Cracked cylinder head - 2019 Mazda CX5 GT

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
I think the same guy was on here doing the same thing awhile back.
 
Hey I have a question for the group, head relate. Has anyone had the dealer show you the head and the crack? And if they did. What did the intake valves look like? Were they coked/carbon covered?
The reason I am asking is prior to our CX5 developing a cracked head I ran a can of CRC intake cleaner thru it because ours was using more gas than “normal”.
During one of our several warranty visits for drivability issues I asked the dealer what their experience was with DI intake valve coking/carbon build up. They didn’t know anything about it, supposedly.
A year latter they are recommending decarbonizing procedures for all products they sell with direct injection with over 80,000 KMS.
 
Hey I have a question for the group, head relate. Has anyone had the dealer show you the head and the crack? And if they did. What did the intake valves look like? Were they coked/carbon covered?
The reason I am asking is prior to our CX5 developing a cracked head I ran a can of CRC intake cleaner thru it because ours was using more gas than “normal”.
During one of our several warranty visits for drivability issues I asked the dealer what their experience was with DI intake valve coking/carbon build up. They didn’t know anything about it, supposedly.
A year latter they are recommending decarbonizing procedures for all products they sell with direct injection with over 80,000 KMS.
Based on several people here such as Chris_Top_Her and felixd who had taken the intake manifold out from their SkyActiv-G engines they all saw certain level of carbon build-up on intake valves and plenty of blow-by gas / oil mixes in the intake manifold.

I believe running through those intake valve cleaner is useful especially if you see any gas mileage drops when the engine reached to hinger miles.
 
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!

I'm not surprised that you wanted to try something different. Still, that sounds like a pretty good deal. You get an additional 5 year engine warranty if you have an engine failure under warranty in Canada, or was that something Mazda offered?
 
Hey I have a question for the group, head relate. Has anyone had the dealer show you the head and the crack? And if they did. What did the intake valves look like? Were they coked/carbon covered?
The reason I am asking is prior to our CX5 developing a cracked head I ran a can of CRC intake cleaner thru it because ours was using more gas than “normal”.
During one of our several warranty visits for drivability issues I asked the dealer what their experience was with DI intake valve coking/carbon build up. They didn’t know anything about it, supposedly.
A year latter they are recommending decarbonizing procedures for all products they sell with direct injection with over 80,000 KMS.

Not surprised that they're offering it as a dealer service, its an easy way to make money. Rarely will these dealers show you a before and after picture to see what you paid for, so even if your car doesn't really need it yet, they can sell it to you and say you did, and you would be none the wiser.

This seems to be a concern with most (all?) direct injection engines, and it is more prevalent in engines that do not get enough opportunities to get to normal operating temps (lots of short trips). I used to own a Lexus IS250, which had a fairly well-documented TSB associated with carbon build-up. My car in particular did not have any issues during my ownership, but I'm sure that if I had kept it longer, I would have needed to get a cleaning done at some point.
 
Not surprised that they're offering it as a dealer service, its an easy way to make money. Rarely will these dealers show you a before and after picture to see what you paid for, so even if your car doesn't really need it yet, they can sell it to you and say you did, and you would be none the wiser.

This seems to be a concern with most (all?) direct injection engines, and it is more prevalent in engines that do not get enough opportunities to get to normal operating temps (lots of short trips). I used to own a Lexus IS250, which had a fairly well-documented TSB associated with carbon build-up. My car in particular did not have any issues during my ownership, but I'm sure that if I had kept it longer, I would have needed to get a cleaning done at some point.
He's a mechanic. :rolleyes:
 
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!
MX5...again? Can you provide more detail on that 5 year warranty extension. That's the first I've heard of such a thing for a CX-5, Canada or otherwise.
 
I'm not surprised that you wanted to try something different. Still, that sounds like a pretty good deal. You get an additional 5 year engine warranty if you have an engine failure under warranty in Canada, or was that something Mazda offered?
The warranty was extended for 3 years or 60,000 km after the original expired by Mazda Canada, so essentially 6 years from date of purchase.
This was verbal from the service writer at the dealer, as of March 2021, no formal letter or notification from Mazda.
 
The warranty was extended for 3 years or 60,000 km after the original expired by Mazda Canada, so essentially 6 years from date of purchase.
This was verbal from the service writer at the dealer, as of March 2021, no formal letter or notification from Mazda.
Then it wasn't from Mazda Canada after all. And the warranty was not in fact extended 5 years. Nothing in writing? You must be the most naive mechanic in North America. As of March 2021? Wait, what? Is that when you sold it? Not 14 months later when you regaled us with your story?
 
The warranty was extended for 3 years or 60,000 km after the original expired by Mazda Canada, so essentially 6 years from date of purchase.
This was verbal from the service writer at the dealer, as of March 2021, no formal letter or notification from Mazda.

I'm trying to understand this, so bear with me..

Mid-2022, you posted about your 2018 CX-5 GS developing an oil leak, that the dealer initially claimed was a blown gasket. You provided them with the Oct 2021 TSB for engine crack, and they kept the car for a while to investigate further, and then replace the head. Upon receiving your repaired CX-5, you mentioned that Mazda Canada extended the engine warranty 5 years, which I take to mean that the engine would be covered until 2028. Then you said you traded it in on a Camry Hybrid, likely at the end of 2021 or early 2022.

Canadian Mazdas have a 5-year powertrain warranty with unlimited mileage. At the time of repair (mid-2022), your car would have been 4-5 years into the powertrain warranty. If the warranty was extended 3 years or 60000 kms after the original warranty expired as you wrote in the post quoted above, then it would be covered until 2026, or 60k km past whatever the mileage would have been once the factory powertrain warranty expired. However, in that same post, you wrote that the 3 year extension plus the factory powertrain warranty would essentially be 6 years from date of purchase. On top of that, you stated that the warranty extension on the engine was applied as of March 2021, which is well before you had any issues regarding the cracked head. I do see that you mentioned drivability issues prior to the issue above, which is the only thing I could think of that you might be offered an extended warranty for. Even then, at that point the the car would be 2-3 years into the 5-year factory powertrain warranty.

You can see that there is a lot of conflicting information being thrown around here. Further, if a warranty extension was provided, there would most certainly be some form of documentation for such an exception. So, was it a 5-year warranty extension, or was it a 3-year, 60k km warranty extension? Did Mazda Canada issue the extension(s), or did you just take the Service Advisor's word for it? At this point, it really doesn't matter much for you as you no longer have the car in question, but that also makes it hard to make sense of your posts as there are so many inconsistencies with them.
 
Then you said you traded it in on a Camry Hybrid, likely at the end of 2021 or early 2022.
Note post #23, from 5/22/22, to wit: "Good luck to who ever buys our used MX5 (sic) off the Toyota lot…" Present tense. This would indicate he allegedly traded it around the time of that post.
 
Yes, it could also mean that at the time of posting, it had not been sold yet and was still on the Toyota dealer's lot. Or they may have just been assuming that car hadn't been sold yet. Just trying to keep a relatively open mind here.
 
Yes, it could also mean that at the time of posting, it had not been sold yet and was still on the Toyota dealer's lot. Or they may have just been assuming that car hadn't been sold yet. Just trying to keep a relatively open mind here.
Possible, unlikely, but good to have a moderator with an open mind. You don't want to be looking for bogeymen under every rock just as we wouldn't go looking for a cracked cylinder head under every hood. ;)
 
I'm trying to understand this, so bear with me..

Mid-2022, you posted about your 2018 CX-5 GS developing an oil leak, that the dealer initially claimed was a blown gasket. You provided them with the Oct 2021 TSB for engine crack, and they kept the car for a while to investigate further, and then replace the head. Upon receiving your repaired CX-5, you mentioned that Mazda Canada extended the engine warranty 5 years, which I take to mean that the engine would be covered until 2028. Then you said you traded it in on a Camry Hybrid, likely at the end of 2021 or early 2022.

Canadian Mazdas have a 5-year powertrain warranty with unlimited mileage. At the time of repair (mid-2022), your car would have been 4-5 years into the powertrain warranty. If the warranty was extended 3 years or 60000 kms after the original warranty expired as you wrote in the post quoted above, then it would be covered until 2026, or 60k km past whatever the mileage would have been once the factory powertrain warranty expired. However, in that same post, you wrote that the 3 year extension plus the factory powertrain warranty would essentially be 6 years from date of purchase. On top of that, you stated that the warranty extension on the engine was applied as of March 2021, which is well before you had any issues regarding the cracked head. I do see that you mentioned drivability issues prior to the issue above, which is the only thing I could think of that you might be offered an extended warranty for. Even then, at that point the the car would be 2-3 years into the 5-year factory powertrain warranty.

You can see that there is a lot of conflicting information being thrown around here. Further, if a warranty extension was provided, there would most certainly be some form of documentation for such an exception. So, was it a 5-year warranty extension, or was it a 3-year, 60k km warranty extension? Did Mazda Canada issue the extension(s), or did you just take the Service Advisor's word for it? At this point, it really doesn't matter much for you as you no longer have the car in question, but that also makes it hard to make sense of your posts as there are so many inconsistencies with them.
I am not sure what the “warranty extension“ worked out to. The Mazda service writer told us the power train warranty was extended to double when we picked it up. The final work order is only a part replacement list, no hours, with no charge, the dealer paid for 3 months of rental car. There is nothing on the work order declaring a warranty extension.
We literally drove the CX5 home, removed all our personal stuff, threw the winter mats and touch up paint in, drove back to the Toyota dealer where we dropped it off.
The Toyota dealer is literally across the highway from the Mazda dealer and being a small town they all know each other .
It was the Toyota dealer that told us the warranty was extended 3 years or 60K. I’m not sure who to believe, both parties declaration was verbal.
All I can say to anyone going thru this is get the warranty extension in writing!
 
I am not sure what the “warranty extension“ worked out to. The Mazda service writer told us the power train warranty was extended to double when we picked it up. The final work order is only a part replacement list, no hours, with no charge, the dealer paid for 3 months of rental car. There is nothing on the work order declaring a warranty extension.
We literally drove the CX5 home, removed all our personal stuff, threw the winter mats and touch up paint in, drove back to the Toyota dealer where we dropped it off.
The Toyota dealer is literally across the highway from the Mazda dealer and being a small town they all know each other .
It was the Toyota dealer that told us the warranty was extended 3 years or 60K. I’m not sure who to believe, both parties declaration was verbal.
All I can say to anyone going thru this is get the warranty extension in writing!
Although it’s no longer your problem but I appreciate you came back and gave us your side of story. Hopefully it can clear up some of the questions some people have.
 
Although it’s no longer your problem but I appreciate you came back and gave us your side of story. Hopefully it can clear up some of the questions some people have.
Thank you.
My wife initially loved the vehicle, however after several incidents where we experienced zero acceleration, climate control turning off for no reason, entertainment system turning off for no reason, making random phone calls, literally a ghost in the computer.
A cracked head was the icing on the cake. With 5 decades experience in the trade, fighting with dealers and manufacturers denying issues, it was time to let it go.
A wise older mechanic told me 40 plus years ago “never fall in love with a car”
 
I am not sure what the “warranty extension“ worked out to. The Mazda service writer told us the power train warranty was extended to double when we picked it up. The final work order is only a part replacement list, no hours, with no charge, the dealer paid for 3 months of rental car. There is nothing on the work order declaring a warranty extension.
We literally drove the CX5 home, removed all our personal stuff, threw the winter mats and touch up paint in, drove back to the Toyota dealer where we dropped it off.
The Toyota dealer is literally across the highway from the Mazda dealer and being a small town they all know each other .
It was the Toyota dealer that told us the warranty was extended 3 years or 60K. I’m not sure who to believe, both parties declaration was verbal.
All I can say to anyone going thru this is get the warranty extension in writing!

Yeah, this doesn't clear anything up, really. Thanks for trying to provide an explanation, but without being able to validate anything in terms of what Mazda, the dealer, and now apparently the Toyota dealer said, it's just hard for me to believe. Too many holes, and the filler doesn't make sense. 50 years experience dealing with automobiles and you didn't think it necessary to get a "warranty extension" in writing?

In any event, thanks for following up. Good luck with the new car!
 

A wise older mechanic told me 40 plus years ago “never fall in love with a car”
Ha ha this’s so true! I used to a big VW and BMW fan and buys only these 2 brands even though most of my friends and family couldn’t understand why I’d want German cars which usually more expensive but less reliable. Later I became a Honda royalist not only buying only Honda’s but also recommending it to everyone. Then I lost the favorite to Honda due to the design and quality issues and I bought my first Mazda based on good design and improved reliability record. Not going to stick to a single brand from now on but based only on overall better design and excellent reliability record.
 
I'll never forget my first love:

Peters-64-Trabant-2.jpg
 
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