Front Right Suspension Crunching

Mine is back at the dealer again for this issue. This is without a doubt the worst vehicle I have ever owned. And I've had a lot of cars. Mazda doesn't seem to care at all, so I think both my Mazda's are going to be replaced by another brand. Just pathetic.
 
Mine is back at the dealer again for this issue. This is without a doubt the worst vehicle I have ever owned. And I've had a lot of cars. Mazda doesn't seem to care at all, so I think both my Mazda's are going to be replaced by another brand. Just pathetic.

I understand that feeling. We dumped our Mazda3 after it was at the dealer 10+ times for stupid CELs they couldn't ever seem to clear up. We knew the problem was harmless, but it was annoying to take the car to the dealer a million times, only to have them say it was fixed...then have the problem occur again 2 days later. (crazy)

If you truly enjoy your Mazda5, but can't stand this problem, I suggest you take it to an independent mechanic and see if they can fix the issue. Or see if you can do it yourself. I know it's under warranty and it SHOULD be handled by the dealer, but honestly I never have good experiences with the boofs at the dealers.
 
Mine is back at the dealer again for this issue. This is without a doubt the worst vehicle I have ever owned. And I've had a lot of cars. Mazda doesn't seem to care at all, so I think both my Mazda's are going to be replaced by another brand. Just pathetic.
Find me one new car that doesnt have at least 5 TSBs issued for it within the first year or two and Ill be impressed. ALL cars have bugs even the touted Hondas and Toyotas have more than their fair share of goofs in design. You cant expect perfection from a machine with many thousands of parts. And furthermore, this suspension thing is HARDLY a problem just squeaky bushing rubber. Annoying, sure but Ill take it any day over something mechanical that matters. So go ahead and buy your Civic or Camry, but dont be disappointed when you go through the same routine with them Ive seen it happen first hand.

Dealers, on the other hand, well you have your good ones and then you have your lousy ones. My Mazda service dept. has never let me down you just need to realize their not God and cant use psychic abilities to diagnose issues. It takes troubleshooting like anything else, and they wont get it right every time, the first time. Not to mention theyre under pressure to get your car back to you in a timely manner as to not make you complain about inconveniencing you with an extra 30 minute wait or loaner car. With this issue, theyre following Mazda corporates TSB procedures, so you cant fault the dealer for faulty procedures from the top. Are a lot of techs lacking college education, yeah Im sure they are but dont fault them for that because an automotive tech is a damn back-breaking, difficult job unless youre working down at the local Jiffy Lube. I give them credit because they bust their ass to appease smug customers coming in crying foul and demanding their squeaky bushing gets fixed pronto. Because theyre not engineers and cant whip up a working solution to the design flaw, I guess that makes them worthless.

Sorry to play devils advocate, but dealer service depts. usually arent the sleazy crooks people like to make them out to be as mentioned there are always exceptions. Dealer sales depts. on the other hand, thats a whole different can of worms.

This is all just my personal opinion, though, and I can understand your frustrations.
 
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Find me one new car that doesnt have at least 5 TSBs issued for it within the first year or two and Ill be impressed. ALL cars have bugs even the touted Hondas and Toyotas have more than their fair share of goofs in design. You cant expect perfection from a machine with many thousands of parts. And furthermore, this suspension thing is HARDLY a problem just squeaky bushing rubber. Annoying, sure but Ill take it any day over something mechanical that matters. So go ahead and buy your Civic or Camry, but dont be disappointed when you go through the same routine with them Ive seen it happen first hand.

Dealers, on the other hand, well you have your good ones and then you have your lousy ones. My Mazda service dept. has never let me down you just need to realize their not God and cant use psychic abilities to diagnose issues. It takes troubleshooting like anything else, and they wont get it right every time, the first time. Not to mention theyre under pressure to get your car back to you in a timely manner as to not make you complain about inconveniencing you with an extra 30 minute wait or loaner car. With this issue, theyre following Mazda corporates TSB procedures, so you cant fault the dealer for faulty procedures from the top. Are a lot of techs lacking college education, yeah Im sure they are but dont fault them for that because an automotive tech is a damn back-breaking, difficult job unless youre working down at the local Jiffy Lube. I give them credit because they bust their ass to appease smug customers coming in crying foul and demanding their squeaky bushing gets fixed pronto. Because theyre not engineers and cant whip up a working solution to the design flaw, I guess that makes them worthless.

Sorry to play devils advocate, but dealer service depts. usually arent the sleazy crooks people like to make them out to be as mentioned there are always exceptions. Dealer sales depts. on the other hand, thats a whole different can of worms.

This is all just my personal opinion, though, and I can understand your frustrations.

Good Call Jandree..... couldn't agree more.
 
Good Call Jandree..... couldn't agree more.

yes, he did have a point. Cars we all think of as reliable, seem to break all the time these days. Those new tundras have had tons of issues. Lots of newer camrys have issues. Nobody ever thinks yotas break, but they do!

most of the mazda problems I have seen or heard of, are minor but annoying.
 
most of the mazda problems I have seen or heard of, are minor but annoying.

Same here. I knew that when buying a new 06 model (and generation) on Mid 05 but I decided to take the risk. That sporadic squeak is obnoxious but the problem is that I won't find another similar car at all so I'll live with it and research what can be done.

Oh wait, the Rondo, mmmh, blah, that is definitely a NO-GO (apart from ugly I've been reading KIA is good on initial quality, but later they are a pain if you are not lucky)
 
If you truly enjoy your Mazda5, but can't stand this problem, I suggest you take it to an independent mechanic and see if they can fix the issue. Or see if you can do it yourself. I know it's under warranty and it SHOULD be handled by the dealer, but honestly I never have good experiences with the boofs at the dealers.

Every part of the suspension has been replaced, and I mean everything, so I'm not sure someone else could fix it. I mean the parts are gonna have to come from the dealer anyway. Drives me nuts when the part they just replaced starts making noise again. This last time it was a rear shock. A couple of months ago we had a 5 rental and it had a bad rear shock,(thing was spooky over bumps) so it makes me wonder if the suspension is just not beefy enough for the extra weight (vs the 3) . But, we're squeak free for now so we'll see.....

Sure wish Mazda still had the MPV in the US.
 
Every part of the suspension has been replaced, and I mean everything, so I'm not sure someone else could fix it. I mean the parts are gonna have to come from the dealer anyway. Drives me nuts when the part they just replaced starts making noise again. This last time it was a rear shock. A couple of months ago we had a 5 rental and it had a bad rear shock,(thing was spooky over bumps) so it makes me wonder if the suspension is just not beefy enough for the extra weight (vs the 3) . But, we're squeak free for now so we'll see.....

Sure wish Mazda still had the MPV in the US.

yeah but here's the thing...better bushings exist. better shocks exist. etc...etc....if factory is no good, upgrade it. I know it sounds crazy when you think "oooh but my car is so new!" but it's not crazy. I have had plenty of other cars that have factory flaws that do not go away with factory parts. Like rear shock mounts on e36's...you don't want to replace them with factory. They just go out again, sooner than they should. So you buy something engineered to NOT fail in the same manner.

the only problem being that the Mazda5 isn't a real popular tuner ride, and the sales numbers aren't exactly camry-esque....so those replacements aren't as easy to find. But lucky for us, the Mazda3 has a lot of shared parts and something's bound to surface that can stop this problem once and for all.
 
Like rear shock mounts on e36's...you don't want to replace them with factory.

I'll agree with that. E36. BMW 3 series owner as well, I take it? (hi)
The stock suspension on my E36 'vert sagged sooo bad, it makes the problems with the Mazda seem trivial-and they are, compared to that LUXURY car. :)
 
yeah but here's the thing...better bushings exist. better shocks exist. etc...etc....if factory is no good, upgrade it. .

Then Mazda won't warranty the car when the next part fails. These are brand new parts by the way, hours old. Upgraded parts usually mean a stiffer ride, I don't need that here in Michigan with our crappy roads.(I've learned that the hard way)
Basically it just irritates me to pay to fix a car with 20k miles. And I thought my Taurus was bad. I've ran cars way over 200k without this many problems. Fords at that. The fact that parts failed bugs me but not as much as the new parts making the same noise the minute I drive from the dealer.
I guess I'll quit bitching as it's been quiet since the last fix.(drinks)
Also with the price of gas it's not hard to like the mpg on these.
 
Then Mazda won't warranty the car when the next part fails. These are brand new parts by the way, hours old. Upgraded parts usually mean a stiffer ride, I don't need that here in Michigan with our crappy roads.(I've learned that the hard way)
Basically it just irritates me to pay to fix a car with 20k miles. And I thought my Taurus was bad. I've ran cars way over 200k without this many problems. Fords at that. The fact that parts failed bugs me but not as much as the new parts making the same noise the minute I drive from the dealer.
I guess I'll quit bitching as it's been quiet since the last fix.(drinks)
Also with the price of gas it's not hard to like the mpg on these.

they can't void your warranty unless they can prove the part you put in, actually caused the problem.

I was just suggesting something that might work. Some of the parts I mentioned as weak spots in E36 BMWs, got replaced by stock parts when they were taken to the dealer for warranty work; over and over. But once the cars got a bit older and people tired of the same old issues, they started upgrading those parts.

But I realize I'm kinda crazy. I swapped in new shocks, springs, sways, bushings, wheels and tires on my last car before it had 500 miles on the ODO.
 
Okay, I am not sure I have the same issue, but no sooner than I create a new thread, someone will bark "use the search button." So anyways, I have had this noise from the front of my mazda3 sedan and transmitted sensation through the accelerator pedal for quite some time now. It sounds and feels just like a spring loaded mechanism being released from tension. It only happens right after I start up my vehicle and get going for a a couple hundred feet. I always feel it right before leaving a parking lot usually in about first or second gear (manual).

Does anyone know what this might be? Throttle/idle sticking? Suspension issues? Much thanks in advance.
 
I'm not sure why you are posting this in the 5 forum, but I have what sounds like the same thing with my 3 as well.

I believe it is the intake manifold tumble inducing flap de-activating. It is designed to operate only for cold starts to aid complete combustion for emissions/driveability purposes. If I'm right, it's nothing to worry about, and definitely has no relation to this thread you've just posted in! lol
 

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