Looking at buying used 2016 CX-5 Touring

[dukeofurl]

I'm looking at buying a used 2016 CX-5 Touring, automatic transmission, a little less than 60K miles for mileage. Looks like it was manufactured around March 2015, so I guess it was around the early side of that model year. I test drove it recently and was very pleased with the test drive.

Not being an expert on Mazdas, I'm trying to do my online due diligence on this model and year and I've seen various clickbait youtube videos and sketchy information aggregator websites that suggest that the 2016 is somehow one of the worst model years of CX-5 to buy... however, the issues seem somewhat minor in the grand scheme of things - such as the loud noise of the power seat due to the cable vibration (this car has this issue, I noticed it during the test drive), or the headlight assembly needing to be replaced (it has been replaced recently on this particular car by the current dealership owner), or the sun roof glass exploding in hot climates (is this really a frequent issue???).

More importantly though, I read some troubling things about the 2016 model year occasionally having significant transmission issues, even at low mileage, that necessitate a complete new transmission replacement for thousands of dollars. The best I can find about this, is that it may have been related to defective parts at the factory, didn't necessarily effect every 2016 CX-5, and the issues often occurred at low mileage, so I'm hoping if it was to occur with this one, it would have happened already. Separately, I have found several anecdotes of peopling owning their 2016's since new, putting in excess of 100K on them, and not having transmission issues at all, so the frequency of this kind of significant transmission problems scenario seems way way less than say... the catastrophic transmission issues that seem to hit 2016 Ford Escapes.

I was wondering if anyone here has anything to say about this model year. I guess, whether my assessment is wrong and I really should go out of my way to avoid 2016s in particular, or if my assessment is somewhat on the mark, and the problems for this year are kinda overblown. I like to keep my cars for a long time and put as many miles as I can on them so reliability/longevity is important to me.

Thanks for your help!

 

[wlong01]

Have a 16 Touring that I purchased new in April 2015. There were some tranny issues reported but they cropped up early (less than 20,000 miles) and were replaced under warranty. Obviously a mfgr. issue.
As far as I'm concerned the car is rock solid. I've done nothing to it except oil/filter changes, new battery and rear brakes. There were some issues reported with the rear calipers dragging but I've never experienced the problem and my VIN fell in the range of the ones that may have the problem.

If the carfax is clean I would not hesitate to purchase it.

I was so impressed with the 16 after coming from a CR-V that we went ahead and bought a 2019 CX-5 GTR (Turbo) in Aug. of 2019.

 

[PaulZooms]

Don’t believe the haters overblown bs. My 16.5 GT is pushing 70k miles. We recently had our first repair- replacement of the power seat wire harness for < $100.

We recently completed several ‘mid-life’ services adding up to ~$1k: Transmission flush and fill, fuel injector cleaning and rear brake pad replacement. OEM rear brakes lasted 68k miles! OEM front brakes are still like new.

If the car is at a dealer, they certainly should fix the seat screech. You might also want to negotiate the mid-life services into the deal.

Any brake work required should certainly be included (take it to Brakes Plus for a free inspection.)

If they do (or you buy) the transmission flush/fill, make sure they have the special machine to suck it dry. You can only drain it half way via gravity and some dealers drain and refill 2x to replace 75% of the fluid. Subpar! The transmission fluid is supposed lifetime, but I take that to mean ‘length of the warranty.’ Some prefer to let it be. Many feel that 60k miles is the time to do it, or decide to ride it out. Doing it later seems to be ill-advised.

After the refresh, it drives like new. My wife, who is now the primary driver, hopes to keep it to 200k miles.

 

[dukeofurl]

Thanks guys, guess you're stuck with me now because I bought the car!

Dealer, which is a certified Mazda dealer, said never to replace the transmission fluid, for what that's worth. Car seems to drive very smoothly atm so I guess I'm not in a rush to do it. I don't think I could forgive myself if I monkeyed things up with my "new" car . They have installed new tires, battery, and brake pads+rotors as part of their servicing. What I thought was a replacement of the headlight assembly on their servicing sheet was actually just a replacement of one of the rear taillights, so hopefully the stock headlights don't start doing the flicker/failure thing I've read about anytime soon.

 

[wlong01]

Thanks guys, guess you're stuck with me now because I bought the car!

Dealer, which is a certified Mazda dealer, said never to replace the transmission fluid, for what that's worth. Car seems to drive very smoothly atm so I guess I'm not in a rush to do it. I don't think I could forgive myself if I monkeyed things up with my "new" car . They have installed new tires, battery, and brake pads+rotors as part of their servicing. What I thought was a replacement of the headlight assembly on their servicing sheet was actually just a replacement of one of the rear taillights, so hopefully the stock headlights don't start doing the flicker/failure thing I've read about anytime soon.

If you have a Touring it doesn't have the LED lights that had a lot of failures early on.
Also, I would go ahead and have the transmission fluid replaced. Many dealers originally said the fluid was lifetime but have since changed their tune. You can buy the fluid from the dealer and have a Indy shop do the drain/fill if the dealer doesn't want to do it.

 

[skid00skid0]

I bought a 2016.5. Best designed and built car I've owned (incl. Audi, Honda, Mitsubishi).

I've pretty much convinced my wife to get a CX-30 or CX-5.

OH-and the auto tranny shifts *exactly* how I would shift a manual, depending on throttle position. Love it.

 

[ColtX-5]

I didn't know any of those things happened to 2016s. My '16.5 has been perfect. I tow an RV with it that is heavy for its rating and, now at 105k miles, no trans trouble, at all.

 

[wlong01]

I didn't know any of those things happened to 2016s. My '16.5 has been perfect. I tow an RV with it that is heavy for its rating and, now at 105k miles, no trans trouble, at all.

There was a lot of Doom & Gloom when the 16's first came out but most of the problems never materialized. I've had zero issues with my 16 and it's 7+ years old now.

 

[yrwei52]

I'm looking at buying a used 2016 CX-5 Touring, automatic transmission, a little less than 60K miles for mileage. Looks like it was manufactured around March 2015, so I guess it was around the early side of that model year. I test drove it recently and was very pleased with the test drive.

Not being an expert on Mazdas, I'm trying to do my online due diligence on this model and year and I've seen various clickbait youtube videos and sketchy information aggregator websites that suggest that the 2016 is somehow one of the worst model years of CX-5 to buy... however, the issues seem somewhat minor in the grand scheme of things - such as the loud noise of the power seat due to the cable vibration (this car has this issue, I noticed it during the test drive), or the headlight assembly needing to be replaced (it has been replaced recently on this particular car by the current dealership owner), or the sun roof glass exploding in hot climates (is this really a frequent issue???).

More importantly though, I read some troubling things about the 2016 model year occasionally having significant transmission issues, even at low mileage, that necessitate a complete new transmission replacement for thousands of dollars. The best I can find about this, is that it may have been related to defective parts at the factory, didn't necessarily effect every 2016 CX-5, and the issues often occurred at low mileage, so I'm hoping if it was to occur with this one, it would have happened already. Separately, I have found several anecdotes of peopling owning their 2016's since new, putting in excess of 100K on them, and not having transmission issues at all, so the frequency of this kind of significant transmission problems scenario seems way way less than say... the catastrophic transmission issues that seem to hit 2016 Ford Escapes.

I was wondering if anyone here has anything to say about this model year. I guess, whether my assessment is wrong and I really should go out of my way to avoid 2016s in particular, or if my assessment is somewhat on the mark, and the problems for this year are kinda overblown. I like to keep my cars for a long time and put as many miles as I can on them so reliability/longevity is important to me.

Thanks for your help!

You should have found a 2016.5 CX-5 as it’s the best CX-5 ever IMO and it has fixed several defects and issues on the 2016. And you’d have the heated front seats to boot if you got a 2016.5 CX-5 Touring. But the 2016 CX-5 is still pretty good other than some “minor” issues.

I bought a 2016.5. Best designed and built car I've owned (incl. Audi, Honda, Mitsubishi).

I didn't know any of those things happened to 2016s. My '16.5 has been perfect.

You got a 2016 CX-5 Touring, so you don’t have the LED DRL problem unless yous has the optional Touring Technology Package. It’d be covered under a recall anyway.

Check with a Mazda dealer and see if your 2016 has done the rest of 3 recalls. If the recall hasn’t been done on rear liftgate struts, DON’T DO IT, as the revised struts are inferior.

The most “major” problem your 2016 CX-5 most likely could have is the rear disk brake calipers with EPB. Mazda has issued several TSBs for this, and eventually Mazda had to revise the calipers to fix the disk dragging or locking-up issue.

The other item prone to fail is the leaky serpentine belt tensioner.

If you have the optional Bose sound system, your 9” woofers on the front doors could have rusted. There’s a TSB for it with the revised Bose woofer.

See, most issues are minor.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Love my 2016.5 GT! 127,000 with no issues. I maintain my Evil M religiously.