Odd metallic clanging on acceleration

Was able to get into a good mechanic today. He INSTANTLY said "It's dead". No going back now... hoping to get a reasonable trade in value
If the engine starts fine, runs fine, and the MPG is fine, only the noise, I don’t know why the mechanic said the engine is “dead”. Usually the engine internal bearing damage won’t make the engine die immediately, sometimes the engine can still run for many miles just with the noise. Did he say anything about what it takes to get it fixed? A whole engine? I’d still try GF-6 5W-30 oil first and see. If it can reduce the noise, it’ll help the trade-in value.
 
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dldude,
My engine sounded like yours and behaved like yours, 2 days ago.
Mine did not make as loud a noise as yours.
However, the noise showed only under mild acceleration from stationary or cruising .... much like yours.
I suspected the belt tensioner, since my dealer warned me about it many months back that it was leaking oil... I wiped it clean and have have been watching it ever since.

When the noise showed up 2 days ago, I immediately suspected the tensioner.
I checked and did see new oil stain on it.
I went to my dealer and asked the advisor to ride shotgun for a testdrive. He heard it also.
We agreed to change the tensioner and belt out of pocket.
He wasn't too sure if that would fix the noise, either.
(Mine is out of B2B, and this is not covered by Powertrain).
2 hours later, good news. Problem was fixed.

Just FYI.
Happened to my '16 Mazda6 @47k miles.
 
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Yes, OP @dldude should absolutely check the leaky belt tensioner!

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The VERY FIRST thing any reputable honest experienced mechanic should do to check an engine out is a visual inspection on the ground and up top on the lift. The VERY SECOND thing is to hook up their $3-5k scan tool and check for any dtc codes in a full system module scan, whether or not a CEL in on the dash. This entails checking for history, pending or active codes. Then, the next step is to run a live data stream and monitor computer inputs from all sensors for disparities. This includes, map, maf, O2, cam, knock,evap, crank sensors, fuel trim etc. You can find out EXACTLY how healthy or sick an engine is by doing that.

These goombas and jamokes you took your car to are a disgrace to the industry and exactly why good honest mechanics have a bad rap because they are all classified in the category of crooks by the losers who money grab above.
 
It's a shame that the oil was changed, would be interesting to see the insides of the old filter for metal or have an oil analysis done on the old oil. Doesn't seem like competent , thorough diagnosis was done and is still too early to condemn the engine as being shot. Was the oil pressure ever measured with a mechanical gauge? This shouldn't be this difficult to diagnose by a good shop.
 
I would second that. Getting an oil analysis done sounds like a good idea. A bad rod bearing would cause scraping and metal bits in the oil.
 
Update: Carmax took the car for a price I couldn't refuse. Essentially only $4k less than I paid for it new 4yrs ago.

Conveniently, my Mazda dealer had a 2018, damn near same model, with 30k miles (Half of mine) and the Cerified Pre Owned warranty on it for $27k. So I'm out a few thousand but will be in a car 1yr newer with half the miles and a bit of extra warranty protection.

In regards to the 2nd mechanic. He was very sure there were issues inside the engine. He stood in front of my car as I made the sound and he instantly was concerned. He didn't quite say "It's done", but he did say he thought I might get 6months out of it before having more major issues. That coupled with metal in the oil convinced me that there definitely were some internal issues that were going to require a hefty bill. He wasn't even attempting to offer a fix, just giving his advice on the condition of the engine.

I think i would have gone further down the route of diagnosis if CarMax wasn't giving absolutely insane prices on used cars. I definitely didn't come out "Ahead" after all of this, however with the problem still being partially unkown, and the potential of an $8k fix and weeks in the shop, I decided it would be better for me to swap.

Mechanic did give me a good piece of advice, which was "A car is a hunk of metal, do NOT get attached to it".
 
Update: Carmax took the car for a price I couldn't refuse. Essentially only $4k less than I paid for it new 4yrs ago.

Conveniently, my Mazda dealer had a 2018, damn near same model, with 30k miles (Half of mine) and the Cerified Pre Owned warranty on it for $27k. So I'm out a few thousand but will be in a car 1yr newer with half the miles and a bit of extra warranty protection.

In regards to the 2nd mechanic. He was very sure there were issues inside the engine. He stood in front of my car as I made the sound and he instantly was concerned. He didn't quite say "It's done", but he did say he thought I might get 6months out of it before having more major issues. That coupled with metal in the oil convinced me that there definitely were some internal issues that were going to require a hefty bill. He wasn't even attempting to offer a fix, just giving his advice on the condition of the engine.

I think i would have gone further down the route of diagnosis if CarMax wasn't giving absolutely insane prices on used cars. I definitely didn't come out "Ahead" after all of this, however with the problem still being partially unkown, and the potential of an $8k fix and weeks in the shop, I decided it would be better for me to swap.

Mechanic did give me a good piece of advice, which was "A car is a hunk of metal, do NOT get attached to it".

How did you know that there was metal in the oil?

Glad you were able to ditch the headache. Just a note - your 2018 has cylinder deactivation, and that engine should have had a software recall done. Be sure that the software recall has been applied.
 
How did you know that there was metal in the oil?

Glad you were able to ditch the headache. Just a note - your 2018 has cylinder deactivation, and that engine should have had a software recall done. Be sure that the software recall has been applied.
Thank you, I will ask them about this (I'm at the dealer as I type this).

The mazda service manager told me about the metal in the oil. Could they be lying? Maybe, but I guess you have to have some level of trust about that stuff at the dealer.
 
NEVER trust a dealer service advisor or manager. They are commission based salesman who know nothing about cars, other than to sell services.

My opinion is you should have taken it to another dealer after doing an oil change with a new Mazda filter elsewhere or by yourself and have them fix it under warranty. These scumbags are trained to deny deny deny and make up BS as they go along for things that aren't even remotely relaxant to the issue just to get out of a warranty claim. Fact: they get paid much less time for warranty work regardless of you being told that otherwise. Been there, done that with other brands so I'm telling you from personal experience. You seem too quick in your actions. If you wanted to dump the car then you should have gotten a carvanna and vroom quote as well. They pay more. Good luck to you though.
 
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⋯ Conveniently, my Mazda dealer had a 2018, damn near same model, with 30k miles (Half of mine) and the Cerified Pre Owned warranty on it for $27k. So I'm out a few thousand but will be in a car 1yr newer with half the miles and a bit of extra warranty protection.
No, they’re not the same. You had a 2017 CX-5 Touring, which is vastly different from a 2018 CX-5 on engine and transmission (and many other modified components such as exhaust system for added cylinder deactivation). 2018 and newer CX-5’s have the cylinder deactivation on their 2.5L. Since Mazda introduced cylinder deactivation to the 2.5L, the recall、TSBs、Service Alerts keep coming out for CD related problems on engine and transmission. I personally will avoid any vehicles with CD. In fact, I almost got a new 2018 CX-5 GT back then, and canceled my plan once I learned Mazda had added the CD (without any advertising beforehand).
 
NEVER trust a dealer service advisor or manager. They are commission based salesman who know nothing about cars, other than to sell services.

My opinion is you should have taken it to another dealer after doing an oil change with a new Mazda filter elsewhere or by yourself and have them fix it under warranty. These scumbags are trained to deny deny deny and make up BS as they go along for things that aren't even remotely relaxant to the issue just to get out of a warranty claim. Fact: they get paid much less time for warranty work regardless of you being told that otherwise. Been there, done that with other brands so I'm telling you from personal experience. You seem too quick in your actions. If you wanted to dump the car then you should have gotten a carvanna and vroom quote as well. They pay more. Good luck to you though.
a warranty claim would likely have been denied because he waited 15k miles between oil changes and was 2qts low
 
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