2013 CX-5 Power seat parts

[yrwei52]

BMW 2" Cable Also Worked for Mazda6

I decided to take a gamble and order the same BMW part for my Mazda6 when I had the same issue described above (left side of power seat would not move, right side would). Dealership quoted me at $1500 to replace "the whole bottom portion of the seat."

Decided to order the $12 part and took it to a local shop for the repair while I was at work. They fixed it within an hour for $100 or so.

Thanks for the discussion & advice!

These cables / drive shafts are currently still available from eBay. Of course $12 shipped for the replacement cable / drive shaft a few years ago now is $25! The replacement is a solid stainless rod instead of a speedometer cable type that should last forever.

 

[eth]

Looks like you’re trying to replace the drive cable TK81-88-0D1?

For future readers. This is NOT the part discussed in this thread. Took me a month of waiting to finally figure this out.
TK81-88-0D1 is the long part which goes between both sides of the seat and is usually not the one that gets broken.

The correct part is "Mazda CX-5 Seat Motor Drive Shaft Cable Rod 2" Stainless Steel 1/8" 2013-2017" (look it up online)

 

[yrwei52]

For future readers. This is NOT the part discussed in this thread. Took me a month of waiting to finally figure this out.
TK81-88-0D1 is the long part which goes between both sides of the seat and is usually not the one that gets broken.

The correct part is "Mazda CX-5 Seat Motor Drive Shaft Cable Rod 2" Stainless Steel 1/8" 2013-2017" (look it up online)

Yes, there’re 2 parts (cable / shaft) related to different power seat problems. Mazda OEM part #, TK81-88-0D1, mentioned in my post #17 is the long cable which need to get replaced when the seat is making noise during forward / backward movement because it vibrates. The short cable / shaft showed by OP and my post #22 which isn’t available from Mazda is for the problem when the seat only moves forward / backward on the right side rail because it’s broken.

In my post #17 I was asking the @aaacx5 post #15 and #16 that if he’s trying to replace the long cable TK81-88-0D1 (like post #19) and provided a link related to seat movement noise where there’s a write-up to replace the long cable without removing the seat which he’s looking for.

Power-seat noise


Yes for OP’s problem with broken short cable / shaft, the best hope is to find the aftermarket replacement part mentioned in my post #22 above as there’s no such part available from Mazda.

 

[sergioregra]

I suspect any power seat for '13-16 would do. Might be cheaper then motor assembly from the dealer.

Hi,
Showbox jiofi.local.html tplinklogin
My driver side power seat, only moves forward/backward on the right side rail. After some troubleshooting I found the culprit. The connector flexible shaft on the left of the motor snapped.

Now the problem is where can I find a replacement? Besides from buying the whole power seat base.

Anyone have experience with this?

I will try Mazda Service tomorrow.

 

[yrwei52]

I suspect any power seat for '13-16 would do. Might be cheaper then motor assembly from the dealer.

Getting a short motor cable / shaft from eBay ($25) to fix the power-seat problem OP had definitely is much much cheaper than getting the whole seat base ($1,000? $1,500?) from Mazda dealer.

That little piece of eBay power seat motor cable / shaft made in China used to be $12 with shipping just a few years ago now it’s $25, thanks partially to imposed higher tariffs against China by US government.

 

[eth]

I can't believe I paid $25 + shipping just for this tiny piece of metal.

 

[yrwei52]

I can't believe I paid $25 + shipping just for this tiny piece of metal.

This eBay stainless steel replacement seat motor drive shaft cable rod was selling $12 shipped just a couple of years ago. $25 plus shipping is still much better than getting the whole seat base from Mazda for $1,000!

Blame it on the US government who can’t control the high inflation with proper policies, and started the trade war against China with higher tariff.

 

[eth]

Blame it on the US government who can’t control the high inflation with proper policies, and started the trade war against China with higher tariff.

Don't blame the government.
This chunk of metal has nothing to do with China.

 

[yrwei52]

Don't blame the government.
This chunk of metal has nothing to do with China.

This modified stainless solid motor shaft / cable is made in China, came from China. Mazda doesn’t sell such part at all. Even if they do, it’ll be the problematic steel braided cable which could fail easily like your factory one.

 

[eth]

Well, even if it did, it's cost is less than $1 to produce. Import tariffs have nothing to do with this.

 

[HyFlyer]

You could always take a used screwdriver to a grinding wheel and fab one yourself. Go all McGoober on it

 

[yrwei52]

Well, even if it did, it's cost is less than $1 to produce. Import tariffs have nothing to do with this.

When those eBay / Amazon sellers import a box of CX-5’s power seat motor short cables from China for business, they usually have to pay import duty and it’s 20% ~ 30% higher now. That with high inflation contributes current $25 price for this power seat repair part which used to be selling for $12 not long ago. Still I appreciate those Chinese manufactures who give us a much better alternative with a generic repair part to fix our power seat problem.

Of course you can always blame it on those “greedy” Amazon / eBay sellers, as you really can get the same part in China for ¥8.78 CNY which is about $1.23 USD!

 

[eth]

When those eBay / Amazon sellers import a box of CX-5’s power seat motor short cables from China for business, they usually have to pay import duty and it’s 20% ~ 30% higher now. That with high inflation contributes current $25 price for this power seat repair part which used to be selling for $12 not long ago. Still I appreciate those Chinese manufactures who give us a much better alternative with a generic repair part to fix our power seat problem.

Of course you can always blame it on those “greedy” Amazon / eBay sellers, as you really can get the same part in China for ¥8.78 CNY which is about $1.23 USD!

View attachment 321190

Well, **** me…. Got a link to that?
Let’s save some poor guy’s wallet.

 

[salman_i]

Is it possible that the motor may be damaged, if the seat only moves on the right side and not on the left?

 

[yrwei52]

Is it possible that the motor may be damaged, if the seat only moves on the right side and not on the left?

No, if the motor is broken, the seat won’t be moving at all. This’s a common problem with the broken short cable and the power seat can only moves on the right rail forward and backward. See OP and you need the $25 short metal shaft from China.

 

[salman_i]

No, if the motor is broken, the seat won’t be moving at all. This’s a common problem with the broken short cable and the power seat can only moves on the right rail forward and backward. See OP and you need the $25 short metal shaft from China.

Thanks. I just ordered one from Amazon. Is there any way to replace it without taking the seat off?

 

[yrwei52]

Thanks. I just ordered one from Amazon. Is there any way to replace it without taking the seat off?

It’s doable. See @UnhappyCampR’s post at #11 in this thread above.

Since it’s going to be a solid stainless steel shaft instead of original flexible steel braided cable it can be noisier during the operation.

 

[eth]

Since it’s going to be a solid stainless steel shaft instead of original flexible steel braided cable it can be noisier during the operation.

Thank you so much for this info. I was about to replace the motor, because everything became MUCH noisier to the point that i thought it’s broken.

 

[salman_i]

It’s doable. See @UnhappyCampR’s post at #11 in this thread above.

Since it’s going to be a solid stainless steel shaft instead of original flexible steel braided cable it can be noisier during the operation.

Thanks. Is the original one available to buy from somewhere in case I wanted that one?

 

[yrwei52]

Thank you so much for this info. I was about to replace the motor, because everything became MUCH noisier to the point that i thought it’s broken.

Power seat motor itself is pretty reliable. If you have a noisy seat, but is having no issue to move the seat on BOTH sides of rail, you have a different problem. You need a different long flexible steel braided cable which is available from Mazda with part no. TK81-88-0D1. See post #17 in this thread.

Power-seat noise

Now if you’re talking about noisy operation AFTER you put on the short solid stainless shaft, that’s inherited noise by its non-flexibility nature. See post #11 by @UnhappyCampR’s above. On the other hand, if you heard the vibration noise even before the broken short flexible steel braided cable, then try to replace the long flexible steel braided cable with Mazda part no. TK81-88-0D1. There’s a TSB for this noisy operation problem with a new TK81-88-0D1 long flexible steel braided cable on power seat.