Clicking sound from front end when driving over small bumps?

[Alison cx-5]

I've only had my CX-5 a couple weeks, and last week noticed a sound that seems to be coming from the suspension, front driver's side. When going over bumps and low speeds I notice it more, such as a speed bump in a parking lot, or other little things that barely make the suspension flex. I'm going to have it looked at this week, but wondered if anyone has noticed something similar? (eyeballs)

 

[Jro92009]

re: Clicking Sound: Transit Bolts?

We have not experienced this problem with our car. I wonder if there's some sort of shipping/restraining bolt which the dealership missed when they prepared the car for delivery? Might be best to bring this to your dealer for a look.

 

[mr.fusion]

Will be following threads like this. I hope the CX-5 doesn't turn out to be another suspension disaster like the 5. If these have all the knocking, clanking, squeaking, and rattling as my 2006 5, then I will be looking to dump mine sooner than later.

I mostly love my Mazda5, but the suspension noise problems are insane... unlike any car I've ever seen. Suspension rattling and tire eating issues makes owning one a nightmare... even though it's fantastic in many ways. I will mention that mine has over 200k miles with zero issues except the noted tire/suspension junk. Still runs like new with a fresh set of treads.

 

[mr.fusion]

I did notice a concerning noise on the highway on my first day with my CX5.

There is one spot with a series of bumps or dips... where my 5 bounced/vibrated the front tires for a couple of seconds. This only happened after the struts and whole front end were aging.... started well after 100k miles. The bouncing/rattling there stopped when I finally had front end work done... new struts, etc.

Hopefully this was a fluke or just in my head. If not, then I guess I will be working with the dealer to see if something is wrong with mine, or is wrong with the design of the car.

 

[CX-SV]

No knocking, clanking, squeaking, rattling so far on my CX-5 with 4000 miles.

 

[Alison cx-5]

Update....I had it looked at the next day. They took a look, "tightened" some things, but didn't see anything amiss. I left there thinking I'll drive it a week and see if it changes for the better or worse and let them know. Its been a week, and it seems to be getting a bit more noticeable. I'm trying hard to not think about it while I'm driving and see if I'm really hearing it more, or just being more sensitive to it now.
Mr. Fusion - I hope this isn't what I'm in for like you say about suspension issues. It seems so far like others are not experiencing this. It just seems waaaaay too soon for a brand new car to be making so many sounds from the front end. The worst thought I have is that its a crack somewhere thats growing every time I hear the sound! no! Thank goodness for warranties, whatever it is! I'll post another update after our appointment tomorrow with Mazda. Thanks!

 

[mr.fusion]

Hope they come up with a simple explanation. I doubt it's anything to worry about though, as far as safety, etc. All the issues with the 5's suspension is annoying, but as far as I know... that's it. Just irritating noises from things rubbing that were not supposed to, bushings that squeak like they need greased, and wear out way too soon, etc. It's way premature right now to think the CX5 is going to have abnormal problems like the 5, but that saying comes to mind: fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, shame on me. Hope I didn't get fooled again.

I'm going to crawl under mine soon just to see if I can get some grease into the sway bar bushings, etc. Some have claimed to have cured all their issues by simply greasing everything.... but I have no experience there myself.

 

[coachvu]

I've noticed the exact same issue. I can't find anything noticeably loose. May have to take it in...

 

[Alison cx-5]

UPDATE!!! Problem solved! I just picked up my car and now I'm excited to report the status Thankfully it was minor, and not hard to fix. It was a row of bolts under the dash that needed tightening. The guys said there were about 10 of them, and they all just needed tightening down. The dash had to come off for this. Happy to say, I drove home with all the windows closed, tunes off, and the whole drive was silent! Yay!!!! coachvu, if you take yours in, ask them to check that if it seems to you that it might be the cause! Thank you everyone for your input!
Alison

 

[V8toilet]

UPDATE!!! Problem solved! I just picked up my car and now I'm excited to report the status Thankfully it was minor, and not hard to fix. It was a row of bolts under the dash that needed tightening. The guys said there were about 10 of them, and they all just needed tightening down. The dash had to come off for this. Happy to say, I drove home with all the windows closed, tunes off, and the whole drive was silent! Yay!!!! coachvu, if you take yours in, ask them to check that if it seems to you that it might be the cause! Thank you everyone for your input!
Alison

Can you please post a picture or give more detail as to which bolts these are. I have a noise emanating from the dash area/ drivers side area and its driving me crazy. It kind of sounds like a rattle/ slapping noise that I only hear at low speeds going over slightly bumpy roads.

 

[Snowie78]

I believe this rattle sound is the windsheild cowl, same sound issue they have with the mazda 3 in there forum. I hear it in mine but is it so minor and I always have the stereo on when driving I don't really care.

 

[pixelcat]

UPDATE!!! Problem solved! I just picked up my car and now I'm excited to report the status Thankfully it was minor, and not hard to fix. It was a row of bolts under the dash that needed tightening. The guys said there were about 10 of them, and they all just needed tightening down. The dash had to come off for this. Happy to say, I drove home with all the windows closed, tunes off, and the whole drive was silent! Yay!!!! coachvu, if you take yours in, ask them to check that if it seems to you that it might be the cause! Thank you everyone for your input!
Alison

I had a similar problem about a month after buying my cx5. The dealer took a look and it turns out it's a set of bolts that hold down the strut tower brace. Tell your dealer that Mazda issued a bulletin about it.

 

[mongo2004]

Isnt there a TSB issue by Mazda on this issue?

 

[gova]

I do experience this - rattle in dashboard area when going over bumps. This is noticeable especially during colder mornings!
Looked at the TSB and my VIN should have been fixed. Apparently this is not the case, or something else is causing this.

 

[V8toilet]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=196928&d=1345132650
I followed the instructions on this TSB and now I'm happy to say the rattle is gone. It was an easy fix.

 

[Snowie78]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=196928&d=1345132650
I followed the instructions on this TSB and now I'm happy to say the rattle is gone. It was an easy fix.

Was it difficult to remove the windshield cowl to tighten the fixing bolts?

 

[V8toilet]

Not too bad, most difficult part was getting at the fillips head for the plastic anchors holding it down. You might need an angle type screwdriver. You have to turn them to pup them up.

 

[Snowie78]

I brought mine in for an oil change and they checked the tsb and did the work however they said the rattle is still there so they are now working with the Mazda head office and are going to dismantle the dash......perhaps Alison CX-5 had a different fix? As you mentioned that the dash had to be removed?.? The TSB does not require the dash to be removed so perhaps it is a different fix?

 

[Snowie78]

So far no luck....they preformed the tsb and also took the dash off and tightened some bolts and the rattle is still there. They told me that whenever they do any work with the skyactiv models they consult with the skyactiv engineers before touching anything. They told me they placed another ticket to say the rattle is still there and once they get a reply back from the ticket the service mgr will call me right away to get me back in......

I noticed one of the other guys said the strut tower brace so I will check that myself.

 

[jtsimaras]

So I did the strut bar fix and still rattling--so today I was snooping around and I noticed that the plastic protective covers on the front struts have tonnnes of play. Please see video -- I wonder it this could be the culprit.