LEDs

[Ant]

I'm a bit surprised that Mazda has stuck with conventional incandescent bulbs for indicators and reversing lamps etc. on models fitted with LED headlamps, DRLs, rear and brake lights.

Wondered if anyone had looked into fitting replacement LED indicator bulbs? I think the instant on/off effect looks much better. Plus, it should remove the "fried egg" look of the clear indicator lenses.

I know LEDs can cause problems with bulb failure monitors - I don't think the CX-5 has those? I believe the CANBUS LED bulbs solve this anyway though.

Cheers

[xtrailman]

I  feel a bit conned with the led's.
Assuming Mazda had used led through out the sport version, but since re reading the brochure no mention is made of the rear lights, why use led for only some road lights, but not all.

Its also confusing reading posts from different country's which I believe do have rear leds, not to mention the confusion caused by a manual not dedicated to uk models alone.

No I-eloop in the uk except for some Mazda 6, and only one German model cx-5 has them. UK  brochure could be clearer IMO.

[Ant]

I agree that the manual could be better. As you say it's not dedicated to the UK models so has some inaccuracies. (eg. the door lock switch shown on page 1-6 which isn't fitted to UK models.)  Some parts could be clearer/more comprehensive as well. I guess the the disclaimer is the "*some models" note on various pages.

On the rear lights, page 6-56 of the manual says the brake and tail lights are LEDs on cars with LED headlamps and I thought this was the case from the way they operate. But why not just use LEDs throughout?

I may looking into swapping the indicators bulbs for LEDs - I'll update here if I do that.

[DHZ7945]

I'm also interested in changing the bulbs to led. I'd like to know how you get on with the replacements and which ones you use

[Ant]

I contacted Mazda UK through Facebook to ask about changing to LED indicator bulbs. This was the response:

"We’re unable to recommend taking the car away from the current factory specification as we've not tested any LED replacement bulbs compatibility with the complex electronic systems fitted to this vehicle. We can though pass the feedback to the factory for future consideration."

I've heard that LED bulbs can cause very rapid flashing of the indicators which can be cured by fitting a different flasher unit but I really don't want to get into mods other than changing the bulbs so I've decided not to go ahead with this.

I might look into changing the indicator bulbs for Phillips Silver Vision ones which shine amber but have a silver finish to the surface of the bulb. It gets rid of the 'fried egg' look in clear indicator lenses. I did this on my previous Golf - it's subtle change but makes a noticeable difference.

[xtrailman]

There has been a lot of threads about fitting LED replacements on mazda247 forum.
And a few disasters, a few just changing the boot lamp destroyed a canbus module at a cost of around £150 if I remember correctly, this lamp has no fuse back up after the module.

Personally I have no interest in altering lighting on a new car, but I do intend to fit one or two 12v power sockets now we are one less upfront.

[Ant]

UPDATE...

As I said above, I abandoned the idea of LED indicator bulbs to avoid conflicts and potentially more serious issues.

I did replace the number lights with these though: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251866269794. Very easy to do (just make sure the lens seal goes back correctly) and give a much whiter, Audi-like light (and no problems so far!)

It seems that Philips have stopped making their Silver Vision bulbs so I sourced some alternative, chrome-coloured indicator bulbs made by Xtec (from Hids Direct) for the rear lights. Again there easy to swap via the pop out panels on either side of the boot. They shine as brightly as standard bulbs but you lose the orange smear in the otherwise clear light lens when they're not operating. The Xtec bulbs don't 'snap' into the holders as positively as the standard bulbs but they work fine. Oddly, I couldn't get them work in the front indicators - so that remains a work in progress!

Just to add - the front indicators are a faff to change because you have to partially remove the wheel well liner. Not difficult, just fiddly!

Appreciate that many people will probably have little interest in this but I quite simple mods that improve the look of the car (IMHO) and make it appear subtly different from standard!

Cheers

[FireDiamondUK]

On all modern car, as a warning the indicator bulb isnt working if the correct resistance isnt met in the circuit then the indicator will flash at double speed to indicate a fault with a bulb. As LEDs have a much lower resistance than a filament bulb, you will need to fit CanBus compliant bulbs which have a resistor built into them and are designed to provide more resistance to imitate filament bulbs

[MikeTB]

My 2013 CX5 lacks LEDs practically everywhere. Even the DRLs use an expensive special bulb.
I found a pair of LEDs to fit which cost the same as a single bulb. They are brighter and have given no problems.
The only other bulb I have changed so far is the boot lamp. The original was so dim it was hardly worth having it.
It is hard to find 28 mm LED festoons but I found some on EBay. I can actually see what is in the boot at last.
I can give details of what I used if anyone is interested.

[twabrigs]

Hi - definitely interested in the boot lighting Mike, I agree it is pathetically dim and if you happen to have a large object on that side of the boot it puts the rest of the area in darkness.

[FireDiamondUK]

My 2013 CX5 lacks LEDs practically everywhere. Even the DRLs use an expensive special bulb.
I found a pair of LEDs to fit which cost the same as a single bulb. They are brighter and have given no problems.
The only other bulb I have changed so far is the boot lamp. The original was so dim it was hardly worth having it.
It is hard to find 28 mm LED festoons but I found some on EBay. I can actually see what is in the boot at last.
I can give details of what I used if anyone is interested.

I believe that Mazda sell a 2 lamp LED "Kit" for the boot which gives you a white LED lamp on both sides. You can also buy an LED upgrade kit for the interior lights

[Ant]

Hi

Both the LED upgrade kits for the pre-facelift model that FireDiamond mentions are listed on Mazda's UK website:

https://www.mazda.co.uk/buying-owning/accessories/mazda-cx-5/2011-11/comfort-utility/C830V1620E/

https://www.mazda.co.uk/buying-owning/accessories/mazda-cx-5/2011-11/comfort-utility/410078826/

In the facelift model, the boot light is mounted in the tailgate and seems to work OK.

The LED bulbs I used to upgrade the number plate lights on my car were from EBay and described as CANBUS compliant but then I read that some manufacturers/suppliers (particularly for cheaper eBay items) get round the CANBUS problem by simply soldering a resistor across the bulb terminals to mimic the the resistive load which can lead to excessive heat and a potential fire hazard. There's a YouTube video which goes into some detail here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tkPGqM0Sl64

Because of this, I've since changed my LED number plate bulbs to non-CANBUS versions from Halfords and they work fine (and still look much better than the Mazda originals in my view). I also changed the standard reverse light bulbs to CANBUS LEDs but from a known UK supplier (Autobulbs Direct). Heat shouldn't be an issue anyway as reverse lights are normally used for a few seconds only. I've stuck with ordinary incandescent bulbs for the indicators but they are mostly silver/chrome on the outside so no blurry orange blob through the clear indicator lenses!

[MikeTB]

The LED bulb I used can be found on EBay at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222292162418
£3.98 for 2 so got to be the cheapest option.