We have had our Mazda 5 for 8 months now and it is mostly brilliant. Drives well, flexible interior works great and the sliding rear doors are fantastic when getting kids out of car seats in tight car park spaces. The only two quibbles with the car are the fairly minor one of the gearing in 5th which makes me look for a 6th gear to change up to on the motorway, but given the fact that the rest of the car is so good I can live with it. The 'characteristic' I am having trouble dealing with though, is the suspensions noise on an bumpy road at a reasonable speed or when negotiating speed bumps at walking pace. There is a noticeable graunching sound from the suspension which is disconcerting. I noticed on the WhatCar owners reviews of this car that other drivers have the same fault and on a forum located in North America that some owners have had suspension bushes replaced and suggested that Mazda were aware of the fault. Before I book it in to the dealer, I'd be interested to know if anyone else had this problem and how did the dealer resolve it.
{amended to use the drop down menus (which weren't available when question first posted. Year & engine details obtained via a forum search}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 05/03/2008 at 10:16
|
stu m,
I'm on the verge of getting a Mazda5, and I have read about the same suspension issue which you have mentioned.
Did you manage to fix the suspension noise? If so, was that under warranty?
Have there been any other niggles? Another issue mentioned by reviews is road noise.
Thanks.
|
Hi,
We have a Mazda 5 Sport diesel and generally we've been quite impressed with the car, however there are one or two niggles which we weren't expecting from a Mazda.
Firstly, we've suffered creaking rear suspension which they put right under warranty by replacing the anti-roll bar bushes.
Secondly, tyre wear has been a bit scary - worse even than my youthful days in an XR3i. Front tyres had to be replaced at 11,500 miles (and they weren't legal at that point) and rear tyre wear is also excessive on the inside edge. Dealer says its a geometry problem that is not covered by warranty, although they did carry out the check and the adjustment out f.o.c with some encouragement.
Also dealer service prices are crazy. 12,500 mile first service = £343!! My Audi A4 convertible had one service in 36,000 miles and cost £250.
So in summary I'd say it's good car with some minorish quality issues, that drives well, has some low rent interior trim, but looks good.
Incidently, Mitchelin Pilot Premicy tyres significantly reduce tyre noise over the original fit Dunlops.
|
|
Amazed your mazda 5 service was so expensive.My mazda 6 services so far have been 12500 mile(£110),25000 mile(£163),37500 mile (£120).The Michelin HP tyres I had fitted are slightly better than the original Bridgestone Turanza ER30, although they managed 35000 miles. Like the 6 I think the looks of the 5 are great.
|
|
There is something wrong with the price of your 12500 mile service. This is nothing more than an oil, filter and pollen filter change. Less than one hour labour. Either there has been some kind of mistake or you have been ripped off. Or does that price include new tyres or something else? I would be back to the dealer for an itemised bill.
|
|
Squeaky ARB bushes can be cured with a shot of rubber grease.
|
|
|
|
Update:
The service actually came in at £240, but only after I queried it. They said they 'contacted Mazda' and found out the price had been quoted incorrectly?!?
It still sounds excessive, although they went some way to justifying it by saying that the tappets had to be checked (part of the service schedule for a diesel).
Also, after a couple of hundred miles or so, the rear bushes are starting to squeak again, despite supposedly being replaced (I guess the grease has washed out).
Do any other owners think the radio reception is not great? I'm currently driving the wifes old Renault Scenic (2002) and it has a broken aerial but it still picks up a clearer signal in some low signal areas than the Mazda (dealer found nothing wrong with it at the service).
|
|
|
|
|
Hi there
We purchased a 1.8 TS Mazda5 in September 2005. The graunching noise became apparent on our car after around 6 months (5K miles). I mentioned this when it went in for its first service in September 2006, but it came back "no fault found". I then took it in again for the noise to be specifically investigated in December 2006. I told the service service supervisor I had read of similar problems on the internet and was told "not to believe everything you read on the web" and was assured this was not a common fault. The car was returned "squeek free" after they greased the anti-roll bar bushes. I asked for some paper work to verify this but was told as it was a warrantly job I was not entilted to any paper work. The noise returned as bad as ever a few weeks later. Since then I've also noticed quite severe vibration through the steering wheel when braking from 60-70 mph - ??warped discs after only 12K miles.
I have seen the same article from Mazda USA (www.mstore2000.com/PDF_Files/02-007-06-1675.pdf.) and have been in to discuss this with the service manager at my local franchised dealer last week. He tells me he hasn't heard of the problem but will investigate further. I will post back when he's had chance to look at the car.
We previously owned a Mazda Premacy which was problem free throughout its time with us (2 years / 30K miles) so I'm quite dissapointed with its replacement.
On a positive note the sliding doors are excellent and were the deciding factor when buying the car. It also drove rings round all the other cars we tried at the time (Corolla Verso, Vauxhall Zafira, C-Max and Touran). I've been to the coast on a few occasions recently and can vouch for the road holding of the Mazda5 which is in a different league to the rest.
I'd also agree the 1.8 Petrol in a little undergeared on the motorway (70 mph = around 3300 rpm) although ours has loosened up nicely after around 10K miles.
I also have not noticed the excessive tyre wear mentioned elsewhere (whatcar - reader reviews).
|
|
My Premacy had ceaking suspension noise, which I cured by lubricating the ball joints of the Anti Roll Bar. Remove the rear wheel, Gently lift away the rubber boot of the joint and inject a lubricant, the thicker the better.
|
|
|
|
|
Further to the above our first service came in at £115 - (£68.49 labour, £22.28 oil, £6.70 oil filter, £0.40 sump plug washer). I was a bit agrieved at £115 for what amounts to an oil change but can't imagine how they came to over £300.
|
|
|
Hi Stu_m
which model is your Mazda5 ?
I've noticed the tyre wear issue seems mainly to affect the more powerfull diesels. Certainly our 1.8 petrol (115 BHP) seems to exhibit reasonable tyre wear - down to around 4mm after 13.5K miles on the OEM dunlops. I note with interest the reduction in tyre / road noise with Michelins.
|
Update - I went in to the main dealer today with my copy of the Mazda USA TSB regarding suspension noises only to be told by the service manager that Mazda UK now acknowledge the problem. New suspension parts are required which are now on order and should cure the graunching noise once and for all.
|
|
|
|
|
Hi, had the same problem, replaced both lower arms complete which solved the graunching sound but then had a clunk sound, replaced both drop-links no different, ended up replacing both front shocks, problem solved. one note, lower arms are only available from main dealers and are a real rip-off!
|
|
Hi! The same problem with my 2007 mazda 5sports diesel, noise at the front, found out two wishbone bush badly worn(rubber). Changed it two weeks ago but now noticed noise again, took it to garage and found anti roll bar D-Bush a bit squeaky(moving), so mechanic said need to changed both. Rear Shock absorber changed as well, both.. And tyre rear near side inside badly worn... Read lots of reviews about mazda 5, either europe or US, the same problem... Any idea if tracking and wheel alignment will help tyre wearing???
|
|
|
|
