2013~2016 CX-5 Coolant maintenance

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CX-5, fwd auto
Hi

I am getting ready for 10 year or 120000 mile coolant replacement but have questions if anyone can assist.

Should I also change thermostats, and water pump at the same time? If not will it last till 150000 miles?

Would dealer will back flush heater core at the same time?

Anything as a preventative maintenance that I should do? Thanks.
 
Hi
I am getting ready for 10 year or 120000 mile coolant replacement but have questions if anyone can assist.
should I also change thermostats, and water pump at the same time? If not will it last till 150000 miles?
Would dealer will back flush heater core at the same time?
Anything as a preventative maintainence that I should do? Thanks.
If I remember correctly, the shop manual says to drain the coolant. Fill it back up with coolant (premixed), burp the hoses, run the car 10-15 minutes to get the fans running and coolant circulating. Turn off the car, let the coolant cool off before popping the cap off the radiator. Fill and run again if necessary.

That procedure wont replace all of the fluid. It’ll be a partial drain and fill. I don’t believe there is a plug to drain the coolant from the block, so I think that’s why future changes are recommended to be at 5 years/60k miles after.

I wouldn’t worry about the water pump if there aren’t signs of it leaking. Some residue is normal and there is a guide with images floating around here somewhere illustrating what is and isn’t normal. Thankfully it’s not on a timing belt where replacing a water pump during a belt change is preventative (preventing a labor intensive timing belt removal if the water pump were to fail later). If your water pump or thermostat fails down the road after a coolant change, youre only out the additional cost of coolant when replacing the pump.

spark plugs replaced yet? Serpentine belt or water pump belt replaced? Not much else preventative maintenance to do.
 
Last edited:
Hi

I am getting ready for 10 year or 120000 mile coolant replacement but have questions if anyone can assist.

Should I also change thermostats, and water pump at the same time? If not will it last till 150000 miles?

Would dealer will back flush heater core at the same time?

Anything as a preventative maintenance that I should do? Thanks.
Totally agree with what ruthrj has said above. You don’t need water pump and thermostat replacement while you’re changing the engine coolant. Both components are easy to be replaced even if either one of them failed. Follow ruthrj’s advice and you should be able to keep your CX-5 good for up to 150,000 miles with minimum maintenance cost.
 
When I want to flush a coolant system, I use distilled water as my flush until the system is pretty much clear. Then add 1/2 of the total capacity of the cooling system in full strength concentrate coolant and top up with distilled water. Like this ....

1. Drain as much old coolant as you can from the system.
2. Fill system with distilled water. Run engine for a bit to circulate. Drain system again. (After it cools enough of course).
3. Repeat step 2 as many times as needed until your draining out pretty much clear water.
4. Fill 1/2 of capacity with 100% concentrate antifreeze. Then top up with more distilled water. That will make a 50/50 blend.

That's how I handle it. YMMV. :)
 
When I want to flush a coolant system, I use distilled water as my flush until the system is pretty much clear. Then add 1/2 of the total capacity of the cooling system in full strength concentrate coolant and top up with distilled water. Like this ....

1. Drain as much old coolant as you can from the system.
2. Fill system with distilled water. Run engine for a bit to circulate. Drain system again. (After it cools enough of course).
3. Repeat step 2 as many times as needed until your draining out pretty much clear water.
4. Fill 1/2 of capacity with 100% concentrate antifreeze. Then top up with more distilled water. That will make a 50/50 blend.

That's how I handle it. YMMV. :)
I’ve been using this way to change the engine coolant for many years. Added with turning the heater up to maximum so that the coolant or distilled water can circulate into heater core faster and throughly. Engine block coolant drain plug helps too but apparently our 2.5L doesn’t have it like ruthrj said.

The only problem nowadays is it’s getting harder to find concentrated coolant and the 50% coolant can’t keep the cooling system maintaining 50% concentration because the left-over distill water amount in the cooling system after the flush by the method is significant.
 
This sounds like a good plan. What brands of coolant are compatible?
 
This sounds like a good plan. What brands of coolant are compatible?
Mazda says FL-22 coolant, and I personally would use OEM FL-22 concentrated coolant to mix with left-over factory coolant better. Unfortunately OEM FL-22 concentrated coolant seems to be no longer available.
 
Is this OEM pre-mix then?
Yes.

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Mazda says FL-22 coolant, and I personally would use OEM FL-22 concentrated coolant to mix with left-over factory coolant better. Unfortunately OEM FL-22 concentrated coolant seems to be no longer available.

Is that just a supply line issue due to COVID? I'm not aware of newer Mazdas having switched to a different coolant, so would seem odd to no longer be available under normal circumstances considering there are not many third party FL-22 type coolants out there.
 
Is that just a supply line issue due to COVID? I'm not aware of newer Mazdas having switched to a different coolant, so would seem odd to no longer be available under normal circumstances considering there are not many third party FL-22 type coolants out there.
Mazda North American Operations still supply FL-22 coolant, but it seems they switched from concentrated FL-22 to pre-diluted 55/45 FL-22 coolant.
 
I think I've heard some other makes use it. Maybe they have undiluted.
 
Has anyone used or heard of the waterless coolant?

https://www.evanscoolant.com/how-it-works/why-evans/
That’s a first for me. I’m not sure what problem it’s meant to solve though for everyday vehicle use. Seems risky especially for modern cars calling for a specific coolant like FL22. Crate engines and track cars? Go for it. Anything else, meh.

“Don’t mix with water”. That would be a trick trying to get all of the water out of a CX5 block lol!
 
Has anyone used or heard of the waterless coolant?

https://www.evanscoolant.com/how-it-works/why-evans/

I for one had not.. but reading through the warranty page.. there is plenty that would give me personal reason NOT to use the product. https://www.evanscoolant.com/how-it-works/conversion-installation/warranty-information/

"Once conversion is completed, the water content of the cooling system must be measured to ensure that it does not exceed 3%. A sample of coolant taken post-conversion must be sent to ECS, Inc. "

"Annual coolant sampling and analysis must be done to insure the integrity of the Evans Coolant has not been compromised. "

this extra hassle / cost is not something I desire.

I can see how fleet vehicles might take advantage of the benefits, but for me.. the benefits really aren't a strong argument.
 
Mazda North American Operations still supply FL-22 coolant, but it seems they switched from concentrated FL-22 to pre-diluted 55/45 FL-22 coolant.

Ohhh...I see what you mean now. Yeah the bottle I have is the 55/45 pre-diluted type. I did not catch on that you were talking about concentrated.
 
Dear all,
Thank you so much on everyone's insight. I feel better knowing what to do and hope to help others too.
 
Thanks again for all the information. Can someone also chime in if any radiator hoses should be replaced? If not at this time, will it likely to last till additional 5 years?
Thanks a lot.
 
I think I replaced the upper hose on my '86 626 sometime between 15 and 20 years. I would go by feel (see if it seems squishy).I think the other hoses were good. They use really good hoses, in my opinion.

You can also look inside the hose to see if rubber is deteriorating. Check for cracks and tears, etc. Sometimes the connection where the hooks up needs cleaning, like with steel wool, because the metal corrodes, which allows seepage.
 
^ what Mazdiod2 said about coolant hoses.
I prefer to do 1 - 3 simple drain and refill the radiator with premixed coolant rather than trying to get to a purely water filled system.
But I understand that you might feel better if you did multiple drain and refill until you see nothing but water. In that case there are 2 choices for concentrated OEM coolant and 2 choices for aftermarket concentrate original equipment coolant:
Mazda 0000-77-501E-02
Motorcraft VC-10-A2
Aftermarket online: Ravenol J4D2091-10 HJC FL22
Aftermarket available at many auto parts stores:
PEAK OET ASIAN VEHICLE EXTENDED LIFE GREEN CONCENTRATE: PEA PAG0B3
 
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