2013~2016 Belt Tensioner - Shouldn't this be a warranty item?

Wow, that's about the most wrong thing I've read about tire psi in, well pretty much ever. The reason you have have less rolling resistance is because overinflating reduces the amount of traction the tires have. The tires will also wear out faster (which is also probably why you've gone through 2 sets of tires at 67k miles--those Goodyears are rated for 70k miles). There are tons of complaints here about ride quality when dealers don't drop the psi from the 45-50 shipping level, and here you are putting it up there on purpose
 
In my case it’s definitely not from a lot of higher RPM operation. My 2016 CX-5 at 41K miles with leaky belt tensioner rarely sees engine revolution higher than 3,000 rpm or any heavy load. Based on the TSB, it’s simply caused by poor design and quality (insufficient sealing on damper), hence the tensioner damper needs to be modified.

TSB 01-019/19
OIL LEAKAGE FROM DRIVE BELT AUTO TENSIONER AND RATTLE NOISE FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT

Description:
Some vehicles may exhibit oil leakage from the drive belt auto tensioner and rattling noises from the engine compartment. This may be caused by insufficient sealing at the drive belt auto tensioner damper when the auto tensioner fully operates under both high ambient temperature and high load conditions. To eliminate this concern, the shape of the drive belt auto tensioner damper has been changed.”
I can't see the number on my tensioner but other than removing a body panel to look underneath I've checked carefully with a flashlight and no leaks. I have 42k as well.
I guess I should just check it occasionally. Maybe especially after longer drives or hot weather.
 
I don't follow the recommended tire PSI on the driver side door. The number is typically for the factory OEM tires that came with the vehicle to maintain the best balance between fuel economy and comfort. I typically check what the maximum PSI the tire is rated for on the sidewall.
Your car, your choice. But for others who happen to read this ... No. Don't do that. That max PSI rating also has to do with the tire's weight carrying capacity. (1874lbs @ 51 psi for the Goodyear you mentioned). Your cx5 (packed to the gills with people/stuff) is only putting down about 1150 lbs on each tire (61ish % of the max rating). Your not getting the footprint of the tread to surface that the tire is designed for at that higher operating psi.
I know that this is a heavily debated topic and if you Google around, most people follow what's listed on the driver side door but I don't because I rather have better handling and less rolling resistance which the higher PSI allows.
Life is replete with choices ;). Yes, you will have less rolling resistance at the cost of less traction and reduced tire life. So, just curious, why do that?
I've been going by this rule for the past 2 sets of tires (67.7k miles) and I've ran into no issues so far so I am sticking with what works for me but the ride is definitely stiffer for sure.
Again, Your car, your choice. If you would, please post up a picture of the tread on the goodyear's you are replacing. For a lifetime of over inflation, I would suspect they're worn in the center eh?

Personally, these latest two things you've posted up are pretty "far out" there for me. (Belt tensioner causing performance issues and this tire psi thing).

I've appreciated the great detail and effort to share your experiences with your DIY maintenance work. Thanks :). I'm not trying to beat you up over these two but I feel you are misguided in your thinking. YMMV.
 
If you get the same mpg, then it is not the tensioner causing your performance issue. I say that because if the belt was too tight or the roller dragging, your mpg would go noticeably down. It rules out dragging brakes and low air pressure in the tires too. My guess is spark plugs.
 
DC the battery means the ECU needs to relearn your driving patterns. It should reset by a few trips.......test it in manual mode.

On a separate note, the OEM tuning is as follows: If you mash on the pedal it WILL deduct power from you. If you press on the pedal gradually (need to learn the sweet spot) it will reward you with a good acceleration/mpg compromise. Are you sure you're pressing on the gas the same way prior to installing the belts/tensioner?

My experience is if I want to let the ECU know I want aggressive acceleration I move into manual mode for a few redline runs. I keeps it in the log for sure.

edit: Did you keep the OEM tensioner?
 
@dunhillmc
Wow, that's about the most wrong thing I've read about tire psi in, well pretty much ever. The reason you have have less rolling resistance is because overinflating reduces the amount of traction the tires have. The tires will also wear out faster (which is also probably why you've gone through 2 sets of tires at 67k miles--those Goodyears are rated for 70k miles). There are tons of complaints here about ride quality when dealers don't drop the psi from the 45-50 shipping level, and here you are putting it up there on purpose
I don't disagree with less rolling resistance = reducing traction or inflating the tires higher results in higher wear but I disagree with the fact that I am overinflating the tires as I am below the maximum PSI rated on the sidewall (cold) of the tire even accounting for driving (hot). I feel like there are a lot of assumptions in this post.

If you dig into most vehicles that come with OEM tires, they don't tend to last long at all due to the compound being used (see TireRack reviews for the OEM tires in my link) and there are many different factors involved to give an accurate answer so attributing the fact that (2) sets of tires are being replaced due to "overinflated tires" seems like a generalization.

To give a little more context:
  • I do drive the car very hard with hard cornering/hard acceleration.
  • I replaced the OEM set at 28,685 miles with the Goodyear Assurance
For my second set, I think I still have a lot of life left in them but maybe I'm replacing them a bit too early (see below pics). Also, the Goodyear Assurance tires are rated up to 60k miles (see below).
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@HyFlyer
Digbicks1234 said:
I don't follow the recommended tire PSI on the driver side door. The number is typically for the factory OEM tires that came with the vehicle to maintain the best balance between fuel economy and comfort. I typically check what the maximum PSI the tire is rated for on the sidewall.
Your car, your choice. But for others who happen to read this ... No. Don't do that. That max PSI rating also has to do with the tire's weight carrying capacity. (1874lbs @ 51 psi for the Goodyear you mentioned). Your cx5 (packed to the gills with people/stuff) is only putting down about 1150 lbs on each tire (61ish % of the max rating). Your not getting the footprint of the tread to surface that the tire is designed for at that higher operating psi.
Yep, I never advocated for anyone to copy what I'm doing and I usually drive solo or with another passenger.
Digbicks1234 said:
I know that this is a heavily debated topic and if you Google around, most people follow what's listed on the driver side door but I don't because I rather have better handling and less rolling resistance which the higher PSI allows.
Life is replete with choices ;). Yes, you will have less rolling resistance at the cost of less traction and reduced tire life. So, just curious, why do that?
The main reason why I'm inflating the tire pressure 4-5 PSI below maximum is because I simply enjoy the handling, responsiveness that this offers. I said rolling resistance since I didn't want to overcomplicate things. Traction seems fine in my situation.
Digbicks1234 said:
I've been going by this rule for the past 2 sets of tires (67.7k miles) and I've ran into no issues so far so I am sticking with what works for me but the ride is definitely stiffer for sure.
Again, Your car, your choice. If you would, please post up a picture of the tread on the goodyear's you are replacing. For a lifetime of over inflation, I would suspect they're worn in the center eh?

Personally, these latest two things you've posted up are pretty "far out" there for me. (Belt tensioner causing performance issues and this tire psi thing).

I've appreciated the great detail and effort to share your experiences with your DIY maintenance work. Thanks :). I'm not trying to beat you up over these two but I feel you are misguided in your thinking. YMMV.

Not quite, they look fine in the center. I'm thinking that I may be replacing these tires a little too soon but I suppose you can take a look and provide your insight :).

The belt tensioner is not something that I can show you as it's something that you would have to drive the car to understand what I'm trying to convey which isn't possible. It's not "far out" simply because this was the only new variable that is being introduced and I'm attributing the difference in the vehicles personality to just that which makes sense. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.

No worries! I'm not worked up over it and I welcome being wrong but so far I seem to enjoy driving the car 10% below max PSI since handling, responsiveness is greatly improved. I think the tire wear has more to do with how hard I drove the car previously than the PSI itself but it definitely does play a factor, not disagreeing.

We all have a different take on the max PSI which is kind of annoying in a sense. Even in other forums, not just this one there seems to be people that fall in the below category:
  1. There's some people that strictly follow the manufacturers recommendation (e.g. 34 PSI for 17 inch) due to safety/drivability/fuel economy/comfort etc.
  2. There are those that go 3-5 PSI above the recommended PSI from the manufacturer to increase fuel economy
  3. There's those that go 10% below the maximum recommended PSI rating on the sidewall of the tire. = me
  4. There's those that go the full 100% of the tire = not recommended at all
Biggest problem I have with #1 is that it seems to assume the fact that you are keeping the same exact tires no? For example, the OEM Yokohama Geolander G91A's are 44 PSI but then my current tires, Goodyear Assurance are 51 PSI.
  1. G91A: 34 PSI (Recommended)/44 PSI (MAX)= 77%
  2. Goodyear Assurance: 34 PSI (Recommended)/51 PSI (MAX)= 66% capacity used
Again, I don't mind being wrong, but I hope you guys see where I'm getting at with this.

Driver (Front)
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Driver (Rear)
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it's pretty clear from those pics that the center of the tire is wearing faster than the sides from being overinflated.

as was mentioned, the max psi is the structural max the tire can handle. the manufacturer has no idea what vehicle the tires will be put on or how much it will weigh
 
If you get the same mpg, then it is not the tensioner causing your performance issue. I say that because if the belt was too tight or the roller dragging, your mpg would go noticeably down. It rules out dragging brakes and low air pressure in the tires too. My guess is spark plugs.
Good explanation. I guess I'm still a bit confused as to why it would be the spark plugs all of a sudden when I changed just a few items?
 
DC the battery means the ECU needs to relearn your driving patterns. It should reset by a few trips.......test it in manual mode.

On a separate note, the OEM tuning is as follows: If you mash on the pedal it WILL deduct power from you. If you press on the pedal gradually (need to learn the sweet spot) it will reward you with a good acceleration/mpg compromise. Are you sure you're pressing on the gas the same way prior to installing the belts/tensioner?

My experience is if I want to let the ECU know I want aggressive acceleration I move into manual mode for a few redline runs. I keeps it in the log for sure.

edit: Did you keep the OEM tensioner?

Yeah, I am definitely applying the same amount of force I normally would prior to replacing the belt tensioner. It usually wouldn't take much to cause an activation in the pedal kickdown switch whether in the city or in the highway and I can rev it pretty high without much effort.

Good suggestion, I'll definitely give the manual mode a try for sure. I haven't used it in forever but I did use the manual mode earlier in the CX-5's life.

Yes, I still have the OEM tensioner, didn't toss it away yet since I figured I may one day need to switch back to it if all goes south.
 
I went back out again and did the measurement using Lincoln's head instead since it's actually very difficult to depict the tread without a comparable object.

Driver (Front) - Inner Tread
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Center - 1
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Center - 2
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Outer Tread
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Center - 2

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Outer
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Use a tread depth gauge at 3 or 4 places around the tire for an accurate reading.
 
Yes, I still have the OEM tensioner, didn't toss it away yet since I figured I may one day need to switch back to it if all goes south.

Are you going to try to fix the OEM part somehow before you switch it back?
Does it still have any oil in it? Does it still have any damping power?
 
Not quite, they look fine in the center. I'm thinking that I may be replacing these tires a little too soon but I suppose you can take a look and provide your insight :).
Thanks for the pics. For me, the variables at play for my tire replacement decisions aren't necessarily visual tread depth but rather how they feel when I'm driving. The easiest time to feel the tires on the edge of their performance limits is when traction is reduced (rain,snow,dirt/gravel). The car behaves similarly on dry roads it just takes higher forces to get the same results.

I'd guess you are probably similar to me ... If you regularly drive in a "sporty fashion" you're very familiar with the edges of the traction envelope and know when the tires no longer suit your driving style.

Tread depth is a compromise ... More shallow tread is more fun on dry pavement with less squirm but conversely bad news for contaminated surfaces. Need more tread depth to handle rain and snow and mucky yuckies. That's where a tire has always shown me first when it's done (for me) is wet roads.

But, enough about tires huh .... Resume Belt Tensioner conversation :)
 
Are you going to try to fix the OEM part somehow before you switch it back?
Does it still have any oil in it? Does it still have any damping power?
Upon pulling back the silicone/rubber housing, the fluid seems to be a very light viscosity/consistency. I did spill a bit of the fluid since it was tilted and when I inspected the insides, there really doesn't seem to be much in there at all (seems empty).

I don't know if it's still a good idea to install the OEM one back after spilling some of the fluid out so I may have to reconsider that. If anyone knows what kind of grease I can fill it back up with, feel free to let me know.

I did try to pull the tensioner arm back and forth (gently) and it feels a little stiff. Not sure if that answers your question or not.

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Seems like RockAuto has the INA FT01291 back in stock. I bought it and now we can finally test the below:
  1. Whether or not the serial # is >".10". Based on the pictures on RockAuto, it doesn't seem like it has the Mazda logo stamp so I don't think the serial #would appear.
  2. Whether or not the OEM/Aftermarket belt tensioner makes a difference in power/acceleration.
  3. Whether or not I am wasting $$ on these belt tensioners. = Yes, I am.
Will provide an update once I install it unless it starts snowing then never mind hehe
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Update 11/27:
The new INA belt tensioner has arrived today. Based on my observation, the OEM INA and the aftermarket INA belt tensioner look exactly identical. The only difference is the date stamp on it and serial #'s.

The packaging is kinda crappy if you ask me because the pictures you see below are exactly how the belt tensioner arrived. Nothing held the tensioner in place while it moved/dangled/jumped around inside the box so I hope there was no damage. Visibly, there is none but I'll find out once I install it.

I'm really hoping this resolves the issue with the Gates tensioners lackluster performance at high revs (60 mph+) and I think I have a conclusion of why it feels different from the INA one. It could be that it is more refined/better built due to the "vibration dampening system" but I could be wrong since it's just a theory.

OEM:
F-569897.07-0100
SLOVOKIA 21.10.15 (MM.DD.YY)
2 / 07378

Aftermarket INA Tensioner: SLOVOKIA
F-613586-0100
SLOVOKIA 10.01.20 (MM.DD.YY)
3 / 00959

Here are some photos
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That crispy refinement is why the OEM one is more money. No casting edges and the lettering and angles are sharp. But the three most important things are having the right spring tension, how the bearings and pivots wear and how long until it leaks.
 
Upon pulling back the silicone/rubber housing, the fluid seems to be a very light viscosity/consistency. I did spill a bit of the fluid since it was tilted and when I inspected the insides, there really doesn't seem to be much in there at all (seems empty).

I don't know if it's still a good idea to install the OEM one back after spilling some of the fluid out so I may have to reconsider that. If anyone knows what kind of grease I can fill it back up with, feel free to let me know.

I did try to pull the tensioner arm back and forth (gently) and it feels a little stiff. Not sure if that answers your question or not.

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Use method mentioned in http://www.mcx5.org/drive_belt_removal_installation-1230.html to check the workings of it.

Also, on tire pressure, I agree with others here and mentioned so many times that car manufacturer mentioned value is correct, not the tires max limit.
 
Does the new one feel stiffer when you work the cylinder back and forth compared to the leaky one?

Does it seem to have a better seal?
 
Appreciate the report Digbicks. The good news is you know how to change the tensioner. The bad news is not having good experience with the Gates tensioner.

I have no idea what type of fluid they put in there. My guess is hydraulic fluid?
 
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