New CX-5 GS vibration issue

CX5 2017 owner here in Canada. It's been -20 like everyday and the vehicle has been making an insane amount of vibration, hurts your ears after awhile. Before winter hit the vehicle has been fine, no issues. Now I hate driving it.

Any update on a fix coming? Is this all new cx5's?
 
On the Russia still there is no solution. On The Canada I think same. Looks, we have to wait until next winter.
>> Is this all new cx5's?
Yes, only all new CX-5 have this problem.
 
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On the Russia still there is no solution. On The Canada I think same. Looks, we have to wait until next winter.
>> Is this all new cx5's?
Yes, only all new CX-5 have this problem.

Do you see many CX-5s in Russia?
 
I wonder if this is an issue with an older model as I never *knock on woods* experience this on my 2018 GT ... When I first had my car last January 13, the first week, the temperature for the whole week was averaging around -10c to -15c feeling like -25c and it was smooth, no vibration.

From what I see here, looks like from 2017 and older model... maybe because there is more sound deadening added to the 2018 model which helps lessen the vibration?
 
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Do you see many CX-5s in Russia?
Yes, Mazda CX-5 is popular in Russia. From words of my dealership on my city all 2017 Mazda CX-5 which were sold here having vibration problem on cold.
From what I see here, looks like from 2017 and older model... maybe because there is more sound deadening added to the 2018 model which helps lessen the vibration?
I don't know about 2018 model, but 2017 (2 gen) models of new CX-5 KF have this problem. AFAIK, there is no difference between 2017 and 2018 models, except year. Correct me if I am wrong.
In my experience, engine mount will freeze only if temperature less -15c and there is no warming of engine during 2 day.
 
This is a response I got when I contacted Mazda


"The engineers have come to the conclusion of one main engine mount which is being compromised by the cold which is basically freezing the rubber internally which allows for severe vibrations and noise.

We have seen that once the engine mount returns to a certain temperature that the driving functionality returns back to an original state. The vehicle is perfectly safe to drive so I would not be concerned. It is strictly just an inconvenience due to noise and vibration."
 
This is a response I got when I contacted Mazda


"The engineers have come to the conclusion of one main engine mount which is being compromised by the cold which is basically freezing the rubber internally which allows for severe vibrations and noise.

We have seen that once the engine mount returns to a certain temperature that the driving functionality returns back to an original state. The vehicle is perfectly safe to drive so I would not be concerned. It is strictly just an inconvenience due to noise and vibration."

do they plan on fixing it?
 
This is a response I got when I contacted Mazda


"The engineers have come to the conclusion of one main engine mount which is being compromised by the cold which is basically freezing the rubber internally which allows for severe vibrations and noise.

We have seen that once the engine mount returns to a certain temperature that the driving functionality returns back to an original state. The vehicle is perfectly safe to drive so I would not be concerned. It is strictly just an inconvenience due to noise and vibration."

I would not say it is just inconvenience. It is problem, for north regions like Russia, Canada, Alaska where less -15c is usual temperature in winter. I think it is even can cause headaches, cuz vibration is felt pretty strong and it is very low frequency.
Last time when was cold, I felt vibration about one hour. I hope they will solve this problem until next winter, because I not saw such problem on other models of mazda and other car manufacturers, even when temperature was less -30c.
 
They told me the engineers are looking into a fix. So I'm personally hoping by next winters time we don't have to suffer with this insane vibration.

I advise more people to contact them about it so they realize it's not just some minor inconvenience, it's a serious flaw! I wouldn't recommend this current vehicle to anyone in northern Canada at this point.

So everyone voice your issues.
 
The Mazda Facebook page is quite responsive. Apparently Mazda is logging how many 2017 CX-5s have this issue based on my Messenger conversion with the Mazda rep. So definitely contact them.

Oddly, we've had a few -20C mornings here and the vibration issue hasn't occurred. But we're not having sustained cold temperature, generally getting pretty mild during the day.

Let's call it for what it is; lack of testing. I suspect that when Mazda changed the engine mounts in their push to make the 2017's even quieter, someone nixed having to redo the cold weather testing That has to cost $250,000 at least; flying 3 or 4 engineers up north, paying they're salary, room and board, transporting the car up there.

The manufacturer of the engine mounts likely claimed they're good to -50C, it's just a drop-in replacement, so why bother with cold weather testing?

I agree that it's a serious flaw. Sure, the vehicle is "safe to drive" but what is all this vibration doing to the integrity of the interior of the vehicle? I don't want to be driving around listening to rattles because of this.
 
I’m sorry but there is absolutely no way on this earth that Mazda missed cold weather testing and if you think it’s down to hotel bill, you are very naive. They cannot launch the car without documented evidence that the test and every aspect including NVH was done.
 
Who really knows? Maybe this same mount is being used in other vehicles with no issues? Could we be talking about a harmonic vibration here? That would be difficult to test out since it’s not just the mount itself but the combination of the subframe, engine and locations of the mounts.
 
I've got a '17 CX-5, only has 600km's on it so far. It's been cold here in Newfoundland and I haven't experienced any vibration as of it!

First when you start a Skyactiv engine when it's cold there is some engine noise and vibration for maybe half a minute until the engine warms a little bit, but that's normal since they debuted.
 
Who really knows? Maybe this same mount is being used in other vehicles with no issues? Could we be talking about a harmonic vibration here? That would be difficult to test out since it’s not just the mount itself but the combination of the subframe, engine and locations of the mounts.

Precisely.
Could also be some parts manufactured out of spec.
 
The Mazda Facebook page is quite responsive. Apparently Mazda is logging how many 2017 CX-5s have this issue based on my Messenger conversion with the Mazda rep. So definitely contact them.

Oddly, we've had a few -20C mornings here and the vibration issue hasn't occurred. But we're not having sustained cold temperature, generally getting pretty mild during the day.

Let's call it for what it is; lack of testing. I suspect that when Mazda changed the engine mounts in their push to make the 2017's even quieter, someone nixed having to redo the cold weather testing That has to cost $250,000 at least; flying 3 or 4 engineers up north, paying they're salary, room and board, transporting the car up there.

The manufacturer of the engine mounts likely claimed they're good to -50C, it's just a drop-in replacement, so why bother with cold weather testing?

I agree that it's a serious flaw. Sure, the vehicle is "safe to drive" but what is all this vibration doing to the integrity of the interior of the vehicle? I don't want to be driving around listening to rattles because of this.

Mazda has an indoor facility for cold weather testing up to -40F. I am surprised this problem did not show up during their tests

https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/the-mazda-way/cars-for-drivers/extreme-measure/
 
Maybe it did and they deem it acceptable. I’ve never felt it but I know how critical some owners can be over something and nothing so I would need to judge it first. As part of my college years I did a course on engine design and primary, secondary and harmonic vibration were a big part of it. Why would low temp lead to it unless it was stiffer rubber or incomplete combustion, both of which would improve shortly after start up. I asked the question about whether it goes when the temp gets to normal and never got it. That always makes me suspicious about someone who gets something stuck in his craw and wants to find an excuse to complain or even reject the car - “don’t answer a question that might dilute your argument”. My 17 does give a slight vibration - and it is slight, through the steering wheel but they clamped the rack directly to the frame to improve steering feel so I expect it. So it depends on just how bad this vibration is before I would judge it. We don’t get North American winters here and I accept that but I don’t accept that Mazda overlooked it. They know what to test in those conditions.
 
Im sorry but there is absolutely no way on this earth that Mazda missed cold weather testing and if you think its down to hotel bill, you are very naive. They cannot launch the car without documented evidence that the test and every aspect including NVH was done.

Well then their testing sucks. Or their engineers turned a blind eye. I wish I had recorded the sound the car was making when we got back from Turks and Caicos at Christmas; we were on the verge of pulling over and calling a tow-truck. I could feel it though the steering wheel and through the seat. Interior panels were resonating at low RPMs; looking in the rear view mirror, everything would go all blurry because the car was vibrating so bad. I'm not just whining about something trivial like the car having a slightly rough idle sitting at a stop light.

Mazda has admitted that they know about the issue and that they're working on a fix to me and several others. I surmise from that that it's not just a few out-of-spec engine mounts, but rather a basic design flaw that the new hydraulic engine mounts freeze up at low temperatures.

My naive mechanical engineer brain therefore comes up with a few possibilities:

a) Mazda did not do cold weather testing of the 2017 CX-5
b) Mazda improperly did the cold weather testing of the 2017 Mazda CX-5
c) Mazda properly did the cold weather testing of the 2017 CX-5, discovered the issue, looked at the cost of fixing it vs. how many people live in places where the temperatures regularly fall below -20C, and decided to not fix it because of the corporate bottom line.
d) Mazda's supply chain sucks and provides them with inferior, sub-spec parts in quantities sufficient for the for the company to admit there is an issue.
 
If it still did it when you got back from a journey where the engine has been running for any length of time at normal temperature, I doubt it’s the mounts as they get very hot. I’m not trying to undermine or trivialise your report, I’m just trying to apply some logic. I don’t know if your dealer is speculating or genuinely feeding back from Mazda but there is a big opportunity for Chinese whispers.
 
If it still did it when you got back from a journey where the engine has been running for any length of time at normal temperature, I doubt it’s the mounts as they get very hot. I’m not trying to undermine or trivialise your report, I’m just trying to apply some logic. I don’t know if your dealer is speculating or genuinely feeding back from Mazda but there is a big opportunity for Chinese whispers.

The vehicle did this for the entire 45 minute drive home from the airport. There was a cold snap here at the time and temperatures were hovering around -25C during the day. The following day temperatures were still in the -25C range and the car exhibited the same vibration issues. By Monday the temperature rose to a balmy -14C and all symptoms went away and haven't returned, nor has the -25C temperatures.

As far as I know there were few changes between the 2016 and 2017 CX-5s. One of the changes was to introduce hydraulic engine mounts. The 2016 CX-5s do not have this issue. Frozen engine mounts would produce the type of vibrations some of us 2017 owners are experiencing in sub -20C temperatures. I'm not a mechanic so maybe it's not the engine mounts, but just looking at what changed between 2016/2017 and what could cause these temperature related vibration issues seems to narrow the field quite a bit.

Below is my verbatim conversation with a Mazda rep (I redacted my name) via their Facebook page. You'll note that they did not disabuse me of my belief that the engine mounts were the problem.

"Hello,

We recently purchased a 2017 Mazda CX-5 GT late last year. As you may be aware, we recently had a cold snap here in Ontario. Our new CX-5 suddenly became almost unbearable to drive in the -20C~-25C temperatures we had. Very rough idle, excessive engine noise in the cabin, and vibration strong enough between 1500 RPM to 2000 RPM to make the rear view mirrors go blurry with shaking and cause interior trim pieces to start resonating. Once the temperatures warmed up this week the vehicle returned to normal.

After getting in touch with several other 2017 CX-5 owners here in Canada via a forum, we are all experiencing the same issue when temperatures drop below -20C. It is my understanding that for the 2017 CX-5s Mazda changed the engine mounts to hydraulic mounts and that these go hard in colder temperatures, leading to the dramatic increase in noise and vibration.

Is Mazda aware of this issue? If so, what is the planned resolution to this issue and when can we expect it to me implemented?
JAN 12TH, 10:22AM

Hi XXXX. We are aware of the situation and are working on a solution. We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced, but be sure that this is not a safety issue and that the vehicle is safe to drive. Have you already visited a dealer?
JAN 12TH, 1:10PM
Hi,

I was going to make an appointment but it warmed up on Monday and the issue went away. After discussing it with other 2017 CX-5 owners on a Mazda forum I learned what the issue is and that there is nothing the dealer can do until Mazda comes out with a fix.
JAN 12TH, 3:47PM

We are currently collecting a log of issues experienced by consumers while we try to find a fix. We also want to confirm that the problem is caused by this issue and not something specific to only that vehicle.
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