[cashmonee]

I am 3 months and 5 days into the ownership of my CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus and I have to say it has been about the most disappointing car and ownership experience I have ever had. From my interactions with my local dealer, to my interactions with Mazda corporate, to the overall build quality of the car, every step has been disappointing.

Today I dropped the car off to have the dash replaced. That is a whole story on its own and I do not want this post to be any larger than it already is going to be. Suffice it to say that I had an issue with the dash scuffing and could not get Mazda corporate to tell me whether they would cover it or not (either way would have been fine) nor would they tell me what it would cost to pay for the work. So I went to the BBB and then Mazda became super responsive and offered to replace the dash.

Since that work was being done I thought I would have them look at the numerous rattles the car has developed, the flakey wireless charger, and the windshield that I believe is faulty (it doubles all light sources). The rattles are in the dash, B-pillar, center console lid, and sunroof. I told the tech on the phone about all of the issues. When I arrived to drop off the car he told me the dash was all ready to be installed, but that I would need to pay $175 diagnostic fee for each of the other issues if I wanted them to look at them. He said he was trying to figure out a way to make all the rattles one so it would only be $525 instead of $1050. If the issues were verified and covered under warranty, then the fees would be waived. He also informed me that they had no loaners to give out despite me telling him we set the appointment I was promised a loaner by Mazda corporate.

Now, I understand that they do not work for free. However, from my end I am looking at a 3 month old car with less than 5000 miles on it that has a lot of rattles (particularly for its $43,000 asking price), a worthless charger, and what seems to me to be a clearly defective windshield. The best they can tell me is give them some upfront money and roll the dice that they replicate the issue and that it will be covered. Otherwise I still have the issue and am out several hundred dollars.

This experience along with the disappointment with the ride comfort of the car has me thinking I will be moving on soon. I do not feel like Mazda is all that interested in standing behind their cars and this dealer certainly is not. The only other dealer that is a reasonable distance from me is a giant auto-mall with a terrible reputation. At this point the car has just left a terrible taste in my mouth.

I really want to love this car, but it just isn't wanting to love me back it seems. Sorry for the long post. I just needed a place to vent. I love seeing the majority of you happy with your cars. Who knows, maybe that will be me in a few months. As of right now, the dealer offered me $34k for the car, so I will be sitting on it for a bit. Will be checking the usual suspects (CarMax, Carvana, etc.) but doubt the numbers will work out.

 

[ATXdevil]

Cash, sorry to hear about all the issues and I understand your frustration as I would feel the same. I am very sensitive to rattles and that would drive me crazy. you could be experiencing some first production issues with the rattles and all those things. mine doesn’t have any. My wireless charger, while not flawess, now works most the time. If the phone sits happily in one spot it seems to work well. I keep the cable close by for any issues with charging or CarPlay connection problems. Tech in cars is just hit and miss. I went on a long road trip last weekend on a major interstate and noticed some rougher ride issues than I had before. Hard to compare as my other rig is a Jeep wrangler and my old ride (Subaru crosstrek) had horrendous road noise. No shame in moving on if thats what you want to do for your own sanity. Emma seems to like the lexus so you can always go that route😬

 

[ZeekZirconPPT]

Sounds like you have two terrible dealerships near you. That's too bad really. As far as all the issues, that's also too bad, but it seems like it is mostly fit and finish issues, which is expected. Though your case may be a bit more than usual. If the dealership was better, you wouldn't have had to raise the issue with the BBB.

Also, the 34k appraisal imo is ridiculous considering the limited availability of the CX50 and a Turbo Premium Plus in particular.

 

[cashmonee]

Sounds like you have two terrible dealerships near you. That's too bad really. As far as all the issues, that's also too bad, but it seems like it is mostly fit and finish issues, which is expected. Though your case may be a bit more than usual. If the dealership was better, you wouldn't have had to raise the issue with the BBB.

Also, the 34k appraisal imo is ridiculous considering the limited availability of the CX50 and a Turbo Premium Plus in particular.

It appears the used car market finally broke. Vroom is offering $33,000. I am working on Carvana, but won't know their offer for a few days (I need the window sticker). Which means I am stuck with the car for now.

I agree that fit and finish issues are to be expected. What has me upset is the fact that I have to commit to several diagnostic fees that I may or may not end up paying. I called Mazda and they told me that is not standard practice. I will try the other dealer near me to see if they can defy their reviews.

 

[cashmonee]

I have an update from my dealer. My service advisor called this morning and told me the manager above him got the diagnostic fees waived. He still did not want to do the rattles, however. So, he wrote up the windshield and phone charger and said he would mention the dash rattle to the tech but not put it on the order. He also told me that my console lid rattle was likely from the console lid being broken. Apparently I am probably putting too much weight on it when I get in the car. He said he has another customer's car (CX-9) with the same exact issue and that lid is definitely broken inside. That is not covered under warranty since it is from outside influence. The good news, he told me, was that mine isn't probably completely broken, so as long as I don't put weight on it, it shouldn't get worse. For reference, I am 5'7" and 165 lbs.

I know I am in a super negative mood, but every time I talk to this dealer I feel worse than before.

 

[Chazculva]

I have an update from my dealer. My service advisor called this morning and told me the manager above him got the diagnostic fees waived. He still did not want to do the rattles, however. So, he wrote up the windshield and phone charger and said he would mention the dash rattle to the tech but not put it on the order. He also told me that my console lid rattle was likely from the console lid being broken. Apparently I am probably putting too much weight on it when I get in the car. He said he has another customer's car (CX-9) with the same exact issue and that lid is definitely broken inside. That is not covered under warranty since it is from outside influence. The good news, he told me, was that mine isn't probably completely broken, so as long as I don't put weight on it, it shouldn't get worse. For reference, I am 5'7" and 165 lbs.

I know I am in a super negative mood, but every time I talk to this dealer I feel worse than before.

I thought the warranty was for 36K? No? Aren't these warranty items?I would send Mazda Corporate a few certified letters, return receipt and copy the dealer. I've used that certified letter method successfully on many issues, not just car issues.

 

[cashmonee]

I thought the warranty was for 36K? No? Aren't these warranty items?I would send Mazda Corporate a few certified letters, return receipt and copy the dealer. I've used that certified letter method successfully on many issues, not just car issues.
[/QUOTE

It seems charging a diagnostic fee (refundable/waived upon finding warrantable work) is a dealer discretion thing. My dealer seems to be one of the more aggressive about it out there. Other dealers may do the same or not. That is not unique to Mazda from research and seems to be more prevalent the last few years. The issue is that they are worried they will spend time on a car and not get paid if Mazda denies the warranty claim. The way my dealer has handled this leads me to believe, at least with this dealer, Mazda denies a lot of warranty claims. I have never been told of a diagnostic fee with previous new cars under warranty (Ford, Subaru, and Honda), but like I said, they appear to be more common lately.

As for contacting Mazda Corporate, my experience is that would be a waste of time. If you look up Mazda Customer Experience (their CS arm), you will see a lot of complaints about them being unresponsive. I experienced that myself with my dash. From my experience and others I have read, they are not motivated to help out their customers.

The reality for me is that I am not gelling with the car and I am no longer confident my dealer nor Mazda are willing to stand behind the car if it has issues. Rattles are minor, although this is a $40k+ car and it should not have them and no other manufacturer I have dealt with has refused to take care of them. However, my defective windshield is a safety concern and they are reluctant to fix that. It also concerns me that they seem to be aware of a bad design with the center console lid across multiple models and are ready to blame the customer for it. Honestly, this feels more like what you hear about Hyundai/Kia than what I expected with Mazda. So that leads to me making every effort to get out of the car as soon as I can.

 

[Litfuse]

It seems charging a diagnostic fee (refundable/waived upon finding warrantable work) is a dealer discretion thing. My dealer seems to be one of the more aggressive about it out there. Other dealers may do the same or not. That is not unique to Mazda from research and seems to be more prevalent the last few years. The issue is that they are worried they will spend time on a car and not get paid if Mazda denies the warranty claim. The way my dealer has handled this leads me to believe, at least with this dealer, Mazda denies a lot of warranty claims. I have never been told of a diagnostic fee with previous new cars under warranty (Ford, Subaru, and Honda), but like I said, they appear to be more common lately.

As for contacting Mazda Corporate, my experience is that would be a waste of time. If you look up Mazda Customer Experience (their CS arm), you will see a lot of complaints about them being unresponsive. I experienced that myself with my dash. From my experience and others I have read, they are not motivated to help out their customers.

The reality for me is that I am not gelling with the car and I am no longer confident my dealer nor Mazda are willing to stand behind the car if it has issues. Rattles are minor, although this is a $40k+ car and it should not have them and no other manufacturer I have dealt with has refused to take care of them. However, my defective windshield is a safety concern and they are reluctant to fix that. It also concerns me that they seem to be aware of a bad design with the center console lid across multiple models and are ready to blame the customer for it. Honestly, this feels more like what you hear about Hyundai/Kia than what I expected with Mazda. So that leads to me making every effort to get out of the car as soon as I can.

The center split opening is a horrible design. It is natural for people to put weight on this part of the interior. When you put a split down the middle, you ruin the strength of the piece. It’s that way for the sake of being cool, and that’s it.

 

[cashmonee]

The center split opening is a horrible design. It is natural for people to put weight on this part of the interior. When you put a split down the middle, you ruin the strength of the piece. It’s that way for the sake of being cool, and that’s it.

I agree. It certainly looks cool, but is not terribly functional.

 

[S3ntoacx50]

Id try to sell it privately at 38 and bite the loss. That sucks. Mine has developed rattles especially the sunroof. .so using my old STI tech i turn up the stereo 😂
Maybe work a better deal with them by trading for the cx70 next year. Thats my plan.

 

[ZeekZirconPPT]

It appears the used car market finally broke. Vroom is offering $33,000. I am working on Carvana, but won't know their offer for a few days (I need the window sticker). Which means I am stuck with the car for now.

I agree that fit and finish issues are to be expected. What has me upset is the fact that I have to commit to several diagnostic fees that I may or may not end up paying. I called Mazda and they told me that is not standard practice. I will try the other dealer near me to see if they can defy their reviews.

Nah, just hang on a bit. I am told FOXCONN is having issues with microchips which will halt or at least hamper production of Airbags that Mazda uses. So Q1 2023 will be very limited.

 

[cashmonee]

Nah, just hang on a bit. I am told FOXCONN is having issues with microchips which will halt or at least hamper production of Airbags that Mazda uses. So Q1 2023 will be very limited.

That is currently the plan. Wait until spring or summer. That should give me time to see what exactly I want to move to and if I can possibly learn to like this car.

 

[ZeekZirconPPT]

I thought the warranty was for 36K? No? Aren't these warranty items?I would send Mazda Corporate a few certified letters, return receipt and copy the dealer. I've used that certified letter method successfully on many issues, not just car issues.

Typically, rattles, weatherstripping are not warrantied.

 

[ZeekZirconPPT]

It seems charging a diagnostic fee (refundable/waived upon finding warrantable work) is a dealer discretion thing. My dealer seems to be one of the more aggressive about it out there. Other dealers may do the same or not. That is not unique to Mazda from research and seems to be more prevalent the last few years. The issue is that they are worried they will spend time on a car and not get paid if Mazda denies the warranty claim. The way my dealer has handled this leads me to believe, at least with this dealer, Mazda denies a lot of warranty claims. I have never been told of a diagnostic fee with previous new cars under warranty (Ford, Subaru, and Honda), but like I said, they appear to be more common lately.

As for contacting Mazda Corporate, my experience is that would be a waste of time. If you look up Mazda Customer Experience (their CS arm), you will see a lot of complaints about them being unresponsive. I experienced that myself with my dash. From my experience and others I have read, they are not motivated to help out their customers.

The reality for me is that I am not gelling with the car and I am no longer confident my dealer nor Mazda are willing to stand behind the car if it has issues. Rattles are minor, although this is a $40k+ car and it should not have them and no other manufacturer I have dealt with has refused to take care of them. However, my defective windshield is a safety concern and they are reluctant to fix that. It also concerns me that they seem to be aware of a bad design with the center console lid across multiple models and are ready to blame the customer for it. Honestly, this feels more like what you hear about Hyundai/Kia than what I expected with Mazda. So that leads to me making every effort to get out of the car as soon as I can.

The CX9 has had a split console since 2016 and of the ones I've seen, I haven't seen this as a common issue. I would certainly represent the windshield as a safety concern if you haven't already. The key to getting help in my experience is having the dealership raise the issue with Mazda. Not that Mazda never listens, but coming from their dealerships based on technician inspection it carries a lot of weight.

 

[cashmonee]

Typically, rattles, weatherstripping are not warrantied.

Out of the dozen or so cars I have owned, this is the first time a rattle was not warrantied.

 

[cashmonee]

The CX9 has had a split console since 2016 and of the ones I've seen, I haven't seen this as a common issue. I would certainly represent the windshield as a safety concern if you haven't already. The key to getting help in my experience is having the dealership raise the issue with Mazda. Not that Mazda never listens, but coming from their dealerships based on technician inspection it carries a lot of weight.

My dealer is encouraging me to reach out to corporate for things they don’t want to do. They so far have been unwilling to try to get approval. Which is why I am not willing to give them $175 per concern.

Also, one more comment on the rattles. They have not said a rattle is out of warranty. They said they won’t be able to reproduce them so likely will not be able to ask for them to be covered. Only the console lid was deemed out of warranty because of the accusation without any evidence (other than another car they have had the same issue) that I broke it. The other rattles they just tried their hardest to say they won’t find them so I likely would be out money. Essentially trying to scare me out of having it diagnosed.

 

[cashmonee]

I got my car back this afternoon and so I figured I would give an update.

The dealer replaced the dash and in the process, happened to break my shifter. Accidents happen. They fixed the shifter so that it would work (I honestly cannot tell it is broken) and have the part for that on order. Again, accidents happen and they are taking care of it.

The dealer also took a look at the windshield, verified the issue, and is replacing the windshield. The believe it to be a manufacturing defect, so they want me to be there when the new glass is installed to make sure it does not have the same defect. Windshield is on backorder, but they are going to try to expedite it.

The service manager also came over to meet me. He wants to look at the center console and wireless charger again when it comes back for the windshield and shifter. This is a total 180 from what my service advisor said. I am not sure why the change, but I am hopeful it is a sign of what is to come.

The service manager also explained the diagnostic fee differently than both the service advisors did during two separate appointments. In his explanation, the fee is only charged if they verify the issue, Mazda says it is not covered, and I decide not to pay for the fix. If they cannot reproduce the issue, there is no charge. Both service advisors led me to believe the fee would be charged even if they could not reproduce the issue. That is a major difference and really changes my whole perspective. Having said that, I have no idea why the stories between the manager and advisors are so different. The service manager also did not dispute that Mazda seems to be quick to deny a warranty claim, which is still concerning.

All in all today was a much more positive experience. I was setting up to sell the car and after today that is on hold.

Lastly, I was so happy to have the car back! I missed it this last week and getting in reminded me why I bought it in the first place. It is such a nice car! Hopefully the dealership service experience is more like today going forward. Now I just need to flush out these rattles!

 

[AWSD]

I got my car back this afternoon and so I figured I would give an update.

The dealer replaced the dash and in the process, happened to break my shifter. Accidents happen. They fixed the shifter so that it would work (I honestly cannot tell it is broken) and have the part for that on order. Again, accidents happen and they are taking care of it.

The dealer also took a look at the windshield, verified the issue, and is replacing the windshield. The believe it to be a manufacturing defect, so they want me to be there when the new glass is installed to make sure it does not have the same defect. Windshield is on backorder, but they are going to try to expedite it.

The service manager also came over to meet me. He wants to look at the center console and wireless charger again when it comes back for the windshield and shifter. This is a total 180 from what my service advisor said. I am not sure why the change, but I am hopeful it is a sign of what is to come.

The service manager also explained the diagnostic fee differently than both the service advisors did during two separate appointments. In his explanation, the fee is only charged if they verify the issue, Mazda says it is not covered, and I decide not to pay for the fix. If they cannot reproduce the issue, there is no charge. Both service advisors led me to believe the fee would be charged even if they could not reproduce the issue. That is a major difference and really changes my whole perspective. Having said that, I have no idea why the stories between the manager and advisors are so different. The service manager also did not dispute that Mazda seems to be quick to deny a warranty claim, which is still concerning.

All in all today was a much more positive experience. I was setting up to sell the car and after today that is on hold.

Lastly, I was so happy to have the car back! I missed it this last week and getting in reminded me why I bought it in the first place. It is such a nice car! Hopefully the dealership service experience is more like today going forward. Now I just need to flush out these rattles!

Glad there is some positivity coming your way and you are back in your car. Fingers crossed it continues.

 

[Chazculva]

It seems charging a diagnostic fee (refundable/waived upon finding warrantable work) is a dealer discretion thing. My dealer seems to be one of the more aggressive about it out there. Other dealers may do the same or not. That is not unique to Mazda from research and seems to be more prevalent the last few years. The issue is that they are worried they will spend time on a car and not get paid if Mazda denies the warranty claim. The way my dealer has handled this leads me to believe, at least with this dealer, Mazda denies a lot of warranty claims. I have never been told of a diagnostic fee with previous new cars under warranty (Ford, Subaru, and Honda), but like I said, they appear to be more common lately.

As for contacting Mazda Corporate, my experience is that would be a waste of time. If you look up Mazda Customer Experience (their CS arm), you will see a lot of complaints about them being unresponsive. I experienced that myself with my dash. From my experience and others I have read, they are not motivated to help out their customers.

The reality for me is that I am not gelling with the car and I am no longer confident my dealer nor Mazda are willing to stand behind the car if it has issues. Rattles are minor, although this is a $40k+ car and it should not have them and no other manufacturer I have dealt with has refused to take care of them. However, my defective windshield is a safety concern and they are reluctant to fix that. It also concerns me that they seem to be aware of a bad design with the center console lid across multiple models and are ready to blame the customer for it. Honestly, this feels more like what you hear about Hyundai/Kia than what I expected with Mazda. So that leads to me making every effort to get out of the car as soon as I can.

"Dealer discretion"?!!!!! What?!! Warranty is warranty. It is a MAZDA warranty, not the dealer warranty. Stand up to this scam. Write a certified letter to Mazda and insist that they honor the 36K warranty, which was baked into the price. (and in my opinion, the car is way overpriced. Compare to the Rav 4 Hybrid. I too am sorry I bought this car at such a high price. Not as many issues like what you're having.

 

[Cx50mistake]

Ahh the cx50 with all of its teething issues. Long story short. I looked around for a month for a cx50. Finally found one. A gsl model here in Canada. Non turbo. I was so excited about this car that I bought it the same day without even seeing it. Well my issues started right away with the cx50. Fit and finish of this vehicle is just bad. But my main issue was to road noise. I took it into two different dealers both telling me the road noise was normal. Mind you this is with the 17inch wheels. The noise almost sounded like driveline noise or bearing noise. Both dealers wanted nothing to do with this vehicle and both said it was a normal characteristic of the vehicle. Well I'm sorry. That is horse sh..it. I just got out of an outback wilderness with all terrain tires on it that I drove for 17000kms and the cx50 with the stock 17 all season tires was at least twice as loud under normal driving. Plus just the over all lack of insulation was evident. Plastic everywhere.. even on the higher trims. Plastic on top of doors??? I mean come on mazda. I even changed out the stock tires to a better all season and while it helped slightly the noise was still just to much to live with on a daily basis. Which is sad because I honestly did like the firmness and the way it handled. So after one month and 3000kms ownership of the cx50 I dumped it took a 2k loss and traded it in for a 23 cx5 sport design turbo. And let me tell you night a day difference with the drive. The cx50 is nowhere near the vehicle the cx5 is currently. Maybe that will change. But it is very evident Mazda spent alot of time research and money in developing and perfecting the cx5 over the last 7 years of this generation and it shows. There is a huge discrepancy in the build quality between the two. I'm very happy with the cx5 and also still sad about the cx50. I will wait and see what the cx70 has in store in a year or two and make the jump to that if I need the extra space but for now the cx5 is a breath of fresh air.