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My former BIL is an engineer who worked on the Smart Roadster project. He actually drove a licensed prototype to my inlaw's house while we were there on vacation (must have been early 00's); the exterior looked finished, but the interior was gutted, sans seats, dash/cluster, pedals and steering...

Thanks for the comments guys. The estimate came back on Friday at $3600 (Labor 2,100, Parts 1,150, Tax the difference); body shop confirmed that all the parts will be OEM...but then again, I didn't think anybody was making aftermarket body panels yet for second generation 5's. One hiccup...

Long story short: Wife backed out of the garage and into the street, knucklehead neighbor (only rental in the neighborhood, house is a mess) backed down his driveway and hit my 5 in the passenger rear quarter panel. Guy gives me his insurance card, I take a quick pic w/my phone and run off for...

You are correct (Schedule 1, 7.5K), the stealership is wrong (mystery 3K mile OCI). That said, I've gotten this sort of "customer service" too from Ford, GM and Toyota when I've purchased previous new cars; it seems to be a dealership problem rather than a manufacturer one. As the service...

Maybe I'm in the minority, but the Nissan version of the 5 lacks character. If you changed the grill out and swapped the sliders for traditional doors, I'd almost think I was looking at an early-to-mid 00's Matrix; totally bland. I'll stick w/my version..."controversial" styling and all.

Thanks for the link. I'm disappointed. With what little marketing Mazda USA does w/the 5, this was the best they could come up with? Another missed opportunity to promote a very good vehicle that nobody knows about... Jeff

I found the answer to my question, if anybody is interested: According to the Amsoil site and a BITOG member w/a factory service manual (CX-7): 23-30 ft pounds. O/T: My thread on BITOG seems to have started some arguing using torque wrenches; I'm just standing back and eating popcorn.

I haven't been keeping a keen eye on mpg's on my '12 A/T (2,025 miles), but I can provide some ancillary info for now: Last fill up: 13.6g Driving style: 20Hwy/80City, always 1 adult, 2 small kids Mileage according to TC: ~325 Avg mpg according to TC: 23.7 Though I don't have a ScanGauge...

I can get to mine w/a cup adapter, but the problem is that no matter how careful I am, some oil is still going to drip down onto the top of the splash shield. I've found that by just removing the front four screws and then two additional bolts (one each side), I can drop it down and get a small...

For the author to generically state that only synthetics should be used and that they should be dumped on a 3K/3M OCI is ridiculous. Also, engine sludge is a rare situation, not the "epidemic" that is claimed. The most wide-spread sludge issue of recent memory was the Toyota 2.2l 4cyl used...

Anyone know the oil drain plug torque spec for second generation Mazda5's? A/T drain plug too? Thanks. J.

I'm not sure those options will happen for North America, namely because Americans won't pay $$$ for power accessories on a what is generally considered a compact segment vehicle. Case-in-point: The N.A.-only "new" Jetta...it's a completely different vehicle than what you get in Europe. We...

I'm currently running Motorcraft 5w20 (w/PureOne filter) in a moderate northern climate (Washington State). That said, this will be a short OCI (I dumped the factory fill at 800 miles and I'll dump the MC at 2300); I'll then be putting M1 0w20 in and will run that to the Schedule 1 service...

Isn't the 0w20 owner's manual recommendation only for USA & Canada? I seem to recall that Mexico allows for 5w20 (and maybe even -30)...

I don't think there are any 0w20's that do not contain some synthetic stock; however, there are are a couple of blends using Group II+: Union76 0w20 (ConocoPhillips family...so there may be Motorcraft & Kendall 0w20 variants out there) Honda HG Synthetic Blend 0w20 Toyota 0w20 (doesn't say...

You can find casters (wheels) pretty cheaply at Harbor Freight, but what I did was affix a couple of those large furniture "sliders" w/double stick tape to the ends of my ramps. I find it easier to store the ramps upright that way, as wheels would sort of get in the way; also, it's...

To sort of get back on track here, I've never been a fan of Rhino or other branded ramps, primarily because of the steep angle. Thus, I went w/do-it-yourself wooden ramps, using 2x10's, deck screws and carpenter's glue; it allows for a gentler incline, the ramps don't slide and there is no...

I'm usually not a big homer for OEM stuff, but I've used Toyota T-IV in all of my previous A/T Toyotas and never had an issue. That said, I am much more inclined to regularly service these transmissions because Japanese cars come with A/T pan drain plugs, unlike the domestics. Thus, I'm not...

The owner's manual lists 0W20 for US/Canada, 0W20/5W20/5W30 for Mexico. All things being equal, I'd run Motorcraft (Conoco-Phillips) 5W20 if the vehicle wasn't under warranty; it's a good, cheap oil and easily found at Walmart. That was the suggestion from a couple of guys over at BITOG...

Recently got my 5 and I'm going to dump the factory fill at ~1K miles, which has always been something I've done w/new vehicles. So today I was out buying some wax and I starting looking for 0W20, which I've never really paid attention to (everything's been 5w30 in my cars for years). Anyway...