1st to 2nd Gen CX-5 Front control arm upgrade

[JustThisguy]

After seeing several threads of the failures in the rear bushing of the front control arm in the 2103-16 CX-5 I did some research and saw that the 2017+ control arm appears to have a redesigned bushing to address the cracking problem. As it appears to me the cracks begin and propagate from the voids in the bushing, and the 2017+ bushing does not have any voids and appears to be thicker, so I assume it should last a bit longer at least. As I needed to replace the passenger side arm as both the bushing and ball joint were worn out I ordered an aftermarket 2017+ arm, Beck/Arnley part number 102-8132 to at least see if it would fit my 2013 CX-5, base, 2.0 6mt.

It bolted in perfectly, did not interfere with anything on the chassis, no modifications were required. After going on a drive the arm appears to function perfectly as a replacement part. While the replacement arm for the second gen did cost about $40 more than the 2013-16 version by the same manufacturer, I expect it to hopefully last longer in service, and avoid the bushing cracking problem in the future. In theory you could do this with an OEM mazda part for better quality, but i'm a cheap DIY sort of person.
Hopefully this helps someone out in the future!

 

[theblooms]

Outstanding!

 

[Jmaz]

Awesome! Thanks for posting.

 

[madar]

Seems to be a popular topic these days.

 

[Boland01]

Good information to know. Thank you.

 

[yrwei52]

After seeing several threads of the failures in the rear bushing of the front control arm in the 2103-16 CX-5 I did some research and saw that the 2017+ control arm appears to have a redesigned bushing to address the cracking problem. As it appears to me the cracks begin and propagate from the voids in the bushing, and the 2017+ bushing does not have any voids and appears to be thicker, so I assume it should last a bit longer at least. As I needed to replace the passenger side arm as both the bushing and ball joint were worn out I ordered an aftermarket 2017+ arm, Beck/Arnley part number 102-8132 to at least see if it would fit my 2013 CX-5, base, 2.0 6mt.

View attachment 327297View attachment 327298View attachment 327299View attachment 327300

It bolted in perfectly, did not interfere with anything on the chassis, no modifications were required. After going on a drive the arm appears to function perfectly as a replacement part. While the replacement arm for the second gen did cost about $40 more than the 2013-16 version by the same manufacturer, I expect it to hopefully last longer in service, and avoid the bushing cracking problem in the future. In theory you could do this with an OEM mazda part for better quality, but i'm a cheap DIY sort of person.
Hopefully this helps someone out in the future!

Have you put your CX-5 on wheel alignment machine and see if the camber and caster are still in specs?

 

[yrwei52]

After seeing several threads of the failures in the rear bushing of the front control arm in the 2103-16 CX-5 I did some research and saw that the 2017+ control arm appears to have a redesigned bushing to address the cracking problem. As it appears to me the cracks begin and propagate from the voids in the bushing, and the 2017+ bushing does not have any voids and appears to be thicker, so I assume it should last a bit longer at least. As I needed to replace the passenger side arm as both the bushing and ball joint were worn out I ordered an aftermarket 2017+ arm, Beck/Arnley part number 102-8132 to at least see if it would fit my 2013 CX-5, base, 2.0 6mt.

View attachment 327297View attachment 327298View attachment 327299View attachment 327300

It bolted in perfectly, did not interfere with anything on the chassis, no modifications were required. After going on a drive the arm appears to function perfectly as a replacement part. While the replacement arm for the second gen did cost about $40 more than the 2013-16 version by the same manufacturer, I expect it to hopefully last longer in service, and avoid the bushing cracking problem in the future. In theory you could do this with an OEM mazda part for better quality, but i'm a cheap DIY sort of person.
Hopefully this helps someone out in the future!

Recently I bent the front LCA on passenger side with a hard hit to the curb.

CX-5 DIY Control Arm Replacement Difficulty?

Apparently Mazda uses different front LCAs for 2014 / 2015 CX-5 and my 2016 CX-5. The part numbers for 2014 / 2015 front LCAs are KD35-34-350S / KD35-34-300S and for 2016 are KA0G-34-350J / KA0G-34-300J L / R. For 2017 CX-5 and up are KB7W-34-350H / KB7W-34-300H L / R. We’ve seen several Mazda TSBs on LCAs and all of them say the bushing has been updated. The different part numbers on OEM LCAs among Gen-1 CX-5 and Gen-2 CX-5, whereas there’s only one part number for Gen-1 CX-5 from aftermarket, which makes me wonder whether or not the LCA substitution from Gen-2 CX-5 to Gen-1 CX-5 is legit?

2014 CX-5:

2016 CX-5:

2017+ CX-5:

My Mazda OEM passenger-side LCA:

 

[dunhillmc]

There have also been something like 9 revisions to the CX5 LCAs since 2017

 

[pupuek]

anyone else tried using 2017+ LCA for 2013-2016?

@JustThisguy, did you do alignment afterwards? any issues after around 4 months' use?

TIA

 

[bowtiedant]

Can someone confirm if the LCA substitution worked for the 2016 CX5?

 

[pupuek]

@bowtiedant, I checked with a few aftermarket (beck, mevotech, dorman, and suspensia) and they are not able to confirm

am now looking at superpro LCAs (cheaper than OEM) - has anyone tried these before? feedback on ball joint longevity would be greatly appreciated

 

[200955]

After seeing several threads of the failures in the rear bushing of the front control arm in the 2103-16 CX-5 I did some research and saw that the 2017+ control arm appears to have a redesigned bushing to address the cracking problem. As it appears to me the cracks begin and propagate from the voids in the bushing, and the 2017+ bushing does not have any voids and appears to be thicker, so I assume it should last a bit longer at least. As I needed to replace the passenger side arm as both the bushing and ball joint were worn out I ordered an aftermarket 2017+ arm, Beck/Arnley part number 102-8132 to at least see if it would fit my 2013 CX-5, base, 2.0 6mt.

View attachment 327297View attachment 327298View attachment 327299View attachment 327300

It bolted in perfectly, did not interfere with anything on the chassis, no modifications were required. After going on a drive the arm appears to function perfectly as a replacement part. While the replacement arm for the second gen did cost about $40 more than the 2013-16 version by the same manufacturer, I expect it to hopefully last longer in service, and avoid the bushing cracking problem in the future. In theory you could do this with an OEM mazda part for better quality, but i'm a cheap DIY sort of person.
Hopefully this helps someone out in the future!

I use a lot of products made by these people and they all seem above board. You may find the ride just a bit stiffer as there are no voids for cushioning. The price is right and so it appears the quality.

 

[JustThisguy]

anyone else tried using 2017+ LCA for 2013-2016?

@JustThisguy, did you do alignment afterwards? any issues after around 4 months' use?

TIA

I didn't get an alignment done, although I would recommend it, there is enough slop in the mounting holes to change the alignment a hair. I have had no issues in the last 6mo although I did notice a few weeks later the steering wheel was eeever so slightly off center after replacing the other lower arm. I have put about 6k miles on the car since the install and have not seen any abnormal tire wear, or had any issues. After doing some more reading about the recall, at least the earliest one, it appears to be for the front bushing in the arm, not the rear. Considering the ball joints were in worse shape than the bushings I would worry about those first!

 

[Boland01]

We put the 2017 lower control arms on my son's 2016 a few weeks ago. Same fit with no installation issues. No more clunk or mushy steering. The ride was back to oem. FYI, the car has 160K miles on it now. The old bushing were shot.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Doh! Wish I found this thread back in July when I ordered new from LCAs for my 2014 which had horribly cracked bushings. Will keep this in mind if I ever need to swap them again.

 

[pupuek]

Thank you @JustThisguy and @Boland01. Just installed gen2 LCAs to my 2013. Worked great.

Alignment results attached

Shop said i need to replace some arms at the back to correct the alignment as it is deformed. Turns out, there are 4 rear arms. Not sure which one(s)