Convince me to buy a Mazda5

[jivenene]

Hi,

I've been a Honda man for my whole life, but sold the Honda Element to get a third row seat vehicle to be able to carry the kids more easily. I bought a used 2006 Mazda5 from a sh*tbag who lied and told me it was well taken care of, and its been terrible. Worst tire wear i have ever seen, weird vibrations while cruising (which i have read is a common issue), and sings like a siren going down the road (loud as hell). And he had neglected the maintenance (like 100k mi on the original ATF!)

Anyway, now I have a chance to buy a 2008 Mazda5 for $10k, with only 50k mi on it. It seems to be in much better shape, but i noticed a vibration at 55-60mph with this one too (seemed to be coming from the front right). Tires seemed ok, not super worn on the inside edge like the 06, and not scalloped. Also rode much quieter than the 2006. Now, with all the known issues and poor quality of this car, why would i buy it vs a few years older Toyota highlander? Looking at Consumer Reports, the highlander gets excellent marks for all the reliability categories, but the 5 still get below average on "fuel system" and "squeaks and rattles", and way below average for "suspension" and "brakes", which leads me to believe that the rear camber issues and crappy shocks were never fixed.

Aside from the 4 mpg over the highlander, why would i want the mazda5?

Jive

 

[DKaz]

Get your wheels balanced. That instantly got rid of the high speed vibrations for me. A bit of greasing of something or whatnot will cure the squeaks from the suspension. I haven't bothered yet personally.

My 07 does not have the inside tire wear issue that the 06s had. My shocks need replacing but I'm at 136,000km.

A lot of us think the fun to drive factor in a versatile family format cancels out the increased need to replace tires and suspension parts. If the fun to drive factor is not high in your list, get the Highlander. Simple as that...

 

[jivenene]

Yeah, lets see, drive the kids up the hill on a straight road for 25mi, turn around, go back down straight road. Not really much fun to be had there. I have a motorcycle for the fun part. For commuting to school, dependable and issue free would take priority over "fun". I guess i will start looking for a Sienna or Highlander. What other kid carriers get 25+ mpg? I checked out the Odyssey, but it gets poor reliability from CR also for the 2005-2008 with brakes and suspension. I guess i can buy an older one, but cannot afford a newer one. Why can't a car company make a 30mpg 6 pass vehicle? Oh wait, Mazda did, but its got issues. Its funny cuz they exist in Japan and Europe, but not in the US for some strange reason. I don't want 300 HP, I want 0-60 in 3 minutes, but 30-40mpg! I guess everyone is different.

 

[Silentnoise713]

I don't want 300 HP, I want 0-60 in 3 minutes, but 30-40mpg! I guess everyone is different.

The #1 reason and only reason why I would choose the Mazda5 is 'sliding doors'! It is also a tad easier to parallel park. That said, MPG is avg, interior quality is abysmal, performance is ho hum, and the 'fun to drive' and can be easily fixed if you opt for a car that has aftermarket suspension options. If your kids are out of child seats, there is no reason to choose a Mazda5. On the other hands, If they are then it is a darn good reason. If you live in Maui, it may benefit you to have the ability to do some soft-roading with a SUV/crossover. Rented a Miata while I was there and drove the road to Hana but wish I had rented a Wrangler instead to tackle the lands.

 

[jivenene]

Thanks for the comments thus far. I used to have the time to work on my cars and install aftermarket suspension and what not, but not anymore. Plus I would rather spend that time riding around the island on my dual sport bike or surfing. Life is too short to work on cars all weekend. My house is bad enough!!!

 

[kleptomaniak]

Here's my 2 cents on this topic. hondas and toyotas after Y2k aren't the same as when you remembered and experienced them in the 70s 80s and 90s, because these companies had to globalize manufacturing in order to bring these cars at a price that consumers are willing to pay for them. This meant that manufacturing and assembly left Japan more the majority of their models. After that happened, quality and reliability is no longer superior. You’ll find recalls and TSB activity to be on par with ANY manufacturer. I wouldn't mind buying a Ford over a Honda or Toyota at all. If anyone did any real research, you'll find TSBs of popular brands to be generally the same. Personally, I like Mazdas right now. Almost all of them are still assembled in Japan, even though parts might come other parts of the world. I still believe the assembly quality is superior in Japan, because I can see the difference. I’ll take 1 out of 2. Nonetheless, buy the car you want and drive it. If it has issues fix it and forget it. I have an 06 and I have had had every TSB to deal with, but I love my car. And with 80K, I know it’ll last me another 150K. It still drives like it came off the showroom. And in case no one knows, the ‘06 civics have the same rear camber issues as the 06 5’s.

 

[thaxman]

Looking at Consumer Reports,

Asked/answered. Go back to ToyHonSan. Mazdas are not transportation appliances.




That said, I really am not an insensitive [insert favorite word here] I just have never seen a real-life correlation btw CR opinions and actual performance, and so when people quote CR, I believe it means they are being duped into paying to participate in a social consumerism experiment. IMHO, its all bunk and is loaded with self-fulfilling prophesies.

I have a used 06. I joined here right before I made the decision to get it and spent the 1st year (its last year of the TRANSFERRABLE warranty) getting TSBs taken care of, as well as anything other forum members noticed going south on their own vehicles. Its now the close of year 2, and I have done nothing to the car, but I know the rotors or brakes need attention, possibly the shocks and maybe a motor mount. Seems these are all wear items, so no biggie here. Price of having a fun vehicle. Cars that have drivetrain weaknesses or electrical gremlins are true junk, not a car that has cheap shocks and tires to keep the retail price low.

The road noise is due to 2 things: tires, as the 205/50-17 size does not lend itself to quiet touring treads, and the fact that the window glass is much thinner than on other cars. If you can live with that, to me the car is a win. I drive ours everywhere unless the wife needs it. I love my 247 horses in the Volvo, but minus acceleration and comfort, the 5 is way more fun and involving.

 

[DKaz]

You could wait for the Ford C-Max or get a used Kia Rondo?

 

[Orangutan]

Go take a look at a 2012 or wait on the deployment of the Sky powertrains. I like my 2012 so far but the 2.5 is down on power compared to the competition and better fuel economy is always nice.

 

[Sounbwoy]

Looks like you've already convinced yourself not to buy the Mazda 5. All I'll say is, yes, it may not be the best, but what is? Every vehicle has some sort of issue that we have to live with. I gave up my 2007 Dodge Magnum that was quieter, more powerful, more comfortable, held a little less, and slightly less fuel economy for the Mazda. My primary reason? Reliability. Do I miss the comfort and quiet? Sometimes. Do I enjoy feeling the road again?(drive2)

 

[doctorz]

We've had a steady stream of Hondas and Mazdas. I haven't been impressed with our '06 5's reliability. Having said that, our '06 doesn't vibrate, a good set of tires took care of road noise, and after 32K on the new set of tires, there is no inside wear or cupping and there's plenty of tread left. Granted, I keep the wheels aligned and inflated. As for all of the other issues, we've fixed them, the vast majority under warranty, and right now there's nothing wrong with the vehicle. I think Mazda makes entertaining vehicles with good powertrains and cheapens on some of the details that you won't have issues with in a Toyota or a Honda. The 5 does offer the best combination of utility and driveability that I can think of. It's a brilliant design. The execution could be better but it's still an entertaining vehicle for us and it serves our purpose well.

Having said that, it sounds like you really don't want a Mazda5. What would even make you reconsider?

 

[professorhank]

Funny you mention the Mazda5 and Highlander as that's what we HAD!!! My wife just traded in her Highlander for a Prius. The Mazda5 is more fun to drive and has more interior versatility. The Highlander was a bore to drive but was reliable and had much better resale (and therefore greater equity) than my Mazda5. Having said that, the Prius is even more boring than the Highlander but luckily it's not my primary car. I should've tried selling the Highlander private party (about $11000) as I know there's demand for 4cyl SUV/crossovers but just didn't wanna deal with private party buyers. In your case, it looks like a brand new Prius Alpha is out of your price range (probably around $27000).

 

[jivenene]

Great posts. I want to like the car, i really do, it looks great on paper, and i like the looks. But, if there is always an issue to deal with every 6 months, it would be a headache. does the 2008 have the same problems as the 2006, or is it more reliable? Like i said, the main reason i want it is the 28-29 mpg highway with the ability to carry 6, but if the tires go out prematurely, the cost of new tires kind of negates the fuel savings. And if that is the case, why not get a better built car (boring highlander) that has less issues to begin with. I definitely like the Mazda5's looks over the highlander, but that is like 10th down the priority list when buying a soccer mom vehicle.

Thanks for the input, so is the 2008 more reliable than the 2006?

 

[was98strat]

I've had my Mazda5 since 06 (I had to wait for it as it wan't in Canada yet at the time) and I've had not a single issue that you've mentioned. I get it serviced exclusively at the dealer. They automatically did all the TSB's and warranty notification items. it never took more an a couple of hours to do for each item. Aside from that I've had only to do regular maintenance, last year I did the front brakes at 130,000km and the rear brakes this year at 150,000km. I'll need to do the rear struts soon as I can see that they are worn out. but really for a car with 150,000km that's not bad. I wouldn't put toom much in the CR reports. if they say the brakes are below average, I wonder what they are comparing against? the brakes on Mazda's in general are much better than most NA cars. On my previous Chrysler, I would have already replaced the front brakes twice in the same distance!

Most of the tire issues I think are related to the poor choice of the Toyo OEM tires. as soon as I replaced them (at 113,000km with winter/summer tire switches) the tire related issues went away. I have yet to experience uneven tire wear, but then I rotate them every 8000km (when I do oil changes).

It's a great fun car to drive, I bought it because it has minivan utility (sliding doors) but still has sports coupe funness, being available with the Manual transmission. Without that last Item I would not have bought the car!

 

[flcruising]

I've got an '08 and have yet to have any issue with it besides having to grease the sway bar bushings. 25k on the original tires and no weird wear issues. Oh, had the vehicle loaded pretty well for a road trip and had a rear shock go out. Was replaced under warranty.

 

[hurschel]

We had a '95 Honda Odyssey and ran it 300k miles, and wanted something like it, but all the vans have gotten fat and hungry. Now have a '10 Mazda 5, getting high 20s for mileage and loving it more every day. There are other choices with more creature comforts and gadgets, but size and versatility and decent mileage are all the pluses that turned me toward the 5, I think a lot of the problems with the earlier ones have been addressed and I'm looking forward to putting a ton of miles on this thing.

 

[icspots]

Hi,

I've been a Honda man for my whole life, but sold the Honda Element to get a third row seat vehicle to be able to carry the kids more easily. I bought a used 2006 Mazda5 from a sh*tbag who lied and told me it was well taken care of, and its been terrible. Worst tire wear i have ever seen, weird vibrations while cruising (which i have read is a common issue), and sings like a siren going down the road (loud as hell). And he had neglected the maintenance (like 100k mi on the original ATF!)

Really it sounds like a great deal of the issues you had came from the fact that the previous owner seriously neglected the car's maintenance. To comment on some things.

Tires: Lots of OEM tires are pure crap. Bad tire wear, noisy, poor wet/dry/cold handling, etc. Mazda's tire choices are no exception. Once I swapped out from my Goodyear RSA's I was much happier with my 3 tire-wise. Yes the 3 and 5 both have increased negative camber, to increase corner handling, and that can cause accelerated wear on the inside of the tire. However if you rotate the tires regularly (I do mine every 5k with oil changes) then it keeps the wear even and makes it a non-issue. If you got tires that were already screwed up that probably didn't help endear you to them.

Vibrations: This was most likely either due to unbalanced/poorly balanced tires, or to the tires having worn poorly. My father's '08 Mz5 doesn't have this problem with a vibration at that speed.

Ride quality: The stock suspension is a little harsher than other ones, again back to the zoom zoom, but isn't that bad. As for things wearing out suspension components are wear parts and they wear out eventually.

Brakes: The Mz5 has basically the same brakes as the 3s model and I found absolutely nothing lacking in them.... actually the 5 has larger rear rotors than the 3s. If you wanted to make your brakes even better swap in the front calipers/pads/rotors from a MS3. If you find the parts in the right place it should cost you under $400 for the swap and you'd have seriously increased braking ability. There's a pair for sale on another forum for $180 right now.

Quietness: Sure that's always an issue with any car, especially when comparing to higher end ones. Still it's something that if you want to apply a little effort and money you can improve greatly. Install a bunch of sound deadening inside the car (especially the roof/floor) and you could make your car as quiet as a Mercedes. Granted it's time and money and if you're doing it yourself can be a PITA, but once you do it it's done. Interior squeaking could also be handled at this point.

Aside from the 4 mpg over the highlander, why would i want the mazda5?

Jive

Personally the sliding side doors make a very big difference to me, plus it doesn't ride as high as the highlander.

 

[Heat]

There was a model year change between ’07 and ’08, so there would be a lot of changes between your ’06 and the ’08 you’re looking at. The #1 change was that they fixed the factory suspension problem which stopped the premature wear on the inside of the rear tires (the tires were toeing on the ’06 / ’07 models). Plus the dash looks a lot better on the ‘08s (the white lights).

A coworker of mine used to have an ’06 Mazda5 and hated it, traded it in on a used Toyota Highlander and absolutely loves it (the Highlander). I am sure that she will never buy a Mazda for the rest of her life after her ’06 Mazda5 experience. Anyway, my thoughts are that the reason to buy the Mazda5 is because it’s a fun to drive vehicle and it’s cheap (especially if you get the manual transmission), and the sliding rear doors are great with the kids.

If all you are doing is driving 25 miles one way to drop the kids off at the top of the volcano – buy the Toyota Highlander or wait until the fall and look at the Ford C-Max. Unless your kids really like the sliding doors, then look at the new (2012) Mazda5s. Just to throw out a price, in February ’09 I paid $16,500 for a new Mazda5 Sport with manual transmission, with 0% interest for three years and no money down (and 90 days of no payments). After Illinois tax / title / license, I paid right at $18,000. $500 payments for 36 months, I just made payment #24.

 

[skyhawk]

We have a 2006 Mazda5 GT. Today, it's accumlated 2 door dings. Other than that everything is working ok for us. Although my opinion is biased bec. the only other car i can compare it with was our old buick 86 skyhawk. and the Mazda323 '83' before that.

To describe why we like our mazda5, it is because it made us feel almost guilty for getting so much features and functionalities for the price. If we had gone for an odyssey we would have ended with steelies, and the least featured variety.

The only disadvantage to the dealer is after 5 years, I don't feel like replacing our Mazda5, it is a keeper.

 

[jivenene]

Good to know all the opinions. I will go through the list of TSB, and see how many of them apply to this particular car's VIN, then i shall make a decision.

It is good to know that there are many happy M5 owners out there, but on the other hand i do see alot of complaints browsing these forums.

Jive