Winter is here and my CX-5 turbo is now a 2.0L!

I think people have tried TCS off and it didn't change the behaviour.

Earlier in this thread I speculated that maybe Mazda does this because all-season rubber starts to get harder at temps below 44F, and 20F is the limit they decided on because that's when road salt starts to become less effective. No idea if that's true, but in the end, Mazda's reasoning is likely a combination of the many theories that have been put forward in this thread. They just won't acknowledge it or confirm it, which is annoying to say the least.

Regarding your last statement, those who are complaining about the issue don't really care whether they will have traction or not, or whether they'll hit a black ice patch. What they do care about is the fact that they bought (or are paying for) a car that advertises peak torque of 310-320 lb-ft at just over 2k RPM, but they don't get that when it's cold out, and Mazda isn't telling them why.
Well said. From what I've read on this thread it sounds like people have tried everything to change this behavior and nothing has impacted it at all. Which says to me it must be a programming issue (that could potentially be fixed by Mazda or a company like JBR via an aftermarket tune). You hit the nail on the head regarding why owners are so frustrated. If Mazda would simply explain why this is happening or even just acknowledge that it's real people would be a lot happier. One of the more interesting aspects of this is that it's not more widely mentioned. Other than Savagegeese and this thread I haven't really come across anything mentioning it. None of the industry reviews mention anything about it ever which is fairly strange. Even stranger is that you'd think that one of the dozens of YouTube reviews would have encountered this. I've personally seen at least a handful of cold weather reviews and everyone raves about the added turbo power and traction in the snow but I haven't heard anyone mention a total lack of boost in 1st and 2nd gear. I have heard people say that they don't really feel the turbo as much off the line but most attribute this to lag. Just weird that none of the testers have noticed this.
I cannot personally attest to this as I haven't gotten my CE Turbo AWD yet (should arrive on the 12/27 and I'm counting the days!). I currently have a a 2016 CX5 with the NA 2.5 and I have not ever noticed any change in acceleration whether it's super cold or super hot.
In summary, we seem to be well past the point of trying to come up with settings that can be changed on the driver's end of things to fix this or debating whether this is a real thing. Many reliable owners have said they absolutely notice this consistently and there don't seem to be many left who are claiming that they've never experienced it or that it's only an occasional problem. I think the best course of action would be to all pester Mazda corporate about this and hope that they finally do something.
 
I don't see why it would be a traction issue.
Sure it has a bunch of power/torque, but it's not enough to really overwhelm all season tires.
And even if it could, they don't have to completely chastise it. Maybe 1/2 boost in the lower gears.

Hell, I've launched my Golf R in below 30F with summer tires (i.e. hockey pucks at that temp) and it didn't have much issue maintaining traction. Maybe a little bit of traction reduction, but it was still a rocket. That car makes close to 300lbft torque and weights ~500lbs less than an AWD CX5. I understand they are completely different vehicles, just pointing out that traction isn't a reasonable excuse in my eyes.

I don't think it's boost creep since usually that happens during longer full boost runs (such as higher gears).

The big issue is when you're expecting power and it's just not there. The CX5 is the only vehicle I've driven that didn't/doesn't deliver the power all the time.

With my CX-9's OEM all-seasons, I could consistently get the tires to break loose in first gear, especially when turning onto a busy main road from a side street. If the CX-9 can do that, I would assume that the CX-5 could also do that with the factory-equipped tires.

I agree that traction by itself isn't a reasonable excuse.
 
I have been driving a loaner 2020 CX-5 GTR for more than a week now. Unfortunately the weather has not gone below 32F here in Texas. So I'll probably never see the issue. But would very much like to test it if the temps do drop.

And yes, all season tires, regardless if it is OEM or not, will not be able to handle 320 lb-ft of torque at 1st and 2nd gear at freezing temps. You have to remember, the quoted 320 lb-ft of torque is probably measured on 4th gear. On 1st and 2nd gear, the car would be making much more than that.

But I understand why owners are frustrated and I do hope that Mazda fixes this issue for you guys.
 
With my CX-9's OEM all-seasons, I could consistently get the tires to break loose in first gear, especially when turning onto a busy main road from a side street. If the CX-9 can do that, I would assume that the CX-5 could also do that with the factory-equipped tires.

I agree that traction by itself isn't a reasonable excuse.

That makes sense.
Of course, with my Golf R, I was using launch control going straight. I'm guessing it could be similar to what you experience if I were turning. Also, I'm sure AWD programming is different.

My 14 Explorer Sport (3.5L TT Ecoboost) sounds similar to the CX9. In cold weather, if I stomp the gas from a stop (not brake boost), I can feel the front slip slightly before the rears kick in and it continues to hunt for traction all the way through first gear.

I agree that it would be nice if Mazda acknowledged it and provided an explanation, but I'm guessing part is because they don't want to announce their 'high power' Turbo CX5 performs the same as the N/A version in cold weather (at least in first 2 gears).
 
Lol, in the rain on asphalt I can punch it in my Prime at 50mph and the front end hunts and TC lights up while the rear kicks in and pushes. This is on CC2s, 235/55/19. Mazda is lame if "traction and safety" is their excuse.
 
Quick question related to the turbo in cold temps issue : I'm picking up my CE Turbo from the dealer today and temps in my area are supposed to be in the 20s with lows in the teens for the next week or so. Does anyone have any idea if breaking the car in while it's cold outside will impact the learning of the ECU? As in will my ECU read the reduced power from lack of turbo and make adjustments that will negatively effect my driving experience in the future? I'm probably way over thinking this but just wanted to ask. Thanks!
 
Quick question related to the turbo in cold temps issue : I'm picking up my CE Turbo from the dealer today and temps in my area are supposed to be in the 20s with lows in the teens for the next week or so. Does anyone have any idea if breaking the car in while it's cold outside will impact the learning of the ECU? As in will my ECU read the reduced power from lack of turbo and make adjustments that will negatively effect my driving experience in the future? I'm probably way over thinking this but just wanted to ask. Thanks!
Even if this did happen, I am sure there is a way to clear the system and have it relearn when it warms up. Enjoy he new ride.
 
Thanks for the replies! Yeah after asking I realized that any effects wouldn't be permanent. Thanks for verifying though. Definitely enjoying it despite the cold!
 
Here’s a trimmed down graph illustrating the problem:
B70A1E17-841E-4B76-B479-D6C11CC8C729.png
 
-Red line shows the throttle input
-Blue line shows actual boost
-White line is the ECU’s perceived boost (I was running Map 1, +3psi over stock)
-Green line shows RPM, which also indicates gear.
-Orange is MPH (I ran it to 80mph)
-Left axis=PSI
-Right axis=RPM
-Bottom=Milliseconds

Yeah, that’s a 9.275 second 0-60 time.
 
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-Red line shows the throttle input
-Blue line shows actual boost
-White line is the ECU’s perceived boost (I was running Map 1, +3psi over stock)
-Green line shows RPM, which also indicates gear.
-Orange is MPH (I ran it to 80mph)
-Left axis=PSI
-Right axis=RPM
-Bottom=Milliseconds

Yeah, that’s a 9.275 second 0-60 time.
That's really good data. Would you be able to post the same but showing normal boost during above 20F temps? Thank you very much for taking the time to collect this and hopefully get closer to some sort of solution for this. Or at least an explanation as to why Mazda did this.
 
That's really good data. Would you be able to post the same but showing normal boost during above 20F temps? Thank you very much for taking the time to collect this and hopefully get closer to some sort of solution for this. Or at least an explanation as to why Mazda did this.
Looks like it’ll be above 20 this Saturday.
 
Nice data log. Shows exactly what I witnessed when I had the OBDII adapter on the one I test drove. Basically no boost until very top of 2nd and 3rd gear picked up noticeably.

Are you able to log throttle body position as well? It looks like the ECU is preventing boost by controlling the wastegate based on 'commanded boost'. If the throttle body position matches the pedal position, that would further confirm it's wastegate controlled.

EDIT: Maybe I'm misinterpreting the white line. I was thinking that is commanded.

It's also interesting to see boost rise relatively linearly from 3rd gear shift through 4th. It's not a flat line like I would expect (commanded or actual). Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong?

EDIT 2: what is the 'Target' line on the graph?
 
I didn’t see anything that indicated actual throttle body position. I’ll do some more poking around. Although, there’s plenty of intake noise on full throttle in 1st and 2nd when this occurs. It’s louder but less bass’ey, almost hollow, if that makes sense. To me that would indicate the throttle body is wide open, but the combustion in the cylinders isn’t as violent.

The “Target” line is the amount of boost the JB4 is requesting above stock. It should be sitting at 3psi all the way across.
 
I might be rambling here but I remember hearing Dave Coleman that they're turbo uses "scavenging exhaust" in order to spool faster and I am wondering whether this is done in purpose when its below 20 in order to prevent the damage due to cold air ?!
 
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