Poll 2.5T Coolant Leak/Engine Replacement

[sm1ke]

I would fix but my main concern is that it seems to be something normal between those 2.5 engines what if i fix and it happens again lol, its just messed up having to replace a engine with only 68k miles on it yk

If you do a bit more reading you'll find that the cylinder head was redesigned in 2021 to address this issue. So if the dealership or whoever sources the replacement from Mazda, or from a 2021+ model with the same engine, it should no longer have this issue.

 

[dunhillmc]

Mazda 6 2018 2.5 with only 68k miles with coolant leaking, took to mazda and they said it has a crack in the back of the cylinder they don’t want to cover or do anything! The only thing they said were sorry and the cost of 6207.44 plus align 109.99 lol first time having a mazda and last !

turbo or non-turbo?

 

[phpga99]

turbo or non-turbo?

Turbo

 

[flrmazda]

It’s possible that this particular 2.5T does have a bad head gasket as he did show the wore-out coating on the head gasket where the coolant was leaking out from the area.

Taking the engine out would be more involved with even more labor hours and remove more parts, may even have to disconnect the AC lines. Replacing the cylinder head in the engine bay definitely is cheaper to do.

He also raised another potential issue of those 5 hidden coolant plugs which have already shown some sign of wet and you have to get the entire cylinder head once those are leaking as those plugs aren’t available separately.

I do feel his video is informative and interesting to watch, even thought Ford has nothing to do with Mazda’s SkyActiv engines.

Headgasket failure is frequently caused by over-heating and this car's owner appears to be rather clueless. It is surprising that this is not linked to the cracked cylinder head. This Wizard is hardly a wizard! The filming of these videos probably happened some time ago, so he would not have gotten any feedback between videos 1 and 2. It looks he doubles down on his theories regarding Ford and has a peanut gallery that informs than Gen 1 Skyactiv-Gs (no such thing) are 70% Ford?!?

But missing a cracked head seems impossible. What else could cause headgasket failure on this car? Somebody serviced the car by replacing coolant with generic undiluted coolant? I forget the mileage. 87k?

 

[shifter25]

Just reading about this coolant leak issue with 2.5T engine in the CX9 as I'm looking for a used one. So 2021+ is when they redesigned the heads?

Is this issue prevalent in the other models with the same engine such as the CX5/50, 6, 3, or CX30?

 

[sm1ke]

Just reading about this coolant leak issue with 2.5T engine in the CX9 as I'm looking for a used on. So 2021+ is when they redesigned the heads?

Is this issue prevalent in the other models with the same engine such as the CX5/50, 6, 3, or CX30?

"Prevalent" is a generous way of describing it. It is a problem known with the 2.5T engine from 2016-2020, but it seems to affect a very small percentage of owners. It's definitely something to be aware of though, and it should be considered when looking at used CX-9s. If you can swing it, go for a 2021+ if you want that extra peace of mind.

 

[yrwei52]

⋯
Is this issue prevalent in the other models with the same engine such as the CX5/50, 6, 3, or CX30?

Any Mazda vehicles on or before 2020 MY with a 2.5T is affected by this potential coolant leak / cracked cylinder head problem.

How effective the fix will be with the redesign? Only the time will tell.

 

[flrmazda]

Just reading about this coolant leak issue with 2.5T engine in the CX9 as I'm looking for a used one. So 2021+ is when they redesigned the heads?

Is this issue prevalent in the other models with the same engine such as the CX5/50, 6, 3, or CX30?

Well, the other models got the 2.5T later and only as a specialty premium model, so lower numbers and lower mileage. I know the 6 got it in 2018 MY, and I think the 3 and CX30 got it after the redesign. CX-50 obviously not affected. CX-5 also got it from 2019, I think, so the first years but these cars are only 3-4.5 years old.

EDIT: I am sorry, I originally confused the dates with NA 2.5 (I also have a 2022 CX-5) where you want to avoid 2018-21. So 2021 models (and a few very late 2020s) are good for the 2.5 T and this includes all the small cars, 3 and CX30.

Some countries go by build date rather than MY when they say a car is a 2021. Japan and Australia are examples. That's why you get massive discounts in Jan in AU. I bought a CX-5 2.0 liter base model for USD 18k (not incl GST) in Australia in Jan 2019; it had a Sep 18 build date.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

@flrmazda

I've seen that as well when it comes to model year when noted outside of North America sometimes.

 

[yrwei52]

@flrmazda

I've seen that as well when it comes to model year when noted outside of North America sometimes.

Yes, my 2016 CX-5 has Jan. 2015 build date, and your 2015 CX-5 was purchased in summer of 2014. In NA market the face-lifted gen-1 2016 MY CX-5 started coming out in late 2014, and it was categorized as 2015 MY worldwide.

 

[crimeariver]

"Prevalent" is a generous way of describing it. It is a problem known with the 2.5T engine from 2016-2020, but it seems to affect a very small percentage of owners. It's definitely something to be aware of though, and it should be considered when looking at used CX-9s. If you can swing it, go for a 2021+ if you want that extra peace of mind.

Can we really describe it as very small percentage by now? Any subjective ball-park? Earlier when I followed first reports it felt like quite common.

 

[yrwei52]

Can we really describe it as very small percentage by now? Any subjective ball-park? Earlier when I followed first reports it felt like quite common.

It isn’t a question of how often, but it’s a question of how serious.

 

[csb_1237]

As stated in another thread on this same topic, there is a class action investigation going on for this problem in the CX-5 and CX-9s... https://www.sauderschelkopf.com/inve...investigation/

 

[Mrt959]

Can anyone give me some advice on 2019 Mazda 6 turbo. I found one with less than 30k miles. But reading the comments has me concerned. Some say it effects very small percentage and others say it’s common. What are the estimated percentage of effected cars? 10% or higher?? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[yrwei52]

Can anyone give me some advice on 2019 Mazda 6 turbo. I found one with less than 30k miles. But reading the comments has me concerned. Some say it effects very small percentage and others say it’s common. What are the estimated percentage of effected cars? 10% or higher?? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

The percentage of this cracked head problem on the 2.5T can’t be 37.4% like the poll indicated here. I’d say the percentage should be less than 1% for all affected MYs before Mazda made the head update. But since it’s a design issue, this problem could happen to a 2.5T anytime after years of going over the bumps. Once it happens, it’d cost an arm and a leg to fix it. Do you really want such worry lingering as long as you own this vehicle?

 

[dunhillmc]

Can anyone give me some advice on 2019 Mazda 6 turbo. I found one with less than 30k miles. But reading the comments has me concerned. Some say it effects very small percentage and others say it’s common. What are the estimated percentage of effected cars? 10% or higher?? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

You could get it checked at a Mazda dealer and have them specifically look for signs of the cylinder head crack. It's still under the powertrain warranty

 

[Mrt959]

Yes, this exactly what I go back and forth on. I really like the car and would have a year of warranty left, but do I want to take that risk? That’s why I was wanting to get other opinions on how prevalent of a problem it is.

 

[LeSheep]

Based on the TSB and law firm’s interest in this, i wouldn’t think it’s small amount at all. Also it seems not a matter of percentage, but just a matter of time.

 

[JPL]

As stated in another thread on this same topic, there is a class action investigation going on for this problem in the CX-5 and CX-9s... https://www.sauderschelkopf.com/inve...investigation/

Interesting that the law firm is unaware the engine is in the Mazda6 too.

I have both the CX-9 and Mazda6 ('18's) so for now have to live with the thought of both someday succumbing to the problem. However, I haven't seen a single example online about it happening to a 6 yet. Could be the lesser stress from less weight being pulled by the engine that far less Mazda 6's were sold with the 2.5T.

 

[MGMGT16]

should be less than 1%

Where did you come up with that? I think that’s overly optimistic. When I called local dealers to get quotes on replacements, it wasn’t an unheard of issue and all of them alluded to having “others” in the shop. When I called online dealers to even get parts for an independent shop to repair it, most didn’t want to sell them to me because they wanted to get their allocation in for the vehicles in their shops waiting for the new heads