2013~2016 CX-5 Strut and Shock replacement

[Mazdiod2]

I'd second the opinions of this thread- KYB might be the OEM.

I put KYB on my Mazda 626 and they were great.

 

[ColtX-5]

All of the KYBs I've had were disappointingly soft and did not control the suspension. I wouldn't want them.

OTOH, I have Ohlins on my MX-5 and THAT'S what I want on my CX-5; little harshness and very strong control of body motion.

 

[ruthrj]

I think the shocks and struts on my ‘13 CX-5, ~84k miles are wearing out. High speed maneuvering is getting a little squirrelly, and taking tight turns at on and off ramps has a little too much roll. I took an off ramp with a long tight turn at 30 mph which shouldn’t be a problem. The front left tire actually hopped a couple of times. It felt like it was low on air or was running flat. I actually pulled over to double check it before getting up to speed on the highway.

I ordered KYB shocks and quick-struts on RockAuto and they came out to about $360 with tax and delivery. I’ll let you know how the install and driving experience goes with those. I’m a little hesitant on the quick-struts, but I don’t want to fool with a spring compressor and I’m excited to save a ton on labor by DIY.

 

[yrwei52]

I think the shocks and struts on my ‘13 CX-5, ~84k miles are wearing out. High speed maneuvering is getting a little squirrelly, and taking tight turns at on and off ramps has a little too much roll. I took an off ramp with a long tight turn at 30 mph which shouldn’t be a problem. The front left tire actually hopped a couple of times. It felt like it was low on air or was running flat. I actually pulled over to double check it before getting up to speed on the highway.

I ordered KYB shocks and quick-struts on RockAuto and they came out to about $360 with tax and delivery. I’ll let you know how the install and driving experience goes with those. I’m a little hesitant on the quick-struts, but I don’t want to fool with a spring compressor and I’m excited to save a ton on labor by DIY.

I remember there’s some rubber bumper or gasket will be worn and needs to be replaced with rear shock absorber on early gen-1 CX-5. But this rubber part is not available separately and only comes with OEM shocks. Let us know the situation.

Quick-struts? I’ve to google it to figure out what is it? Yeah I always use a good and more expensive spring compressor to compress the spring and replace the strut. I wish I have those fancy spring compressor saw in the shop which is so easy and safe to use!

 

[tibimakai]

I have got Koni Yellow Sports, they can be adjusted.

 

[yrwei52]

I remember there’s some rubber bumper or gasket will be worn and needs to be replaced with rear shock absorber on early gen-1 CX-5. But this rubber part is not available separately and only comes with OEM shocks. Let us know the situation.

Now I saw the earlier post #16 and #17 OP Voda Pas did say he had reused “actual” upper rubber mount as the KYB shock doesn’t come with it like the OEM shock. He also ordered strut boots presumably is for front, but it seems the rear KYB shock also needs some dust cover boot. Here are comparison pictures between OEM rear shock absorber and KYB’s. OEM shock comes with entire upper rubber mount but KYB shock doesn’t.

Just for the info of anyone else looking to replace their struts/shocks down the road here are the KYB part numbers:

Front Left - KYB 339337
Front Right - KYB 339336
Rear Shocks - KYB 349219
Strut Boots - KYB SB118

 

[ruthrj]

Now I saw the earlier post #16 and #17 OP Voda Pas did say he had reused “actual” upper rubber mount as the KYB shock doesn’t come with it like the OEM shock. He also ordered strut boots presumably is for front, but it seems the rear KYB shock also needs some dust cover boot. Here are comparison pictures between OEM rear shock absorber and KYB’s. OEM shock comes with entire upper rubber mount but KYB shock doesn’t.

View attachment 228872
View attachment 228873
View attachment 228874

awesome, thank you! I’ll look into KYB SB118 for the rears, I plan to reuse the existing mounts. Much appreciated!

 

[ruthrj]

I think I should be able to reuse this whole portion pictured with the new KYB shocks. The black part moves freely when I jiggle it and the dust cover seems to be in good shape. The SB118 part looks applicable if you’re disassembling the old strut assembly to reuse the coil and such, but i should be good to go with the full assemblies I ordered

 

[yrwei52]

I think I should be able to reuse this whole portion pictured with the new KYB shocks. The black part moves freely when I jiggle it and the dust cover seems to be in good shape. The SB118 part looks applicable if you’re disassembling the old strut assembly to reuse the coil and such, but i should be good to go with the full assemblies I ordered

Yes, you should be able to reuse the upper mount and dust cover from factory rear shocks. I just remember someone had mentioned that he needed the upper mounts as they were worn while replacing the rear shocks, but he couldn’t get them because it’s part of OEM rear shock absorber. I believe the lower bolt for rear shock will need some maneuver to take it out. OP and @Chris_Top_Her discussed a bit in post #18 and #19.

 

[yrwei52]

⋯
I just remember someone had mentioned that he needed the upper mounts as they were worn while replacing the rear shocks, but he couldn’t get them because it’s part of OEM rear shock absorber.

I believe the top mounts on rear shocks have been beefed up since your 2013 CX-5, but they’re not available separately. Strangely this top mount for rear shocks which may be different from gen-1 CX-5 is available for gen-2 CX-5.

2014 Rear Shock Mount

2016 rear shock mount?

 

[ruthrj]

I believe the top mounts on rear shocks have been beefed up since your 2013 CX-5, but they’re not available separately. Strangely this top mount for rear shocks which may be different from gen-1 CX-5 is available for gen-2 CX-5.

2014 Rear Shock Mount

2016 rear shock mount?

I’m way too curious not to try the KYB SM5619 shock mounts. They look damn near identical to my stock ones. I’m fine using the originals but I placed and Autozone order for these KYB shock mounts to satisfy my curiousity. If they work, great! If not, I’ll return them. I’ll report back

 

[yrwei52]

I’m way too curious not to try the KYB SM5619 shock mounts. They look damn near identical to my stock ones. I’m fine using the originals but I placed and Autozone order for these KYB shock mounts to satisfy my curiousity. If they work, great! If not, I’ll return them. I’ll report back

Personally I don’t believe KYB shock mount SM5619 would fit your 2013 CX-5 as the KYB website doesn’t have it listed.

Since I did some research on CX-5 OEM rear shock absorbers for another thread, it surprised me that there’re so many versions for different MY’s and FWD / AWD. On the other hand, KYB listed only 2 for CX-5, 349219 to 5/13/2013 and 3440013 from 5/13/2013 up to 2018 MY. I understand after-market manufactures have the tendency of making one-size-fit-all parts, but this could mean the rear shock absorber is physically inter-changeable between most gen-1 CX-5’s (from 5/13/2013) and many gen-2 CX-5’s (at least up to 2018).

 

[ruthrj]

Personally I don’t believe KYB shock mount SM5619 would fit your 2013 CX-5 as the KYB website doesn’t have it listed.

Since I did some research on CX-5 OEM rear shock absorbers for another thread, it surprised me that there’re so many versions for different MY’s and FWD / AWD. On the other hand, KYB listed only 2 for CX-5, 349219 to 5/13/2013 and 3440013 from 5/13/2013 up to 2018 MY. I understand after-market manufactures have the tendency of making one-size-fit-all parts, but this could mean the rear shock absorber is physically inter-changeable between most gen-1 CX-5’s (from 5/13/2013) and many gen-2 CX-5’s (at least up to 2018).

Yeah, the KYB mount was a no-go. Too small!

good news though is that the original mounts look fine. The rubber bushing looks to be in good condition. No cracks or damage. Florida car most of its life so conditions have been gentle.

rear shocks are replaced. You’ll need a 12mm box wrench and a pair of vice grips to remove the mount. Grab the stem with the vice grips and unscrew the 12mm nut. It had some blue lock tite, so I applied some when installing the mount to the new shock. Saved about $40 per shock vs OEM reusing the old mounts, but YMMV. If I ever replace these again, I’ll get OEM for the included mounts.

rear right shock was definitely bad lol. Some seepage down the side. Pic included to show it doesn’t push as far as the old drivers side.

On to the struts!

 

[yrwei52]

Yeah, the KYB mount was a no-go. Too small!

good news though is that the original mounts look fine. The rubber bushing looks to be in good condition. No cracks or damage. Florida car most of its life so conditions have been gentle.

rear shocks are replaced. You’ll need a 12mm box wrench and a pair of vice grips to remove the mount. Grab the stem with the vice grips and unscrew the 12mm nut. It had some blue lock tite, so I applied some when installing the mount to the new shock. Saved about $40 per shock vs OEM reusing the old mounts, but YMMV. If I ever replace these again, I’ll get OEM for the included mounts.

rear right shock was definitely bad lol. Some seepage down the side. Pic included to show it doesn’t push as far as the old drivers side.

On to the struts!

Apparently you made a right decision to replace your rear shock absorbers. The factory rear shocks from Japan have p/n KD35-28-700 on your 2013 CX-5, and the current OEM rear shock for 2013 CX-5 has the p/n KDY5-28-910C. It seems to have several revisions so far.

 

[ruthrj]

I’m very impressed with the build quality of the KYB complete strut assembly. At just over $100 a strut, I think these were a no brainer.

 

[Mazdiod2]

I’m very impressed with the build quality of the KYB complete strut assembly. At just over $100 a strut, I think these were a no brainer.

That's for the quickstrut? That is good.

Is there a way to avoid getting the front end aligned after replacing the struts?

 

[ruthrj]

That's for the quickstrut? That is good.

Is there a way to avoid getting the front end aligned after replacing the struts?

Yessir, $113 at Rockauto. I’ll have to send in my rebate for $25 for a full set of KYB shocks and struts too.

I marked around the 3 nuts at the top with a sharpie. There’s little (if any) play up there. They look pretty on point relative to the old nuts that were removed. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything you can do to avoid an alignment.

I’ve honestly never had an alignment done on this car. The current set (Goodyear Assurance comfortred) have been wearing evenly over the last 50k miles and probably have another 15k in them (tops). Their wet performance leave a little to be desired. If they start wearing funny I’ll spring for a new set of tires and get an alignment done then

 

[yrwei52]

I’m very impressed with the build quality of the KYB complete strut assembly. At just over $100 a strut, I think these were a no brainer.

Not trying to save $100 per strut, but I prefer the original spring where the spring on complete strut could have a little differential spring ratio and may cause different ride quality. So far I haven‘t tried a complete strut. Like replacing torn CV boot, I’ve aiways been using new boot kit instead of getting an entire drive shaft.

Yes, KYB does have good reputation on quality. Do they say where are those made? China?

 

[ruthrj]

Not trying to save $100 per strut, but I prefer the original spring where the spring on complete strut could have a little differential spring ratio and may cause different ride quality. So far I haven‘t tried a complete strut. Like replacing torn CV boot, I’ve aiways been using new boot kit instead of getting an entire drive shaft.

Yes, KYB does have good reputation on quality. Do they say where are those made? China?

Like everything in Mother Russia, they say Made in Taiwan

 

[ruthrj]

Huh, on second thought the box for the front struts says “Assembled” in Taiwan. The front struts say “Taiwan”. The shocks are made in Japan. Odd lol