Splash guards on Touring model

[street hawk]

Hey Guys,

I really wanted to get slpash guards on my new Mazda 5 but for whatever reason Mazda doesn't offer them for the Touring model because of the side sills. has anyone gotten slpash guards on the Touring? If so, where did you buy them from. How hard is it to install. And why can't you put splash guards on sills anyway?

 

[zoomzoom mazda5]

I'm still looking for a set too, will post it if i find one ,so far nobody makes one or nobody can find one. zoomzoom

 

[doctorz]

As one of about five people in the US that owns a 5 that doesn't have side sills (they come with the Popular Equipment Package on the Sport, which is the easy way to get the CD changer), I guess I'm unsually qualified to comment on the splash guards, since I did purchase a set. I haven't been very impressed by them. The splash guards are designed, ideally, to screw into the back of the fender and behind the fender. I'm guessing the side sills cover up the place behind the fender where the splash guard is supposed to fit. However, the splash guard doesn't really fit without the side sill, either; I can get the splash guard on, and it's currently on the 5, but it's not secured behind the fender.

I knew I was in trouble when the splash guards took a week to order, and the instruction manual was mostly in Japanese and said "Premacy," not "5". It seems to me that the splash guard would probably fit a Japanese model and isn't designed at all for the North American market. I installed OEM splash guards, both front and rear, on my Protege when new and they fit like a charm. This is one option that I hope Mazda fixes.

 

[2cam16]

I knew I was in trouble when the splash guards took a week to order, and the instruction manual was mostly in Japanese and said "Premacy," not "5". It seems to me that the splash guard would probably fit a Japanese model and isn't designed at all for the North American market. I installed OEM splash guards, both front and rear, on my Protege when new and they fit like a charm. This is one option that I hope Mazda fixes.

Correct me, anyone, if I'm wrong but as far as I know, there really isn't much difference between the JDM (Premacy) and the US (5) in terms of body parts.
I always thought you can't get the splashguards if you have the side skirts. If you look at the online Mazda parts stores, that's what they have described:

http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2281

 

[doctorz]

Correct me, anyone, if I'm wrong but as far as I know, there really isn't much difference between the JDM (Premacy) and the US (5) in terms of body parts.

I thought that, too. But the instructions refer to some rock guard something-or-other that doesn't exist. Whatever the case, I spent about an hour trying to figure out what should have been a five minute job, and they still don't fit securely.

I dragged out the instructions again, and I remembered one thing incorrectly--it's in English (the cassette player instructions was mostly in Japanese!), but says "Premacy" and all the figures are in the metric system. All this tells me that Mazda isn't expecting to sell a lot of them in the US, which is too bad. I aim to have four good splash guards (when did we stop calling them mud flaps?) on all of my cars and right now I have two ill-fitting guards on my newest car.

 

[zr27]

I thought that, too. But the instructions refer to some rock guard something-or-other that doesn't exist. Whatever the case, I spent about an hour trying to figure out what should have been a five minute job, and they still don't fit securely.

I dragged out the instructions again, and I remembered one thing incorrectly--it's in English (the cassette player instructions was mostly in Japanese!), but says "Premacy" and all the figures are in the metric system. All this tells me that Mazda isn't expecting to sell a lot of them in the US, which is too bad. I aim to have four good splash guards (when did we stop calling them mud flaps?) on all of my cars and right now I have two ill-fitting guards on my newest car.

Did you ever get this issue resolved? I am also looking into getting them on a 5 without sills. I too feel like the only person who does not like them on their car. I was afraid of scraping the underside on speed bumps so I opted to get the model w/o. Any pics of your install would be appreciated. Did you get them intsalled in the rear also?

 

[doctorz]

Did you ever get this issue resolved? I am also looking into getting them on a 5 without sills. I too feel like the only person who does not like them on their car. I was afraid of scraping the underside on speed bumps so I opted to get the model w/o. Any pics of your install would be appreciated. Did you get them intsalled in the rear also?

Here are pics of our side sill-less, spoiler-less 5, complete with splash guards. You'll note that the back of the splash guard is not fastened to the body of the car. The instructions say you have to unbolt part of a stone guard and cut a section off with a knife--but I don't see the stone guard they're talking about. Then they say to pop an anchor into one of the pre-existing hole, which is there, but is covered by a piece of flush-fitting plastic. Taking that plastic piece out leaves metal exposed, which I wasn't too thrilled about, and it still doesn't fit well--note that the splash guard doesn't fit flush. So I left the plastic piece in place and left the back of the splash guard unattached.

So far it's okay--there are three screws that anchor the splash guard to the wheel well, and so far they've held okay there. But the splash guards are a major disappointment compared to how easy front and rear splash guards fit to my Protege.

 

[2cam16]

You're right about the stoneguard. Looks like I don't have it either. I'm installing my guards later. Will let you know how it goes. As to the plastic plug, it's all good. It's not bare metal anyway, it's treated. I tested one mounting plug and it fits perfectly.

 

[2cam16]

Pics

That was an easy install. Took around 20 mins. tops. Since we don't have the rock guard, I delted the extra plastic piece from underneath. All it was really was a piece to clear the said guard.All in all, a great fit and nice addition to the 5.
Here are the pics:

 

[babelbox]

While I was changing my oil, I noticed that the white plastic piece that plugs into the hole popped out in both guards. I'm guessing it came off when I drove the car into the snow a few days ago. I pressed the white piece back into the hole again. I'll check again in a few weeks if it pops out again.