I know its about that times for shocks and struts I am at 118,000 and every times I go over any sort of bump I get a clunking noise from the front end . i had it at the garage for some tires and they said the noise might be the front sway bar links I know the rear links are shot because i can see them hanging down . i would like to attempt this job with a friend so I can save some serious money . I have been looking at rock auto and I also found a complete set of struts for front and rear shocks for under $300 i am worried they might be junk any thoughts ? I am gonna try to share the link . just so you know this is my daily driver and i ride on some pretty decent roads and I am not looking for the ride quality of the original struts when the car was brand new . https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)
2014 CX-5 AWD Shock and Strut replacement questions
- Thread starter capecod123
- Start date
The clunking noise is likely from the sway bar links, although it could be the control arms or tie rods. Have your mechanic overlook the suspension and replace worn out parts first.
I have 186,000 miles on my 2015 '6'. All that has ever been replaced suspension wise was both control arms, one tie rod, and one end link. The stock struts and springs are in perfectly good condition. This is considering that I like to lean on the car quite hard around certain turns.
I am very confident that your shocks and struts are fine. Look into what's causing the clunking first, fix it, then see how the car drives.
I have 186,000 miles on my 2015 '6'. All that has ever been replaced suspension wise was both control arms, one tie rod, and one end link. The stock struts and springs are in perfectly good condition. This is considering that I like to lean on the car quite hard around certain turns.
I am very confident that your shocks and struts are fine. Look into what's causing the clunking first, fix it, then see how the car drives.
- :
- 2023 CX-5 2.5 Turbo AWD Auto
RIP 8/23:2013 CX-5 Sport FWD Auto 120k
If you end up replacing the shocks and struts, I was very happy with the KYB complete strut and shock assemblies. The only drawback to the KYB shocks is that they will not come with a new mount. I think only the Mazda OEM shocks come with the mount. I was able to reuse the old mounts on my ‘13 but they were still in good shape.
what does a mount look like ?
could you tell me if the ebay ones I looked at had mounts with them ?
nice !! thanks probaly this part cannot be checked until you try to replace the old strut first looks like this is the part the shock sits in is that correct ?
- :
- 2023 CX-5 2.5 Turbo AWD Auto
RIP 8/23:2013 CX-5 Sport FWD Auto 120k
It is. You can see most of it in the top of the wheel well. If there aren’t any cracks it’s condition is fine.
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
The anti-sway bar links at rear and front on CX-5 are prone to fail. Yours could have been failed and hence the noise.
At 118,000 miles you can consider to replace both front struts and rear shocks although it really depends on the condition of those. I replaced front struts and rear shocks on my 1998 Honda CR-V at 180K miles and the factory struts and shocks were still in good shape! The rear shock replacement on gen-1 CX-5 can be tricky as almost all aftermarket rear shocks don’t provide the top mount mentioned by @ruthrj. But unfortunately that mount can easily be broken based on many reports here. I really hate to see the broken top mount after I replaced the rear shocks. Personally I would want to get a rear shocks with new top mount which most likely are OEM shocks.
Then there’re so many different versions of OEM rear shocks. You’d better get them with your VIN. The price on OEM rear shocks are also at least doubled after the pandemic. I was shocked to see my OEM KA0G-28-910G rear shock for 2016 CX-5 AWD used to be around $80 each, now is $224.80!!!
CX-5 Strut and Shock replacement
2016 CX-5 Rear Shock Mount
2016 CX-5 GT Broken rear upper strut mount
Last edited:
If it clunks over "any sort of bump" then start with the stabilizer bar end links. Much cheaper and easier. And a bad one will cause a clunk over the smallest of bumps. Mine would even clunk going slowly over the end of my driveway. And do both sides. Even if only one is causing the clunk, the other one has 118,000 on it too, so it's not exactly new condition.
There is also this TSB for squeaks and creaks
2013-2016 CX-5 vehicles with VINs lower than JM3 KE ****** 921726 (produced December 21, 2016) 2017 CX-5 vehicles with VINs lower than JM3 KF ****** 168558 (produced before June 13, 2017)
2013-2016 CX-5 vehicles with VINs lower than JM3 KE ****** 921726 (produced December 21, 2016) 2017 CX-5 vehicles with VINs lower than JM3 KF ****** 168558 (produced before June 13, 2017)
