Greg_J]

You're under warranty. Take it to the dealer

In most cases, the dealer doesn't fix it well and the leak appears again and again, or even gets worse (this forum is a good source to comprehend the problem).
At this point, the leak is very minor this is why I am considering 5w30. If it gets worse I will take it to the dealer.