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This was the first time that rodents caused damage to the Mazda5, but in the past they got into the HVAC inlet in the RX-8, chewed through the cabin air filter and the blend door, and made a nest in the blower cage (which burned out the resistor when I tried to turn it on the next time). That...

Had an interesting issue with the Mazda5 the other day - intermittently while driving, I couldn't push the shifter over into 1st or 2nd at a stoplight or two, then at the next one it worked fine. Occasionally I couldn't get into reverse as well until the car had moved, but only about 1 in 4 or 5...

Well, 3 1/2 years and 40k miles later and the problem seems to have returned, plus a copious oil leak from near the oil filter or cooler. So anyhow, the cylinders are full of MMO again, I've got a can of sea foam ready, and a new oil cooler and gaskets are ordered. The pcv and lines are all...

Back from the dead! Actually, I was just reminded of this thread when a Mazda5 came up on sh*tbox Showdown on the Autopian (theautopian.com), so figured I'd drop in some photos of what this hacked repair looked like after 3 1/2 years when I sold this van. Overall, really not bad! Some rust...

That sounds like a terrible idea. I'm assuming that you're referring to the clutch between the engine and the transmission on a manual trans van, not a band clutch for an automatic transmission, right? If so (your van is manual), they are meant to be installed dry, and typically have all sorts...

In that case, I'd suspect an exhaust leak that under some conditions lets excess fresh air into the exhaust (causing it to read lean), while under other conditions allowing exhaust to leak out

I don't have an automatic, but I would suspect an issue with the switch on the shifter that is sporadically acting up. If the computer thinks that the car is shifted from drive to neutral, it will open up the torque converter clutch and possibly close the idle valve (if its open when driving...

Yea, why can't you just reverse the ratchet to get it to thread on a bit, remove the ratchet, then use a box wrench/spanner to get it the rest of the way? It seems like the length of the deep socket is really the problem there, so use a different tool

There was the "Noodle Forest", which was basically a pergola of 2x4's between the outside header frames, supported by 4x4 posts for legs that we hung 140 pool noodles from for the kids to run through. The bottom of the headers was a few inches taller than the top of a wooden frame I had made to...

Your best bet may be to look on car-part.com for a larger interior component of the right size to find a list of auto recyclers near you that have one with the right interior, then just call them directly to get all the small parts you need in once place for a lot cheaper than getting each bit...

Using her as a truck again, this time towing an obstacle for my son's "fun run" at school like a goose-neck trailer.

Used my Mazda5 as a truck again, getting lumber for building obstacles for the kids fun-run at school, and hauling around set pieces for the school play. This van really is all I need it to be right now, and I don't think either of these tasks would have ben made easier by a truck. Next up...

I had the P0442 code about a year ago too. Removing the valve and trying to clean it internally with oven cleaner quickly followed by WD40 and then some soap and water seemed to get it to seal up again (at least when I was trying to blow through it), but it only lasted for a couple months before...

Yes, defrost works more quickly and effectively with the AC on since that dries the air coming out the vents so it can pick up more water vapor, and I would still use it that way sometimes when it is necessary (like just starting with a foggy windshield). However, I would also like to direct...

I noticed that in my 2012 Mazda5 that the AC will turn on automatically when the air blend selection is set to front defrost (so either front defrost on its own or while also blowing on your feet, accessed through either the defrost dedicated button or through the air blend mode selector...

I've had a lot of luck with either diluted white vinegar or dish soap in a spray bottle. Wet the area down evenly, scrub with a coarse brush, then soak up the liquid with some paper towels or something. Spray with clean water and soak up the water a few more times. For a nice clean smell...

Kaylee survived being loaded down for a 2-week road trip, camping etc for our family of 4 + 2 dogs... lots of stuff had to be loaded on externally since most of the internal space was needed for us & the dogs.

I'd say its a bit different definition of "reliable". Things may break or fail, but from what I've seen the caravans won't leave you stranded and will be cheap and easy to repair, keeping the cost of ownership low. The Pacificas... we'll see how that plays out - I have 2 friends with the...

On my previous '06 MZ5, both rear coils had rusted enough so that the lower coil actually broke off and was in multiple pieces trapped in the rear lower spring bushing. That definitely was noticeable in the rear ride height, and big bumps with the bike rack or other things would cause it to hit...

I've used Moog for bushings, suspension arms, strut mounts etc before on the MZ5 and my Saabs, and the only issues I had was that the front strut-top bearings on the Saabs would tend to start sticking a bit after a few track days so you could hear a spring-uncoiling noise when turning the...