Cracked cylinder head - 2019 Mazda CX5 GT

2018 non-turbo, probably had cylinder deactivation, so the engine performance issues may have been related to the rocker arm recall.
All (2015+?) Mazdas can be retrofitted with AA/ACP if the owner wants it, they just have to buy the kit and install it or have someone install it for them, then update the firmware.
I had an early production 2018 which did not come with AA/ACP, later production did. We were told by the dealer we would get it for a nominal fee. When the time came to get it, the nominal fee was $600 CDN…
The drivability issues were software related and I am now thinking the cracked head may have tricked the mass sensor.
 
yeah 2018 had some nasty issues with the ecu software. nowadays with the latest updates its great.

The AA/Carplay was expensive at the dealer because they charge for labor and it is a bit intensive to dissassemble and assemble the whole dash and gearbox console.

DIY and the price is only for parts about 170$

56238907-874F-46D1-8595-3EA6A27BC3EE.jpeg
 
yeah 2018 had some nasty issues with the ecu software. nowadays with the latest updates its great.

The AA/Carplay was expensive at the dealer because they charge for labor and it is a bit intensive to dissassemble and assemble the whole dash and gearbox console.

DIY and the price is only for parts about 170$

View attachment 310254
No longer my problem. Wasn’t going to take a chance on having to pay the $10K head replacement in the future even though Mazda Canada extended the engine warranty 5 years. We are now the owners of a new Camry hybrid. Good luck to who ever buys our used MX5 off the Toyota lot…
I still have my 2001 Miata LS hard suspension. You will need to pry it from my cold dead hands! LOL!
 
Case closed. After nearly 4 weeks parts arrived. Work was carried out in good time. Overall I shouldn't complain. The problem along the way was not knowing how long it would take. Also Mazda Canada did reply and they did give me a time schedule.
Cheers !!
 
Case closed. After nearly 4 weeks parts arrived. Work was carried out in good time. Overall I shouldn't complain. The problem along the way was not knowing how long it would take. Also Mazda Canada did reply and they did give me a time schedule.
Cheers !!
For an extensive repair like this, did they give you a loaner?
 
Noticed a burning smell one morning after having parked the car. Seemed to be coming from the front left. I was thinking maybe some fluid of sorts on the brakes. The next day driving to my sons house my wife made mention of the same smell. I pulled over and checked around the car. Smell dissipated quickly. Finished the drive and parked the car. This time I noticed oil leaking from below front of the car. Checked the oil and found it down a little so immediately took it to nearest oil lube shop to check if loose oil filter or improperly set sump plug. The lube shop said both were ok but suspected the oil pressure sending unit was at fault. Went straight to the Mazda dealership who diagnosed a cracked cylinder head. Left the vehicle with them. Being a busy place it took two days before i could get a diagnosis.
(For information I found dealerships do not need to provide a courtesy car or rental. I was informed of this from the service person I was dealing with.) So the vehicle is being repaired under warranty. There are a number of questions I would like answered. 1. How long before I get my car back? 2. Will the new cylinder head and associated parts be under a new warranty starting from completion of repair. 3. Will my existing factory warranty be extended by the time the vehicle is off the road. (I am beginning to suspect this may take a long time) 4. Most important is the new cylinder going to break down in another 2.5 years ? (Should I consider selling the car)
Does this repair come up in carfax?
I would like to hear from anyone who has knowledge or has been through this.
I will keep you posted as things progress.
I am finding this is not an isolated problem.
Mine just cracked too, but they don't say much,
except it should be a couple weeks.

did they answer your questions?

How long did they have yours to fix it?
did anything else get damaged ?
How long is the new cylinder head warrantied for?
does the new one have the same problems?
what gets replaced with it?
read there are other things wrong and rocker arm, gasket leaks hydraulic lash adjuster problems. do these get replaced too?
Is it safe for dealer to fix this or should I get some engine shop?
Will Mazda pay for engine shop to fix it ?
any problems since you had yours fixed?
did you sell the car?
should i just fix it and sell it ?

sorry for all the questions. have been reading alot of forums and reddits. theres alot on mazdaforum. this car was alot of money for me. don't want stuck with a lemon.
 
Mine just cracked too, but they don't say much,
except it should be a couple weeks.

did they answer your questions?

How long did they have yours to fix it?
did anything else get damaged ?
How long is the new cylinder head warrantied for?
does the new one have the same problems?
what gets replaced with it?
read there are other things wrong and rocker arm, gasket leaks hydraulic lash adjuster problems. do these get replaced too?
Is it safe for dealer to fix this or should I get some engine shop?
Will Mazda pay for engine shop to fix it ?
any problems since you had yours fixed?
did you sell the car?
should i just fix it and sell it ?

sorry for all the questions. have been reading alot of forums and reddits. theres alot on mazdaforum. this car was alot of money for me. don't want stuck with a lemon.
Firstly, please tell us the model year、trim level、and the mileage of your CX-5. Also tell us the engine type, a 2.5L NA with CD、or a 2.5T turbo?
 
Mine just cracked too, but they don't say much,
except it should be a couple weeks.

did they answer your questions?
You should get most answers from here:

Cracked Cylinder Head with Oil leaking...How common is this?

Cracked cylinder head (2018 CX-5)


How long did they have yours to fix it?
It depends. Some had waited for as long as 6 months due to the cylinder head shortage. 2 weeks waiting in your situation is excellent.


did anything else get damaged ?
It shouldn’t unless you leave the low oil level situation for too long.


How long is the new cylinder head warrantied for?
For as long as your powertrain warranty. In US it’s 5-years / 60K miles. In Canada it’s 5 years / unlimited miles.


does the new one have the same problems?
Good question. Not like the 2.5T, there’s no specific TSB issued by the Mazda for this cracked cylinder head problem on the 2.5L NA with CD. The only related TSB is to have the Mazda dealer ordering a cylinder head “set” with a new part number for the head replacement job. I’d assume the new head is the same as the original one but the only Mazda knows. There’s a Russian / Ukrainian video showing the weak area of his cracked head which he believes the area is to thin comparing to other heads.


what gets replaced with it?
just the whole cylinder head with valve train pre-installed based on the TSB description. But you should ask this question to your dealer for more details.


read there are other things wrong and rocker arm, gasket leaks hydraulic lash adjuster problems. do these get replaced too?
Yes there’re some other problems on this 2.5L NA with cylinder deactivation. But the major ones are switchable hydraulic lash adjusters and may be the engine mounts. Front timing chain cover gasket leak should be minor. Not sure the new cylinder head “set” would actually come with the newly revised switchable HLAs.


Is it safe for dealer to fix this or should I get some engine shop?
Mazda dealers have the best knowledge and personal to handle this problem. If you have powertrain warranty, why would you want to spend money to have an independent shop to fix the cracked head?


Will Mazda pay for engine shop to fix it ?
No way.


any problems since you had yours fixed?
See above.


did you sell the car?
Everybody has different situation and thinking. When you read the threads mentioned above I believe most people would keep the CX-5 for a while after the head replacement. But some like Emby at the post #23 in this thread he simply get rid of his CX-5. That’d be what I’d do too.


should i just fix it and sell it ?
See above. You have to make your own decision from your situation.


sorry for all the questions. have been reading alot of forums and reddits. theres alot on mazdaforum. this car was alot of money for me. don't want stuck with a lemon.
Hope my answers can help you to make a better decision for your situation on your CX-5 which definitely is unfortunate. Keep us posted.
 
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No longer my problem. Wasn’t going to take a chance on having to pay the $10K head replacement in the future even though Mazda Canada extended the engine warranty 5 years. We are now the owners of a new Camry hybrid. Good luck to who ever buys our used MX5 off the Toyota lot…
I still have my 2001 Miata LS hard suspension. You will need to pry it from my cold dead hands! LOL!
Here's a case of a CX-5 mysteriously morphing into an MX-5.
When they got it back it was determined that it had a blown head gasket and they would keep it. Well after a month of not being able to supply a service loaner they rented us a Toyota Camry hybrid, which we drove for 2 more months while the CX5 sat and waited for parts.
Supposedly this is the first cracked head in Western Canada…I doubt it.
First it was a head gasket and then it became a cracked head two sentences later. This from a "mechanic".
 
You should get most answers from here:

Cracked Cylinder Head with Oil leaking...How common is this?

Cracked cylinder head (2018 CX-5)



It depends. Some had waited for as long as 6 months due to the cylinder head shortage. 2 weeks waiting in your situation is excellent.



It shouldn’t unless you leave the low oil level situation for too long.



For as long as your powertrain warranty. In US it’s 5-years / 60K miles. In Canada it’s 5 years / unlimited miles.



Good question. Not like the 2.5T, there’s no specific TSB issued by the Mazda for this cracked cylinder head problem on the 2.5L NA with CD. The only related TSB is to have the Mazda dealer ordering a cylinder head “set” with a new part number for the head replacement job. I’d assume the new head is the same as the original one but the only Mazda knows. There’s a Russian / Ukrainian video showing the weak area of his cracked head which he believes the area is to thin comparing to other heads.



just the whole cylinder head with valve train pre-installed based on the TSB description. But you should ask this question to your dealer for more details.



Yes there’re some other problems on this 2.5L NA with cylinder deactivation. But the major ones are switchable hydraulic lash adjusters and may be the engine mounts. Front timing chain cover gasket leak should be minor. Not sure the new cylinder head “set” would actually come with the newly revised switchable HLAs.



Mazda dealers have the best knowledge and personal to handle this problem. If you have powertrain warranty, why would you want to spend money to have an independent shop to fix the cracked head?



No way.



See above.



Everybody has different situation and thinking. When you read the threads mentioned above I believe most people would keep the CX-5 for a while after the head replacement. But some like Emby at the post #23 in this thread he simply get rid of his CX-5. That’d be what I’d do too.



See above. You have to make your own decision from your situation.



Hope my answers can help you to make a better decision for your situation on your CX-5 which definitely is unfortunate. Keep us posted.
thanks for the help.

yeah they said theyre seeing more of these and mazda got a whole bunch in stock but it might take a few days shipping plus a couple days to change it. maybe 2 weeks.

they wouldnt use old leftover ones that would break again would they?

wish they just gave me a new engine or a few years warranty on the new one.

is oli still here ? wanted to find out if he has any problems.
 
Here's a case of a CX-5 mysteriously morphing into an MX-5.

First it was a head gasket and then it became a cracked head two sentences later. This from a "mechanic".
Yes from a “mechanic”.
When the dealer called me and confirmed there was indeed a leak from the rear of the engine onto the exhaust manifold, they claimed it was likely a head gasket and they would order the necessary parts come and pick the car up.
They did not know that I had found the Mazda North America October 21 service bulletin. When I got to the dealership I gave a copy of the bulletin to the service lady and she immediately called the lady service manager. Needless to say, they thought it was prudent to keep the CX5 at the dealership. It stayed there for 3 months.
I have 3 other Mazdas in the family fleet (including a 2001 MX5 which is not for sale), none are 2018 CX5’s, anymore….
 
Users RickyBobby and Jack Rabbit have both been permanently banned from Mazdas247.

After some investigation, it is clear that Jack Rabbit created the RickyBobby account. He then posted as if he were a new user/different person, in order to fabricate an instance of engine failure and create/spread fear, uncertainty and doubt against Mazda. I will leave the posts from both of his accounts up so others can see what Jack Rabbit has done, and why he was banned.

Creating multiple accounts is not grounds for an immediate ban. Sometimes people forget they have an existing account, or they have forgotten their password. However, creating an additional account for a negative purpose, as Jack Rabbit has done with the RickyBobby account, is absolutely unacceptable.

While we at Mazdas247 are not associated directly with Mazda, constructive criticism against the brand is generally ok. A good example of this is a thread like this one:


However, attacking/bashing/instigating/trolling/spreading FUD etc. is unacceptable and will result in a warning, temp ban, or permanent ban as determined by the admin/moderator team.

Let's continue to do our best to maintain the good community that we have here!

EDITED TO ADD:
I'm not sure if anyone here is a part of any of the other forums or FB groups that Jack is also a part of, but if you are, it might be a good idea to warn others on those platforms of his potential for toxic behaviour. It happened here, it can certainly happen over there as well.
 
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Users RickyBobby and Jack Rabbit have both been permanently banned from Mazdas247.

After some investigation, it is clear that Jack Rabbit created the RickyBobby account. He then posted as if he were a new user/different person, in order to fabricate an instance of engine failure and create/spread fear, uncertainty and doubt against Mazda. I will leave the posts from both of his accounts up so others can see what Jack Rabbit has done, and why he was banned.

Creating multiple accounts is not grounds for an immediate ban. Sometimes people forget they have an existing account, or they have forgotten their password. However, creating an additional account for a negative purpose, as Jack Rabbit has done with the RickyBobby account, is absolutely unacceptable.

While we at Mazdas247 are not associated directly with Mazda, constructive criticism against the brand is generally ok. A good example of this is a thread like this one:


However, attacking/bashing/instigating/trolling/spreading FUD etc. is unacceptable and will result in a warning, temp ban, or permanent ban as determined by the admin/moderator team.

Let's continue to do our best to maintain the good community that we have here!
I thought something was off with that Rabbit guy. His CX-5 doomposting was over the top.
 
I thought something was off with that Rabbit guy. His CX-5 doomposting was over the top.

He's certainly made some good contributions to the forum before this, but yeah.. a lot of his recent posts were on the fence. However, creating a separate account to pose as a new user with an engine problem was enough to skip the warnings and go straight to a permanent ban. There's no place for conduct like that here.
 
.... There's no place for conduct like that here.
No question about that, and you most certainly did what needed to be done. It's really sad that he became so carried away by this stuff that he would stoop to fabricating incidents.
 
He's certainly made some good contributions to the forum before this, but yeah.. a lot of his recent posts were on the fence. However, creating a separate account to pose as a new user with an engine problem was enough to skip the warnings and go straight to a permanent ban. There's no place for conduct like that here.
Thanks for keeping this forum clean and I hope our friend will find a solution to his problem (repair under warranty and/or trade in for another vehicle) but I guess we'll never know.
 
I'm not sure if anyone here is a part of any of the other forums or FB groups that Jack is also a part of, but if you are, it might be a good idea to warn others on those platforms of his potential for toxic behaviour. It happened here, it can certainly happen over there as well.
 
I'm not sure if anyone here is a part of any of the other forums or FB groups that Jack is also a part of, but if you are, it might be a good idea to warn others on those platforms of his potential for toxic behaviour. It happened here, it can certainly happen over there as well.
Interesting timing. I had a run-in with someone spouting similar misinformation on another forum. This individual was stating that ALL of the turbo engines Mazda makes are failing. I chimed in with my experience (none suffering this one particular issue he was going on about) and he was not having it.
Keep up the good work, @sm1ke
 
Interesting timing. I had a run-in with someone spouting similar misinformation on another forum. This individual was stating that ALL of the turbo engines Mazda makes are failing. I chimed in with my experience (none suffering this one particular issue he was going on about) and he was not having it.
Keep up the good work, @sm1ke

Thanks GTeyes. Sheesh, seems like he's not even trying to hide it on some other forums.
 
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