IMO Mazda has been having up and downs on reliability and durability in its history. Efficiency and reliability on rotary engines almost killed Mazda during the oil crisis in 1970’s. Reliability problems, especially on rotary engines, also made Mazda suffered bad reputation during 1990’s, while Toyota and Honda were building up their good reputation. The (Ford) V6 on gen-1 CX-9, and 2.3L turbo on CX-7 also suffered reliability issues in 2000’s. Not until Mazda came up SkyActiv Technology, the reliability seems getting better and more consistent, and hopefully Mazds can keep up this for long.So we all know the durability and reliability of Toyota and Honda. I also saw on YouTube where Mazda is not that popular in the US. So for long time real world owners of Mazda, over time how do they hold up? Thanks.
This mechanic on YouTube said the same thing verbatim. But he actually gave the 2017 CX 5 high marks for the same reasons you stated along with them I believe making their own transmissions.IMO Mazda has been having up and downs on reliability and durability in its history. Efficiency and reliability on rotary engines almost killed Mazda during the oil crisis in 1970’s. Reliability problems, especially on rotary engines, also made Mazda suffered bad reputation during 1990’s, while Toyota and Honda were building up their good reputation. The (Ford) V6 on gen-1 CX-9, and 2.3L turbo on CX-7 also suffered reliability issues in 2000’s. Not until Mazda came up SkyActiv Technology, the reliability seems getting better and more consistent, and hopefully Mazds can keep up this for long.
But the reputation, once been built, sometimes is hard to turn it around. Too many friends and family who bought Mazda before, swear they’d never come back to get another Mazda.
I owned a '08 CX9 for 7-8 yrs. (yes, lots of Ford parts in it)
Now I own three Mazdas in my household. '14 Mazd3, 16' Mazda6, 17 CX5.
They are as solid as any other Japanese vehicles I ever owned.
(used to be a Honda/Acura fan .. owned four)
I typically own vehicles for 7-8 yrs.
The pre-gen CX9 had bad influence from Ford. Mazda really had no choice back then. It was on the verge of bankruptcy. Ford saved their backend by owning 33% (or was it 31%). Anyway, enough shares to claim Mazda being part of Ford.
My pre-gen CX9 has the following major parts from Ford.
Engine: Ford, modified by Mazda (on the intake)
Transfercase: Ford, lots of owners reported failure.
Luckily transmission was from Aisin (owned by Toyota).
Transmissions from Ford are infamous.... my personal opinion.
When Ford owned Mazda, the reliability of Mazda vehicle went really down.
Poor/cheap materials/parts were used.
Looking back, Mazda made two mistakes in the past.
(1) Heavy investment in rotary engine.
Out of passion of this small company managed by ex-engineers.... That is Mazda.
Who knows, they might use it on the MX-30 as a generator ... perfect for it.
(2) Owned by Ford: really no choice. The alternative was bankruptcy.
I will buy another Mazda again if a choice exists.
Have you looked at reliability of Honda/Acura lately?
Transmission of Honda (ZF 8-speed), and the fuel pump blade issue/recall.
Subjectively, Mazda designs much better looking vehicles than Honda/Toyota.
When rating 2020s, Consumer Reports doesn't have a lot of data. It depends on the timing of their member surveys which are the primary inputs to the ratings.Consumer Retorts and JD Powers have rated Mazda at or near the top of the list for reliability in recent years. Toyota has stayed good, but meanwhile, Honda has gone down to middle of the pack in recent years.
Consumer Reports has the CX-5 rated 4 out of 5 or 5 out of 5 overall for every year since its introduction in 2013. 5 out of 5 every year for engine, trans and electical.So we all know the durability and reliability of Toyota and Honda. I also saw on YouTube where Mazda is not that popular in the US. So for long time real world owners of Mazda, over time how do they hold up? Thanks.
Same here: Keep up with normal, recommended maintenance & you're good to go.81k miles, one owner ‘13 CX-5 Sport. No issues. Only additional money spent is on required maintenance. Most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned.
The biggest complaints over the years were a 1 out of 5 worst rating for in-car electronics in 2014
When it comes to Consumer Reports reliability, it is to some degree in the eye of the consumer beholder who answers the questions. Survey respondants are asked to "categorize problems by level of severity according to cost, safety, failure or time without a vehicle."Yep - and I have to agree with that on our 2014. It wasn't a reliability issue though, just piss-poor design. The USB port took minutes to 'read' the USB every time you started the car, and always started at the 'first' track, no matter what you were playing before. Jeez.