4 months in... Crunch from gearbox.

[Spacebug]

Hi all,

I have now had my Sport Nav for 4 months and I thought I'd share a few of the niggles I've had/have..

So a bit of background. I moved from a 62 plate 3 series BMW M sport. After owning BMWs for about 10 years I fell out of love with them due to significant issues with my last 3 series.

I decided to go for something completely different. Life changes such as a new dog and a growing child forced my arm too!

I reviewed lots of SUVs and test drove several and overall the CX-5 was the best. Generally I have not been disappointed. My doubts about the car were:

• Skinny wheel track, with wheels sat too far in under the arches. In my opinion it made the car look too tall and skinny.
• Chrome smile on the front grille. With the LED headlights I thought this made the car look like it had a smiley face.
• Skinny steering wheel. One thing I miss for the BMW M sport. A big chunky steering wheel

I fixed the first two and will have to live with the last one.

Anyway, onto the niggles. I have had nowhere near as many issues with this car as I have had with others. Basically two major things. One fixed and one I need to speak to Mazda about as it is getting worse.

Problems:
Wifi connection. Had to go to local dealer. We had to go through the dance of them updating firmware even though I told them it would probably need a new module. Firmware update didn't work. It needed a new module.

Crunch from the gearbox when moving from 1st to 2nd. If I try and match the revs it sometimes goes in smoothly. If I'm not paying attention it grinds!

Anyone else had this issue? I intend to speak to Mazda soon but wanted to go with as much info as possible.

Cheers,
John

[kiakid2]

Yes
I don’t think the manual gearbox is Mazda’s finest product. I was somewhat disappointed as I was expecting it to be as silky smooth the review say:
 Mazda claims that its new thinking and modern approach to gearbox engineering has resulted in a "box with a reduced number of moving parts, a 3Kg weight reduction and a one per cent increase in fuel economy". One thing’s for sure, gear changes are smooth, precise and remind us of the last-gen Toyota Celica’s gear shift, which is a good thing.

My wife’s Hyundai i10 gearbox is better and even though my gearbox has been replaced I still find changing 1st to 2nd gear can’t be rushed, sounds clunky not smooth and have come to the conclusion that they are all like it. If they found manufacturing tolerance errors on my first box – how do we know that the whole batch are not like that?

See:           http://mazdacx5forums.co.uk/index.php?topic=217.0 

Sometimes when driving I get the feeling the clutch had not fully disengaged when changing gears 3rd down to 2nd
 
On three occasions the gear lever has jumped out of reverse so I am now making sure it is positively selected before reversing - this was not apparent with the first box.

Still a great car to beat for the money!

[xtrailman]

Maybe the clutch needs adjustment, have you tried pushing the pedal fully down?
Can't recall any problems with my last manual car, other than the clutch needed pushing well down.

[Spacebug]

Yep, tried making sure my left leg wasn't being lazy!

I will take it in to Mazda. The only issue I have with that is the last time I did it (for the wifi) they gave me a Ford Ka (dealer shares the same forecourt with Ford) and it is totally not adequate. For the 2x day visits with the wifi it was manageable but if it needs to go in for an extended visit I can't live with the Ka. Maybe I should take it to a different dealer.

That was one good thing about BMW. If you took the car in with a fault they'd give you the same spec car or better. If you took it in to the body shop they'd punish you for damaging a BMW by giving you a Nissan Micra. 

[xtrailman]

When mine went in i got a 1.5D fiesta, it was a very good car, not like the 2014 sportage i had from another dealer.

[Fangface]

I have a similar issue when moving from 1st to 2nd.  It doesn't happen all the time but enough to bug me when it does happen.  It seems to be worst when I don't consciously put the clutch 100% to the floor and maybe depress it 90% and change gear when making a quick change taking off at a junction.

If you find out any more I would be interested to hear.

[Spacebug]

Sounds very similar, but I'm certain I'm pushing my foot to the floor. It doesn't do it all the time for me either, but as you say when it does happen it bothers me. It makes me wince sometimes..!

[Anchorman]

There is a TSB for crunching gears on the Skyactive transmission.

[rmvf]

Would be interested to see that

[Anchorman]

Will do tomorrow.

[Spacebug]

Yes, I'd like to see that too.

I took my car in to be looked at. They had it for the day. Said they'd adjusted the clutch and then compared it with a brand new one and it was the same.

Basically they have made it worse. It now still crunches on the way into 2nd but now it also clunks on the way out of first occasionally.

I am very disappointed. The inconvenience of taking it in for the day is the only reason I've not dropped it back on their forecourt.

If I had the info in the TSB then I'd at least go armed with some facts..

[Anchorman]

Yes, I'd like to see that too.

I took my car in to be looked at. They had it for the day. Said they'd adjusted the clutch and then compared it with a brand new one and it was the same.

Basically they have made it worse. It now still crunches on the way into 2nd but now it also clunks on the way out of first occasionally.

I am very disappointed. The inconvenience of taking it in for the day is the only reason I've not dropped it back on their forecourt.

If I had the info in the TSB then I'd at least go armed with some facts..

Here you are;



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[wolosp]

I bought my CX 5 2.2D NAV in March 2016 (a late 2014 car).
Quite soon after collecting the car, I noticed that changing gear, especially in lower ratios was 'notchy', and I could often feel the gears meshing during a change (suggesting to me a synchro problem?).  I sent an email to the dealer's service dept reporting the issue, but got no reply.
The car was due a service in April, so I asked the dealer to check this out during the service.
They told me that there was nothing untoward found with the gearbox.
I sent Mazda UK an email asking whether there was a TSB relating to this issue as I didn't want to find that I had an expensive bill on my hands if a problem developed when the car was out of waranty. They didn't comment on any TSB, but asked me to discuss it with the service manager at my local dealership.
I have just finished the call with the service manager, and he acknowledged that there was indeed a TSB that might apply to the issue I am reporting.
I am taking the car to the dealer tomorrow for them to check out (again).

[xtrailman]

I had a Primera with a notchy 1st gear second wasn't as bad, but it was only when cold.
As I always garage my car in a heated garage it was only a problem on nights in winter.

Do you find your problem temperature related?
I also though modern clutches had no adjustment?

[wolosp]

I had a Primera with a notchy 1st gear second wasn't as bad, but it was only when cold.
As I always garage my car in a heated garage it was only a problem on nights in winter.

Do you find your problem temperature related?
I also though modern clutches had no adjustment?

Hi xtrailman, I can't say that I have found it to be temperature related. It's no better (or worse) once the gearbox is at operating temperature.
I took the car to my dealer today, and although the technician admitted that occasionally during his test drive, the gear change did 'baulk' a little, he said that was mostly if the gear change was hurried. He also said, that it was a little notchy changing from 3rd to 2nd.
He suggested that they will perform a complete gearbox oil replacement, and will inspect the removed oil for any metal fragments.
I have read elsewhere online that a gearbox oil change has been the suggestion from Mazda for this problem, but I have also read that it did not improve matters.
If Mazda (or the dealer) were to tell me; "They're all like that Sir", or even that some cars have a 'notchy' selector problem, but it's nothing to worry about, then I'd accept it as a 'chacteristic' of the car. But I don't want to be landed with a large bill a few years after the waranty expires!