Hi All,
I just bought my CX-5 GT Automatic about 2 weeks ago and I love it. I named it "Saru" after the Star Trek Discovery character because like Saru the car can sense the coming of danger with its auto-stop feature, and it's also the tallest vehicle I've ever owned. Now, nerd stuff aside, there were a few minor tweaks we made to help it be more functional (pics at end):
Carplay:
We brought the USB up from the armrest with a USB extension cable and tucked it under the plastic along the floor of the center console, then routed it along the bottom of the A/C vents by gently tucking it in. That resulted in the Carplay USB port being located right under the hazard switch.
Phone Mount:
We then used a standard CD player phone mount and tucked it in gently right above the A/C vents.
Storage:
To cover the open well in front of the gearshift, we cut a piece of 3/16" black plexi and installed a handle from a motorcycle compartment that we found on Amazon that resembled the knobs in the CX-5. (We had to paint the top of the knob black). We then also bought black leather pencil cases to stuff in the side door pockets so we can keep some tissues, antibacterial spray, and other convenience items in the front of the car without taking up valuable storage space (the CX-5 has very little storage compared to other cars I've owned) and also to mask all of that stuff so it doesn't look junky.
Armrest:
It drove me crazy that the armrest didn't come out all the way. So we bought a cup holder trash bin off Amazon, trimmed down the top a little with an exacto knife to make it the right height, upholstered the top with a little bit of leather from Jo-Ann fabric, and tada… instant arm rest extension inspired by another poster who we saw use a silver tumbler cup. To make sure it stayed put, we added a rubber pipe fitting to the bottom, the 2” to 3” variety seems to hold it snug.
Next up, we’re adding LED lights with an on/off switch to the SUPER DARK trunk/cargo space.
Oh, and we had a few custom decals made with Saru’s Star Trek chevron badge and command stripes. Because #nerdreasons
I hope this helps someone else on their customization journey!
I just bought my CX-5 GT Automatic about 2 weeks ago and I love it. I named it "Saru" after the Star Trek Discovery character because like Saru the car can sense the coming of danger with its auto-stop feature, and it's also the tallest vehicle I've ever owned. Now, nerd stuff aside, there were a few minor tweaks we made to help it be more functional (pics at end):
Carplay:
We brought the USB up from the armrest with a USB extension cable and tucked it under the plastic along the floor of the center console, then routed it along the bottom of the A/C vents by gently tucking it in. That resulted in the Carplay USB port being located right under the hazard switch.
Phone Mount:
We then used a standard CD player phone mount and tucked it in gently right above the A/C vents.
Storage:
To cover the open well in front of the gearshift, we cut a piece of 3/16" black plexi and installed a handle from a motorcycle compartment that we found on Amazon that resembled the knobs in the CX-5. (We had to paint the top of the knob black). We then also bought black leather pencil cases to stuff in the side door pockets so we can keep some tissues, antibacterial spray, and other convenience items in the front of the car without taking up valuable storage space (the CX-5 has very little storage compared to other cars I've owned) and also to mask all of that stuff so it doesn't look junky.
Armrest:
It drove me crazy that the armrest didn't come out all the way. So we bought a cup holder trash bin off Amazon, trimmed down the top a little with an exacto knife to make it the right height, upholstered the top with a little bit of leather from Jo-Ann fabric, and tada… instant arm rest extension inspired by another poster who we saw use a silver tumbler cup. To make sure it stayed put, we added a rubber pipe fitting to the bottom, the 2” to 3” variety seems to hold it snug.
Next up, we’re adding LED lights with an on/off switch to the SUPER DARK trunk/cargo space.
Oh, and we had a few custom decals made with Saru’s Star Trek chevron badge and command stripes. Because #nerdreasons
I hope this helps someone else on their customization journey!