Bennie

Hi There, I am new to not only my Mazda 5, but to forums as well. I have taken my car in to have them check the suspension because when the weather hits -1 celcius or colder any slight bump in the road causes my car to sound as though the front and rear are bottoming out! They told me that they checked and everything was fine and that apparently the Mazda 5 has noisier suspension than any other Mazda...I think they were feeding me a line. Can anyone relate to this problem

Sincerely,
Bennie

tucker

Hi,

I think your Mazda 5 is lucky. Mine does the same at normal temperatures. It appears ok otherwise.

Regards,

Tuck

dforde

Hi Bennie,

We have an '06 top of the line Mazda 5. We have had the same issues with the suspension in cold temps. In the morning just out of the garage it is fine. However, if it has been sitting in the parking lot at work all day the noise is awful. It does not happen all the time but if you drive over some rough road or railroad tracks it's very loud. We live in Northern Ohio and up until last Friday the winter has been mild but this is very unusual. High this Sunday is 6 degrees so I am going to try and take it to the dealership and leave it in their lot over night and then have them drive it on Monday morning.

trishr4

Anyone from Canada with Mazda5 and suspension noise associated with cold weather out there? Anyone had a successful permanent fix for this problem please reply.
Thanks

Bennie

Hi there, we have since had our vehicle into the shop for replacement of our suspension bushings (about mid. December). Ironically these bushings are meant to dampen the noise that we are hearing, so they have apparently ‘solved the issue’ with these replacements. However, I have just put in a call to our Mazda dealership to say that I am hearing the noise again in the front (and that I am still waiting to hear from them on the status of the rear suspension bushings, which were on backorder). This vehicle was definitely not built for the cold. We are also finding that the sliding doors are no longer smooth and gentle when closing themselves. Instead, they just seem to close with a slight clunk just like a ‘Caravan’!!!

Arrrggghhhhh….
(We live in Alberta)

trishr4

Thanks for emailing from Canada. The more people who complain about the problem to there dealer and to Mazda Canada, the more likely (I hope) that they will apply the "permanent fix" to our cars.
The greasing or changing of bushing may deaden the sound for a day or two, but so far no one from any of the four forum web sites that I have been on, have had the problem fixed with a lube job.
If it was that easy no one would continue to complain. Others in the USA have had the complete 9 PAGE TSB fix applied and they are quite happy and their cars are again sounding normal (no sound if normal). It is a complete waste of my time and effort to take my car into my dealer for a fix that they admit will NOT fix the problem for more than a day. They are some dealers in the east have offered to replace sway bars and control arms but the problem continues because they haven't applied the permanent fix. There was one owner from Montreal who had "redesigned" parts replaced on his vehicle and it was like a miracle cure. No other dealer that I have heard about (including mine) were willing to go that far. Curious. That is why it is very important to post if you have had a permanent fix so others can benefit from this.
Not to belabour the point but Mazda Canada needs to hear from you - email them, call them , fax them whatever.

BayfieldM5

We have a 2006 Mazda5 with now 7000 km on it. Once the cold weather hit we started feeling a vibration that reminded me of the old days when tires would "flat spot" overnight in the cold (we do have Blizzak snows on it) Is it possible that what we are really experiencing is this cold weather supension glitch? I'm wondering if we have too few km on it for the real problem to show up.

trishr4

No I don't think you have too few kms on your car (7000 kms) for the problem to show up. My problem showed up when I had under 1800 kms but I likely have a much colder climate (not sure where you are located). I have not experienced a "vibration" though, just the crunching sound of the front end as I go over a bump, uneven road surface or snow, then the same, somewhat louder, crunching sound when the rear end follows. It is loud enough that people on the street look in my direction. Maybe others have has experienced your vibration ?

Delivered

The dealer told me they never heard of that complaint.

When I had it in the fifth time to have the switch balde key fob reprogrammed again, they said they needed to replace bushings.

The bushings needed to be ordered. Need to see how many times this needs to go in to be repaired.

I owned an RX7 (new) back in the 80's. Seemed to be a much better quality vehicle.

I also had to replace my tires on the 5 so they would stop spinning when it was wet and cold. Then their was the internal water leak...........

The problems I have had with the 5 have really tempered my enthusiasm for it.

trishr4

The above TSB (9 pages) was issued awhile ago so I'm not sure why your dealership has not heard of the problem?
Bushing replacement/lube job may fix your problem, but it hasn't fixed others for more than a day or two. Now that the cold weather is over, you may not know if the fix actually was just that until next winter.
More people have had additional replacements - control arms - sway bars etc.
I will going in for my fix this coming Tuesday.
There was a copy of the TSB posted on one of the web forums - MPV club or Edmunds.com (more likely).Best of luck with your vehicle repairs.

romanom

It's the bushings, clearly the bushing material (both natural and synthetic) rubbers is simply to hard, and as the temperature drops they become even harder and will shrink.

This will definitely cause the noise you guys are hearing. And it's not just the Mazda 5, many vehicles including the BMW M3 will have the same issue. More forgivable on a performance car not meant for winter weather.

If under warranty it should be fixed, if not I suggest some better aftermarket bushings. Bushing kits are relatively cheap, but the labor is not going to be. Especially since it's hard to tell if it's a certain bushing, all of them or the isolators for the sub-frames (which technically aren't bushings).

I even had it in my old Subaru WRX when it got below freezing, 0 C (32 F).

trishr4

I just got my car back and they applied the fix - changed the bushings, instll lower control arm and sway bar.
I won't know if it is actually fixed unless it turns cold again (-10 C).
Here's hoping it's a quiet ride like it was when I first got it.

trishr4

The good news is: The lower control arms have been replaced and the bushings.
The maybe news is: I won't know if the cruching noise is gone for good till the winter.
The bad news is: now I have inherited a new problem - the car pulls to the left when applying the brakes. It is a front end issue and perhaps no wheel alignment was done post lower arm control installation, or when they installed the lower control arms the did something to the brakes and the callipers need to be adjusted.
I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has had any other problems since having their fix applied (related to the TSB). Thanks

angiebo0698

I have had the same problem with my Mazda 5 I bought it in Sep'06 and it has been in the shop at least 5 times. They know there is a problem with the bushings the service manager told me they know there is a problem and are tring to fix it but it has not been recalled. Know I have to get an alignment and new tires.

trishr4

Thanks for the information, not encouraging. Did they apply the fix as suggested in the TSB? Do you have problems with your steering or is the front end out of alignment. I insisted on a front end alignment (should be done after work is done on the front end). They said it didn't need to be adjusted but they did anyways. Could have done something else that is not noted on the work order. Obtained a copy of the alignment (before and after) and according to the independent mechanics, this is not what has caused the problem; and if it didn't need an alignment why did they adjust it? The problem of the steering wheel pulling sharply on left turns eased up a bit but it seems to have come back to a degree depending on the condition of the roadway.
There is a known alignment issue and related tire wear problem as observed on other forums.
It is too bad there are these annoying issues as it is a great car to drive and fits my needs.