Mazda5 Gotchas/Concerns, etc

[cllewis]

Greetings. My family has had a 2001 MPV for 8 years as our primary vehicle and love it. It is at 164k and isn't showing any signs of letting up. During that time I have bounced around on a couple of different second cars; the wife and kids ride around in the MPV and I need a vehicle for driving to and from work and occasionally other areas around the state.

I'm seriously considering a used Mazda5 as our family's second car. The reviews are pretty strong and the used car values are fairly low for everything you get with a Mazda5. My price range of up to a max of about USD $8000 is probably going to have me in a first generation Mazda5 with around 100k miles on it. I recognize in terms of interior space the 5 is smaller than the MPV, so the MPV would still be our road trip vehicle until it gives us a really good reason for it not to be. Also, when I say "first generation" I recognize that may not mean the same thing to everyone...I'm referring to the first generation in the USA, the 2006-2011 model years.

My question - are there any model years which I should specifically avoid? Any systems which have chronic problems? Any power options which routinely break down? When I bought the MPV in 2007 I felt really good about it because of the advice I received over at mpvclub.com, and I have been able to DIY a lot of repairs thanks to advice there.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. Also, if you know of any good ones for sale in your area, let me know if you're in the southeast.

 

[Donewood]

06 have issues with tailgates, cracking and sticking sunroofs. The sun roof that opens to the outside (Mid year replacment) same as 07 and later are fine. Good luck. Oh and the weird rear tire ware which is an easy fix, is also as issue in 06, 07 and 08s.

 

[Wishmaster]

This is purely anecdotal... some others may disagree and their input is welcome... but from what I've seen floating around this forum for a number of years... In my opinion, if I were you, I would maybe avoid a 2008. The only reason is that it seems to me that most of the people who have had tranny issues had/have '08's. This was the model year they switched from a 4 speed auto to a newer 5 speed auto. But they seemed to had fixed it for the '09 model year. Of course you could avoid all that by going standard. Also, it seems issues could also be avoided with a good transmission maintenance routine (one that is much better than the recommended one)... the problem with that is it may be difficult to tell with a used vehicle what kind of tranny maintenance has been performed over the years.

Other than that, I think all model years are pretty much the same... they all need non-oem suspension upgrades (sway bar bushings, rear struts and front shocks).

 

[Tushawn]

Make sure the rear door locks work, and also front end noises

 

[Silentnoise713]

2009 Mazda 5 GT in white.

Save up for it

 

[Davicho]

I don't know if your $8K budget may afford it but if not, I'd save a little more and stick to a 2009-2010 model year if you absolutely want a 1st gen MZ5. If you buy a sport and you don't like the ugly (subjective) taillights, you can always swap them out to the nicer 2006-2007 MY MZ5 or to the 2008-2010 Touring/GT LED taillights, of course if you score on a T or GT then you don't have to worry about this. Also, 2009 still had side marker lamps on the fenders as well as door moldings (IIRC), the 2010 MY MZ5 went away with both.

 

[Silentnoise713]

2010 gets Electronic Stability Control (think of it as ABS+, applying brakes for you) and Traction Control (think of it as DBW+, retards throttle body input and fuel) when the car thinks it is in a slip. It’s the beginning of the semi-autonomous car . In general, this tech is good for most point A to point B drives but not for all. I am not against the technology (it is good when executed property) but the problem is budget manufacturers only started implementing it to meet NHTSA mandated as of 2012. If it was luxury or sports car moniker behind the implementation I would want it in my car.

 

[Secondtyme]

Be wary of first gen cars that have never had their rear suspension issues sorted properly. The bushings in the rear trailing arms, lateral links and rear shocks should all be inspected carefully on any gen one car (and by gen one I mean 2006-2008) which is found for sale with brand new tires. I don't mean to say that new tires = car with issues, just be careful. If you see a first gen car with the rear tires worn funny (usually the inside edge tread worn away) that means the rear alignment and therefore the rear suspension condition is suspect, just FYI

 

[simonnyc]

I have an '07 Touring. Over the last 8.5 years of ownership, I've had numerous issues with the suspension. The driver side rear wheel well is also heavily rusted (which I didn't realize was an issue with Mazdas). I thought it was just bad luck on my part.

 

[Tushawn]

Hey, my 06' is also rusted in the wheel wells. I can second the suspension issues as well. Oddly enough I still like this car though.

 

[thaxman]

06: don't do it!
07: look past them
They get much better after the 08 refresh.