Is your 2017~2018 CX-5 running rough on cold days? Check the engine mounts

[Voodooman777]

It turned extremely cold (-31C) here a week ago and my 2018 CX-5 GT started running extremely rough during startup and acceleration. I discussed this issue with a few people who had the same problem on another Mazda forum. Here is a copy and paste of my final reply on that forum...

They ended up changing my rear engine mount. Only took about 30 minutes to complete. I talked to the service manager and he told me that they changed quite a few of these over the past week or so. He said they got a notice from Mazda head office about this problem a few days ago. Turns out that since the introduction of the 2017 CX-5, Mazda in an attempt to make a quieter Vehicle, Mazda changed these mounts from rubber to some kind of gel fill. When it goes below -30C this gel gets hard and cracks. He said they replaced mine with a rubber mount so that this won't happen again. I won't know for sure until it gets cold again. Right now its only about -20C and the car was warm from being in the shop. According to the shop invoice the new part is KN3L-39-040. Hope this helps anyone who has engine vibration and lives in a northern climate.

 

[yrwei52]

Is your 2017 - 2018 cx-5 running rough on cold days, check your engine mounts

This issue has been reported since gen-2 came out in 2017 and owners experienced the first cold winter in 2018. Mazda was suppose to come out new liquid engine mounts which is functional in extremely cold temperature. Looks like Mazda is still working on the resolution hence the vibration in cold problem is lingering on ⋯

New cx5 GS vibration issue

Hey guys, got word on Friday that Mazda is aware of the vibration issue in cold weather and are currently doing testing and coming up with a fix. They're hoping to have a fix before next winter, it's too late to do anything for this winter.

I'll see if I can get more info to pass along.

 

[tibimakai]

Mazda did not test these, before they manufactured them? (huh)

 

[madar]

Mazda did not test these, before they manufactured them? (huh)

Bah! Who would've thought stuff freezes when it gets really cold??

 

[Zeroman]

There is a active tsb for this problem. The new mount is rubber having mine replaced next week.

 

[tf6217]

Can someone tell me how much it cost for this repair? Thanks

 

[sm1ke]

Can someone tell me how much it cost for this repair? Thanks

A Google search of the part number mentioned in the original post (KN3L-39-040) shows various websites that list the part at $71-75. Add shipping and taxes to that. Then contact your local independent shops to get some quotes. These quotes will vary depending on the shop, because different shops have different labor rates. Shouldn't be too much though, if the dealer was able to replace it in 30 mins.

 

[CX5_Driver]

@sm1ke not sure if it is a regional thing, the independent shops in my area do not allow customer provided parts. That is to say the parts for the repair must be sourced by the repair shop. I guess this does a few things. 1) the shop can control the quality of the part; thus provide a warranty for the repair that includes the part and labor 2) it allows the shop to use their industry relationships to get the part cheaper [perhaps] and pass the savings onto the customer

Perhaps a phrase such as: "hey I only want OEM parts in this repair, so source appropriately" that should eliminate some of the worry about the repair.

 

[yrwei52]

Can someone tell me how much it cost for this repair? Thanks

Engine and transmission mounts are covered by Mazda’s 5-year / 60K-mile powertrain warranty in the US. Use this TSB to get engine mount #1 replaced with revised version under warranty:

TSB No.: 01-022/18 BODY VIBRATION WHEN ENGINE STARTED AFTER PARKING IN EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES

 

[macker]

Add me to the list of vibrating CX-5's in the wicked cold snaps (-25 to -40 C here). We were away on a trip when a cold snap hit here in Calgary. Came back to a dead battery (original OEM). Replaced it, and the car starts great, but noticed the bad NVH described here, particularly in the 1500 RPM range....until the car warmed up. Temps warmed up significantly here and the vibration is gone.

Thanks @ yrwei52 for posting the TSB. I'll be contacting the dealer here to see what needs to happen in order to identify whether this TSB is what is causing my issue.

Anyone had this repair done under warranty? Anyone done the repair themselves, and if so, what it pretty easy?

 

[macker]

Just got my car back from the dealer. They replaced the motor mount and related parts per the TSB. Covered by the powertrain warranty. Would recommend anyone in areas that get very cold during the winter (-25 C or below) to get into your dealer and ask them to perform the work, especially if you still have warranty left.

 

[200955]

Add me to the list of vibrating CX-5's in the wicked cold snaps (-25 to -40 C here). We were away on a trip when a cold snap hit here in Calgary. Came back to a dead battery (original OEM). Replaced it, and the car starts great, but noticed the bad NVH described here, particularly in the 1500 RPM range....until the car warmed up. Temps warmed up significantly here and the vibration is gone.

Thanks @ yrwei52 for posting the TSB. I'll be contacting the dealer here to see what needs to happen in order to identify whether this TSB is what is causing my issue.

Anyone had this repair done under warranty? Anyone done the repair themselves, and if so, what it pretty easy?

I was in North Bay three years back and noticed this symptom at -33 degrees - mine was the rear engine mount. It warmed up pretty quick and went away in about 5 minutes due to the under covers and the position of the exhaust manifold. This one is very easy to change but you should have a torque wrench and a support jack for the engine. A scissor jack will suffice. The front one appears to be just as easy.

 

[Jmaz]

I was in North Bay three years back and noticed this symptom at -33 degrees - mine was the rear engine mount. It warmed up pretty quick and went away in about 5 minutes due to the under covers and the position of the exhaust manifold. This one is very easy to change but you should have a torque wrench and a support jack for the engine. A scissor jack will suffice. The front one appears to be just as easy.

Along with the torque wrench you mention, an impact wrench may be even handier if the engine mount bolts are torqued to 100 + ft-lbs which is rather hard to loosen with hand tools especially if they have a threadlocker applied and a person lacks a lift and is changing the mount laying on their back.