$300 Canadian to change CX-5 spark plugs - Really?

[riffraff]

My 2013 (May 2012) CX-5 is at 110,000km and plugs are due at 120. The dealer said $300 (Canada) to change them. Is it really that big a deal? I know the plugs are a little spendy, but that still seems like a lot in labour. How long does it really take? I no longer have a built in mechanic. My dealership has always been good to me, and I've never done anything to my car besides regular maintenance. My brakes are down to 3mm all round, and that will apparently be $650 plus tax, which hurts when I'm used to just paying for parts, but seems reasonable. I've always preferred OEM parts on my vehicles, but am thinking of buying the OEM parts and finding someone else to do the plugs. I did my own many moons ago on my B2200, but I no longer have access to tools or somewhere to work.

thanx

 

[NelsonLewis]

$300 is highway robbery, RUN!

It*s a 10 min job for me, 30 min or less lolly gagging around and shooting the Pooh.

$650 on brakes is ridiculous too. Especially if all they*re doing is changing pads and turning rotors.

 

[cz5gt]

thats about 225 usd. not that bad.
spark plugs are around 130usd MSRP for 4 in US dealers (not counting discounts). They are iridium sparkplugs. usually denso and cost more than your usual 2000-s car sparkplugs.
95usd for labour is not that bad. Assuming there is tax also included in total.

p.s
you can change yourself if you want or buy them discounted and find a shop to only change... or may be ask dealer to price match internet prices of online mazda dealers on the sparkplugs.

do note you have driven 100km and 6 years with only basic maintenance.it is normal for these things to come up now.

 

[Unobtanium]

My 2013 (May 2012) CX-5 is at 110,000km and plugs are due at 120. The dealer said $300 (Canada) to change them. Is it really that big a deal? I know the plugs are a little spendy, but that still seems like a lot in labour. How long does it really take? I no longer have a built in mechanic. My dealership has always been good to me, and I've never done anything to my car besides regular maintenance. My brakes are down to 3mm all round, and that will apparently be $650 plus tax, which hurts when I'm used to just paying for parts, but seems reasonable. I've always preferred OEM parts on my vehicles, but am thinking of buying the OEM parts and finding someone else to do the plugs. I did my own many moons ago on my B2200, but I no longer have access to tools or somewhere to work.

thanx

I did my own plugs. $120 usd from the dealer.
I had the dealer do my brakes. $650ish for all 4, parts and labor included, including replacing all 4 rotors completely with new. From 3mm to 1mm took another nearly 20k miles, as I recall...

My plugs looked new regarding gap, and changing them resulted in zero change to mpg or driveability, dont at around 80k something miles or so.

Changing plugs took me about 10 to 15 minutes and was easy and self explanatory. That is the first time I had the engine cover off. $95usd for that is a damn robbery.

 

[Studum]

My guess is you're somewhere in the range of $40-$50 / plug plus $~100-$120 / hr for labor. Probably an hr or a min shop charge coming in to play for the plugs.

Sounds about right for dealer sourced OEM parts and dealer labor.

If you're out of warranty you have the option of buying the parts elsewhere and doing them yourself. Or having a non dealer mechanic do them with non-OEM plugs. Or... if it's still running fine let them go a bit longer.

 

[minnesotaart]

This has all been hashed out before on this thread: https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123852711-Spark-plug-replacement-surprise&highlight=plugs

It boils down to 2 camps: those who insist that the OEM Mazda plug is the ONLY plug to use and those who believe that the NKG and the Denso plugs are exactly the same as what Mazda uses but without the Mazda logo on the plug.

I am in the second category and here is what I bought: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

They were simple to put in. You only need a socket wrench, two sockets and a 10-12" extension: one socket to remove the coil to get at the plug and then a spark plug socket to remove/replace the plug. The spark plug socket however is different than most and will probably require a purchase.

Take your time and it should only take 30 minutes max. The plugs are pre-gapped and unless you drop one you can just install them right out of the box. You only need access to work under the hood to change them - no need for a big work area.

The ones I installed have the exact same markings as the Mazda plug and have been flawless, the same as the ones I took out.

It boils down to how much you value your time and money. It's a simple task to perform, but it's up to you.

 

[ruthrj]

^I agree. It was super simple. I even used some old rubber tube about 12 long to help thread the new plugs in. Pop some thick rubber tube of appropriate width over the stem of the plug. Spin the tube gently to get the plugs started to prevent stripping the engine threads. Pull the tube off and out and finish with the appropriate socket. Deep socket was the only thing I had to buy for the job as I had all of the other tools mentioned.

I used Denso plugs. Car runs fine with them. My gas mileage might have dropped a mile or two per gallon, but I think winter gas is true cause. I happened to install the new plugs literally the same week winter gas made it here. Ill hold final judgement until this summer. If I dont see my gas mileage creep back up to what Im accustomed to, Ill swap them for NGK plugs and call the $28 I spent on the Denso plugs an experimental loss, lol.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Get the NGK plugs (the OEM plugs I ordered from Med Center Mazda for $100 had the NGK model numbers on it!) for $50. Take 30 minutes and do it yourself.

Problem solved.

 

[jmhumr]

Get the NGK plugs (the OEM plugs I ordered from Med Center Mazda for $100 had the NGK model numbers on it!) for $50. Take 30 minutes and do it yourself.

Problem solved.

Yep, a novice can change spark plugs and save a lot of money. If you can change a light bulb, you can change your plugs. Just need a socket set with an extender, which is cheap. I'm sure there's a Youtube how-to for the CX-5.

 

[madar]

Yep, a novice can change spark plugs and save a lot of money. If you can change a light bulb, you can change your plugs. Just need a socket set with an extender, which is cheap. I'm sure there's a Youtube how-to for the CX-5.

...and a torque wrench.

 

[yrwei52]

Get the NGK plugs (the OEM plugs I ordered from Med Center Mazda for $100 had the NGK model numbers on it!) for $50. Take 30 minutes and do it yourself.

Problem solved.

On OEM spark plugs you got, is there "Mazda" imprint on it with part number, other than NGK part number?

 

[ColoradoDriver]

On OEM spark plugs you got, is there "Mazda" imprint on it with part number, other than NGK part number?

Yes of course...which added $50 to the price.

 

[yrwei52]

Yes of course...which added $50 to the price.

$50 additional for 4 plugs with *Mazda* name only, or *Mazda* name and Mazda part number?

 

[ColoradoDriver]

$50 additional for 4 plugs with *Mazda* name only, or *Mazda* name and Mazda part number?

I'll have to go dig up the pictures I posted in that spark plugs thread.

If I recall, it had the Mazda logo and part #, but also had the NGK part #.

As far as I could therefore tell, it was NGK plugs that Mazda printed their name and part number on and jacked the price up $50 (for 4).

 

[yrwei52]

I'll have to go dig up the pictures I posted in that spark plugs thread.

If I recall, it had the Mazda logo and part #, but also had the NGK part #.

As far as I could therefore tell, it was NGK plugs that Mazda printed their name and part number on and jacked the price up $50 (for 4).

Our manual listed two OEM spark plugs, PE5R-18-110 and PE5S-18-110, for SA-G 2.5L. Anchorman once posted a parts document from Mazda which clearly stated OEM spark plug PE5R-18-110 is NGK plug and PE5S-18-110 is Denso.

Although I always use OEM parts, but for this one I may consider NGK to save $50!

 

[riffraff]

Thanks for the info.
I personally prefer OEM parts (except for tires, haha). I learned my lesson a long time ago with oil filters and my B2200.
I had also read the other thread and I certainly don't owe this car anything, so I have no problem doing maintenance on it. It just seemed a bit steep for just plugs, even with the cost of them. Shop hourly rate is $130, so pretty close to a US $95.
My ex has the tools and the work space, which is why the car has been dealer maintained all it's life. Looks like it will stay that way, at least for now.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

You can get complete pads/,hardware on Ebay for 150usd or less. I have a set I'm replacing with before a trip next week. Paid $136. Saw another one now for 101$. I had ordered a bbk from CS but it was backordered so I ended up canceling

 

[Unobtanium]

...and a torque wrench.

Nah, not for this application. Just a bit of experience turning wrenches and some common sense.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

Tightening torque.. not much


15*20 Nm {1.6*2.0 kgfm, 12*14 ftlbf}

 

[RepeatMazda]

If you're out of warranty you have the option of buying the parts elsewhere and doing them yourself.

Even if you're still covered by warranty you have the option to buy parts elsewhere and do yourself or take to an independent mechanic. Just keep your receipts and a record of when the work was completed.