Blowing rear shocks.

[markuszoom5]

I blew my left rear shock @ 22K and dealer replaced it under warranty. Now @ 24K I blew my right rear shock and have another appt. this Sat to have it replaced. There is no warning signs before they blow. You wake up in the AM and find a puddle of oil under your wheel. That's it. What the heck is going on with MZ5 rear shocks?

 

[Davicho]

They're weak!! Nothing new here. The good thing is that there are a couple aftermarket options suck as KYB and Monroe that are fairly cheap to purchase and they are super easy to swap out.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Yup, they just suck from the factory- basically spec'd out for a much lighter Mazda 3, but used on our 5 suspension because it's the same parts bin. There are a few manufacturers that make shocks specifically for the 5/Mazdaspeed3- those have heavier duty guts for a heavier car. Koni and Bilstein both offer a MS3 fitment that works well with the 5.

 

[jcr159]

Anyone able to post the symptoms that might clue me in to a blown shock? I think I've got one in the rear, but not sure, as this is the wife's vehicle, and she doesn't tend to notice things like an oil puddle, etc under the vehicle... checked the other day, and don't see anything visible that would indicate one is blown...

 

[Davicho]

Noise, swaying, unsure footing, leak.

 

[the_saint]

You can always do the 'bumper test': Push down on the bumper and if the car bounces up & down more than once the shocks are bad.

Or you can do the Mazda5 test: if they have more than 20,000 miles, they're bad.

 

[jcr159]

doesn't really have the symptoms you listed above, other than having 40k on it... lol

i get a thumping/muted rattle from the back and what sounds like underneath when hitting bumps and uneven road surfaces, but not all the time... it comes and goes, and doesn't seem related to weight in the car, etc, though happens more frequently when only the wife and kids are in the car vs when we are all in the car...

almost feels sometimes like the right speed and rough road combo cause a shudder/rapid bouncing sensation from the right rear which was pointing me in the direction of the shocks, though nothing obvious stood out...

it also sounds like there was a service bulletin put out about the rear spring and the rubber seat getting screwed up because of an arc weld that was too high or something like that? it's a 2010 if that matters..

thanks for the quick responses, much appreciated...

 

[Tyler_]

Do you drive around with a lot of excess weight in the car? Maybe that is causing the premature failure...

 

[jcr159]

sorta.... : ) usually loaded down with 80 lbs worth of kids and the wife, and the other 50% of the time, all 4 of us are in there...

we also put 1500 miles on for vacation in sept with all of us, and all our luggage... i'm sure that didn't help...

 

[Davicho]

Shocks should be replaced somewhere between 50k-75k miles. For our Mazda5s cut that by half. So every 25k-40k. So your within that mark. Front struts last longer. Replace your rear shocks.

 

[Olde English 5]

When mine went bad there was all kinds of vibration in the back of the car. The second row seats would shake and make alot of noise when no one was sitting in them. One of the shocks also had a metal-sounding rattling noise. New shocks, problem solved.

 

[jcr159]

just to come full circle... I ended up replacing both rear shocks, and sure enough, the right rear (where i thought the problem was) was completely blown... no oil, damping, or anything from that one... i replaced both since the cost wasn't much, and the other couldn't have had much life left anyway... wanted to use the KYB shocks that everyone seems to have that run 60-80 each, but NAPA was out, and i didn't want to wait... got the OESpectrum model for $40 each.... they look exactly like the stock unit other than the branding on the outside... hopefully that's not an indicator that they'll blow so quickly as well, but the rear end is significantly more planted, and the problems all went away...

Probably going to do the front in the next year just to be preventative... and to not exacerbate any tire wear issues.... btw, the bridgestone ecopia ep422 tires i replaced with are fantastic for our usage... not quite as sporty as the stock tire, but waaaaaaaaayyyyy quieter, smoother riding and "plush" for lack of a better word... though i have dedicated blizzaks for the snow, so i don't worry about that... i also dont care that its a go kart handling wise, as we've always got the kids in the back... it is sporty and competent enough, but you can't compare a grand touring tire to a high performance all season in terms of handling...

thanks for the input everyone!

 

[phunky.buddha]

Glad you got it fixed!

 

[markuszoom5]

Made me laugh...

You can always do the 'bumper test': Push down on the bumper and if the car bounces up & down more than once the shocks are bad.

Or you can do the Mazda5 test: if they have more than 20,000 miles, they're bad.

Love it, so true...the 20,000 mile Mazda "shock test." Have 27000, can't wait to hit 40000 so I can replace them again under warranty.

 

[Bob*5]

When mine went bad there was all kinds of vibration in the back of the car. The second row seats would shake and make alot of noise when no one was sitting in them. One of the shocks also had a metal-sounding rattling noise. New shocks, problem solved.

Sounds like my wife's 2009. She's always riding around with the car loaded. I just ordered a pair of the KYBs.

Update: Got the KYB struts yesterday and put them on today. Super easy. Unfortunately I think the fronts need to be changed next.