Normal CX-5 engine noise? Just noticed yesterday

[joemazdacx5]

Hey all, 2019 CX-5 sport with 2,300 miles on it, bought brand new 2 years ago.

Just noticed this ticking noise while driving through parking lot, and thought,
is that my CX-5 making that noise? Got home, checked yesterday and today and
the noise is still there. I don't remember this noise when I bought the vehicle, a loud ticking and rattling sound.

Will be taking it to local dealer Monday, but I've taken it for other noises over the past couple of years and both lead mechanics that I've talked to say 'they all do that' and maybe I just never noticed this noise before..?

Thanks for any info.
Joe

 

[yrwei52]

Hey all, 2019 CX-5 sport with 2,300 miles on it, bought brand new 2 years ago.

Just noticed this ticking noise while driving through parking lot, and thought,
is that my CX-5 making that noise? Got home, checked yesterday and today and
the noise is still there. I don't remember this noise when I bought the vehicle, a loud ticking and rattling sound.

Will be taking it to local dealer Monday, but I've taken it for other noises over the past couple of years and both lead mechanics that I've talked to say 'they all do that' and maybe I just never noticed this noise before..?

Thanks for any info.
Joe

Honestly I’d a hard time to tell where is the location of the engine bay your camera was pointing at. I thought you’d have some ticking noise from Hydraulic Lash Adjusters (HLA) since there’re several complaints here and 2 TSBs on 2.5L with cylinder deactivation:

2018 CX-5 GT Ticking

CX-5 engine rattle

2 TSBs for Switchable HLA
2018 and newer CX-5 2.5L

But your ticking noise sounded differently from slower valve clearanc’s metal-hitting-metal noise and it’s not normal to me. You can mention the TSBs and bring up the concern of the ticking noise although IMO the noise is from something else. Just for comparison, my 2.5L definitely doesn’t have such noise.

 

[joemazdacx5]

hey yrwei52 for the reply... read the threads you posted and
it's not as loud as some of those videos , but it sounds like the start
of metal on metal... , it's coming from the back of the engine
top right area facing cx5 ..
can't post longer video as upload limit is about 25mb for me..

Just watched one of the videos from sm1ke and he said noise is
coming from area of fuel pump area and is normal...

Took it to dealer for state inspection and oil/filter change about a
week ago and noticed a couple days later that the oil level is about 1/8''
above the top hole on dipstick !
Don't know if overfilling can cause that ticking noise...

Will see dealer tomorrow and bring up ticking noise and overfill of oil.
They will probably say all is normal...........

Thinking about buying my own ramps, oil/filter and doing it myself , but
my back hurts and don't know if I can get under that cx5. ..

thanks for helping all of us here with problems !

 

[CarpeDiem]

The OP needs to find a different dealer.

 

[edmaz]

.... noticed a couple days later that the oil level is about 1/8'' above the top hole on dipstick ! ...

Did you have the engine off for at least 5 minutes before checking the level? When I first started checking the level on my CX-5, I was getting all sorts of weird looking readings on the stick, including high levels. Then I read about the 5 minute wait and, ever since I started doing that, all of my readings have been consistent. I suspect the tube is not just a completely hollow cylinder, and has perhaps a baffle or something else that the stick touches against going in and out. In any case, the 5 minute+ wait is a must, in order to get a good reading.

The noise in you vid definitely does not sound normal to me, and I'm also curious to know what the RPM of the engine was when you shot the vid. It sounds like a fair amount above a normal idle - somewhere around 1300-1400. So I'll ask if that was a result of shooting the vid at a completely cold start, or if you pushed the pedal intentionally a bit while you shot the vid?

On thing that comes to mind with a noise like that is the dreaded detached rocker arm, which is a new feature that's only available with CD There's one long and very comprehensive thread on this forum, which can tell you everything you didn't want to know about the detached rocker arm, but one very helpful thing that came from that thread is a basic and simple test which I suggest you try.

Just get your vehicle fully warmed up, and take it to a high speed highway. Then, starting from a speed of 40-50 or so, punch down on it, and stay WOT, up to whatever you think is a safe speed - basically the same as doing an Italian tune up. This is the condition that's known to most likely flush out a detached rocker arm, and you want to monitor that you get no sudden drop in power, perhaps accompanied by a CEL and a limp-mode type code. If nothing bad happens, the noise is most likely not the result of a detached rocker arm.

 

[joemazdacx5]

agree , need a different dealer ,but next closest is about 40 miles away..

The engine was warmed up... but noise happens , cold or warm... and variies with
rpm.... the rpm was normal idle with warm engine in video.. didn't check the rpm
number though will do tomorrow , before I get to dealer.

yeah, checking the oil level is a tricky thing to me... not like the older
vehicles I had .. but I have checked all sorts of ways , waiting 5min, 1hr,
next morning etc and all show that oil level is about 1/8'' above top
hole on dipstick...
I found out when I push dipstick in real quick and pull it out quick
I can get better readings than when I push in slow and take out
carefully .
I'm hesitant about flooring the vehicle , never have , drive slow
and careful .. but will keep the 'Italian tune up' in memory...
might try on way to dealer..

thanks for info...

 

[CarpeDiem]

agree , need a different dealer ,but next closest is about 40 miles away...

That’s twice as far away as my preferred primary dealer, but worth it to correctly diagnose your problem. If it was 100 miles away it’s still worth it to actually fix your issue. If the engine dies and needs replacement (possible, not likely) you’d kick yourself for not investing the time to get it done right....

 

[yrwei52]

hey yrwei52 for the reply... read the threads you posted and
it's not as loud as some of those videos , but it sounds like the start
of metal on metal... , it's coming from the back of the engine
top right area facing cx5 ..
can't post longer video as upload limit is about 25mb for me..

If the ticking noise is coming from “the back of the engine、top right area facing CX-5, it’s the area of cylinder #4 and it’s the very common cylinder where the rocker arm falls. Here’s the long thread of discussion on fallen rocker arm issue on 2.5L with cylinder deactivation although Go Hawks who started the thread said he couldn’t feel anything abnormal in normal driving conditions when his #4 cylinder rocker arm fell:

Dangerous cylinder deactivation trouble on 2018 CX-5 and 6 models

And here’s the recall:

NHTSA Recall Campaign No.: 19V-497-000

Use the VIN to check if your 2019 CX-5 Sport is subject to the recall on Mazda North American Operations’ website or your Mazda dealer.

Unfortunately the Mazda dealer won’t check if the rocker arm has fallen during the recall service. They only update your PCM. You have to check the condition of the rocker arm by yourself with the way as described by edmaz above, and in the long thread.

Just watched one of the videos from sm1ke and he said noise is
coming from area of fuel pump area and is normal...

To me your ticking noise resembles more to the noise from high-pressure fuel injector. But even that the noise is too loud. If it’s a “behavior change” to you, meaning you haven’t heard this ticking noise until now, you got problem.

Took it to dealer for state inspection and oil/filter change about a
week ago and noticed a couple days later that the oil level is about 1/8''
above the top hole on dipstick !
Don't know if overfilling can cause that ticking noise...

It’s a norm nowadays the dealer will overfill the oil for oil change. No, too much oil won’t cause any ticking noise.

Will see dealer tomorrow and bring up ticking noise and overfill of oil.
They will probably say all is normal...........

You should emphasize the “behavior change” part, and mention the recall and TSBs related to cylinder deactivation.

Thinking about buying my own ramps, oil/filter and doing it myself , but
my back hurts and don't know if I can get under that cx5. ..

thanks for helping all of us here with problems !

If you can DIY on oil change that would be great. But your physical health should be more important IMO.

 

[joemazdacx5]

hey carpediem... you are probably right but the other dealer could be
worse , never been there... before I decide, I'll have to see what they say..

hey yrwei52 ... wow... ok , I'm thinking it's the fuel injectors, but don't recall
them being that loud ... I also done the pcm fix about 10 months ago...
checked that website and it said I have 0 recalls ...

ok , I'll make sure I tell them it's a new sound to me .. and I'll bring print outs
of those tsb's you linked..

well , why do they overfill oil ? because to much in a hurry ? wonder if they
fill with a pump from oil barrel ? or do they use single qts ?

thanks for telling me that it's the # 4 cylinder , was wondering about that..

ok, so on my way to dealer , guess I get on highway get to 40mph ,
with cx5 in normal drive ? probably 5th or 6th gear by that speed and floor it till 80mph
and see if I notice a lack of power or error in dash...
hopefully it's not a detached rocker arm

thanks

 

[velocityc6]

Just watched your video, IMO that is a totally normal 2.5L engine sound.
We have had 3 newer Mazda’s, a 2016 Mazda 6, a 2018 CX5 and 2019 CX5. They ALL have had that fuel injector ticking noise......CD or non-CD.

That’s my opinion, but I fully expect more reports of (weird noise) as that’s what happens when bashing an engine constantly occurs on this forum.....people will instantly think the worst.

In this case, I’m hearing a happy ticking 2.5L or should I be hearing something else?

 

[yrwei52]

⋯
well , why do they overfill oil ? because to much in a hurry ? wonder if they
fill with a pump from oil barrel ? or do they use single qts ?

This’s something I’ve been wondering too. I’ve seen too many complains about oil overfill done by car dealers of many different car brands. Although I‘ve always been doing DIY on oil change, but 3 times I had a Toyota dealer changing the oil on my 2018 Toyota Yaris iA / Mazda2 covered by Toyota’s free 2-year new car maintenance, for sure they overfilled about 0.3 quart 3 times over the Full mark of the dipstick even thought I told the service advisor don’t overfill in advance!

Dealers would use either bulk oil or bottle oil depending on the situation. Most of time they use bulk oil and extract the oil out of 55-gallon drum with preset amount for the lowest cost possible. Since the oil quantity extracted out can be preset and I can’t understand why the dealers seem to alway overfill. In my Toyota Yaris iA’s case, I did confront the tech directly who was doing the oil change for my Yaris at the Toyota dealer. That particular Toyota dealer, to my surprise, actually used genuine Toyota 0W-20 oil in quart bottle. The tech said 4.6 quarts are the quantity Toyota calls for on the Yaris (strangely the owner’s manual says 4.4 quarts), and he just poured a bit more for greater “safety margin”. Indeed his overfill did save the engine on the road trip after the oil change as the drain plug was leaking oil on the way.

The good thing of using bottle oil by the dealer is I had a chance to ask the Toyota dealer to save the leftover oil in the last bottle for me, and they did.

 

[joemazdacx5]

ok, went to mazda dealer early this morning ... on my way once on
the highway and engine warmed up, did the Italian tune-up ...
40mph to 80mph... flooring it... It has plenty of power and no hesitation
or lack of power, no warning light ... So, I guess the rocker arms are still attached..
drove to near empty parking lot... checked out the ticking and it's still
same... shut off engine wait 5 minutes and oil level still 1/8'' above top
hole...
Drive to dealer, head mechanic comes out, David, talked to him last year about
some noises. He recognized me , told him what was going on, he said no way
rocker arm has falling off or bad valve , the vehicle is to new ! he said start it up..
I said wait, check the oil level 1st.. so he checked it and it was high, like I said..
He said it's ok, to run over the top hole that much... it won't do any damage..
I said , well it's bugging me and I think it should be below the top hole..
He said , ok, I'll drain some oil out... , now let me hear the ticking ..
I started it up and he immediately said that's the fuel injector and normal on all the
cx5s... He showed me where the fuel injector was and was certain that was the noise..

He took the cx5 back, was gone 15 min and came out and said , check it now ...
I said what did you do ? he said he took out oil through the drain plug...
I went out and it's right in the middle of 2 holes ! perfect ... he was already back
in garage with doors shut .. was cold this morning ..

Oh, I wonder to those that change there own oil, when you fully drain oil and put
new filter on and if you add 4.8 qt...like it says in manual , where is the fill line ?
middle of 2 holes or right at top hole ? just wondering ...

So, sorry for the long story ... but at least I learned a few things ....

Thanks for all the help and advice everyone....
guess I can go back to just washing and waxing cx5 for now ..

 

[sm1ke]

Speaking for myself, when I do my oil changes, I don't measure out 4.8 quarts (4.5L) and put it in the engine. I also don't typically measure how much comes out when I drain. I just put in almost the entire 5L jug, then start the engine and run it for a couple mins. Turn it off, check oil level after 5 mins, then top off if necessary. For me, anywhere between the halfway point and the Full mark on the dipstick is good enough. Nothing wrong with filling to the Full mark if you're confident that you don't have an oil dilution issue.

 

[Mazdiod2]

Usually people want to fill to the max so it will stay in between the marks as long as possible. I think it's especially a good idea before a long trip.
The engine should operate normally if the level is anywhere between the marks.
A full sump will hold more heat and help cool the engine more. Conversely, a lower level will allow the oil to reach operating temperature more quickly, which could be an advantage in cold weather.

 

[yrwei52]

ok, went to mazda dealer early this morning ... on my way once on
the highway and engine warmed up, did the Italian tune-up ...
40mph to 80mph... flooring it... It has plenty of power and no hesitation
or lack of power, no warning light ... So, I guess the rocker arms are still attached..
drove to near empty parking lot... checked out the ticking and it's still
same... shut off engine wait 5 minutes and oil level still 1/8'' above top
hole...
Drive to dealer, head mechanic comes out, David, talked to him last year about
some noises. He recognized me , told him what was going on, he said no way
rocker arm has falling off or bad valve , the vehicle is to new ! he said start it up..
I said wait, check the oil level 1st.. so he checked it and it was high, like I said..
He said it's ok, to run over the top hole that much... it won't do any damage..
I said , well it's bugging me and I think it should be below the top hole..
He said , ok, I'll drain some oil out... , now let me hear the ticking ..
I started it up and he immediately said that's the fuel injector and normal on all the
cx5s... He showed me where the fuel injector was and was certain that was the noise..

He took the cx5 back, was gone 15 min and came out and said , check it now ...
I said what did you do ? he said he took out oil through the drain plug...
I went out and it's right in the middle of 2 holes ! perfect ... he was already back
in garage with doors shut .. was cold this morning ..

Oh, I wonder to those that change there own oil, when you fully drain oil and put
new filter on and if you add 4.8 qt...like it says in manual , where is the fill line ?
middle of 2 holes or right at top hole ? just wondering ...

So, sorry for the long story ... but at least I learned a few things ....

Thanks for all the help and advice everyone....
guess I can go back to just washing and waxing cx5 for now ..

It’s possible the ticking noise had been amplified too much when you’re recording the sound too closely. If I were you, I’d want to listen to the engine sound of another (demo) CX-5 at the dealership for comparison because you just heard the ticking noise recently (behavior change).

For oil capacity on 2.5L, the spec in the manual says 4.8 quarts with oil filter change. Most people put 5 quarts for convenience. I and few others put in 5.25 quarts making sure the oil level is at the Full / Max mark of the dipsticj. If you put in 4.8 quarts on the 2.5L, the oil level will be at the half between Add / Min and Full / Max marks. It doesn’t matter you wait for “at least” 5 minutes (wait for 8 hours and you still follow Mazda’s recommendation) after the engine is off, or you check the oil level the first thing in the morning before the engine start (easier to read the oil level on dipstick without wiping). Either way the oil level measurement will be the same:

Is the CX-5 Dip Stick Calibrated for Hot Oil temp? It would explain a lot

 

[edmaz]

It’s possible the ticking noise had been amplified too much when you’re recording the sound too closely. ....

That didn't occur to me, but yes it seems very possible, and would explain why some of us think the noise is abnormal.

 

[joemazdacx5]

what had me questioning the loudness of the ticking was driving between
2 parked cars and hearing it with my window down...

yeah, I did get close with my camera... but could only upload 25 mb so had
to make it 'count' ... Now I learned that my cell phone has youtube and I could
upload gigs of data to it's site to be viewed...(don't know if that's a good thing though)
I'm Not cell phone savy...

It's weird that most of you put more oil than what mazda says to do... but
it doesn't go over the top hole ...so , the guy that did my oil change either
put in what 5.5 qts or didn't put new oil filter on and put 5 qts in ?
to have oil level read 1/8'' above top hole with oil and filter replaced you'd
have to put in how much oil ? on 2.5l sport

yeah, will go back to dealer and talk to my saleslady and have her start
new vehicle up and I'll listen , probably won't get to it for a week or so..

 

[velocityc6]

Good to hear all is normal with your CX5, that was a normal sounding engine as anyone familiar with these cars should have also told you.

Again, there this a very vocal minority which will immediately sound alarm bells on this forum causing unjust worry and panic to owners. They even made the OP put himself in danger (by doing a max acceleration through the gears) to “prove” parts of the engine were not breaking apart.....smh.

 

[yrwei52]

Good to hear all is normal with your CX5, that was a normal sounding engine as anyone familiar with these cars should have also told you.

Again, there this a very vocal minority which will immediately sound alarm bells on this forum causing unjust worry and panic to owners. They even made the OP put himself in danger (by doing a max acceleration through the gears) to “prove” parts of the engine were not breaking apart.....smh.

It’s the OP who described the question as he just noticed the ticking noise he didn’t hear before. It’s a behavior change from the engine and it’s good he sounded an alarm and asked the question. From the recording the ticking noise is indeed loud comparing to my 2.5L, definitely not normal to me.

How many times when a car owner bring up a possible problem, and the service tech at the dealer says “it’s normal!”? I myself have to fight many times to get problems fixed under warranty, or not to get them fixed sometimes!

Since we can’t hear the noise OP was described in person, the best way to make sure there’s no issue to anything is to have the OP doing a comparison to another CX-5 with the same engine. He’s the best person to tell if his engine sounds the same like the other.

You definitely didn’t read or follow that long thread about fallen rocker arm on cylinder deactivation equipped 2.5L. Everybody involved the conversation there knows people should do a WOT test to their 2.5L in question as the falling rocker arm safety recall by Mazda doesn’t do any actual inspection to the rocker arms on cylinder #1 and #4. Unfortunately the engine will behave normally even if a rocker arm has fallen according to several CX-5 owners who had the engine replaced with rocker arm fallen including the OP of that thread Go Hawks. It’s a good test doing a WOT to the engine in question making sure all rocker arms are in proper position as they’re supposed to. And this’s an easy way to tell if you have any rock arms fallen or not. The recall won’t do anything good on this. The WOT test suggestion is intended to save people’s life, because we don’t want anyone to experience what Go Hawks had experienced, his CX-5 almost got a head-on collision while passing on a two-way highway and lost the engine power suddenly!

 

[yrwei52]

⋯ It's weird that most of you put more oil than what mazda says to do... but
it doesn't go over the top hole ...

The fluid capacities in owner’s manual for Mazda CX-5 are mostly inaccurate as those are “approximate” quantities. The manual says 4.8 quarts on engine oil replacement with oil filter for 2.5L. But it actually needs 5.2 ~ 5.3 quarts to reach the Full / Max mark on dipstick. Front transfer case is correct at 0.45 quart. The rear differential requires ~0.75 quart but the manual says 0.45 / 0.37 quarts on gen-1 / gen-2 CX-5 respectively. The actual capacity of the rear differential is 66% larger than given capacity on specs!

Yes these inconsistencies on “approximate” fluid capacity by Mazda caught me by surprise too, as the CX-5 is my first Mazda and I’ve never experienced something like this from other cars I’ve owned.

Giving a range instead of a single value on torque specs in Mazda’s workshop manuals is another “different-from-everybody-else” thing bothers me.

so , the guy that did my oil change either
put in what 5.5 qts or didn't put new oil filter on and put 5 qts in ?

Yes, anything is possible even if it’s as simple as an oil change by the car dealer nowadays.

to have oil level read 1/8'' above top hole with oil and filter replaced you'd
have to put in how much oil ? on 2.5l sport

5.4 ~ 5.5 quarts.

yeah, will go back to dealer and talk to my saleslady and have her start
new vehicle up and I'll listen , probably won't get to it for a week or so..

Yes, do that to verify the ticking noise by comparison.