A Few Surprises from US 2018 Mazda CX-5

If you use the supplied jack it can still take some paint off at the jacking point, the thought of just using the jacks foot on a vertical spot welded joint seems daft to me and unsafe.

Which is why I was looking for a doenut with the same grove cutout to go around the joint onto the reinforced pressure points. Using a jack direct on vertical joint could bend it over or at the very least take paint off.

As it is with the supplied jack I still have to use touch up paint afterwards, or I could just let it rust.
 
A> The jack points aren't painted.
B> Putting something, anything, between the car and the jack seems daft to me.
 
Jack Points

A> The jack points aren't painted.
B> Putting something, anything, between the car and the jack seems daft to me.
A> Jack points used most often under the door sill showed in Anchormans post are painted.
B> With the vehicle weight, if the jack pads are softer than metal, itd eat into it and wont slip. I use a piece of 2x4 wood as the jack pad. Of course customer-made rubber pad would be my favorite and I may try cheap hockey puck solution banjos-n-beer suggested next time.
 
A> The jack points aren't painted.
B> Putting something, anything, between the car and the jack seems daft to me.

1- yes they are.
2- putting nothing between two independent pieces of metal (with one being a crimped design perpendicular to the lift), with the intention of lifting ~2 tons seems incredibly naive to me.

clearly you've never seen those lift points all mangled and distorted. not every kid at the tire shop is diligent to properly align the jack's lift points.

the rubber pucks give a bit of flexibility and cushioning to the car when being lifted.

ymmv
 
Clarification: the jack points weren't pained on any previous car I've owned. That's just dumb.
 
Unpainted metal tends to rust.......

I think we all know that.
I can't be the only one that has had cars with jack points that are NOT painted.
This doesn't mean it's BARE METAL. Come on now. At least Saabs weren't. Volvo's isn't.
They were rust proofed... Why a car company would put a jack point on a painted surface is beyond me.
 
I think we all know that.
I can't be the only one that has had cars with jack points that are NOT painted.
This doesn't mean it's BARE METAL. Come on now. At least Saabs weren't. Volvo's isn't.
They were rust proofed... Why a car company would put a jack point on a painted surface is beyond me.

its not clear coated.

(drive)

further, a lot of folks will use the rear diff and/or sub-frame for lifting points due to the design of pinched lift points.
 
Every metal part on a car is coated with something. The bodies are e-coated before paint - electrochemical paint application of controlled thickness after they have been dipped in other rust inhibitors and cleaners. All other parts tend to be painted, e-coat (really a paint), powder coat, or some electrolytic process (zinc, cad, etc). The only thing i can think of that has no coating at all is parts that rub on each other for friction or lubrication: drive shaft, ball joints, brake rotors, inside brake drums. Exhaust systems are usually not coated.

The coatings on suspension items are only going to last so long, but they are also thicker materials, so i don't worry about rust through. But car body is thin metal.

So if a jack point is part of the unibody, i would want to protect the paint. If the jack point is part of the suspension (A-arm or trailing arm) I would not be as worried about protecting the surface from scratches. But if you can protect it with a rubber pad on your jack, why not.
 
I didn't even consider the issues with rust on the jack points. I thought the reason people were using jack pads were to avoid bending the metal jack points. If you bend them, you can no longer use them with your scissors jack in an emergency.
 
Right maybe the word paint should be replaced with coating. I believe the primary reason is in fact to prevent bending. I have seen them bent before...... so it’s not impossible to happen.
 
I’d also argue with the magnetic one you can place it in the marked spot then it stays. It’s then an easy target to slide your jack under and lift. I like it. But I’m not telling you something terrible will happen if you don’t use one either.
 
Yes I double jack for safety one mechanical and one hydraulic.

its not clear coated.

(drive)

further, a lot of folks will use the rear diff and/or sub-frame for lifting points due to the design of pinched lift points.
 
I don't put anything between my hydraulic jack or my jack stands and the pinch welds when lifting my Honda, Acura, Nissan and have never had a problem. The pinch welds don't deform, and if there is rust, I don't notice it and don't care.

If the vehicle manufacturer prescribes that as the jack point, without qualification, then it should be able to handle face contact without deforming the pinch weld. Its mostly a compression load, there shouldn't be much bending moment about the root of the contact feature.
 
There's a reason for Mazda providing a jack with a cut out to go over the joint, the area that takes the load is reinforced for the job.

I don't put anything between my hydraulic jack or my jack stands and the pinch welds when lifting my Honda, Acura, Nissan and have never had a problem. The pinch welds don't deform, and if there is rust, I don't notice it and don't care.

If the vehicle manufacturer prescribes that as the jack point, without qualification, then it should be able to handle face contact without deforming the pinch weld. Its mostly a compression load, there shouldn't be much bending moment about the root of the contact feature.
 
There's a reason for Mazda providing a jack with a cut out to go over the joint, the area that takes the load is reinforced for the job.

yup, and the grooves in my floor jack weren't nearly deep enough to seat the pinch point properly. adding a $0.99 hockey puck (or an expensive adapter if you prefer) is basic precaution.

considering most folks join this site because they really like their cars, I feel the majority would like to try to keep them in the best shape possible. hence simple suggestions for better results.
 
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Back on topic....

Any further surprises (uhm)
 
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