CX-5 Tune Up - Time or Miles?

Panther

Zoomer not a Boomer
Contributor
:
2016 MAZDA CX-5 GT AWD with TECH PKG / i-ActivSense
Hi All,
I'm going to have to take my 2016 CX-5 GT AWD into the Dealership to get the
flickering light ring replaced under recall and was wondering about your Thoughts on
getting a tune up while they've got it there.
I've had the car since Aug 2015, only have 36K Miles on it, bought it as my Retirement Gift to Myself
so have only driven it on long trips and honestly only put a little over 2K on it last year.
The Car seems to run well, my gas mileage is only about 24 avg which since I don't really drive long distances
most of it's stop and start city driving with a little more highway at 75 or so.
I'd appreciate your thoughts and suggestions
Take Care, Be Safe, and Well,
Craig
 
Just oil/filter. Tire rotation. Maybe engine filter if you haven't replaced it earlier. Oh, cabin air filter too.
Don't let them try to sell you things you don't need like fuel injector cleaning, etc.

ps: you sound like me, bought my 2016 in Apr of 2015 and just turned 37,000 on the odo.
Although we have a 2019 Turbo and drive that mostly.
 
Just oil/filter. Tire rotation. Maybe engine filter if you haven't replaced it earlier. Oh, cabin air filter too.
Don't let them try to sell you things you don't need like fuel injector cleaning, etc.

ps: you sound like me, bought my 2016 in Apr of 2015 and just turned 37,000 on the odo.
Although we have a 2019 Turbo and drive that mostly.
Thanks, I guess I'm just an old Dinosaur and remember the old days of having TuneUp's every couple of yrs or so .
Take Care,
CK
 
Likewise.
And my 2019 GTR only has 10.5k miles.
:D:D:D It's nice isn't it, I had the young guys at the Oil Change place
laughing when I'd asked them how many miles since I had my oil changed "last"
year... The guy that came over and said right at 2K miles, and the young guys said How Many !!
and were laughing, I said that's one of the nice things about Retirement, I don't have to get up
and drive to work everyday ...............they didn't seem to laugh much after that ;-)
Nice guys and they did a good job !!!
Take Care
CK
 
Hi All,
I'm going to have to take my 2016 CX-5 GT AWD into the Dealership to get the
flickering light ring replaced under recall and was wondering about your Thoughts on
getting a tune up while they've got it there.
I've had the car since Aug 2015, only have 36K Miles on it, bought it as my Retirement Gift to Myself
so have only driven it on long trips and honestly only put a little over 2K on it last year.
The Car seems to run well, my gas mileage is only about 24 avg which since I don't really drive long distances
most of it's stop and start city driving with a little more highway at 75 or so.
I'd appreciate your thoughts and suggestions
Take Care, Be Safe, and Well,
Craig

Flickering light ring recall? What's this?
 
The previous gen CX-5's had an issue with the LED accent lighting which was covered by Mazda.

I would have them check the brake fluid as well (or you can get test strips and do it yourself). It's likely fine, but after 7 yrs it could need changing.

I have a funny story myself. While my CX-5 gets driven regularly (we did about 9k miles last year) I have a 2006 BMW M Roadster with a bit over 20k miles on the clock. I bought it in 2009 with 9600 miles. I had to have the tires replaced last year due to age (I replaced them 10yrs prior so they still looked brand new with 90% of the tread left). The young guys at the tire shop were completely flummoxed over the car. I could hear them talking to each other saying "this car only has 20k miles on it!". When I left the guy that gave me the keys asked if he could take a photo of the car. It was hilarious.
 
Brake fluid flush is a good idea and recommend. I had mine done at 6 year mark. But why at the dealer? Have you checked prices to avoid a 'walletdectomy'.
The cabin air filter you can do yourself in 5 minutes and avoid the $75 ? they'll charge you. It involves dropping the glovebox lid and sliding out the old filter.
Since the car is out of warranty about the only thing assured by the dealer is high prices. Find a good independent garage unless you have a good dealer who is competitive. Just my thoughts.
 
Brake fluid flush is a good idea and recommend. I had mine done at 6 year mark. But why at the dealer? Have you checked prices to avoid a 'walletdectomy'.
The cabin air filter you can do yourself in 5 minutes and avoid the $75 ? they'll charge you. It involves dropping the glovebox lid and sliding out the old filter.
Since the car is out of warranty about the only thing assured by the dealer is high prices. Find a good independent garage unless you have a good dealer who is competitive. Just my thoughts.
You know in any other car I would agree with you on the cabin filter. I replaced mine a couple weeks ago and it is the one thing I hate doing on the CX-5. I literally spent at least 20 minutes trying to release the glove compartment. It just doesn't seem to want to come out the way it's portrayed in the youtube videos. It's cheap plastic and all it seems like it wants to do is bend and not release.
I've replaced CAF's in Nissan's and Honda and they were a breeze. I did our old Honda in two minutes flat.
I may just spend the $50.00 next time to avoid the frustration.
 
You know in any other car I would agree with you on the cabin filter. I replaced mine a couple weeks ago and it is the one thing I hate doing on the CX-5. I literally spent at least 20 minutes trying to release the glove compartment. It just doesn't seem to want to come out the way it's portrayed in the youtube videos. It's cheap plastic and all it seems like it wants to do is bend and not release.
I've replaced CAF's in Nissan's and Honda and they were a breeze. I did our old Honda in two minutes flat.
I may just spend the $50.00 next time to avoid the frustration.
As long as the sides of the glovebox are pushed inward enough and the little support strut on the side is unsnapped, the box drops freely and changeout is easy.
 
You know in any other car I would agree with you on the cabin filter. I replaced mine a couple weeks ago and it is the one thing I hate doing on the CX-5. I literally spent at least 20 minutes trying to release the glove compartment. It just doesn't seem to want to come out the way it's portrayed in the youtube videos. It's cheap plastic and all it seems like it wants to do is bend and not release.
I hear you. I have the same issue with my 2014 Sienna while my CX-5 is fine. I have to use a pry bar and finagling to get that Toyota box to drop and again to get it back in. It strikes me that these plastic boxes are not manufactured to tight tolerances. A bad batch hear and there that are a couple of mm's too wide would explain why this problem is uncommon.

New owners should take a minute to test this before hitting 12 months / 12,000 miles. It strikes me as a problem to be fixed under the fit and finish warranty.
 
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…The Car seems to run well, my gas mileage is only about 24 avg which since I don't really drive long distances….

I would consider that very decent mileage for in-town driving. Was that value calculated from miles and gallons purchased, or the mpg computed by the CX ‘puter?
 
Hi All,
I'm going to have to take my 2016 CX-5 GT AWD into the Dealership to get the
flickering light ring replaced under recall and was wondering about your Thoughts on
getting a tune up while they've got it there.
I've had the car since Aug 2015, only have 36K Miles on it, bought it as my Retirement Gift to Myself
so have only driven it on long trips and honestly only put a little over 2K on it last year.
The Car seems to run well, my gas mileage is only about 24 avg which since I don't really drive long distances
most of it's stop and start city driving with a little more highway at 75 or so.
I'd appreciate your thoughts and suggestions
Take Care, Be Safe, and Well,
Craig
Just do your maintenance based on your owner's manual like others said. But you should find an indie you trust doing all the maintenance work if you don't DIY. I use dealers only for warranty work and recalls. You can try cabin filter replacement by yourself as it's very easy. Watch YouTube video to get a feel. Brake fluid replacement isn't on the maintenance list in the US but Mazda does list that in other regions. I just use a simple brake fluid tester and replace the fluid when the moisture is over 2% indicated by the tester. I use Discount Tire Store for all tire services, and Brakes Plus for 4-wheel alignment. You can try Brakes Plus to get brake fluid replaced as usually they're pretty good.
 
I would consider that very decent mileage for in-town driving. Was that value calculated from miles and gallons purchased, or the mpg computed by the CX ‘puter?
It was on the Car Computer, most all is from in town and some highway but not much.
I had battery issues last year, and so when unhooking it things kind of had to start over.
Take Care
CK
 
Just do your maintenance based on your owner's manual like others said. But you should find an indie you trust doing all the maintenance work if you don't DIY. I use dealers only for warranty work and recalls. You can try cabin filter replacement by yourself as it's very easy. Watch YouTube video to get a feel. Brake fluid replacement isn't on the maintenance list in the US but Mazda does list that in other regions. I just use a simple brake fluid tester and replace the fluid when the moisture is over 2% indicated by the tester. I use Discount Tire Store for all tire services, and Brakes Plus for 4-wheel alignment. You can try Brakes Plus to get brake fluid replaced as usually they're pretty good.
Hi Ray
You mean I'm supposed to read the Manual ???? Good to see you're still around !!!
I did check it and was just really wondering about the Spark Plugs and if it'd do me
any good. I've got a good Mechanic close by (1/2 mile) but just didn't know if it would really gain me anything in mileage and performance . I do change all the Filters myself, but I'll get the brake fluid tested.
Thanks, Take Care, Be Safe,
CK
 
Hi Ray
You mean I'm supposed to read the Manual ???? Good to see you're still around !!!
I did check it and was just really wondering about the Spark Plugs and if it'd do me
any good. I've got a good Mechanic close by (1/2 mile) but just didn't know if it would really gain me anything in mileage and performance . I do change all the Filters myself, but I'll get the brake fluid tested.
Thanks, Take Care, Be Safe,
CK
Ha, you don’t have to read the entire manual, just read page 6-5 and 6-6 to know the scheduled maintenance of your 2016 CX-5 and follow it.

About the spark plug replacement you can follow the 75,000-mile schedule (no time period specified) which should be another 7 years for you, unless you have the mis-fire CEL going off. The engine coolant replacement is 120,000 miles or 10 years and you need to do that in Aug. 2025. Oil change interval is 10,000 miles or 12 months, and you can do oil change yearly.

You can also consider ATF and gear oil changes on front transfer case and rear differential at around 50,000 miles although they aren’t on the official maintenance list.
 
By the way, make sure to check your serpentine belt tensioner as it’s prone to leak. Mine is leaking at 42K miles.
 
Hi All,
I'm going to have to take my 2016 CX-5 GT AWD into the Dealership to get the
flickering light ring replaced under recall and was wondering about your Thoughts on
getting a tune up while they've got it there.
Agree with the other posters. That whole tuneup thing dates back to the early days of carburettors, leaded gas, mechanical ignition (distributor, points, rotors, cap. etc), along with winter and summer thermostats and rad flushes. Those days are long gone, but dealers and some indie shops still try and sell the fall and spring tune up scam.
At your mileage, just do the routine maintenance, oil, filter, tire rotation. Check the brakes, cabin filter and air filter, and you're good to go.
Oh, and don't forget to top up the blinker fluid, and refresh the halogen in your headlights, as well as some fresh air in the tires. lol.
 
Agree with the other posters. That whole tuneup thing dates back to the early days of carburettors, leaded gas, mechanical ignition (distributor, points, rotors, cap. etc), along with winter and summer thermostats and rad flushes. Those days are long gone, but dealers and some indie shops still try and sell the fall and spring tune up scam.
At your mileage, just do the routine maintenance, oil, filter, tire rotation. Check the brakes, cabin filter and air filter, and you're good to go.
Oh, and don't forget to top up the blinker fluid, and refresh the halogen in your headlights, as well as some fresh air in the tires. lol.
Thanks Buzz !!! Well have to say being and Old Dino all those things are still instilled !!! I had a 73' MGB as a daily driver for almost 14yrs, so I was used to monthly weekly maintenance !!!
 
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