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Vans & Minivans Mazda Mazda5 Mazda5 Owners Care & Maintenance
146 messages, Last post on Nov 19, 2009 at 12:03 PM
You are in the Mazda Mazda5 Forum. Your Host is Karens
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Consider this, if you live in a windy climate. Last winter in a windstorm, my wife had the driver's door yanked out of her hand by a gust of wind, because the door pull hand-hold is slippery and does not allow you to wrap your fingers around it. We did $500 damage to a Honda Civic, smashing its side mirror. The hand-hold on the door of the 5 is just a vertical slot you have to pinch between your fingers and thumb, not something you can really grab. I fretted about this all year, and finally decided to do a modification that was suprisingly easy. First, I roughed-up the plastic inside the finger slot with a bit of sandpaper. Then I glued in (epoxy) a 3 inch length of half-round wood, that I made by sawing a dowel in half lengthwise. I used a one-half-inch diameter dowel. Be sure to try out the feel of the dowel in advance before glueing, so you place it at the best depth inside the slot. The other half goes in the passenger door, of course. Now, your fingers have something to grab onto, and can hold onto the door better. Because the wood is down in the slot, it is practically invisible. (And fooey on silly Mazda interior designers who didn't think this thru better to begin with!) |
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Our 5 is a manual transmission. I have been disappointed since day one (2 years, 26,000 miles ago) by the uneven, slightly delayed response I get from the first 1/8" of gas pedal travel, up above idle. Occasionally, there is an outright complete interruption of engine power for a split second, and it comes back with a lurch, snapping the passengers heads back and forth. I have been to the dealer (Everett WA) several times and on the last visit had a PCM reflash (new software for engine control computer I believe). This almost completely eliminated the big lurches, but there still is a squirrely feeling of uneven, delayed response to my right foot for the first little bit of throttle opening, for the first split second. It is especially noticeable in comparison to our other car, a 1997 Integra GS-R (also manual) which has a flawless, consistent and instantaneous engine response to all throttle openings, large and small. Note, I am talking about ordinary day-in day-out street driving, not wide open throttle. Is this something related to the throttle-by-wire system? The variable valve timing?? Any clues out there?
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Replying to: whobodym (Jan 18, 2008 6:19 am) What you described is exactly the difference between throttle-by-wire vs wire systems. Part of the solution to lower emission and fuel efficiency is to minimize sudden throttle change, and by golly, throttle-by-wire is a great place for manufacturer to do this. It happens in BMW, it happens in Mazda. There isn't much you can do other than adapt your driving style. Make sure your engine rpm dropes to the matching car speed before engaging your clutch should minimize upshift jerkiness. As for taking off, you can always try keeping a constant throttle and play with the clutch release to get a smooth start. Hope this helps.
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Replying to: whobodym (Jan 18, 2008 5:56 am) Thanks for your greeting in mandarin. Since you have an integra, may I ask how would you rate the MT in your 5 against your GSR besides the throttle response inconsistence? I drove my friend's prelude (type SH) before only to get the feel of manual trans. Therefore, Mazda5 will be my first manual car, and probably my last one since I cannot afford to buy anything other than minivan due to increasing family size. I would really want to enjoy the zoom-zoom provide the 5's manual trans can deliver that. thanks. min
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Replying to: nihao4587 (Jan 18, 2008 2:20 pm) the Mazda clutch is better. engagement is smoother and less abrupt, and not any heavier pedal effort even though 5 has a bigger torquey-er engine. the Integra has a nicer shift linkage, smoother lighter and more precise. the 5 shift lever feels rubbery and vague in comparison. But overall, both are just fine as MT vehicles, no way would I want an auto, and I say that living in Seattle, a bad traffic hilly city. I think the MT is a good deal in terms of getting good performance out of the 5. Ours climbed I-90 Vantage grade in mid-WA-state last summer at 85mph in 5th with 5 people and cargo box. That sounds better than Consumer Reports saying the auto version "lacks reserve for passing and hills". |
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Replying to: thugus (Jan 18, 2008 11:49 am) I am thinking about buying a 2008 or 2009 Mazda5 Grand Touring, also (depending on how long either my car or my wife's car wants to keep running smoothly). I would be interested to know how your first year goes. Do you think you could provide some periodic updates with things you like or don't like about it? Thanks.
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Replying to: dickthebutcher (Jan 18, 2008 7:49 pm)
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Replying to: whobodym (Jan 18, 2008 8:11 pm) What do you mean by "the wiper lever works upside down"? Just curious, is it works exactly the same and the wiper lever in our Toyota ECHO. I definitely agree about the cubbies in the 5. Again, that ECHO has spoiled us, but it would be nicer to have a few more cubbies. At least the glover box is freakishly large; techinchally the space is in the dash behind the glovebox. We currently have the Gigantic Manual, a power inverter, pluse a few other things back there with room to spare. We have the Auto-Dimming/Compass mirror and it is nice and large, so perhaps that is a worthwhile options for others to consider. As far as our first year goes ('07 Sport, Auto), thing are very nice. Dislikes: -Plastic "metallic" trim around the controls and shifter. scratched and gouges too easiy -Can be a little loud on the Highway with the OEM tires. Ironically our Snow tires seem quieter -A little more storage space would be nice. I have prescription sunglasses and need a spot to hold my glasses case in case a switchover is needed. Likes: -Quiet, Strong 4-cyl Engine (prenty of pull on a 2-lane highway with 4 adults onboad -Flexible Interior. Easy to reconfigure for people/stuff. Enough room for a real person, esp with a child in the middle. Car seats are fairly easy to install as well. -Respectable Fuel Economy. Returning 25-25.5 MPG in 50/50 driving in the middle of winter. My 30+ MPG ECHO is only giving 26MPG this winter, wheras the 5 seems unaffected. (well I secretly hope that summer will bring more like 30MPG in the 5 as well. -Responsive handling. She really drives like a sports sedan, albeit a tall one. I've driven a 3 and the 5 isn't quite as sharp, but handles nearly as well if you push. It'll lean a bit into a corner, but still turn in nicely if you keep going.
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Replying to: mrbwa1 (Jan 19, 2008 8:21 am)
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Replying to: whobodym (Jan 20, 2008 5:53 pm) |
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