Front Lower Control Arm Bushings split @ 54K miles

Hi there,
Took my 2015 CX-5 in for the annual inspection and received information that the front lower control arm bushings are split. First time getting any recommendation to replace anything and we only drive around 5K miles per year (if that - we live in the city). Wondering if this tracks for average lifetime of the control arm bushings or should I get a second opinion? Not a cheap repair.
 
Sorry to hear that, it's an expensive fix for 54K miles. Are your city roads more harsh somehow on the suspension components? Just asking so I can try to prevent it from happening to mine. More potholes, construction patches, poorly paved roads, etc.? Regardless hope you're able to find a fair estimate for that.
 
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Control arm bushings are pretty weak on these vehicles. I had the same issue on a 2015 Mazda 6 I use too have but I never have the issue on the 2016 Mazda cx-5 GT I own now. I am thinking by 2016 the control arm bushing issue was resolved
 
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Sorry to hear that, it's an expensive fix for 54K miles. Are your city roads more harsh somehow on the suspension components? Just asking so I can try to prevent it from happening to mine. More potholes, construction patches, poorly paved roads, etc.? Regardless hope you're able to find a fair estimate for that.
I don't think the roads are too harsh here. The fix is about $1,600 so not something I was expecting.
 
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Control arm bushings are pretty weak on these vehicles. I had the same issue on a 2015 Mazda 6 I use too have but I never have the issue on the 2016 Mazda cx-5 GT I own now. I am thinking by 2016 the control arm bushing issue was resolved
Good to know, thank you!
 
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I don't think the roads are too harsh here. The fix is about $1,600 so not something I was expecting.
This is a timely post on this subject but firstly I think $1600 seems way over the top. I'm seeing OEM Mazda lower control arms (which include new ball joint and bushings already installed) for around $150-160 each online. That leaves labor (a couple bolts each arm) and an alignment. Granted there is some labor but $1600 total? A few days ago I took some time to do some more crawling around underneath to get a better look at things and noticed mine (which were replaced with the updated bushings per TSB shortly after I purchased the car) are cracking. A vertical center "rib" is cracked on the bottom side of the bushing. My 2014 CX-5 just turned 57,000 miles. Here's parts prices and a video of removing control arms ( something I myself would not tackle):


Now here's where things got more interesting for me beyond the cracking control arm bushings. Closer inspection of things than the quickie job I did a couple weeks ago when chasing clunks, I found both tie rod end boots and both ball joint boots cracked. For 3 of the boots ,they were not cracked open or have any grease leakage but the cracks had the appearance of mold flashing but opened up when given a good squeeze. Separating the crack showed clean inner surfaces. The boots didn't seem to be any flatter than I remember from the past but they always looked kind of flat to begin with. Not like plumper boots on greaseable joints. The 4th boot, the right tie rod end, was more noticeably cracked and expelled water when squeezed. The tie rod ends felt tight and I couldn't rotate them by hand. The ball joints I had checked before by lifting with a pry bar and felt no play or clunks so will probably check again but haven't had any reason to suspect that they are bad.
The job was finished by immediately sealing the boots with a liberal application of Permatex Adhesive Sealant which has been successful in sealing boots (ball joint and tie rod and cv joint) in the past and I always keep a fresh tube on hand if possible. I'm not going to freak out and change the parts because of the boots. In fact I thought about injecting some grease using a grease needle as I've done in the past (probably polyurea grease).
So, I guess the moral of the story is to check the boots if you got some age or mileage on your ride.I don't know if Mazda cheaped out a bit on the rubber or if road salt accelerates drying out but it does seem a little premature for these rubber components to fail.
Sorry guys (and gals) but no pics. Later.
 
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Would love to see some documentation/pics when you do this on your CX-9! (y)
Hahah I looked at the cx9 bushing just now. Darn it's already all solid. Haha. I know the cx5 and Mazda 6 have the holes like in the pic because I did cx5
 

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