Goodbye Mazda...

[dgcam55]

I bought an '09 mazda5 (certified) about a year and 1/2 ago.
Prior to that, I was a subaru owner.

I am going back and buying a new Subaru - do for pickup next week.

Though the Mazda5 was good in design and served me well practically in every day use, I could no longer
stand to deal with the various issues I've had since I took delivery of the car.
Neither the dealer, or Mazda USA would help.
I would have considered a CX5, but there is NO WAY I would buy another mazda with their penny wise pound foolish
attitudes.

I can understand why Subaru has continued to have success through the Great Recession... I am going back.

Its been nice here, its a good forum - so I wish you all luck...

Don

 

[Orangutan]

What issues did you have? You only have six posts here, only one of which mentions having problems. Just curious.

 

[ukulele]

I understand your frustrations, but take it from someone that has owned many brands, they are ALL pennywise and pound foolish, that is how corporations work, while we buy their products their stockholders expect good ROIs so that is why almost every manufacturer puts out duds from time to time due simply to cost cutting in design and manufacture. I have dealt with Nissan, Toyota and Mazda (the North American arms) they ALL have the same attitudes, and I can tell you from when I used to fix equipment in the field, I was at a Subaru dealer here in Shrewsbury, NJ a couple of times, and I can't tell you how rude those people sounded over the phone with customers, and in the back where they type up everything, they had plenty to say about their customers, which I can't repeat here (LoL). I don't want to imagine how Subaru HQ treats people that call over there with problems.

Hopefully this bad experience(s) with your Mazda won't detract you from ever considering a new Mazda in the future.

 

[ukulele]

Orangutan: Long time brother... where you been hiding??

Question: Do you have any experience with roof racks and the 5? I was going to buy a Mazda OEM rack BUT I noticed how bulgy it looks on the roof, and I am on etrailer.com looking at some sleeker ones, I have never owned a car with an aftermarket roof rack, any ideas/recommendations as far as wind noise, ease-of-use, etc? Thanks.

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

6 Posts, Bye Bye...

 

[Silentnoise713]

The Mazda brand is not for everyone. It truly is an enthusiast’s brand where you need to learn to understand the quirks (some call it character) and be somewhat car literate to accept it – I wouldn’t recommend it to my parents. I do hope you will look beyond just one model but I can understand the sour taste it may have left behind. You’ve made your choice so good luck with it.

 

[thaxman]

The sad part of this is that the OP says he's going to buy a NEW Sube. For the last 3 years, Subaru has changed from being a quirky, enthusiast's carmaker to trying to out-Toyota Toyota, a company that has, over the last 15 years, out-Buicked Buick. So, following the chain, buying a new Subaru means buying a Japanese Buick. Lotsa fun there, I tell ya.

I still want a Legacy GT wagon or an Outback XT, but I won't go newer than '07, no matter how many years from now I aquire it. Just like I won't buy a new Chinese Volvo.

 

[Orangutan]

Orangutan: Long time brother... where you been hiding??

Question: Do you have any experience with roof racks and the 5? I was going to buy a Mazda OEM rack BUT I noticed how bulgy it looks on the roof, and I am on etrailer.com looking at some sleeker ones, I have never owned a car with an aftermarket roof rack, any ideas/recommendations as far as wind noise, ease-of-use, etc? Thanks.

Busy with life. I don't have a rack yet but I agree that the OEM one is not particularly attractive, nor is it too cheap. From the research I've done the general consensus is to get a cheap rack with square bars and if you leave it on all the time toss a fairing on it to quiet it a little bit. That said, the Whispbar is supposed to be the quietest out there, but it's pretty pricey. Noise control isn't an issue with things mounted on the rack obviously. The other issue with the Whispbar set is that you have to buy mounting adapters for almost all accessories, so there's extra money on top of the already expensive set. (Hence why I'm trying to sell my wheels and tires.) The cheapest solution out there, I think, is the Inno rack. The best prices I've seen have been on http://www.orsracksdirect.com/, though etrailer has nice prices, too.

Here's are two pictures of the Whispbar set with a cargo box on a stormy blue 2012 5 from Canada:

 

[Secondtyme]

Having come back to Mazda after three years in a Subaru I couldn't agree with Thaxman more! I loved, and continue to love my 04 Forester, it just couldn't take my approx. 175 mile round trip commute every day any more. We bought the car new and after eight years and 252K, it was time to put her out to pasture. We bought my wife a 2011 Forester and let me tell you, if I had wanted a Camry I would have shopped at the Toyota dealer. They have systematically removed everything that made the 04 such a great car. I personally will not own another NEW Subaru, which is really sad...

 

[Robotazky]

These threads are always fun. I find it particularly amusing having come from other brand forums where this is far more common.

 

[V8toilet]

According to Consumer Reports the 09 Mazda 5 is not a reliable vehicle. Its one of the few Mazda models that is not reliable. Subaru as well has had reliability issues in the early Foresters especially with the boxer 4 engine. Being brand loyal does not guarantee that you'll get a reliable vehicle. This just happened to Toyota with some of their 2010 models where reliability fell across the board. I have to say though that the current Subaru Forester are an excellent choice.

 

[cburrell]

My 2010 5 has 71,000 on it and still has original suspension parts and my mechanic just told me they still have a little bit of life left in them. with the track record of the stock shocks and struts that comes with the 5, I am surprised. Got to say though, here in Florida, we have some very nicely paved roads with no potholes and very few imperfections in the road, that does make a big difference.

 

[ukulele]

Busy with life. I don't have a rack yet but I agree that the OEM one is not particularly attractive, nor is it too cheap. From the research I've done the general consensus is to get a cheap rack with square bars and if you leave it on all the time toss a fairing on it to quiet it a little bit. That said, the Whispbar is supposed to be the quietest out there, but it's pretty pricey. Noise control isn't an issue with things mounted on the rack obviously. The other issue with the Whispbar set is that you have to buy mounting adapters for almost all accessories, so there's extra money on top of the already expensive set. (Hence why I'm trying to sell my wheels and tires.) The cheapest solution out there, I think, is the Inno rack. The best prices I've seen have been on http://www.orsracksdirect.com/, though etrailer has nice prices, too.

Here's are two pictures of the Whispbar set with a cargo box on a stormy blue 2012 5 from Canada:

Thanks for the reply. I will look into this.

 

[eyeballs]

Rola has an aero rack similar to the whisbar for a fraction of the price. I have one on my 2. My wifes 5 has the inno rack and fairing which is also a good one.

Ive owned an '03 wrx, '03 forester and '00 forester and I agree, the '02/'03 to '07 Subarus were awesome. Im still amazed at how much fun I had with the '03 forester with the relatively few mods I had done. It really was much more than the sum of its parts.

 

[kulluminati777]

The Mazda brand is not for everyone. It truly is an enthusiasts brand where you need to learn to understand the quirks (some call it character) and be somewhat car literate to accept it I wouldnt recommend it to my parents. I do hope you will look beyond just one model but I can understand the sour taste it may have left behind. Youve made your choice so good luck with it.

+1 very wise you are my son

 

[Brains]

our 2009 mazda5 needed new struts at around 50 or 60 thousand miles, and i think the sway bar bushings are making the same squeaking noises my protege makes...
Suspension stuff eh?- the 5's have the same engines as the 3's correct? I've never heard of any problems with the MZR engines... just the one in the old mazda6's. Does anything other than parts of the suspension go bad on the mazda5?
I know we had to take ours in for something that was causing the power steering to fail (which did happen once) but that's it aside from some not-so-bad suspension problems.