Advice for new 2018 GT Owner

Hi Everyone,

I just bought a CX-5 2018 with 18K miles with 1 year warranty left. Unfortunately it is not CPO so I don’t have that extended warranty but should I have the car inspected by a dealer to see if anything needs replacing? Tires, brakes, pads, etc. Will any of that be covered in the warranty?

I was hoping to also get CarPlay installed during my next maintenance schedule which is at 22.5K miles and I assume they’ll check everything on the car then right? Is that wise as I am driving the car almost daily?

Thanks!
 
Hi Everyone,

I just bought a CX-5 2018 with 18K miles with 1 year warranty left.
Did you buy the 2018 CX-5 from a dealer or a private? What is the trim model, GT、Touring、 or Sport; and FWD or AWD? Have you checked the history of the vehicle and service records?

You should also check any recalls which hasn’t been done, mainly the cylinder deactivation recall, at any Mazda dealership. If you could, find all TSBs related to your 2018 CX-5 and try to have a check on those before your 3-year / 36,000-mile new car warranty expires.

For oil change, you can use “Flexible” oil change interval instead of a fixed OCI. Check your owner’s manual for more detail.
 
Yes, pay for an inspection, the service department will try to find anything they can, and since it's under warranty they get paid and it costs you nothing, or better yet, wait until 1 month before the warranty expires - I do that with my new cars too. But, it's interesting that you mentioned the things that wouldn't be covered even if you bought new - Tires, brakes, pads are all wear items and not covered, but they would not have been CPO covered either
 
Did you buy the 2018 CX-5 from a dealer or a private? What is the trim model, GT、Touring、 or Sport; and FWD or AWD? Have you checked the history of the vehicle and service records?

You should also check any recalls which hasn’t been done, mainly the cylinder deactivation recall, at any Mazda dealership. If you could, find all TSBs related to your 2018 CX-5 and try to have a check on those before your 3-year / 36,000-mile new car warranty expires.

For oil change, you can use “Flexible” oil change interval instead of a fixed OCI. Check your owner’s manual for more detail.

The car is a Grand Touring AWD and I got it from a KIA dealership. The car was a personal lease. I’ve done the carfax report and it had routine oil changes and maintenance. Also on Carfax I did not see any recalls for this car but is there another way I can check for recalls?

What is TSBs?
 
Yes, pay for an inspection, the service department will try to find anything they can, and since it's under warranty they get paid and it costs you nothing, or better yet, wait until 1 month before the warranty expires - I do that with my new cars too. But, it's interesting that you mentioned the things that wouldn't be covered even if you bought new - Tires, brakes, pads are all wear items and not covered, but they would not have been CPO covered either

Thanks for clarifying that all those items are not covered. I will keep in mind the 1 month before warranty expires to get the car checked. What type of service do you put down when you want the car to get fully checked out?
 
For oil change, you can use “Flexible” oil change interval instead of a fixed OCI. Check your owner’s manual for more detail.

Yep I’m waiting for “Schedule 1” and the next maintenance would be in 12mo or 22,500 mi.
Do I wait for whichever comes first to do the maintenance? I guess CarPlay is going to have to wait if that’s the case lol
 
The car is a Grand Touring AWD and I got it from a KIA dealership. The car was a personal lease. I’ve done the carfax report and it had routine oil changes and maintenance. Also on Carfax I did not see any recalls for this car but is there another way I can check for recalls?

What is TSBs?
For those 1、2 years old with few thousand miles vehicles I always have some doubts why the previous owners would want to get rid of it so early. For outstanding safety recalls any Mazda dealers can check them for you with the VIN. The major one is the PCM firmware update for cylinder deactivation to prevent engine rocker arm falling. As for TSBs, Technical Service Bulletins, there used to be a sticky TSB thread in this board with many existing TSBs listed, but got hidden now under the pressure of Mazda North American Operations. Now the thread is hard to find, not to mention it isn’t getting any new updates like it used to be. You can try to google those TSBs for your 2018 CX-5, or search NHTSA website which also have many TSBs reported by MNAO.
 
Yep I’m waiting for “Schedule 1” and the next maintenance would be in 12mo or 22,500 mi.
Do I wait for whichever comes first to do the maintenance? I guess CarPlay is going to have to wait if that’s the case lol
Flexible OCI is an app under Maintenance tab in infotainment screen available for Mazda vehicles. The app calculates your usage habit and gives you a notification of ”Oil change due” in dash when the car computer figured it’s time to change oil. The maximum interval is 7,500 miles or 12 months. The good part of using Flexible OCI is you don’t have to follow the fixed mileage (7,500 miles) or time (6 months), but just wait for the message to maximize your oil life safely. Again, read your owner’s manual, and hopefully you got one with your CX-5, for more detail.

Make sure to get all updates on software / firmware for your vehicle before new car warranty expires too.
 
Flexible OCI is an app under Maintenance tab in infotainment screen available for Mazda vehicles. The app calculates your usage habit and gives you a notification of ”Oil change due” in dash when the car computer figured it’s time to change oil. The maximum interval is 7,500 miles or 12 months. The good part of using Flexible OCI is you don’t have to follow the fixed mileage (7,500 miles) or time (6 months), but just wait for the message to maximize your oil life safely. Again, read your owner’s manual, and hopefully you got one with your CX-5, for more detail.

Make sure to get all updates on software / firmware for your vehicle before new car warranty expires too.

When I check the settings on the infotainment I don’t see the option Maintenance within Apps. I’ll check out the manual. If I decide to go to the dealership to install CarPlay should I just ask for an inspection? My wife’s learning to drive more and the steering seems to “off” it has more resistance since I’ve been driving it. Is it worth letting the dealership know?
 
"Is it worth letting the dealership know?" It is hard to answer that question for you. If it were mine, I would keep a list of everything that I question and discuss it with the service advisor when I visited the dealer. I would also read the warranty to get a better idea of what is covered. I would ask the dealer if there were any outstanding recalls.

Who did the last oil change? What oil and filter did they use? You may want to get an oil change now to be on the safe side.

As to the steering, read this review...


Enjoy your CX 5.
 
When I check the settings on the infotainment I don’t see the option Maintenance within Apps. I’ll check out the manual. If I decide to go to the dealership to install CarPlay should I just ask for an inspection? My wife’s learning to drive more and the steering seems to “off” it has more resistance since I’ve been driving it. Is it worth letting the dealership know?
Not in infotainment settings. The Maintenance tab is in the Home page at left most in selections. And the Flexible oil change interval is under the Oil Change tab within the Maintenance. If your current oil change setup is not Flexible, you may have to wait right after your next oil change and do the reset with Flexible OCI setting.

Are you going to get your next oil change at a Mazda dealership? If you’re going to, usually the dealer will give you a check list of car conditions outlining every category, It may not be trustworthy but at least you have something to look at about the conditions of your CX-5.

If you meant the steering wheel is off center that indicates you need a 4-wheel alignment. If you meant it has more resistance while turning since you’ve been driving it, check the tire pressure, and you sure can mention it to the dealer the next time you visit a Mazda dealer.
 
From the CarFax it shows the previous owner did regular oil changes and they probably used the Mazda dealer it was leased from. And I am actually due for a tire rotation in a month. I guess I can let the service advisor know the steering felt stiff when turning left and right and install CarPlay altogether.

Do they give you a rental if your service appointment is longer than a few hours or do I need to request that before heading over?
 
Oh btw yes the dealership I got it from did the following:

6/29/20 - 18,334 miles
Tire Repaired (hmm was there a problem?)
Filter replaced/cleaned
Washed/Detailed
Oil and filter changed
Emission and safety inspection performed
 
From the CarFax it shows the previous owner did regular oil changes and they probably used the Mazda dealer it was leased from. And I am actually due for a tire rotation in a month. I guess I can let the service advisor know the steering felt stiff when turning left and right and install CarPlay altogether.

Do they give you a rental if your service appointment is longer than a few hours or do I need to request that before heading over?
Since you bought your CX-5 at a Kia dealer, are all these maintenance you mentioned from a Mazda dealer? Your 2018 CX-5 should still have 36-month / 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper new car warranty, next time you stop by at your Mazds dealership, you should mention everything you feel not right to the Service Advisor and have them to check them out. And don’t forget to ask the outstanding recalls especially cylinder deactivation recall which is essential.

Usually a car dealer won’t be able to offer you a loaner car for any maintenance and repair work which can be completed within a day. Some do offer shuttle service to drop you off and pick you up within a limited distance.

I accumulated 10 items which needed to be checked and repaired, 3 recalls、5 TSBs、and 2 actual defects a week before my warranty expired which took 3 days to check and repair, and I could get a loaner car because of this.
 
Oh btw yes the dealership I got it from did the following:

6/29/20 - 18,334 miles
Tire Repaired (hmm was there a problem?
Filter replaced/cleaned
Washed/Detailed
Oil and filter changed
Emission and safety inspection performed
Since you bought your CX-5 at a Kia dealer, are all these maintenance you mentioned from a Mazda dealer? Your 2018 CX-5 should still have 36-month / 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper new car warranty, next time you stop by at your Mazds dealership, you should mention everything you feel not right to the Service Advisor and have them to check them out. And don’t forget to ask the outstanding recalls especially cylinder deactivation recall which is essential.

Usually a car dealer won’t be able to offer you a loaner car for any maintenance and repair work which can be completed within a day. Some do offer shuttle service to drop you off and pick you up within a limited distance.

I accumulated 10 items which needed to be checked and repaired, 3 recalls、5 TSBs、and 2 actual defects a week before my warranty expired which took 3 days to check and repair, and I could get a loaner car because of this.

Yes according to Car Fax all maintenance was done at Mazda dealers. And yes the car is still under the warranty for another year. I was going to wait until the next maintenance window to get it checked out + install CarPlay.

Should I also explain to the advisor I just got the car and would just like to get everything checked? And also mention the steering issue?
 
Regarding the change in steering - Did you check your tire pressures while the tires are cold? It could be low pressure that isn’t low enough to trigger the TPMS. Hopefully you own your own tire gauge, the ones at the gas stations may not be accurate and your tires heat up driving there.
 
Regarding the change in steering - Did you check your tire pressures while the tires are cold? It could be low pressure that isn’t low enough to trigger the TPMS. Hopefully you own your own tire gauge, the ones at the gas stations may not be accurate and your tires heat up driving there.

Could be I need to buy a tire gauge. What is the recommended pressure in each tire?
 
For those 1、2 years old with few thousand miles vehicles I always have some doubts why the previous owners would want to get rid of it so early. For outstanding safety recalls any Mazda dealers can check them for you with the VIN. The major one is the PCM firmware update for cylinder deactivation to prevent engine rocker arm falling. As for TSBs, Technical Service Bulletins, there used to be a sticky TSB thread in this board with many existing TSBs listed, but got hidden now under the pressure of Mazda North American Operations. Now the thread is hard to find, not to mention it isn’t getting any new updates like it used to be. You can try to google those TSBs for your 2018 CX-5, or search NHTSA website which also have many TSBs reported by MNAO.

I saved 5-6k purchasing an 8 month old former rental 2019 GT. Serviced by the Mazda Dealer routinely (twice) before I purchased it with 13k miles.

I take the trade off of saving thousands vs paying new. After owning a few "new" cars in my life I've realized the depreciation hit wasnt worth the new factor.
Having a remaining factory warranty is nice and offers piece of mind.

Not everyone can part with 30k for new CX5GT, 1-2 year old models are selling in the mid-low 20's are a very attractive option and lower cost of entry into the CX5 experience.
 
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