Lack of power - Almost caused an accident on HWY

[ca_mazda]

I've only owned my cx-5 for 3 weeks and its been a great car so far. However the lack of power/torque is still something I'm getting used to.
Getting onto freeway on ramps is a struggle, IMO.

Anyways this past weekend I went on a short road trip which consisted of driving up a 2 1/2 mile hill with a 7% grade on highway 101 (Camarillo CA, southbound heading towards LA)
Not only did the engine sound like it was giving its all, the lack of power almost caused an accident because I couldn't accelerate to a decent pace. I had cars all around me speeding up this hill like ease and yet I had to maneuver myself to the slow lanes with the semi trucks.
There was a prius zoom-zooming past me on this hill. Plus before I finally turned the engine off, about 5 miles after that hill, the transmission had that "jolting" feel.

I find this pretty upsetting.
Has anyone here experienced this issue when driving up hills?

 

[rmac]

No issues with me merging or going uphills. Did you use the manual shift or let the automatic do the work? I always try to give myself enough space to accelerate and get up to speed to merge.

 

[nizzy1115]

Seriously this whole acceleration issue is such bs. Priuses were zooming past? Really? The cx5 does 0-60 in just over 9 seconds. The prius does it in over 10.

Perhaps you had 5 cheesburger loving passengers and a full hatch?

 

[thegrapeguy]

MPG come at a cost! Use manual and deal with the noisy engine!

 

[IHeartGroceries]

Seriously this whole acceleration issue is such bs. Priuses were zooming past? Really? The cx5 does 0-60 in just over 9 seconds. The prius does it in over 10.

Perhaps you had 5 cheesburger loving passengers and a full hatch?

hahahaha!!! Friggin hilarious.

 

[Gio26NJ]

Yeah, I don't get it either. I drive on the Garden State Parkway where people tend to drive at 90mph (exaggeration probably in the 80's though) yet I have no problem merging in, passing vehicles, or keeping up with traffic while maintaining decent MPG numbers. I mean you surely knew what you were getting, I have not touched the manual transmission mode yet, I let the automatic do the work.

 

[jaman_ca]

No issues with merging for me, actually, downshifting to 4th to pass some slow vehicles scarred my mother-in-law a bit (I know, that's not saying much).

 

[SeaX-5]

Yeah, I don't get it either. I drive on the Garden State Parkway where people tend to drive at 90mph (exaggeration probably in the 80's though) yet I have no problem merging in, passing vehicles, or keeping up with traffic while maintaining decent MPG numbers. I mean you surely knew what you were getting, I have not touched the manual transmission mode yet, I let the automatic do the work.

That's only because the state troopers give you an escort. (five-0) (rockon)

 

[katmar]

Plus before I finally turned the engine off, about 5 miles after that hill, the transmission had that "jolting" feel.

Jolting feeling? Can you describe that further?

 

[under200]

Seriously this whole acceleration issue is such bs. Priuses were zooming past? Really? The cx5 does 0-60 in just over 9 seconds. The prius does it in over 10.

Perhaps you had 5 cheesburger loving passengers and a full hatch?

+100, there are slower cars out there that do not get half the grief that the CX-5 unfairly gets. Subaru Impreza for example.

 

[erhayes]

This can't be correct. I suspect that the gas peddle was not pushed down enough to cause a drop to 5 or 4th gear. I drive a CX7 and when along a CX5, they seem to have more than sufficient power when we're having some fun. There must be 25 new vehicles on the road today that accelerate slower than a 5. Maybe we got a load of off brand bad gas?

 

[CX-SV]

Exactly, learn how to mash the gas pedal when full power is needed. This will cause automatic and rapid downshifts for out-accelerating Prius's, Smart cars, dump trucks, tractors, semis, school buses, Fiat 500's, Yaris's, Sprinter vans, mopeds and other such machinery.

Note: maybe that jolting feeling was the execution of a downshift resulting from deep gas pedal pressure.

 

[johnygfunk]

I live in the area too. I have gone up that grade just fine a few times. What gear were you in? Did you pay attention to that? (counting down shifts and up shifts if it's an auto). What was your speed before heading up the grade? What was your speed on the grade? Seriously my little guy pulls up hills and steep on ramps in the area just fine. Sure it will drop to 4th or 5th depending upon speed and incline and maybe rev to 4000 but the transmission knows what it is doing and at 4000 you can accelerate just fine. My car never gets this "jolting" a few people have mentioned and it is as smooth as ever.

What model do you have? Where did you buy it? - Might be worth a trip to the dealer to complain (though I doubt it). Either you have never driven a car with a lower power engine or your driving style is poor. Learn to accelerate on the flat before the grade and hold going up the grade. Don't try and gun it up the grade and accelerate going up the grade like so many in the area do. I often hit that grade going 75+ in the fast lane and work over 2 lanes to the right by the top holding my speed at around 65 (both in the CX-5 and my older cars). Be aware of what your car is capable of and accommodate your driving style to it. Don't try and get the car to do something it wasn't designed to do.

 

[puddle.jumper]

i'd be concerned that the jolting feel could be a sign of transmission or engine problems. you might need to have it inspected at a local dealer just to be sure everything is okay.

priuses(prii plural?) can be dangerous. i've seen a few aggressive drivers in them in and around town. pair that up with how quiet they can be.

just last month i remember a black one with tinted windows almost collided with a guy on a black scooter at an enter/exit point in a parking lot. the scooter, which had the right of way, happened to have a giant black flag with a middle finger on it. the guy started yelling & cursing hybrids & priuses & gave the driver the finger. had to be there to believe it actually happened. lol

"damn hybrids... dangerous!" - juice from sons of anarchy

 

[V8toilet]

Maybe you weren't accelerating fast enough because your tires were spinning. (trolls)(stupid)

 

[CX-5um]

Drove uphill on the 8 Freeway east of San Diego going through mountains in both a Prius and recently the CX-5. I've also drove a Mazda 6 (v6) and a BMW (inline 6) through there. Because of all the articles I've read I was expecting the CX-5 to struggle. To my delite the CX-5 pulled well enough on steep hills in which the automatic downshifts to 4th and even 3rd if needed (really steep hills). On moderate hills in which the auto downshifts to 4th/5th it's got ample passing power to get past slower traffic. The Prius is nowhere close to the CX-5 going up hills.

I'm not sure what grade this section of interstate 8 is but at the base of the mountain is 52 feet below sea level (El Centro) and goes up 4000 ft above sea level through the mountains. The CX-5 performed better than expected with my personal experience.

 

[cr2crf]

Drove uphill on the 8 Freeway east of San Diego going through mountains in both a Prius and recently the CX-5. I've also drove a Mazda 6 (v6) and a BMW (inline 6) through there. Because of all the articles I've read I was expecting the CX-5 to struggle. To my delite the CX-5 pulled well enough on steep hills in which the automatic downshifts to 4th and even 3rd if needed (really steep hills). On moderate hills in which the auto downshifts to 4th/5th it's got ample passing power to get past slower traffic. The Prius is nowhere close to the CX-5 going up hills.

I'm not sure what grade this section of interstate 8 is but at the base of the mountain is 52 feet below sea level (El Centro) and goes up 4000 ft above sea level through the mountains. The CX-5 performed better than expected with my personal experience.

That was very helpful. I appreciate you and johnygfunk mentioning actual highway numbers so we can get a perspective on what is being talked about. Oranges for oranges, etc. this is the one single issue that is making me really nervous about picking mine up next week.

 

[SapphireHearts]

I've had to pass a slow out of state driver on the road. It was a very weird feeling, pressing the pedal all the way to the stop on the floor and letting the engine and trans do the work. I'm used to the old direct linkage to the engine feeling where i know i could push a lil bit more.

 

[sdpadsfan]

Seriously this whole acceleration issue is such bs. Priuses were zooming past? Really? The cx5 does 0-60 in just over 9 seconds. The prius does it in over 10.

Perhaps you had 5 cheesburger loving passengers and a full hatch?

After following this thread, I began to think about how much pep my CX-5 has. As I thought about all of my past cars, I realized that my CX-5 is the most powerful car I have ever owned. I am dead serious, I have never owned a car with as much horsepower and it gets better mileage than all of the others too.

 

[Zeal-Girl]

last week I took ours on a jaunt through the peninsula here, it was such a joy. Some of the section of road was sign posted for steep inclines and dcelines, some were tight hairpin turns.... the CX-5 perfomed beautifully.

Today was highway driving at 100km in 100km gusts of wind and the rain... again the CX-5 felt fantastic. All I did was consider the terrain and driving conditions and planned/drove accordingly.

nizzy1115 - love the cheeseburger!