2017 Paddle Shifters

To the best of my knowledge no one has done it yet or even attempted it. I looked at it briefly when the new models where announced and it appears the steering wheel is the same on the 3 as the new CX-5. So one might reason to believe that the paddles can be installed physically with the correct steering wheel back panel. I imagine it would be similar to the 2016's as far as wiring is concerned, you would need the harness that plugs into the oem harness pin locations. You might want to send an email to Japanparts.com asking them, they might have a more concrete answer for you.
 
These tiny paddle shifters are a waste, if you ask me. They provide limited reach and functionality. Yes, I am a part of the crowd against paddle shifters in cars not designed for them as their primary use of shifting or w/a transmission that doesn't have a quick(er) than standard gear change speed. I guess if you autocross in your CX-5, it might work out better than the manual lever change, but I am still skeptical about paddle shifters in general.

As cool as the install is (not the video link posted) and the idea of having paddle shifters where non existed before, I don't see the allure of having them for pseudo manual driving. This is just me and everyone else's opinion will differ.
 
These tiny paddle shifters are a waste, if you ask me. They provide limited reach and functionality. Yes, I am a part of the crowd against paddle shifters in cars not designed for them as their primary use of shifting or w/a transmission that doesn't have a quick(er) than standard gear change speed. I guess if you autocross in your CX-5, it might work out better than the manual lever change, but I am still skeptical about paddle shifters in general.

As cool as the install is (not the video link posted) and the idea of having paddle shifters where non existed before, I don't see the allure of having them for pseudo manual driving. This is just me and everyone else's opinion will differ.

*shrugs*

I quite enjoy them in my Mazda 3 on a back road, especially in sport mode... Do they see everyday use? No... Fun to use once in a while??? Yesssir
 
*shrugs*

I quite enjoy them in my Mazda 3 on a back road, especially in sport mode... Do they see everyday use? No... Fun to use once in a while??? Yesssir

Well, I'm against "tiny paddle shifters". These tuck in behind the wheel at the 9 & 3 positions and they are fixed, so any turning of the wheel puts them mostly out of reach.

If you are going to do paddle shifters correctly, they either have to be bigger (look how Ferrari does their paddles) and not hide behind the wheel and they should be mounted on the column (i.e stationary) and not be mounted to the wheel. Do paddles shifters like they are a piece of art and show them off, even if they are plastic. Make it nice to look at, make it functional, and make them comfortable to use.

It really is an easy formula; however, some manufacturers choose not to put thought in the things that the driver actual uses and use the cheapest imitation thing they can get away with to dazzle the customers in the showroom. Much like chrome wheel covers on $25k vehicles.
 
*shrugs*

I quite enjoy them in my Mazda 3 on a back road, especially in sport mode... Do they see everyday use? No... Fun to use once in a while??? Yesssir

(2cents)
Oh my goodness yes! Installed into our 2016.5, and they are fantastic... My wife also loves them, and comments frequently how nice they are to have.

I love the fact that you do not have to move the stick into manual mode to use them. While driving in AUTO, if I need to downshift 2 gears quickly, its just a few taps of the paddle, and after not using the paddles for a few moments, it will revert back to AUTO mode.

(naughty)
 
I love it too. I use it mostly, to down shift, when I'm coming down on a slope, or when I really want to pickup speed fast.
I have big aluminum paddles, they are not too nice, but they are much easier to use, then the factory small ones.
The Kenstyle ones are really nice, but they are round $160.
 
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My 2017 GT w/ premium package came pre-wired for paddle shifters within the steering stem, so there are no modifications outside of the steering wheel proper. The way I tested this is by shorting the corresponding shift paddle pins on the clock spring male connector with ignition on in manual shift mode. The dash reflected my +1 -1 gear choice, although at a standstill you are limited to just the first 2 gears.

Where it there is some work to be done is in the steering wheel. I used the following parts for my build:
B64E-32-049-02 - steering wheel core (the rear cover). This item takes crude modification with a sharp object around the center bottom spoke area to properly fit the wheel.
B64F-32-750 - paddle shifter affixing bolts (set of 4)
BHT1-66-3P0 - steering wheel-mounted shift paddle assembly
BNK8-66-4M2 - in-steering wheel main harness. This part is not used in whole, but as a donor for the 3-wire paddle shift sub-harness that is plugged into the harness coming out of the paddle shifters. I was unable to find the 3-pin to 5-pin female shifter sub-harness for sale by itself, which is why this larger harness was used.

You will have to drill an extra hole in the new rear cover at the 6 oclock position so that the new 3 latch point airbag can be released, and steering wheel taken off in the future. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE OFF YOUR STEERING WHEEL WITHOUT DAMAGE TO IT. You can overlay your original backplate and drill the center airbag release hole. A small tip on unlatching the airbag: when inserting the screwdriver into either of the side latch release holes, start at the side and angle the screwdriver inward. It takes a bit of pressure on the plastic plate underneath to deform the aluminum wire used to latch the airbag onto the aluminum steering wheel core. You should always be feeling progressive resistance as you do this. If you find that an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object, youre doing it wrong. The third latch point requires more of a straight-on pressure. The more problematic install is the one for those of us with heated steering wheels. The heated units contain an extra box and harness hidden away behind the 6 oclock position black plate (as looking at the steering wheel), that is located between the two bottom spokes. For heated steering wheels with paddle shifters (like Mazda6 with premium package) there is a different rear steering wheel cover (or black plate) compatible specifically with these 2 features. I imagine it has more of a humped contour in the rear, like the original on the CX-5. I have exhaustively looked for this part online and with 3 separate dealerships, and it appears that Mazda has opted not to list it with its own p/n for sale, probably because they wised up about the DIY community adding shifters to cars that they equate to lost revenue. The backplate is, however, available as part of the complete Mazda6 heated, paddle shifted steering wheel (~$700) p/n: GRV1-32-98XD-02. This is where I did something crude. I took the B64E-32-049-02 backplate and cut into it a hole big enough to fit the heated steering wheels heater circuit assembly (black box). It does stick out of the rear of the steering wheel by about 1/4 of an inch and has a rather hard edge, but it is so close to the center of the rear of the steering wheel that I would have to intentionally reach back there with my pretty large hands for it to be a problem. Until Mazda releases a "w/paddle shift, w/heat" rear cover, a clean installation is, unfortunately, ruled out. I guess I really wanted those paddle shifters :)

Here are a couple of useful videos I used to guide me in the very similar 2017 DIY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNedbR77iZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=283&v=Go0M_AZlrXU

Hope this helps.

Shout out to Putnam Mazda of Burlingame, Capitol Mazda of San Jose, and MazdaSwag.com for their parts diagrams research for this project.
 
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My 2017 GT w/ premium package came pre-wired for paddle shifters within the steering stem, so there are no modifications outside of the steering wheel proper. The way I tested this is by shorting the corresponding shift paddle pins on the clock spring male connector with ignition on in manual shift mode. The dash reflected my +1 -1 gear choice, although at a standstill you are limited to just the first 2 gears.

Where it there is some work to be done is in the steering wheel. I used the following parts for my build:
B64E-32-049-02 - steering wheel core (the rear cover). This item takes crude modification with a sharp object around the center bottom spoke area to properly fit the wheel.
B64F-32-750 - paddle shifter affixing bolts (set of 4)
BHT1-66-3P0 - steering wheel-mounted shift paddle assembly
BNK8-66-4M2 - in-steering wheel main harness. This part is not used in whole, but as a donor for the 3-wire paddle shift sub-harness that is plugged into the harness coming out of the paddle shifters. I was unable to find the 3-pin to 5-pin female shifter sub-harness for sale by itself, which is why this larger harness was used.

You will have to drill an extra hole in the new rear cover at the 6 o’clock position so that the new 3 latch point airbag can be released, and steering wheel taken off in the future. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE OFF YOUR STEERING WHEEL WITHOUT DAMAGE TO IT. You can overlay your original backplate and drill the center airbag release hole. A small tip on unlatching the airbag: when inserting the screwdriver into either of the side latch release holes, start at the side and angle the screwdriver inward. It takes a bit of pressure on the plastic plate underneath to deform the aluminum wire used to latch the airbag onto the aluminum steering wheel core. You should always be feeling progressive resistance as you do this. If you find that an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object, you’re doing it wrong. The third latch point requires more of a straight-on pressure. The more problematic install is the one for those of us with heated steering wheels. The heated units contain an extra box and harness hidden away behind the 6 o’clock position black plate (as looking at the steering wheel), that is located between the two bottom spokes. For heated steering wheels with paddle shifters (like Mazda6 with premium package) there is a different rear steering wheel cover (or black plate) compatible specifically with these 2 features. I imagine it has more of a humped contour in the rear, like the original on the CX-5. I have exhaustively looked for this part online and with 3 separate dealerships, and it appears that Mazda has opted not to list it with its own p/n for sale, probably because they wised up about the DIY community adding shifters to cars that they equate to lost revenue. The backplate is, however, available as part of the complete Mazda6 heated, paddle shifted steering wheel (~$700) p/n: GRV1-32-98XD-02. This is where I did something crude. I took the B64E-32-049-02 backplate and cut into it a hole big enough to fit the heated steering wheel’s heater circuit assembly (black box). It does stick out of the rear of the steering wheel by about 1/4 of an inch and has a rather hard edge, but it is so close to the center of the rear of the steering wheel that I would have to intentionally reach back there with my pretty large hands for it to be a problem. Until Mazda releases a "w/paddle shift, w/heat" rear cover, a clean installation is, unfortunately, ruled out. I guess I really wanted those paddle shifters… :)

Here are a couple of useful videos I used to guide me in the very similar 2017 DIY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNedbR77iZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=283&v=Go0M_AZlrXU

Hope this helps.

Shout out to Putnam Mazda of Burlingame, Capitol Mazda of San Jose, and MazdaSwag.com for their parts diagrams research for this project.
I was able to install them without any issues using the following kit from japan found on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned) (this kit comes with everything needed for a non heated steering wheel)

The parts are:

- BHT1 66 3P0 Paddles
- B62T V7 480 Mounting kit (back plate, screws, zip ties and steering wheel bolt)
- B62S V7 481 wiring harness

My cx5 came also prewired up to the clock spring (i recently purchased a 2018 GT, just havent update the avatar info yet) and was only matter of taking the airbag out of the way and installing the paddles.

I also found on a Japanese brochure the proper parts needed for a heated steering wheel installation without any crude modifications to the steering wheel.

The parts are:

- BHT1 66 3P0 Paddles
- K123 V7 480 Mounting kit (back plate, screws, zip ties and steering wheel bolt)
- B62S V7 481 wiring harness.

Note: the B62S V7 481 is the complete harness on the steering wheel, you can either use it as is or take the 3 pins needed. I went with the full harness to keep things simple. It requires a bit more disassembly but its a cleaner install in my opinion.

Note 2: the steering wheel bolt on our cars are a stretch bolt, meaning they are a one time use bolt, that's why they include a new one on the kit.

Hope this info helps.
 
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So will the kit work on a 2017 Touring? In other words, does the Touring come pre-wired for paddle shifters within the steering stem or is it only the GT?
 
So will the kit work on a 2017 Touring? In other words, does the Touring come pre-wired for paddle shifters within the steering stem or is it only the GT?
I think it will. But to make sure they do before buying the kit, check the connector that goes into the clock spring from the steering column side and make sure that its only missing 1 cable. (You can see this procedure on the how to's, the wire locations are the same as on the previous gen).
 
With these, is much easier to switch in corners. This is, what I have installed on mine. They are the Kenstyle ones.
You can get them, from japanparts.
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I was able to install them without any issues using the following kit from japan found on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned) (this kit comes with everything needed for a non heated steering wheel)

The parts are:

- BHT1 66 3P0 Paddles
- B62T V7 480 Mounting kit (back plate, screws, zip ties and steering wheel bolt)
- B62S V7 481 wiring harness

My cx5 came also prewired up to the clock spring (i recently purchased a 2018 GT, just havent update the avatar info yet) and was only matter of taking the airbag out of the way and installing the paddles.

I also found on a Japanese brochure the proper parts needed for a heated steering wheel installation without any crude modifications to the steering wheel.

The parts are:

- BHT1 66 3P0 Paddles
- K123 V7 480 Mounting kit (back plate, screws, zip ties and steering wheel bolt)
- B62S V7 481 wiring harness.

Note: the B62S V7 481 is the complete harness on the steering wheel, you can either use it as is or take the 3 pins needed. I went with the full harness to keep things simple. It requires a bit more disassembly but its a cleaner install in my opinion.

Note 2: the steering wheel bolt on our cars are a stretch bolt, meaning they are a one time use bolt, that's why they include a new one on the kit.

Hope this info helps.

Thanks for this. I wasnt sure which parts were needed for the facelift models. This kit worked for my 2018 3.


Well, I'm against "tiny paddle shifters". These tuck in behind the wheel at the 9 & 3 positions and they are fixed, so any turning of the wheel puts them mostly out of reach.

If you are going to do paddle shifters correctly, they either have to be bigger (look how Ferrari does their paddles) and not hide behind the wheel and they should be mounted on the column (i.e stationary) and not be mounted to the wheel. Do paddles shifters like they are a piece of art and show them off, even if they are plastic. Make it nice to look at, make it functional, and make them comfortable to use.

It really is an easy formula; however, some manufacturers choose not to put thought in the things that the driver actual uses and use the cheapest imitation thing they can get away with to dazzle the customers in the showroom. Much like chrome wheel covers on $25k vehicles.

Easy solution is to get new longer paddle shifters or paddle shifter extensions (they attach to the stock ones). They are also NOT fixed but move with the wheel. I think the reason the oem ones are so small is to not block the view of the dash and levers. The design is an afterthought obviously but the target audience of the car most likely wont use the paddles much in the first place.
 
Well, I'm against "tiny paddle shifters". These tuck in behind the wheel at the 9 & 3 positions and they are fixed, so any turning of the wheel puts them mostly out of reach.

9 & 3 are the best and safest positions for your hands. Hand-over-hand steering is for parking lots and old land yachts with slow steering ratios and no airbags. :)

I use paddle shifters for engine braking and to downshift in anticipation of a pass so I don't have to wait on the transmission to automatically downshift. I'm glad Mazda added them to the '20 CX-5.
 
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