2016 Mazda CX-5 - What do you not like?

[7eregrine]

I have yet to see a CX-5 with a bad frontlight. ANYWAY... moving on.

I generally like the Infotainment. I mean it's a giant step up from my old car. But these stupid apps. I listen to podcasts so I tried Stitcher. It's a good app WHEN IT CONNECTS.
What a buggy POS that is. And I've been with Pandora since the early days. Also the app in the headunit never seems to see the car.
Drives me mad. So I just use BT.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

My pre-MazdaConnect Infotainment system does not have issues connecting to Pandora. Anything else though has to go through Bluetooth, and no problems there.

 

[Retired]

I have yet to see a CX-5 with a bad frontlight. ANYWAY... moving on.

I generally like the Infotainment. I mean it's a giant step up from my old car. But these stupid apps. I listen to podcasts so I tried Stitcher. It's a good app WHEN IT CONNECTS.
What a buggy POS that is. And I've been with Pandora since the early days. Also the app in the headunit never seems to see the car.
Drives me mad. So I just use BT.

The infotainment system is definitely the sore spot with my 2016. And even BT is flaky. I must have my phone out of my pocket for BT to work, and that was never a problem with my Passat.

 

[CX-5um]

Another genuine issue with first gen 16 CX5, small speed bumps in office zones or rental communities - the rear suspension handles it awfully. Every time i cross unless I am under 5 mph it goes THUD. As if it fell from the sky. Friend carrying tea in a cup spilled it. This seems to be better for 17 but not good Mazda.

Must be the skyactiv suspension?

 

[7eregrine]

The infotainment system is definitely the sore spot with my 2016. And even BT is flaky. I must have my phone out of my pocket for BT to work, and that was never a problem with my Passat.

I otherwise like the Infotainment. I had BT issues with my first phone but then got the Nougat update and it was flawless after that.

 

[Nyrjoe]

2017 GT - Don't like that center arm rest is too far back and short, also storage under armrest is very small. No driver position memory that includes window settings, nice that it includes HUD though. Factory tires not great at gripping on slippery surfaces, rear cam easily obstructed by a little rain. Rear cam shows too much bumper. My HUD settings frequently need to be re-applied, don't stick for too long. USB in front does not support fast/quick charge technology but back USB do. Wiper blades short on passenger side.

 

[yrwei52]

2017 GT - Don't like that center arm rest is too far back and short, also storage under armrest is very small. No driver position memory that includes window settings, nice that it includes HUD though. Factory tires not great at gripping on slippery surfaces, rear cam easily obstructed by a little rain. Rear cam shows too much bumper. My HUD settings frequently need to be re-applied, don't stick for too long. USB in front does not support fast/quick charge technology but back USB do. Wiper blades short on passenger side.

I believe you meant no driver position memory that includes outside mirror settings? And itd be even nicer if it includes steering wheel settings too! But 2016(.5) CX-5s dont even get memory seat function! (notcool)

 

[DG_1234]

My wife and I both have 2016 CX-5's. Each one has approximately 35K miles now.
Last year my wife's CX-5 needed new brakes and rotors.
Also last year my info screen went blank, no functions operating. Fortunately my car was still under warranty and a Mazda dealer installed a new screen unit.
We're both very pleased with our 2016 CX-5's

 

[GJ-Molestor]

Last year my wife's CX-5 needed new brakes and rotors.

let me guess, your dealer told you that it needed new brakes? My Mazda 6 has about 60k miles on it and still on original brakes. the rears are starting to wear out but the fronts still look good.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

let me guess, your dealer told you that it needed new brakes? My Mazda 6 has about 60k miles on it and still on original brakes. the rears are starting to wear out but the fronts still look good.

My fronts are still good, but my rears had to be done around 55ishk miles. Not just the dealer, but got second opinions from more trusted shops, and yeah, rear brakes were shot.

 

[GJ-Molestor]

My fronts are still good, but my rears had to be done around 55ishk miles. Not just the dealer, but got second opinions from more trusted shops, and yeah, rear brakes were shot.

55k I have no trouble believing, but 35K? suspicious.

question: do the roads get salted where you live?

 

[banjos-n-beer]

Mine were also near gone at 24,000 miles. Easy to see there was very little pad was left. Wasn't happy about it. I Mentioned to Mazda dealer the caliper pins might need lubimg and just got a blank stare with no interest in checking.

Oh well. Just one of the reasons I moved on.

 

[7eregrine]

My Volvo needed some brake work around 30k. New pads and resurfaced the rotors. s*** happens with wear and tear items. I was a little annoyed but not fussed and not worried about future reliability.

 

[Puyapim]

The brakes get used for traction control and other things besides normal braking. A lot of newer cars go through brakes a lot faster than older cars. Both my Mitsubishi’s got over 100k on the factory brakes. That was almost 20 years ago. I’m sure that’s not possible today.

 

[7eregrine]

A friend tells me it's a good idea to have your 'slides' lubed at your second oil change (and every other) as this will prolong the life of your pads.

 

[yrwei52]

Mine were also near gone at 24,000 miles. Easy to see there was very little pad was left. Wasn't happy about it. I Mentioned to Mazda dealer the caliper pins might need lubimg and just got a blank stare with no interest in checking.

Oh well. Just one of the reasons I moved on.

Well for those who are here long enough shouldnt be surprised to see any premature wear on CX-5s rear brakes. The rust issues due to road salt, lack of lubricant on caliper pins from factory, or out-of-tolerance Electrical Parking Brake rear calipers, are all the possible reasons to cause that. In fact all of those should be covered by many TSBs related to rear brake problems.

Yeah those quality and reliability issues, especially the falling-off sunvisor holded only by one single screw which is now left with a striped hole, does make me wonder about the longivety of my CX-5. Thiss one of the reasons why now I have a second thought to move on with a different brand instead of getting a 2018 CX-5 like I originally planned.

 

[banjos-n-beer]

Well for those who are here long enough shouldnt be surprised to see any premature wear on CX-5s rear brakes. The rust issues due to road salt, lack of lubricant on caliper pins from factory, or out-of-tolerance Electrical Parking Brake rear calipers, are all the possible reasons to cause that. In fact all of those should be covered by many TSBs related to rear brake problems.

Yeah those quality and reliability issues, especially the falling-off sunvisor holded only by one single screw which is now left with a striped hole, does make me wonder about the longivety of my CX-5. Thiss one of the reasons why now I have a second thought to move on with a different brand instead of getting a 2018 CX-5 like I originally planned.

It certainly was frustrating reading about other folks going beyond 50k miles... when I certainly don't ride the brakes nor slam on them to stop.

Having said that, I guess when push comes to shove, I'd take premature brake wear over a power train or expensive electronic sensor/device failure any day of the week.

Anywho, still happy with my QX... for now.

 

[Puyapim]

I do look forward to the day Y moves on.

 

[yrwei52]

It certainly was frustrating reading about other folks going beyond 50k miles... when I certainly don't ride the brakes nor slam on them to stop.

Having said that, I guess when push comes to shove, I'd take premature brake wear over a power train or expensive electronic sensor/device failure any day of the week.

Anywho, still happy with my QX... for now.

Thats true. But I really want something to have no problems in initial 50K miles, and only minor、maintenance and wear-out items for the rest of service life. My 1998 Honda CR-V with 180,335 miles is just like that! I know newer vehicles are different and much more complex which is hard to keep it totally trouble-free. But the use of one screw to hold the sunvisor instead of using two by everybody else definitely is a design flaw and too much of the cost-cutting which has nothing to do with new car complexity.

Do you have CVT on your QX? Nissans CVT does have bad reputation. But when people are criticizing the reliability of all CVTs, that could be unfounded, especially to modern CVTs. The CVT on Toyota Prius has been very reliable for 30 years and I havent heard anything bad reliability wise about its CVT.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

I only harp on Nissan CVT's as being unreliable. The others I just call them what they are: boring. Regardless of if they are reliable or not.

As for a sun visor. BFD. That has no bearing on the longevity of the car. Stupid design decision? Yeah probably. Somehow an indication on the longevity of the important pieces? No. I mean really..."my sun visor broke, therefore CX-5 is unreliable". Give me a break.