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Cracks in Tailgate

11 messages,  Last post on Apr 05, 2012 at 9:01 AM

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What is this discussion about? Mazda MAZDA5, Van

Messages Page 2 of 2

#5 of 11 How do i find out what's made in America by nutdriver

Jul 27, 2011 (4:36 pm)

I can't find out which cars, vans, trucks are made in America & which are foreign made. It seems all are made from parts from all over the world no wonder the all look the same & fall apart so quick. Nutdriver.

#6 of 11 Re: Cracks in Tailgate [5truth] by davicho

Sep 27, 2011 (10:02 am)

Replying to: 5truth (Apr 16, 2011 1:31 pm)
I used to own a 2006 Strato Blue M5 Touring that had these cracks. I had it replaced under warranty before it ran out. It took a whole month for the Mazda rep to come out and inspect it before authorizing the repair. He authorized it and I had the entire rear hatch replaced. The repair took one week. I now own another 2006 M5 Touring in white but this one does not have any cracks (yet..fingers crossed).

#7 of 11 Re: Cracks in Tailgate [davicho] by 5truth

Sep 27, 2011 (10:21 am)

Replying to: davicho (Sep 27, 2011 10:02 am)
I've been slow in updating my situation on these cracks. After about 4 weeks of discussing the situation with the manager of the dealership that I bought my used Mazda5 from, he offered to pay for a local body shop (of his choosing) to do a repair of the upper tailgate where the cracks are. I didn't really have any other choice, so I said yes, I'd go for the repair that they would pay for ( I don't know what they paid though). They repaired both sides that were cracked without taking the tailgate apart per the guy who did the work. Apparently they used some type of reinforcing mesh material to give the repair strength and smoothed it all out and repainted. I have to say it looks good and here I am 5 months, 10K miles later and it still looks good. I don't know much about body work, but so far, so good for my vehicle. I hope it lasts. I check it every so often to make sure the cracks aren't coming back. Good luck to you all who own one of these 2006 models.

#8 of 11 Re: Cracks in Tailgate [5truth] by jankes

Mar 31, 2012 (1:37 am)

Replying to: 5truth (Sep 27, 2011 10:21 am)
hello, I'm living in Poland and have European version of M5 (2005). Unfortunatelly there are the same cracks on my M5 tailgate do you know what repair method was used in your case?

#9 of 11 Re: Cracks in Tailgate [jankes] by 5truth

Mar 31, 2012 (4:51 pm)

Replying to: jankes (Mar 31, 2012 1:37 am)
Hello Jankes in Poland. I'm afraid I can't add anything more than my last update on what the repair method was, since I don't know much about car body work and I didn't really deal with the repair facility first hand (the dealer interfaced with them). All I know is that they said they did not take the tail gate apart which was surprising to me, and reinforced the repair with some type of mesh material, which may be standard practice for all I know. It still looks pretty good though, but I try to close the tailgate carefully to not jar it too much. I'm watching it to see if the cracks ever come back, but if they do I don't know what I'll do about it. Good Luck to you!

#10 of 11 Re: Cracks in Tailgate [5truth] by jankes

Apr 05, 2012 (8:12 am)

Replying to: 5truth (Mar 31, 2012 4:51 pm)
Thanks! In the meantime I found some manual issued by Mazda to give directions how to fix the problem. They recommend to use some three-component glue mixture. I can share with this manual if anyone of M5' owners wants to look at details. cheers

#11 of 11 Re: Cracks in Tailgate [jankes] by davicho

Apr 05, 2012 (9:01 am)

Replying to: jankes (Apr 05, 2012 8:12 am)
The tailgate is made of fiber glass/composite material. So I would imagine that the repair was somewhere around the guidelines of repairing fiber glass surfaces which the "mesh" type of material that 5truth mentions sounds like the ticket.
 
I had a similar issue with my first Mazda5 (I dont own anymore) but it happened within warranty period and they wanted to repair it as well but i made a big stink about it and got the regional manger for Mazda involved and eneded up getting the entire tailgate replaced.

Messages Page 2 of 2

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