CX-5 Suspension control arm failure

Hi, I was recently travelling in a Mazda CX-5 2013, which has done 73K miles, when the suspension control arm suddenly detached, causing the steering to be lost and the wheel to cave in. The car has been regularly serviced, MOTd, and has had no accidents. Furthermore, it has not been driven on rough terrain.

The incident happened after travelling around 170 miles and there had been no signs of any suspension issues leading up to the incident. Thankfully the problem happened as the car was entering a car park. Had it occurred at speed, the consequences would most likely have caused fatalities.

Has anyone experienced anything similar or has suggestions to make? I'm still reeling from the trauma!

Thanks!
 
At the last state inspection by the dealer in May I specifically asked they be scrutinized as all the ball joint boots aren't looking too healthy. I made it a point of checking them again when I switched to snows a few weeks ago.
 
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@JoeS1020 I'm dealing with a replacement of both front LCAs (only one side's ball joint is failing but BOTH LCAs have torn main bushings). I found OEM parts for about $400 on BAM Wholesale and a local shop will install them for about $300 (depends on if the bolts are seized or not). $1400 sounds insane. It's literally like 6 bolts.
 
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Thanks everyone, day one and I'm already loving this forum! :) All the feedback is greatly appreciated.

You must live in some place like Arizona, to have a 2014 in that condition
Shockingly this car has been in Florida for its entire life, and parked outside in uncovered parking for most of it!

Unfortunately it has developed plenty of niggling issues, so it's not all positive. Off the top of my head: the well-known Bose speaker rattle (passenger side), a lift gate that for more than a year was temperamental (absolutely refused to open every few days, no rhyme or reason), the driver-side footwell ended up with like half an inch of water after a heavy rain storm (still trying to track down the source of the leak), and just recently a short high-pitched squeak when shifting out of park but before even releasing the brake.

I guess it might be time to sell it, but after fixing the control arm so I can sleep at night. 😅
 
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....
Shockingly this car has been in Florida for its entire life, and parked outside in uncovered parking for most of it!
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The absolute killer for vehicles is the road salt used in the rust belt. Rain water is not an issue, so Florida should cause no problems, with the possible exception of being parked literally right next to the ocean all the time, or perhaps prevailing winds consistently depositing salt water on the vehicle.
 
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question: after control arm replacements, is an alignment required ?
That's what the dealer told me. They said "hey, changing the tie rod(s) also requires alignment, so you save money by doing both right now". Based on the reactions here I'm glad I decided to hold off on the $2100 combined expense.
 
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I just called a local shop and they quoted $350 for both fronts (labor only) , I supply the parts about $110 each from RockAuto (p/n 1027956 and 1027955) . Is this $350 machine shop price inline and reasonable. I would do it myself but I'm too old for this and it's pretty rusted down there , so may hit into a snag and some of the bolts may be seized and if I can't get them loose, I'll be in real trouble....
 
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I'd say that was pretty darn reasonable to do both. Knowing now what I went through for mine, I'd happily pay that!
 
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@tomcat1446 Just had mine done yesterday. You can see the prices I paid a few posts up from here. I paid $250 (I'm in Salt Lake) for labor and bought OEM replacements. I trust my mechanic and he said he had trouble getting the pinch bolts off. He resorted to heat and hammers. I'll need an alignment as my steering wheel is now a tad bit crooked (car tracks straight).

I have to say that replacing both front arms cleared up several issues. Obviously the clunking sound is gone but the steering wheel used to vibrate violently when braking on the freeway. I thought it was the rotors. That is basically gone. I would also get two distinct "bumps" that I could feel through the steering wheel. Seems to have fixed that too. The front end feels more solid and less "squishy". Overall I think it was money well spent.
 
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So for my 2014 CX-5 GT it seems the OEM part numbers are

KD35-34-350S Left Lower Control Arm
KD35-34-300S Right Lower Control Arm

Looks like $180 each for (claimed) OEM parts, not too bad, especially when compared to $1400 quoted replacement for the left one only!

The dealer also mentioned my car needs tie rod replacements. Assuming they're not just making that up, does anyone here know if I'd need to order all parts in the list below, or only the top two? I'm thinking the other parts might already be lying around the shop.

1700248546211.png
 
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@tomcat1446 Just had mine done yesterday. You can see the prices I paid a few posts up from here. I paid $250 (I'm in Salt Lake) for labor and bought OEM replacements. I trust my mechanic and he said he had trouble getting the pinch bolts off. He resorted to heat and hammers. I'll need an alignment as my steering wheel is now a tad bit crooked (car tracks straight).

I have to say that replacing both front arms cleared up several issues. Obviously the clunking sound is gone but the steering wheel used to vibrate violently when braking on the freeway. I thought it was the rotors. That is basically gone. I would also get two distinct "bumps" that I could feel through the steering wheel. Seems to have fixed that too. The front end feels more solid and less "squishy". Overall I think it was money well spent.
Yep, I agreed, I just had my done as well, my cost was the similar to yours, I paid $300 total labor but that also included both LCA's and both outer tie rods and free tire rotation. I'm glad I did it as well, the LCA bushings were both cracked and both tie rods rubber cover were both compromised.
But I'm at high mileage 163,000 so YMMV, I would just recommend owners to check under the car the LCA bushings and outer tie rods. Oh, I almost forgot , I did have to pay extra $90 for alignment, that's highly recommended after tie rod replacement.

https://mazdas247.com/forum/t/urgen...oint-failure-2015-cx-5.123880104/post-6790015
 
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Yep, I agreed, I just had my done as well, my cost was the similar to yours, I paid $300 total labor but that also included both LCA's and both outer tie rods and free tire rotation. I'm glad I did it as well, the LCA bushings were both cracked and both tie rods rubber cover were both compromised.
But I'm at high mileage 163,000 so YMMV, I would just recommend owners to check under the car the LCA bushings and outer tie rods. Oh, I almost forgot , I did have to pay extra $90 for alignment, that's highly recommended after tie rod replacement.

https://mazdas247.com/forum/t/urgen...oint-failure-2015-cx-5.123880104/post-6790015
As I mentioned in the other thread, you should check anti-sway bar links front and rear, which are common problem areas reported many times here.
 
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As I mentioned in the other thread, you should check anti-sway bar links front and read, which are a common problem area reported many times here.
Good point. I don't see the end links lasting even as long as tie rod ends. My tie rod ends had no play at ~60 K miles when they were changed (boots torn and changed in conjunction with LCA's) but the links needed changed about 7 months prior. On previous vehicles, end links were always changed before tie rod ends much less ball joints which lasted longer and generally not changed before getting rid of the car.
 
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