2023 New CX-5 Carbon Edition coolant level drop

What color is the FL22? I am nearing the L level on my 2019 NA engine and it is darkish grey color.
I agree with Conrad 16.5 and HardRightEdg that it’s hard to tell the color of your coolant from the picture. See pictures posted by thd OP. But if you said it’s “darkish grey color”, it doesn’t sound right.


And also, where can I purchase it from? I don’t need a whole gallon. Just enough to top off the reservoir.
Unfortunately you can only get pre-mixed 55/45 FL-22 coolant in gallon container. Some just top off with distilled water but that just further dilutes the factory FL-22 coolant which is supposed to service the cooling system for 10 years or 120,000 miles.

My 2016 CX-5 just unloaded from the truck also came with very low coolant level (and low engine oil level) and I watched the tech topping off the correct FL-22 coolant during the new car prep.
 
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I am nearing the L level on my 2019 NA engine and it is darkish grey color.

@Whiter0se , if your coolant reservoir tank was "nearing the L level" and a grey color on Sunday and today's picture shows about to bottom out in the tank, your car may have a head problem. The coolant should not be grey or dropping level that fast. Not normal.
 
What color is the FL22? I am nearing the L level on my 2019 NA engine and it is darkish grey color.

And also, where can I purchase it from? I don’t need a whole gallon. Just enough to top off the reservoir.

You should be able to buy the correct coolant from the dealer, or any autoshop that sells FL22 coolant.

Regarding the colour, you can see that the reservoir tank itself is a slightly opaque greyish colour, so the colour of the fluid inside is a little hard to see. Using a flash may show the colour better.

One other thing to add is that coolant level checks should be done in a consistent manner. I always check my coolant cold, so first thing in the morning or after it's been sitting for several hours.
 
Thank you all for the responses. I’ll try to get better pictures tonight.

The coolant level has been like that for about 15 months now. Maybe a bit more near the L threshold.
When I had the AC condenser replaced, I think the technician spilled some out from the hoses and did not top it off. I saw some coolant drops around the radiator and near the front bumper after the warranty job was done and after I got home but did not think anything of it until I checked the coolant a day after and didn’t bother to go back (didn’t want to pay a toll and drive 50 mins back there)

The cars only been going to the dealers for oil changes and no one else, not sure if they contaminated it but I’m hoping they did not.
 
15months at that level seems about right. Fill some coolant and call it a day. Its an expansion tank and its also venting in the atmosphere through the black cap.
Only way to see it better is to stick your phone to the outside wall of the tank , with the led flashlight on :) The color of the tank masks the real color.

If you want to see your coolant or test it, on a cold car - open the radiator cap, suck up small amount coolant with a syringe and check it out.
Used coolant gets just a bit darker over time. Thats normal.
 
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15months at that level seems about right. Fill some coolant and call it a day. Its an expansion tank and its also venting in the atmosphere through the black cap.
Only way to see it better is to stick your phone to the outside wall of the tank , with the led flashlight on :) The color of the tank masks the real color.

If you want to see your coolant or test it, on a cold car - open the radiator cap, suck up small amount coolant with a syringe and check it out.
Used coolant gets just a bit darker over time. Thats normal.
Also, just opening the cap of the expansion tank/reservoir and shinning a flashlight down into the tank will help with pics.
 
For me, coolant and brake fluid are "calender" items. Change them every 5 years. Why? I have a 25-year-old 1998 Ford ranger with original calipers radiator and heater core. That's why. Fluids are cheap.

As far as your coolant level sometimes cars find a level that they're happy with. So if it's settles in just above the low mark and it never changes I wouldn't touch it. That's still a lot of extra coolant in there
 
For me, coolant and brake fluid are "calender" items. Change them every 5 years. Why? I have a 25-year-old 1998 Ford ranger with original calipers radiator and heater core. That's why. Fluids are cheap.
For some strange reason many car manufactures don’t specify a maintenance schedule on brake fluid replacement in US market include Mazda, although Mazda does have a brake fluid maintenance schedule in other regions. I’d use a brake fluid tester and replace the fluid when the tester says so.

7CDC6C1A-C7CD-481A-8709-ECB7FF3087FE.jpeg



There’s no brake fluid maintenance schedule on my 1998 Honda CR-V either. I bought it brand new and I replaced the brake fluid and rear drum brake shoes the first time almost 20 years later in Dec. 2017 at 182K miles. The front disk brake calipers and rear drum brake cylinders are still original to this date.


As far as your coolant level sometimes cars find a level that they're happy with. So if it's settles in just above the low mark and it never changes I wouldn't touch it. That's still a lot of extra coolant in there
IMO we should top off the coolant level to the Full mark when it’s low in the reservoir. It’s all about the wider safety margin and the owner’s manual also says the same.
 
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For me, coolant and brake fluid are "calender" items. Change them every 5 years. Why? I have a 25-year-old 1998 Ford ranger with original calipers radiator and heater core. That's why. Fluids are cheap.

As far as your coolant level sometimes cars find a level that they're happy with. So if it's settles in just above the low mark and it never changes I wouldn't touch it. That's still a lot of extra coolant in there
I'm with you 100% on your comments. My coolant level new from the factory was about halfway or a little more. Over a period of about 5 years it got down to the low line at which point the dealership (who was doing my oil changes) for the FIRST time added coolant. I would always check after an oil change to see if they would top it off. LOL. I hadn't bought any coolant until I changed it out at the 6 year mark. The brake system got power bled around the same time.
 
For some strange reason many car manufactures don’t specify a maintenance schedule on brake fluid replacement in US market include Mazda, although Mazda does have a brake fluid maintenance schedule in other regions. I’d use a brake fluid tester and replace the fluid when the tester says so.

View attachment 317748


There’s no brake fluid maintenance schedule on my 1998 Honda CR-V either. I bought it brand new and I replaced the brake fluid and rear drum brake shoes the first time almost 20 years later in Dec. 2017 at 182K miles. The front disk brake calipers and rear drum brake cylinders are still original to this date.



IMO we should top off the coolant level to the Full mark when it’s low in the reservoir. It’s all about the wider safety margin and the owner’s manual also says the same.
That's amazing your calipers and wheel cylinders are still working. Curious, you must live in a state with good weather?
 
That's amazing your calipers and wheel cylinders are still working. Curious, you must live in a state with good weather?
The CR-V was in North Texas since new but now in NorCal for the last 5 years. In North Texas we still see road salt from time to time every winter and many 100°F+ hot summer days. The weather in North Texas definitely can’t compare to the much nicer weather in NorCal.
 
Since the coolant is expensive, I just scheduled an oil change at the dealer (having done them myself until then) and asked them to top it off.

They said to stop in anytime for fluid top offs.
Something people might wanna check into.
 
Since the coolant is expensive, I just scheduled an oil change at the dealer (having done them myself until then) and asked them to top it off.

They said to stop in anytime for fluid top offs.
Something people might wanna check into.
I did that when my 2016 CX-5 was still under warranty and went in for warranty services. I asked the service advisor to bring out the Mazda FL-22 coolant and top it off in front of me.

Some techs at the dealership use tap water filled in an opened OEM FL-22 coolant container pretending he’s using OEM FL-22 coolant to top the engine coolant off. I caught this during my new car preparation at my Mazda dealer and I believe my Mazda dealer is one of the best dealership I’ve ever experienced. Apparently some dealers feel it’s too costly and don’t want to use very expensive FL-22 to top off the coolant as it seems EVERY new Mazda vehicle comes low on FL-22 coolant from factory.
 
Since the coolant is expensive, I just scheduled an oil change at the dealer (having done them myself until then) and asked them to top it off.

They said to stop in anytime for fluid top offs.
Something people might wanna check into.

Trust but verify.

As Yrwei pointed out above. Those techs need to have an eye kept on them, your eye.
 
@ea0680 I'm finding this might be a common issue...trying to clarify. There is a class action investigation into this issue: https://www.sauderschelkopf.com/inve...investigation/

So curious if others having similar problems as noted in the investigation?
This’s a known problem and has been discussed in this forum for a while.

But the OP has a 2023 CX-5 Carbon Edition which has a 2.5L NA with cylinder deactivation. The investigation you referred, the engines in these vehicles may be prone to coolant leaks around the cylinder head and exhaust manifold joint due to excessive forces, is for the different engine, the 2.5T. Mazda has issued a TSB for this cracked cylinder head problem.

See these discussions for more details.

CX-9 2.5T Engine Coolant Leaking TSB

2017~2023 CX-5 2.5T Engine Coolant Leaking TSB

2.5T Cracked Cylinder Head/Leaking Coolant Report to the NHTSA
 

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