2017~2025 Sluggish performance CX-5 2.5L

[J3rryCol]

For some time now i felt some sluggishness while driving in the city, i have tried to reset the automatic shifting a few times but no relief...
Its annoying that i need to floor the pedal to activate kickdown but because no check engine light my local Mazda dealer could not do much... and i tried to ignore the problem as long as possible.
last Sunday i went on a long trip 150km +/- important to note i went from 2.300m to a place 125m above sealevel and returned to 2.300m sealevel.
That day was around 30 degrees Celcius or 86F°

about halfway back i started smelling a strong smell of fuel inside the cabin, also around the car, no visible leaks (i checked thoroughly) no leaks.
Also the car jerked and the engine struggled, temperatures remained normal condition, fluids are ok, regardless i had to floor the pedal to keep the car from stalling.
I also had to resort in shifting manually as the change in rpm's got the automatic shifting confused.

When i got home i opened the fuel cap and it basically flew out of my hands of the pressure, my gas tank was severely pressurized this is normal from going to 125m to 2.300m but not normal since the EVAP system is supposed to relief the pressure and reuse the gasses ?

Anyway next day i checked again for leaks, nothing, only i noticed a huge fuel increase the last half hour from the day before im guessing from flooring the pedal 80% of the time...

I warmed up the car and made a small trip, did not get chance to make a bigger trip but this is what my scanner picked up from the live data (Bluedriver)
Purge command is going to 100% and short trim is going as low as 19% (according my info it should be around +10 and -10) mine is mostly going negative all the time.

This morning i delivered the car to my Mazda dealer for diagnostics, but to my surprise nobody knows what an EVAP system is, they had no scanner available and 3 dudes at the dealership where talking about changing my catalyst converter and their scanner uses Microsoft Word and they only have 2 licenses and currently they are with another dealership.

I even presented them with my findings and scanner data but i felt i was talking to a baby...
I was thinking i have a flooded charcoal canister, then again i did not monitor much of other data because of lack of time only because of the actual symptoms presented i monitored these sensors.

 

[Snake]

What model year and how many miles?

 

[J3rryCol]

What model year and how many miles?

CX5 2.5L Carbon edition (without turbo fwd drive) from 2022, 19k miles

 

[Snake]

CX5 2.5L Carbon edition (without turbo fwd drive) from 2022, 19k miles

Are you using quality gasoline, preferably Top Tier? Have you checked the air filter? Do you do frequent oil changes? Have you had the battery load tested?

 

[J3rryCol]

Are you using quality gasoline, preferably Top Tier? Have you checked the air filter? Do you do frequent oil changes? Have you had the battery load tested?

You reffering to premium gas ? no as it is not recommended, this model uses regular. Air filter is new, oil change was done recently. Battery was tested since last oil change 2000km ago and was also renewed 2 oil changes ago.

 

[sm1ke]

Do you have a different Mazda dealer that you can take your car to? If not, I would escalate the issue to the Service Manager, and if they are no help, contact Mazda Corporate for your region to escalate the issue further. It sounds like your current dealer is either very lazy or very inexperienced/incompetent.

 

[Snake]

You reffering to premium gas ? no as it is not recommended, this model uses regular. Air filter is new, oil change was done recently. Battery was tested since last oil change 2000km ago and was also renewed 2 oil changes ago.

Specifically, at what mile intervals do you have the oil/oil filter changed? I ask because modern engines use the Direct Injection design which does not aid in maintaining clean intake ports. Modern engines also use EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). EGR Will dirty up the intake ports faster if oil changes intervals are longer, therefore requiring expensive intake port cleaning more frequently. To help maintain cleaner intake ports, which in turn helps to maintain maximum fuel economy potential and a better/smoother running engine, I suggest having the oil and oil filter replaced at 3000-5000 mile increments.

What brand(s) of gasoline do you use? I ask because there are gasoline brands that have little or poor detergents in their fuel offerings. I suggest that you only ever use Top Tier branded fuel to aid in keeping the engine running cleaner/smoother/more efficient.

Have you or your mechanic done a recent visual inspection of the engine air filter?

 

[madar]

..."no one knows what an EVAP system is".. Seriously?? Find a new garage. Sounds like a bad purge solenoid or vent valve which is why you smell gas vapors especially if there's so much pressure build up.

 

[N7turbo]

You reffering to premium gas ? no as it is not recommended, this model uses regular.

Top Tier: TOP TIER - High-quality Fuel Performance Standard - TOP TIER™

 

[Buzzman12]

This morning i delivered the car to my Mazda dealer for diagnostics, but to my surprise nobody knows what an EVAP system is, they had no scanner available and 3 dudes at the dealership were talking about changing my catalyst converter and their scanner uses Microsoft Word and they only have 2 licenses and currently they are with another dealership.

Seriously? I stopped reading after this statement. Sounds made up.

 

[J3rryCol]

Seriously? I stopped reading after this statement. Sounds made up.

Ok this sound ridiculous and far fetched, but i don't live in Europe or the USA, here dealership (depending the city) give almost no assistance...

To start with full story, when i went to the dealership 3 different people attended me (none where mechanics)
None of the 3 had any knowledge besides how to sell me a new set of tires or an oil filter.
They insisted to drive a bit around with a sales rep (again zero knowledge) i asked them because my appointment was at 11.00 in the morning that the issue only presents itself on larger trips not city trips... (although if you connect the scanner when the engine is warmed up you see that the purge valve and short fuel trims are acting up)

I asked him why not send a mechanic with me why not connect the scanner whilst driving around...
He told me they have only one license for the scanner and its currently not in the shop (???) OK but they want my car 3 days for diagnosis and the mechanics currently in the shop are only capable of doing oil changes, changes tires, filters etc..

Yesterday afternoon my wife called the shop and finally got hold on a mechanic who was checking my car, he told my wife that they are only able to read fault codes and no other info (so the car needs to break down first)

Today they send my wife a text with the quotation:
- Change front brakes
- Change car battery (was renewed 2 oil changes ago)
- Change air filter (was replaced 2 oil changes ago and cleaned last oil change a few weeks ago)
- Change fuel cap (It's sealing perfectly holding the pressure in and it's not supposed to be breathing/leaking)
- Change all fuel lines

Also take in consideration my car has 32.000km never missed a maintenance...
I had a Volkswagen with 200.000km that i purchased with 0km and hadn't to change a single hose except for the steering hydraulic line.

The front brakes they advised me last oil change, ill allow it, and the battery is 100% fine as i load tested it.

As for the battery i could understand a bad battery can cause electronic issues causing poor performance...
But a bad battery or alternator is very easily diagnosed they are doing the buckshot approach or just try to change some things to say "we are fixing it"

In my city it is difficult to get a proper diagnostic done,
I live in a small city in Colombia and probably in Bogota or Medellin they have better and more professional service or diagnostic centers...

So it may sound like retarded but absolutely plausible and i'm a big fan of Dave's Autoshop the things i have seen on his channel that he had to deal with after another dealer could not diagnose a faulty $5 part and recommended an entire new engine does not surprise me at all...

Tomorrow my car is ready, only brakes done and Saturday i got another trip planned +/-150km same route going to 125m above sealevel and come back to 2.300 sealevel i will take my obd2 reader and record the trip and post the data here.

Meanwhile i ordered a more professional reader with functions to test individual functions such as the purge valve but also has baseline values programmed to it will know faster then the car's ECU can detect a fault.

Im also in contact with a diagnostic center in Bogota which is 800km from my door so in worst case ill need a long trip and lose my car a few day again.

 

[J3rryCol]

..."no one knows what an EVAP system is".. Seriously?? Find a new garage. Sounds like a bad purge solenoid or vent valve which is why you smell gas vapors especially if there's so much pressure build up.

Sounds far fetched, but this is to no surprise (im European) living in Colombia
Before i had a Volkswagen their service was even worse and more basic...

The issue here is 3 people that attended me had no technical knowledge and the lady on the phone that made my appointment is just some desk lady managing appointments all over the country.

Only yesterday my wife was able to speak on the phone to some technical person but seeing the quotation of the parts that need to be changed i doubt he even knows what an EVAP system if.
The Mazda dealership in my city is small and fast, last few maintenances i drive my car into their garage they offer me an espresso and one hour later they finish the oil change and few other small jobs according to the book and BAM im hitting the road again...

I mean if my fuel tank is building up immense pressure why do i need a new fuel tank cap ?
might as well drill a hole in it if it was made to vent gasses trough the fuel cap...

Ive already made an appointment after Saturday with a diagnostic center that my insurrance uses for doing a smog test and other test, they do have professional scanners and they will also check the oil quality and exhaust gasses. If that doesn't bring clarity to my issue worst case scenario i have to travel 800km to Bogota where they got more professional businesses.

 

[Snake]

I have to assume that most people are unaware of the service department repair technician shortage, at least here in the USA. The dealership owners are switching to set repair job rates over hourly wages and the mechanics are walking out in big numbers due to this. All they can hire are techs that can rotate tires or do oil changes. It's really bad news for the automotive industry because vehicles break for commonly than ever due to all of the space aged electronics in them and very few are taking the time to learn the ropes because the pay is horrible.

 

[J3rryCol]

Top Tier: TOP TIER - High-quality Fuel Performance Standard - TOP TIER™

im not from the US, dunno how fuel is distrubited and sold in the US but here where i live if you buy fuel its all the same quality whether you buy it from Terpel, Texaco, Super Estacion... thats the only thing i can guarantee they are very strict and since of my altitude there is zero benefits of driving on premium when the car is regular. In fact the higher altitude (2.300m) is preventing engine knocking if the octane levels are lower as advertised (which they are not).

 

[J3rryCol]

Specifically, at what mile intervals do you have the oil/oil filter changed? I ask because modern engines use the Direct Injection design which does not aid in maintaining clean intake ports. Modern engines also use EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). EGR Will dirty up the intake ports faster if oil changes intervals are longer, therefore requiring expensive intake port cleaning more frequently. To help maintain cleaner intake ports, which in turn helps to maintain maximum fuel economy potential and a better/smoother running engine, I suggest having the oil and oil filter replaced at 3000-5000 mile increments.

What brand(s) of gasoline do you use? I ask because there are gasoline brands that have little or poor detergents in their fuel offerings. I suggest that you only ever use Top Tier branded fuel to aid in keeping the engine running cleaner/smoother/more efficient.

Have you or your mechanic done a recent visual inspection of the engine air filter?

Usually when the countdown timer on the dashboard start nagging i always turn in the car for maintenance before the mark (i believe around 5000km) i would always turn it in 300km-500km earlier... I have no guarantee the quality of oil and or filter they use but the dealership does the maintenance, the same one that did the "diagnostics".

I remember with my Volkswagen i caught them using mineral oil with that dealership and i ended up buying the synthetic oil myself and let another garage change my oil under my supervision.

Fuel is managed very strict here, in my city we have 3 differnt pumps (Texaco, Terpel and Super estacion) Terpel is the most common through the whole country where i live. They are are on par with quality and pumps get inspected by the government frequently. Even if i wanted to there isnt any other wat to get "cleaner" fuel.

Air filter was done like 1500km ago during oil change.

Edit:
Just received a phone call that my car wont start after changing the front brakes.
Now they need more time to diagnose ...