Dear Sir, I have experienced a problem with my CX-5 2.2 Diesel 175 Sport Nav. My car is four years old with 49,000 miles on the clock, is serviced regularly, and has just experienced an all warning lights scenario ñ TPMS, SCBS, Red Triangle, Engine Management all coming on with corresponding loss of the LED display for gear change! After taking it into Phoenix Mazda in Linwood, Glasgow for a diagnostic check, they informed me that they could not clear the fault codes and would need to check the main one first, which would take a whole day! They informed me that this was to check the Exhaust Gas Sensor fault code, and carry out thorough checks on this. I have recently Googled this issue, and found some articles about a Mazda recall on this problem. But if this is the case, then surely the Mazda dealer would know about it? Although my car is now out of Mazda Warranty, I do have an extended warranty with Motoreasy. I am sure they would not want to keep throwing money for diagnostics when it could be just a simple fix. I have not yet contacted Mazda UK Head Office, but I am looking for some sound advice or information about the possible recall, and if it affected my vehicle? The car was registered on 31st January 2013. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Andy Broadbelt

Hello Andrew, thanks for your message. Difficult one this ñ but I think that you need to make contact with Motoreasy before you do anything else. I’m not sure about a “quick fix”, but it would be better that they contact Mazda, or the main dealer, than you getting more deeply involved. It would be best to check your policy carefully to see what it says about such a situation, to see if there’s any clear indication of cover for your car.

I have looked into making contact with Mazda UK, and they appear to feed everything back to the dealer and don’t seem to get involved at Mazda UK HQ unless you need to complain about the dealer and the service you received. But don’t go spending any money yourself now, without the OK from Motoreasy. I am not aware of any common problems with your SkyActiv engine ñ there were plenty of problems with earlier 2.2 diesel engines, but I have not come across anything like what you are describing on your CX-5. Please keep me posted.

Best regards,

The Doc

Hi Doc Diesel, I do have an update on this issue, and it is interesting. I found a letter dating back to 2013, stating there was a special Bulletin for some vehicles, including mine, to have the Exhaust Gas Sensor replaced, as it was problematic. Mazda UK had said to me that this had been done on my car back in November 2013. My question to Mazda was that they never once mentioned this replacement when carrying out diagnostics, and basically said that they were unaware of the issue, although I had not mentioned the letter, or had knowledge of it, when I first put my problem car in to be checked. It eventually turns out that it was the exhaust sensor, and its failure causes all, or most of, the warning lights to come on, along with loss of LED indicator for gear change. Anyway, my own Motoreasy warranty covered the costs of £388 for the diagnostics and the new sensor fit. The really interesting part though is that when I did speak to Mazda UK, they said that they would have given me a goodwill gesture, especially as I have already once had the issue fixed, but I will not now bother as I have claimed via my warranty company. I wonder if it would be worth publishing this issue, so that other CX-5 owners don’t get the same sudden shock as I did,  although the vehicle remained fine to drive throughout.

I am now just trading my CX-5 in for a 2016-plate Nissan X-Trail. I have had the CX-5 for four years, but I was not happy with Mazda customer support, and also had an issue with paintwork on the roof, with rust that Mazda said was down to stone chips. I would have had to pay for a full inspection and that would not guarantee that I would get it back under a claim. To sum up, the CX-5 was great to drive, but I had too many little issues, so would not buy one again. Other issues I have had were with fuel dilution of the oil, due to the DPF cleaning cycle, which basically caused the level to rise in the sump and oil to become thinner and less liable to lubricate. This was to the extent that the oil pressure warning light would illuminate after around 6,000 miles. This forced me to change the oil more regularly, and was not what I had expected. Several things were done by Mazda, including putting higher marks on the dipstick! I also believe there were software updates for the DPF cycle. They tried to pin it on my driving style, and said that I did not drive at high enough engine speed to enable the DPF clean to be effective. I did explain that I drive 100 miles every day, at normal speeds, and mainly on A-roads, and not in towns etc. The oil dilution problem never really went away, as I just replaced the oil again back in January for the sixth time in 48,000 miles.

Regards,

Andrew

Yes, Andrew, I certainly will publish your experiences regarding the multiple warning lights etc. and the eventual (relatively simple) solution. It is a pity that you have rather lost faith, as this is counter to general owner experiences with their car, CX-5 in particular, and most Mazda garages. It certainly doesn’t sound as if your garage was on the ball though, regarding your problems, certainly initially. I see no reason why I should not also give readers the benefit of your overall experiences over four years with the CX-5.

The Doc