2015 CX-5 & iPhone 5/iOS 7... what are the big issues?

[babadi]

Hi guys,

I've been trying to decide between the 2015 CX-5 and the 2014 CR-V. I'm leaning towards the CX-5, but all the chatter about the universally hated infotainment system has me rethinking that.

That said, I'm having some trouble figuring out which issues are outstanding (as many of the threads refer to older models of the car, presumably with older software) and which issues impact the iPhone specifically. The functionality I'm most interested in are probably phone calls over Bluetooth and music streaming over USB. (I suppose music streaming over Bluetooth would be OK too, but my phone battery sucks as it is!) I understand from Mazda's site that the SMS stuff doesn't work with the iPhone, which I can live with.

If anybody has experience using the 2015 CX-5 with an iPhone, or even could point me to any threads that discuss this specific combination, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Martin

 

[garyd9]

I can't speak to the iphone specific issues, but I CAN give information on the iOS 7 issues in relationship to music playing (based on experience with an ipod touch 5th gen.)

Bluetooth (AVRCP): music control over bluetooth is difficult. The head unit seems to force any "shuffle" function to be turned off and the button to turn it back on won't work. My own opinion is that bluetooth music works much better in conjunction with android devices. (I can turn on shuffle on the android device and it'll stay on.)

USB: The unit takes a long time to start playing after the radio starts or the iThing is plugged in. How long depends on how much music is loaded as well as the actual device. With a 5th gen iPod touch, it takes ~3-4 minutes for around 1,800 songs (apprx 13GB of only mp3's). Also, once it starts playing, it will ALWAYS start playing the first song of a list of ALL music on the device sorted alphabetically. At this point, you can use the menu on the head unit to select a different playlist and/or shuffle it. (It doesn't matter if the music files came from your own CD rip's, from the itunes store, etc. I have a massive music collection and I was able to test with ONLY itune purchased music.)

 

[Mountkeen]

I use an iPhone 5 over bluetooth for calls and it usually works perfectly apart from SMS texts which can never be read . Can't say about music as it's a work phone and I'm not allowed to put music on it. In any event I use a little USB stick for that and the issues highlighted by garyd9 sum that up..

 

[shingles]

iPhone 5 here... phone calls and music works fine (I use Google Play though). Don't know anything about the SMS as I haven't gone there yet.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

The Pandora streaming seems to work fine for me with iPhone 5s and latest IOS version.

 

[Fleeecy]

Hi guys,

I've been trying to decide between the 2015 CX-5 and the 2014 CR-V. I'm leaning towards the CX-5, but all the chatter about the universally hated infotainment system has me rethinking that.

That said, I'm having some trouble figuring out which issues are outstanding (as many of the threads refer to older models of the car, presumably with older software) and which issues impact the iPhone specifically. The functionality I'm most interested in are probably phone calls over Bluetooth and music streaming over USB. (I suppose music streaming over Bluetooth would be OK too, but my phone battery sucks as it is!) I understand from Mazda's site that the SMS stuff doesn't work with the iPhone, which I can live with.

If anybody has experience using the 2015 CX-5 with an iPhone, or even could point me to any threads that discuss this specific combination, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Martin

I own an iPhone 5s running iOS 7 (latest update) and a 2014 CX-5. The 2015 CX-5 is functionally identical to my 2014 until Mazda replaces the Bluetooth module.

Phone calls work perfectly and very reliably. No complaints about sound quality here. The CX-5 can download the iPhone's phonebook, but that's not very useful since Siri works as well over Bluetooth; simply hold down the home button on your iPhone and wait for the Siri-ready sound in the car's speakers. Siri's answers are spoken over BT as well. The Mazda-provided SMS download function is not compatible with the iPhone but again, Siri can read messages back to you over Bluetooth and take your dictated responses, so no problem there either. The little microphone icon on your iPhone's keyboard works well over the car's BT as well.

Bluetooth audio streaming has very good sound quality (of course, CDs sound better). Shuffle features are disabled when using the built-in Music app on the iPhone, so songs play by alphabetical order (but do resume where they left off), but streaming apps like Spotify, Songza are unaffected by this and work superbly. Pandora is unavailable in Canada, so I can't comment on its integration with the CX-5.

The other issues are unrelated to the iPhone : most complaints are with the USB port, which is basically useless in its current iteration. My workaround is simple : a USB charger in the instrument panel's outlet paired with a Griffin coiled lightning cable. It charges faster, and doesn't put the iPhone in a USB lockdown state (the CX-5's built-in USB does).

The CR-V's screen setup has seen its share of complaints. Sound system quality should not be an argument in its favor (try cargo room, resale value or interior space if you need CR-V pros).

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

Phone calls work perfectly and very reliably. No complaints about sound quality here.


Bluetooth audio streaming has very good sound quality (of course, CDs sound better). streaming apps like Spotify, Songza are unaffected by this and work superbly. Pandora is unavailable in Canada, so I can't comment on its integration with the CX-5.

My BT phone calls have worked well and are very clear. Mine have sounded on both ends as reported by the caller as speaking on the handset. I am curious if the paid & higher bitrate Pandora streams sound even better. I haven't tried out the alternatives you have listed.

 

[Skorpio]

Iphone 5s iOS 7.0.2 and jail broken, no major issues except those noted above.

 

[Demento]

Iphone 5/IOS7.

The only thing that bugs me, is if I close the Pandora app, and the CX5 tries to connect to it when I get into the car, I've got to grab my phone from my pocket, and hit "Allow" to give permission for the CX5 to open Pandora, then connect. Kind of annoying. I still love my car though.

I do love getting in and out of my car without ever taking my phone or keys out of my pocket. The auto-proximity locking when I walk away from the car is THE BEST FEATURE EVER.

 

[dragonteeth]

I have an iPhone 5 w/ iOS 7.

Everything works perfectly fine sans SMS messages. I don't really care for that, though, since I don't want my messages to be shown on display.

My only gripe is if I leave bluetooth on my phone, say, for a few hours, it takes longer for my car to recognize it. However, if I turn on bluetooth as soon as I turn the car on, it recognizes it so much faster. Also, even that process takes awhile. It kicks into searching for bluetooth ► connected, but waiting ► unable to play because a song hasn't been chosen ► when I finally choose a song, it stays at "Pause" for ~10 seconds, THEN finally kicks in and plays music. Groan.

I've learned that if I'm just doing quick errands, I'll listen to the radio. If my commute is 20+ minutes, I'll deal with bluetooth s*** before I leave, lol.

 

[Ulrich]

I've learned that if I'm just doing quick errands, I'll listen to the radio. If my commute is 20+ minutes, I'll deal with bluetooth s*** before I leave, lol.

That's how I feel about the USB crap, too.

 

[garyd9]

I've found an interesting way to deal with the USB crap in regards to the iPod touch (ios7). I created an mp3 that has some beeping noises and lasts about 60 seconds. The track title is "0 Menu->Playlist" and the artist is "...and Shuffle!" That leading zero forces this track to always be "first" when the ipod is done reading.

So, I get in my car and start it. A few minutes later, I hear some beeping and I see "0 Menu->Playlist", "...and Shuffle!" on the screen. I select "iPod Menu", "playlist", choose my normal playlist (3500+ tracks covering 1750 songs.) The very first track on that playlist another homemade track: this one is just 30 seconds of complete silence. It only exists so I can hit "shuffle" and skip tracks into a random selection.

No, it's not great, but it works. In most cases, I prefer this to the degraded audio of bluetooth. (Which is comical in a way, as the bluetooth music playing works perfectly with my android phone. It just doesn't sound as good as the wired connection.)