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

[181962]

So that leads to a question....is anyone considering selling their CX5 at the end of their powertrain warranty to avoid the risk of getting stuck with the cost of this repair????

My CPO powertrain warranty does not expire until 2027, with probably 50,000 miles or so at that time. Even if it was just the standard warranty expiring in 2025 my thinking would be the same.

Knowing what is known now, if the vehicle is trouble free in all respects, as it has been to this point, I'd keep it. While any major repair is unfortunate, this particular problem is uncommon. Rather than place weight on a handful of anecdotes in a forum where people with issues tend to gravitate, I'd instead go by Consumer Reports ongoing surveys.

So far, CR's survey of what is probably hundreds or more of 2019 - 2021 models (turbos and NA with CD aggregated) gets the highest reliability rating for "engine-major". That means "<1%" have reported such a problem. Since CR rounds to whole % one presumes it is 0.49% or less.

2018 is rated average for "engine-major". That's 1% for 4 year old vehicles, in the range of 0.50% - 1.49%. To what extent that's attributable to turbos vs. NA we don't know.

But you gotta do what you gotta do. But first, before moving on, be sure to read the anecdotal horror stories on that next vehicle's forums. You may end up walking or riding a bike.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

**UPDATE** After 7 weeks of waiting i finally have my car back, everything was covered by Powertrain warranty and they also provided me with a loaner. Overall they did the right thing and fixed my cracked head. The only thing that bothers me is if this happens to anyone that has an expired Power train warranty they will be responsible for a hefty bill.

Just curious, did the paperwork show the total cost of repair?

I'm used to my Toyota and Ford engines lasting 12-14 years. And if an engine does need replacing, Ford engines are readily available and can pop one in for less than $1000 including labor.

Being that Mazda is not even in the top 10 sales, the cost of new cylinder head replacement will be big factor on whether to trade in or not.

For now am keeping , will get fixed if breaks during warranty an almost likely keep once fixed.

If trouble free for 7 years/84 k miles, at that point, may keep since it has served most of its useful life and take chance

 

[sfbenfica]

Just curious, did the paperwork show the total cost of repair?

I'm used to my Toyota and Ford engines lasting 12-14 years. And if an engine does need replacing, Ford engines are readily available and can pop one in for less than $1000 including labor.

Being that Mazda is not even in the top 10 sales, the cost of new cylinder head replacement will be big factor on whether to trade in or not.

For now am keeping , will get fixed if breaks during warranty an almost likely keep ounfournintly

Unfortunately it did not, cost of parts, labor expense & car rental were not on any of the paperwork, just a list of part and a description of the issue.

 

[cz5gt]

Just curious, did the paperwork show the total cost of repair?

I'm used to my Toyota and Ford engines lasting 12-14 years. And if an engine does need replacing, Ford engines are readily available and can pop one in for less than $1000 including labor.

Being that Mazda is not even in the top 10 sales, the cost of new cylinder head replacement will be big factor on whether to trade in or not.

For now am keeping , will get fixed if breaks during warranty an almost likely keep once fixed.

If trouble free for 7 years/84 k miles, at that point, may keep since it has served most of its useful life and take chance

at least with my Mazda warranty repairs, I have never seen prices. Only when the owner pays the prices are shown on the papers. Otherwise its just part and work done but no cost.

Mazda seems a bit more expensive vs Ford from end consumer charges perspective. I have both.
There is also the issue with parts inventory. It applies currently to both Manufacturers unfortunately. Ford is currently a bit worse in terms of part availability. Used to be the opposite prior 2020.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

at least with my Mazda warranty repairs, I have never seen prices. Only when the owner pays the prices are shown on the papers. Otherwise its just part and work done but no cost.

Mazda seems a bit more expensive vs Ford from end consumer charges perspective. I have both.
There is also the issue with parts inventory. It applies currently to both Manufacturers unfortunately. Ford is currently a bit worse in terms of part availability. Used to be the opposite prior 2020.

Yeah unfortunately new parts are in scarcity.

But at least with a Ford or Toyota or Chevy, if you have an 8 year old car out of warranty, you can go to the junkyard and get a used engine for $ 600 and pay someone a couple hundred to put it in. I don't want to get caught out of warranty and have to pay some $6000 to $8000 bill to get it running again.

 

[sm1ke]

Yeah unfortunately new parts are in scarcity.

But at least with a Ford or Toyota or Chevy, if you have an 8 year old car out of warranty, you can go to the junkyard and get a used engine for $ 600 and pay someone a couple hundred to put it in. I don't want to get caught out of warranty and have to pay some $6000 to $8000 bill to get it running again.

You can do the same with the CX-5. Mazda sold 164k CX-5s in the US last year, so it's not like the CX-5s are that hard to come by. Plus the 2.5 NA engine can probably be sourced from a junked Mazda3 or Mazda6, or maybe even a Gen1 CX-5 lol. Any independent shop worth their salt can do an engine swap on these cars for a lot less than the dealer would charge to have their techs install a brand new engine. It's something to keep in mind, sure, but it's not like it's a ticking time bomb.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

Knowing interchange years ahead will be useful. Even in Toyota world with same engine you can't generally just drop the same motor in over years.

Hopefully ....I can safely say '14-'16.5 2.5L is safe... '17 though not entirely sure.

Any new sensors or emissions?... wiring harnesses all the same?... etc

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Knowing interchange years ahead will be useful. Even in Toyota world with same engine you can't generally just drop the same motor in over years.

Hopefully ....I can safely say '14-'16.5 2.5L is safe... '17 though not entirely sure.

Any new sensors or emissions?... wiring harnesses all the same?... etc

For 2015 cx5, it appears to show that 2013 through 2018 engines are interchangable. Of course would want to double check this with your junkyard and mechanic. To be safe you may want to stick to na engines 2013 to 2017 before the cylinder deactivation.

For me with a 2018 na it appears that only 2018 to 2022 engines are interchangable so make it a little harder. And at $2500 per engine plus labor so about a $3000 price tag.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I'd be a little leery of 2.5L from a '17 on my '15 myself for interchange but in the years ahead someone will likely confirm. 2013 model year in US only had the 2.0L so not an option there... of course who knows.. maybe that smaller swap is an option?

 

[Jack Rabbit]

I'd be a little leery of 2.5L from a '17 on my '15 myself for interchange but in the years ahead someone will likely confirm. 2013 model year in US only had the 2.0L so not an option there... of course who knows.. maybe that smaller swap is an option?

Yeah. Good to be careful. Usually the junkyards are careful nowadays to make sure the parts work. They even sometimes will try to not sell you and warn you a part might not work if you want something that's not on their compatible list.
If they sold an engine that needed returned, that creates extra work and hassle for them.

 

[Wencebones]

Anyone with a 2022 cx9 having these kind of issues? And does the 2022 model have CD?
Just bought mine 2 months ago, it barely has 3000 miles on it so don’t know if I made a bad choice…

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Anyone with a 2022 cx9 having these kind of issues? And does the 2022 model have CD?
Just bought mine 2 months ago, it barely has 3000 miles on it so don’t know if I made a bad choice…

The CX 5 has cylinder deactivation. When I was looking at the CX9, they told me it was the turbo engine. The CX9 is a bigger heavier vehicle so it would need a V6 or a turbo 4. The turbo 4 don't have CD. But if you ever think of downsizing, the cx5 with CD actually gets 38.2 mpg on highway.

 

[Tchman2016]

Anyone with a 2022 cx9 having these kind of issues? And does the 2022 model have CD?
Just bought mine 2 months ago, it barely has 3000 miles on it so don’t know if I made a bad choice…

You are good

 

[hw4ng3r]

And might as well update

To bring back a 3 month old thread, I may be one of the chosen unlucky owner.

2018 CX5 GT, purchased brand new. Current Odo: ~35000 km/~22000 miles. Oil changed every 6 months at Mazda dealership (I live in Canada and it's 8000km/6 months interval).

Last oil change was on Nov 22, 2021. When I dropped it off, I told them I was smelling a strong burning scent in the cabin especially when the fan (heat) is running and the car is warmed up. Also mentioned that I can see smoke seeping out the front immediately after parking and shutting off the car (thanks to the bright headlights). Took a look at the usual places under the hood and under the car, but saw no traces of leak/pooling. They did the oil change and said they didn't see any visible leaks either; recommended to continue driving it and bring it back if the smell doesn't go away.

Fast forward three weeks and I take it back in (Dec 13). They did some digging around and it turns out its from an oil leak. The car dropped/burned almost 1L of oil in the 3 weeks since the oil change. The car doesn't get driven very far/long on a day to day basis and in the past 3 weeks, has only put on about 50-60km/week. Still no pooling on the floor of the garage.

I asked if they knew where the leak was coming from and the technicians had no clue. They took some pictures (my guess with all of the engine plastic off) and now the issue has escalated up to Mazda Canada.

Will update once I hear back once Mazda makes a decision on what to do. Will also ask for the pics they took so I can share that too.

Might as well post an update for completeness:

The damn parts finally arrived yesterday; that's an 8 month wait for those parts. In the 8 months, I drove it around (and put on 13,000km/8000miles), but had to deal with smoke coming out from under the hood and the smell of evaporated oil in the cabin (from the oil dripping onto and burning on the exhaust) if I was driving it around with "fresh air" coming into the car. I hope I don't end up with any lung issues later down the road; breathing in burnt engine oil fumes I'd imagine, is not very healthy.

The leak rate wasn't too bad in the winter months as I didn't have to fill it up once between the oil changes (6,600km/4,100miles), but about a week ago, I got an oil level low light kick on. Went to the dealer to get it filled-up, and it leaked about 1L/1qt in 6,000km/3,700 miles.

Got a pretty good deal for a trade-in so took the opportunity to "upgrade" (hopefully without major issues) to a 2022 CX-9 GT.

 

[Mazdad93]

And might as well update


Might as well post an update for completeness:

The damn parts finally arrived yesterday; that's an 8 month wait for those parts. In the 8 months, I drove it around (and put on 13,000km/8000miles), but had to deal with smoke coming out from under the hood and the smell of evaporated oil in the cabin (from the oil dripping onto and burning on the exhaust) if I was driving it around with "fresh air" coming into the car. I hope I don't end up with any lung issues later down the road; breathing in burnt engine oil fumes I'd imagine, is not very healthy.

The leak rate wasn't too bad in the winter months as I didn't have to fill it up once between the oil changes (6,600km/4,100miles), but about a week ago, I got an oil level low light kick on. Went to the dealer to get it filled-up, and it leaked about 1L/1qt in 6,000km/3,700 miles.

Got a pretty good deal for a trade-in so took the opportunity to "upgrade" (hopefully without major issues) to a 2022 CX-9 GT.

They made you drive it without providing a rental? WTF, I was in a rental for the entire duration my car was at the dealership. That’s unacceptable and I hope you never suffer from health issues in the future. I hope the CX-9 treats you better

 

[madar]

Thanks for the report and please post pictures if you can.

So the 2.5L NA with cylinder deactivation has potential oil leak due to cracked cylinder head; and the 2.5T has potential coolant leak also by cracked cylinder head. I’m glad the 2.5L NA on my 2016 CX-5 hasn’t related to these problems.

2016 seems to be a banner year for this model IMO, despite the EPB issue.

 

[hw4ng3r]

They made you drive it without providing a rental? WTF, I was in a rental for the entire duration my car was at the dealership. That’s unacceptable and I hope you never suffer from health issues in the future. I hope the CX-9 treats you better

Yes you would think right? Apparently, it was not engine critical, hence drive it around.

For those of you in Ontario, I go to Mazda of Toronto, which is the highest volume Mazda dealer in Ontario (of course this does not mean much without reference numbers, but a busy month for them is 20-30 CX5s). Spoke with the service manager and my CX5 is only the 3rd 2.5 NA CD motor with this issue (2 CX5's and 1 Mazda 3) at their dealership (peace of mind for some?).

 

[CX5Nut]

Thats good to know but I always wonder when dealers say this if they are being truthful. However, usually the response is " you're the first one we have ever seen", so maybe your service manager is being upfront.

 

[hw4ng3r]

Thats good to know but I always wonder when dealers say this if they are being truthful. However, usually the response is " you're the first one we have ever seen", so maybe your service manager is being upfront.

Yes, I think you need to take these statements with a grain of salt. I've built up a pretty good relationship with a sales guy and he is pretty straight forward with me and have always treated me well, so I have no reason not to believe that there is some truth behind what they tell me. My sales guy sells the most Mazda's at that dealership and of all of his clients, I'm the only one with the oil leak on the 2.5 NA CD.

I've asked the service manager if they have a root cause of the problem. He was told by Mazda that it is related to one of the bolts not being torqued to spec and the leak is on the rear side (firewall side) of the motor. As you may have seen from the updated TSB, the fix started out with a full engine replacement, and now it's down to a new cylinder head and gaskets.

 

[CX5Nut]

Yes, I think you need to take these statements with a grain of salt. I've built up a pretty good relationship with a sales guy and he is pretty straight forward with me and have always treated me well, so I have no reason not to believe that there is some truth behind what they tell me. My sales guy sells the most Mazda's at that dealership and of all of his clients, I'm the only one with the oil leak on the 2.5 NA CD.

I've asked the service manager if they have a root cause of the problem. He was told by Mazda that it is related to one of the bolts not being torqued to spec and the leak is on the rear side (firewall side) of the motor. As you may have seen from the updated TSB, the fix started out with a full engine replacement, and now it's down to a new cylinder head and gaskets.

If it's a bolt torque issue, would be nice if they issued a recall to have the bolts checked and re-torqued correctly, it that is possible.