What is the longest road trip you've taken in your P5?

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paper1122

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03 P5 Auto
My wife and I along with my sister will be traveling from Central FL to VA in about a month. Due to gas prices and the fact that the P5 gets nearly double the mileage that my truck does we are probably going to take the P5, although my truck is bigger and more comfortable. Currently the car has right around 100k miles.

My question is being that it is a smaller car how did you do on the trip?

I know that I'll need to get a lumber pillow and I might try and make something to put on the arm rest to make it a bit taller and more comfortable. I am planning on installing my XM in the car for the trip as well.

Prior to the trip I am planning on giving the car a once over, however, when I bought the car in December it got a lot of work: EGR, Radiator, Motor Mounts, etc.

I am going to put a new set of tires on it, currently it has mis-matched front and rear and the fronts are store brand crap.

I also plan on jacking up the car and inspecting all the ball joints and tie-rod ends, etc. I will also do the easy stuff like checking all the fluids.

Anything else you guys can think of?
 
So far it sounds like your on the right track, don't know when you did an oil change but I would do one before you leave and replace your spark plugs if you can/want, I would also check your air filter, and I would carry a bottle of anitfreeze and a quart of oil for your trip.......I personally went to niagra falls from brooklyn ny and back, on balding tires, shot motor mounts and gas was $4 a gallon smh.....
 
If it hasn't been replaced check the timing belt. Would be a nightmare if that broke on you. Also I found a 4 hr trip to nc not bad at all.

Where at in va are you headed?
 
I just drove from Norfolk, VA to Pensacola, FL in September and then from Pensacola to Northern Maryland in my 02 P5. It handled the trip great, I did have a sensor issue which caused me to get less than 200 miles to the tank. So needless to say it was a pretty expensive trip.
 
I went from Newport News, VA to Fall River, MA with everything i owned in my P5. Took me about 9 hours give or take, filled up befor i left and had to fill up again on the interstate. Only thing that bothered me was my lower back but that's what i get for only stopping once and not stretching. You seem to have every thing in order the antifreeze and oil are good to have too. Oh and a backup pair of headlight bulbs, I did this trip a few times and the first time i did it i was stuck in traffic at 1 in the morning and noticed i couldn't see my headlights in the reflection of the car in front of me, turns out both bulbs blew at the exact same time, i ended up driving the rest of the way with just my fogs on.
 
I bought mine in nyc and drove it back to rochester, so my very first experience with mine was a road trip! I have a trip to. Ontreal coming up in a few months, so I am starting all the previously mentioned maintenence now.
 
I've driven from Bellingham Washington, (2 hours north of Seattle) to southern California (Newport Beach) twice to attend Mazfest in Fontanna

1300 miles EACH WAY. 2600+ miles total per trip

Car did great both times, great mileage, raced at the track, drove her back just fine. Had easily enough room for everything we needed in the back for 2 people. :)
 
Longest trip was San Antonio to St. Louis that was a drive took 18.5hrs to get there had a co pilot who drove like an old lady back was 13.5hrs drove by myself. But the ride was fine for me i did the basic once over on all the fluids, new tires, and all that good stuff once my car is up and running again im planning on more trips around the U.S.

As far as the gas went i got about 400 mi a tank which is alot better than my city driving about 250-300 a tank.
 
Last edited:
Tamn said:
I've driven from Bellingham Washington, (2 hours north of Seattle) to southern California (Newport Beach) twice to attend Mazfest in Fontanna

1300 miles EACH WAY. 2600+ miles total per trip

Car did great both times, great mileage, raced at the track, drove her back just fine. Had easily enough room for everything we needed in the back for 2 people. :)
Click to expand...

maybe some day i will do that, i am in Lacey, Wa. Mazfest would be awesome to go to.
 
I drove my msp from montreal to miami in about 27hours non-stop without any issues... I was deaf at the end though. I would assume a p5 would do just fine though :p
 
I have not done anything long yet, however in August I am driving down with two others in the p5 from Vancouver, BC. to Long Beach California. we are pretty stoked :p hope the car does well. I got a free coupon from mazda for a free oil change and I might have to change my pads and rotors and tires. Seems like a great traveling car. pretty roomy as we went camping with four people in the car and the trunk was absolutely loaded!!!
 
Went to Toronto a couple times (6 hour drive), the only problem I had was on the second trip, the A/C evaporator froze up a few times which left us without any airflow through the vents until the ice melted off. So you might want to make sure your A/C drain is clear (it's a little 2-3cm tube sticking out of the firewall on the lower-passenger side). Just hit it with some compressed air if you notice it's not leaking much water when you run the A/C on a humid day.
 
I drove mine from Akron, OH to Lime Rock Park in CT twice. About 500 miles each way. Also have taken it from Akron, OH to Odenton, MD... turned and drove it then to Selbyville, DE for a meet, then Ocean City MD later that night, then to another place in DE after Ocean City... then back to Akron. That was about a 1400 mile round trip. Only problem I ever had on those trips was the J-pipe between the exhaust manifold and the mid pipe breaking. That kinda sucked.
 
Oh wait i did have an issue was when i got to oklahoma i had a flat on my new tire i had just bought before i left San Antonio so that really sucked so i had to spend the night in OKlahoma and in the morning i found a tire shop turned out it was the valve steam and i was on the road again.
 
I went from Orange county to Las Vegas 4hrs about 300 miles with blown struts shot motor mounts and 60mph head winds. the trip goes over what is called the Cahone pass which is a very long very steep stretch of highway. The P5 took it like a champ it cruised at about 85 the whole way and never bogged down at the really steep parts. No over heating issues and it got decent gas mileage. Obviously i was going a little fast which makes the car cruise at about 3700rpms so if you are looking to hyper mile to save gas keep it under 65. But as long as regular maintenance is good i don't see you having any problems. As for as comfortableness goes Its what makes you happy I am kinda tall so when I'm driving a long haul i will set the cruise control and slide the seat as far back as it will go so i can stretch out a little more. I also agree that XM radio is a must because I hate driving in and out of radio stations. Good luck on your trip
 
I have an 02 with just over 100K. I have taken round trip to coastal NC (900+ miles) and to south GA (500 miles).
I have not had a single issue. (did I just jinx myself).
 
I've taken my car from Philadelphia, PA all the way down to Tucson, AZ. Overall, it is about 3000 miles each way and took us under three days. We didn't stop until we hit New Mexico due to weather concerns. The car performed great, but this was way back in '05 when it had probably around 45k miles on it. Still love how comfortable the seats are.
 
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