2016~2023 Consumer Reports - 2020 CX-9

JPL

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2018 Mazda6, CX-9
Checked out the latest issue of Consumer Reports to see if the 2.5T coolant leak issue is wide enough to have registered in their findings. Apparently not. Unfortunately they don't show '16 & '17's but a perfect engine reliability score for 2018's with original version of engine.

On another note, interesting to see 2019's with overall more issues than '18's.

PXL_20210818_194125964.jpg
 
Checked out the latest issue of Consumer Reports to see if this issue is wide enough to have registered in their findings. Apparently not. Unfortunately they don't show '16 & '17's but a perfect engine reliability score for 2018's with original version of engine.

On another note, interesting to see 2019's with overall more issues than '18's.

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Thanks for posting this @JPL. That certainly is strange about the '19s having more issues than the '18s. I wonder what drive system and paint/trim issues were being reported?
 
Thanks for posting this @JPL. That certainly is strange about the '19s having more issues than the '18s. I wonder what drive system and paint/trim issues were being reported?
Yeah, my paint and trim is perfect after 3 1/2 years. I have no issues with in car electronics either.
 
Yeah, my paint and trim is perfect after 3 1/2 years. I have no issues with in car electronics either.

It's funny, yesterday after work, I went to the car and started it up, and for the 2nd time ever I was greeted with a blank screen. Radio turned on, and touch input was working, but no display. Did the hard reset (Back + Nav + Mute) and that fixed it. I say 2 times in just over 3.5 years is pretty good, all things considered.
 
My dealer multipoint inspection showed a clean bill of health at ~56k. Still on original brakes. They recommended a brake fluid flush and a fuel system cleaner (anyone done this and care to provide feedback?)

The service manager seemed surprised about the coolant issue and said he hadn't encountered it... so somewhat encouraging. He did mention some model years that had electrical issues, needing harness replacements, as well as a smattering of suspension/ strut problems. In all, it seemed like Mazda's QC seems pretty tight.
 
My dealer multipoint inspection showed a clean bill of health at ~56k. Still on original brakes. They recommended a brake fluid flush and a fuel system cleaner (anyone done this and care to provide feedback?)

The service manager seemed surprised about the coolant issue and said he hadn't encountered it... so somewhat encouraging. He did mention some model years that had electrical issues, needing harness replacements, as well as a smattering of suspension/ strut problems. In all, it seemed like Mazda's QC seems pretty tight.

the fuel system cleaner is usually just an additive they put in the fuel tank. Ask then exactly what is they are doing and what products they are using, and if it is as i say, do it yourself (you don’t need to pay their fees to empty a bottle of additive in your fuel tank). Personnally i don’t think they work and are worth it, but that is just based on my opinion.

Brake fluid flush are interesting, i don’t recall ever doing it on any of my car, but googling it seems to indicate that it is important...... I either forgot about getting it done on my cars or it isn’t that big of a deal.
 
Brake fluid flush are interesting, i don’t recall ever doing it on any of my car, but googling it seems to indicate that it is important...... I either forgot about getting it done on my cars or it isn’t that big of a deal.

Now that you mention it, I never did a brake fluid flush/replacement on any of my previous cars. Some of them were 4-8 year old cars when I took ownership, and I never serviced the brake fluid in the 4-5 years that I owned each car. Also, the brake fluid in my wife's 2006 Civic has at least 11 years of use on the fluid that is currently in there, and the car brakes perfectly fine. I should look into replacing it soon.
 
30+ years of driving and 8 or so vehicles later and never flushed a brake system and never had a related problem. Although I do agree that it should be done at some point, but not at 56k.
 
Go online or go to your local auto stores and get a brake fluid tester to test moisture level. With a 2017, I would say it is within reason to flush because the fluid lifespan depends on the climate/mileage/driving style. I would skip the cleaner tho because they likely will just pour it in your tank which does essentially nothing (IMO of course).
 
Now that you mention it, I never did a brake fluid flush/replacement on any of my previous cars. Some of them were 4-8 year old cars when I took ownership, and I never serviced the brake fluid in the 4-5 years that I owned each car. Also, the brake fluid in my wife's 2006 Civic has at least 11 years of use on the fluid that is currently in there, and the car brakes perfectly fine. I should look into replacing it soon.
I’ve read you should flush brake fluid and replace, but all I’ve ever done is bleed it when I’ve had a caliper disconnected for service or replacement. My first vehicle is still in the family and it’s 22 years old now (bought new) with no brake fluid changes. Brakes still work
 
@youri @Silly Wabbit the fuel system procedure they describe seems a little more involved than just adding a bottle of Techron. It sounds like they hook up the vehicle to some system that runs cleaner through it and purges deposit. Perhaps a more mechanized Seafoam? 🤷‍♂️

I was definitely surprised to hear them mention 30k intervals for brake flush, like most comments, I go 5+ years without so much as bleed. I do know that, brake fluid is hygroscopic so you'd expect some water contamination which corrodes some of the brake system internals along with gradually impacting stopping power.
 
No offense guys, but all those individual examples are simply survivorship bias.

Yes, every two tears as a general rule sound like overkill, especially if the climate is dry and no mountains driving. Personally, I think it is worth doing every 4-5 years. And 100% if buying a used vehicle. Does not hurt. It's one of few things we can control, where neglect might be terminal.

Another problem, though, is that the procedure is one of the most fraudulent along with the oil change...
 
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Well the OP, Sm1ke and I are in canada. It may also be because up here everything else rust faster from everywhere else than from internal brake fluid humidity ;) But as someone mentioned this is really getting out of topic. Can an admin move these posts to a new thread?
 
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