Is there a way to test the AWD function? Mine may not be working properly.

A

aliasneo07

Member
Gentlemen/Ladies,

Forgive my inexperience, but this is the first AWD vehicle I've owned. I am under the impression (and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong) that the way the AWD system works in my 2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring is that when the car senses wheel slip on the front two wheels, it engages the rear two wheels to assist. I should not be getting power from the rear wheels otherwise, is this correct?

Reason I'm asking is we've had a lot of snow up here this year and the cars performance has been less than stellar. Now, I understand that snow tires are more important than the AWD system and the AWD system is not magic. Another thing is, at one point I bottomed out on a snowbank (only slightly.) The front wheels were in the snow and the rear wheels were barely off the ground. Good time to test the AWD, I thought! So while the front wheels were spinning I had my girlfriend look at the rear wheels. Rear passenger wheel was not moving at all. Rear driver was moving a little bit.

So...I'm just confused. Under what circumstances should the AWD kick in (or is it all the time,) when it DOES kick in, how long does it take and should it be both rear wheels? And finally, is there a good way to TEST this system to make sure that it actually is functioning as intended?

Car is still under warranty but I don't want to waste anyones time if I'm just not understanding what should be happening.

Thanks so much everyone. I really appreciate it!
 
Yes. Go to a kind of secluded spot (maybe a parking lot at night), take two plastic trays (or something similar maybe two big Tupperware lids) and put them under the front tires, floor it. If the wheel doesn't come off, the back wheels should kick in. You will be able to do burn out style spins until the plastic on the trays wears our. I have not tried this yet so I don't know how well it will work o the CX-5. However I know my AWD works I trigger it daily just doing power on turns, then upshifting at the apex to make a small powerslide to the direction I want to exit at.
 
Heavy acceleration in dirt or damp roads might trigger the AWD also... I felt it a few times when stepping on the pedal a little bit harder than usual when accelerating from a stop sign or stop light that was either wet or have dirt on the surface. Felt a push from the rear
 
Many will argue otherwise but I have seen firsthand with another car. If you are stuck try turning off TCS until you get out of the stuck spot. There are some situations where you need the wheels to spin and no amount of traction control is going to help.
 
Nothing I read in your description made me think your AWD might not be working.

For driving on snow/ice, you want winter tires. Put some on and you will have no doubt your AWD is working.
 
Only referring to vehicles that are stuck or from a stop. Not sure if OP came to a complete stop during event or not.

Page 4-84 in manual under "Note"

"When TCS is on and you attempt to free the vehicle when it is stuck, or drive it out of freshly fallen snow, the TCS will activate. Depressing the accelerator will not increase engine power and freeing the vehicle may be difficult. When this happens, turn off the TCS."
 
If one of the rear tires was spinning and the other one wasn't your AWD system is working, that means that the clutch pack @ the rear differential is transferring power to the rear end, unfortunately is not equipped with limited slip differential, has an open differential which means if one of the tires looses grip doesn't transfer power to the other tire in the same axle, the traction control should try to slow or stop the tire that is spinning to transfer power to the other wheel in the same axle and get more traction. I hope this information answer your question!
aliasneo07 said:
Gentlemen/Ladies,

Forgive my inexperience, but this is the first AWD vehicle I've owned. I am under the impression (and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong) that the way the AWD system works in my 2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring is that when the car senses wheel slip on the front two wheels, it engages the rear two wheels to assist. I should not be getting power from the rear wheels otherwise, is this correct?

Reason I'm asking is we've had a lot of snow up here this year and the cars performance has been less than stellar. Now, I understand that snow tires are more important than the AWD system and the AWD system is not magic. Another thing is, at one point I bottomed out on a snowbank (only slightly.) The front wheels were in the snow and the rear wheels were barely off the ground. Good time to test the AWD, I thought! So while the front wheels were spinning I had my girlfriend look at the rear wheels. Rear passenger wheel was not moving at all. Rear driver was moving a little bit.

So...I'm just confused. Under what circumstances should the AWD kick in (or is it all the time,) when it DOES kick in, how long does it take and should it be both rear wheels? And finally, is there a good way to TEST this system to make sure that it actually is functioning as intended?

Car is still under warranty but I don't want to waste anyones time if I'm just not understanding what should be happening.

Thanks so much everyone. I really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
 
The AWD system in the CX-5 is a very basic, although latest generation, Haldex unit from Bosch. This is a common AWD unit because it is very inexpensive and doesn't affect fuel economy much (many believe the loss in fuel economy has more to do with the added weight of the AWD components than the AWD's sap on engine load.)

These units have been used since the 90's. The earlier models like those on the 2004 VW Golf R had a terrible delay in engaging the clutch to the rear differential. They also had overheating issues when used in racing applications. The current generation models have improved engagement delay and cooling. However, these units are not full-time, and they are not symmetrical.

This means the vehicle can not send power to individual wheels. It sends power to the differentials, both of which are OPEN type diffs. This means the system is mostly useless when trying to get you "unstuck" from a jam because at best you'll have one front wheel and one back wheel getting power. The system is designed to improve control and safety on the road, which is does pretty well for the bargain basement price of the Haldex unit ($1000 or so) compared to symmetrical AWD systems where each differential costs this much alone.

As MikeM stated, seasonal winter tires are the real solution to winter driving. AWD is icing on the cake, but in no way replaces "snow" tires.

One of the great things about newer Mazda's is the lack of TPS sensors in the wheels. They use the VSS (speed sensor) to detect rotational differences between tires, detecting pressure differential. This means you can put on ANY wheels you want. Go get a used set of Mazda Miata (lightweight) or Ford Escape (plenty available for cheap) wheels and put on my personal favorite winter tires, Bridgestone Blizzaks. I have WS80's on my CX-5 and prefer them over the "light truck" DM1V's for ride quality and treadwear.
 
There are systems which imitate a LSD by braking the spinning wheel and forcing power to other wheel, but it sounds like system on Mazda possibly does not do that. The system on one of my other cars functions that way. IMO.. lower maintenance not having a mechanical LSD in diff.

I keep a set of these for all 4 wheels in my CX when I am near snow in the mountains.

Not cheap new but I picked them up cheaply on eBay years ago.


http://gotreads.com/
 
Last edited:
samus said:
The AWD system in the CX-5 is a very basic, although latest generation, Haldex unit from Bosch. This is a common AWD unit because it is very inexpensive and doesn't affect fuel economy much (many believe the loss in fuel economy has more to do with the added weight of the AWD components than the AWD's sap on engine load.)
Click to expand...

This.

Haldex is decent enough for most drivers/situations but doesn't hold a match to some of the AWD systems from Audi, Subaru, and Acura to name a few. I do have a gripe with this in vehicle advertising. It is very hard to get the true details of how the cars AWD system is setup and what type of diffs, and clutches are used.

When you have some downtime, go browse some youtube videos of AWD comparisons. The good ones will show multiple vehicles usually on some sort of ramp or contraption that allows only certain wheels to spin freely to simulate loss of traction. The outcomes are usually pretty interesting.

Here's a pretty good one that shows the CX-5 and other vehicles in the segment: (although it is an ad for subaru)
 
Last edited:
thedaddyb said:
This.

Haldex is decent enough for most drivers/situations but doesn't hold a match to some of the AWD systems from Audi, Subaru, and Acura to name a few. I do have a gripe with this in vehicle advertising. It is very hard to get the true details of how the cars AWD system is setup and what type of diffs, and clutches are used.

When you have some downtime, go browse some youtube videos of AWD comparisons. The good ones will show multiple vehicles usually on some sort of ramp or contraption that allows only certain wheels to spin freely to simulate loss of traction. The outcomes are usually pretty interesting.

Here's a pretty good one that shows the CX-5 and other vehicles in the segment: (although it is an ad for subaru)
Click to expand...


That "test" is useless without at least the same tires. Someone else mentioned they should all be at gvw too.
 
True, but I think it is a good enough comparison to show the vehicle with original equipment as you would purchase it from the dealer.
Not many people would immediately change the tires or add another set of wheels/tires unless they lived in a climate that needed it.
 
Another one (still an ad for subaru) Although testing older cars, it pretty much takes the tires out of the equation by just using rollers and not a slippery surface.
Also good that it gives a better explanation of how things work.

 
I sent an e-mail to this guys asking questions about the Subaru and never replied, like you said: is an add for Subaru even though I can see the CX-5 all wheels are spinning.
thedaddyb said:
This.

Haldex is decent enough for most drivers/situations but doesn't hold a match to some of the AWD systems from Audi, Subaru, and Acura to name a few. I do have a gripe with this in vehicle advertising. It is very hard to get the true details of how the cars AWD system is setup and what type of diffs, and clutches are used.

When you have some downtime, go browse some youtube videos of AWD comparisons. The good ones will show multiple vehicles usually on some sort of ramp or contraption that allows only certain wheels to spin freely to simulate loss of traction. The outcomes are usually pretty interesting.

Here's a pretty good one that shows the CX-5 and other vehicles in the segment: (although it is an ad for subaru)
Click to expand...
 
Chris_Top_Her said:
That "test" is useless without at least the same tires. Someone else mentioned they should all be at gvw too.
Click to expand...
I agree. My wife essentially duplicated this test yesterday going up my brother's long inclined driveway that was covered with ice and snow with our CX-5 Touring AWD. My wife said the CX-5 marched up the driveway with no sweat. Our 2015 CX-5 came equipped with Yokohama Geolandars, and, has performed well through the heavy snow storms we've had here.

Regards:
Oldengineer
2015 Mazda CX-5 Touring AWD
2011 M-B GLK350 4Matic
1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Town Sedan
 
zoomtruck said:
If one of the rear tires was spinning and the other one wasn't your AWD system is working, that means that the clutch pack @ the rear differential is transferring power to the rear end, unfortunately is not equipped with limited slip differential, has an open differential which means if one of the tires looses grip doesn't transfer power to the other tire in the same axle, the traction control should try to slow or stop the tire that is spinning to transfer power to the other wheel in the same axle and get more traction. I hope this information answer your question!
Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused - Mazda claims the rear differential is limited slip: https://www.mazda.co.nz/innovation/driving-engine-technology/active-torque-split-ats-all-wheel-drive
 
These videos are subaru promotion videos, but it does highlight that competitors awd/4wd systems are mainly marketing terms, than substance (in this class of vehicle).
 
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