My Subaru knows it’s getting sold. It has looked, forlornly, at my recent press cars and has deduced that its hours are numbered. In exchange, it is haunting me with the most annoying issues on the way out the door.
If you’re new here: I bought a 2016 Subaru Forester (2.5, Premium, with the cold weather package) brand new in 2016. I’d reviewed one and, of all the crossovers for sale in 2016, I felt like it was good at just about everything even if not particularly great at any one thing. While I was tempted to get a Mazda CX-5, prices for Foresters were a lot lower at the time and I got a great deal on one so I pulled the trigger.
Plus, I thought, it should have the same approximate quality over time as the Honda we’d previously had. I was wrong.
Extremely wrong! As mentioned back in February, I have come to regret buying the car after too many issues for a vehicle that gets treated well and isn’t that old. I’ve had to replace the front suspension, the rear wheel bearings, and a million headlights, all before hitting 75,000 miles. The wheel studs are notorious for cracking off and, lo and behold, one just snapped off recently.
To add insult to injury, the already bad speakerphone is almost indecipherable and the Subaru’s infotainment system feels super laggy now. I could live with all of this a little longer, but now I’ve hit yet another speed bump (but not an actual speed bump because I’m tired of this car being unable to maintain an alignment).
Are You Kidding?
Not since John Densmore has anyone been madder at some doors.
Specifically, the locks on the front passenger door stopped working for some reason a few weeks ago. I clicked the unlock button on my keyfob and nothing happened. I clicked it again and heard the hollow, unsatisfying clink of all the other locks meekly opening, but no noise emanated from the passenger door.
I walked around to the driver-side door, found it was open, and peered in to see the passenger door was still stuck in the locked position. Oh well. I clicked it by hand and then hit the lock button. Of course, nothing happened. So I went in and locked it by hand.
For the next week or so I couldn’t defeat muscle memory so I kept going to the door and finding it either locked or unlocked depending on whatever the opposite of what I wanted happened to be. And then, when I got used to it, it started working again.
Whew. One less thing!
And then, a few days ago, the driver-side door decided to stop working.
One wonky lock is bad luck, two is bad design.
“Those Subarus are starting to age, their crap, cheap build quality is starting to shine through,” SWG told me in an effort to cheer me up. “That one I recently rescued was a mess of cheap snapped bolts/fasteners etc with the work I had to do to it and it was a rust-free southern car.”
And before you ask, it’s not the keyfob.
Otherwise, the rear doors wouldn’t work and, to this point, they still work.
I Am Too Over It To Fix It
Just to make it exciting, this doesn’t seem to be a consistent issue. Sometimes both doors work, and sometimes neither do. Sometimes it’s just one.
Assuming it’s the lock actuator it’s not the worst possible job:
But, as you can see, Subaru hasn’t made it exactly easy for a regular person to do.
Is this just me? As always, the SubaruForester.org forum seems to have plenty of examples of people having this issue:
And:
And:
As always, you can pretty much find any problem online if you just search for it, so I try to keep my browsing to specific forums like this one and NASIOC and only include the screenshots if there are enough to make it seem common. This is common and people claim to have been charged $700 for the repair, which I assume is mostly the annoying labor.
Am I being a little precious about my eight-year-old car? Just a little. All old cars have weird issues (and some new ones do as well). I just feel like the issue-per-mile is a little too high for my taste and the solutions always seem to require just a bit more work to fix than I’m used to having previously owned Volvos, Fords, and Hondas.
If all goes well I’ll have this sold and out of my life before the end of the month, so hopefully nothing else significant happens to it between now and then. I’m out, Subaru!
Oy!! Not the most exciting, but our 2010 Toyota Prius that I just sold with 155,000 miles had exactly ONE mechanical repair during my ownership. The EGR valve packed it in and it was fixed under warranty! I wouldn’t touch a Subaru with a ten foot 1/2 inch breaker bar. My sanity is too valuable to me
You got out of that Prius just in time. As a former 2010 Prius owner and Priuschat forum member, ALL third Gen Priuses, in particular 2010-2012 without revised rings and pistons that delayed the problem, will blow their head gaskets eventually, sometimes as early as 100,000, but typically 150,000-200,000. The clogged up EGR is one of the things theorized to contribute to all those blown head gaskets. Having owned my older (pre-2005) Subarus for a combined 30-years, I’ve had no major repairs needed, and not had any close calls like getting out of my 2010 Prius at 180,000 miles.
Oy!! Not the most exciting, but our 2010 Toyota Prius that I just sold with 155,000 miles had exactly ONE mechanical repair during my ownership. The EGR valve packed it in and it was fixed under warranty! I wouldn’t touch a Subaru with a ten foot 1/2 inch breaker bar. My sanity is too valuable to me
You got out of that Prius just in time. As a former 2010 Prius owner and Priuschat forum member, ALL third Gen Priuses, in particular 2010-2012 without revised rings and pistons that delayed the problem, will blow their head gaskets eventually, sometimes as early as 100,000, but typically 150,000-200,000. The clogged up EGR is one of the things theorized to contribute to all those blown head gaskets. Having owned my older (pre-2005) Subarus for a combined 30-years, I’ve had no major repairs needed, and not had any close calls like getting out of my 2010 Prius at 180,000 miles.
Maybe it’s just our car, but our ’15 Subaru Forester has been a freight train.
Outside of oil, brakes, and tires, we did rear hubs at 130k and a clutch at 140k I’m planning on cv shafts soon, and am at 160k.
Granted Subarus of the era had some material Cost cutting that in retrospect, is terrible.
We are active people, with a dog, and a kid, and outdoor hobbies, we fit the mold Subaru pushes well, so compared to our old 98 and 99, it feels cheap. Fabrics wear and tear more than they should, plastic panels are easy to puncture, the under tray ripped off, and the driving dynamic felt muted and lacking. Plus the oil burning
But everything that era burned oil, and many felt dull.
I miss my late 90s Subarus. So much fun for the dollar, but our 15 has been more reliable than almost every domestic from the era
A lot of the major issues got solved around 2014. The previous gens were absolute mechanical disasters.
Maybe it’s just our car, but our ’15 Subaru Forester has been a freight train.
Outside of oil, brakes, and tires, we did rear hubs at 130k and a clutch at 140k I’m planning on cv shafts soon, and am at 160k.
Granted Subarus of the era had some material Cost cutting that in retrospect, is terrible.
We are active people, with a dog, and a kid, and outdoor hobbies, we fit the mold Subaru pushes well, so compared to our old 98 and 99, it feels cheap. Fabrics wear and tear more than they should, plastic panels are easy to puncture, the under tray ripped off, and the driving dynamic felt muted and lacking. Plus the oil burning
But everything that era burned oil, and many felt dull.
I miss my late 90s Subarus. So much fun for the dollar, but our 15 has been more reliable than almost every domestic from the era
A lot of the major issues got solved around 2014. The previous gens were absolute mechanical disasters.
That reminds me of the annoying problem I had with my old Ford Escort. All doors were supposed to lock/unlock with the key in the driver’s door. They all unlocked – but stopped all locking after a while. I got tired of going around and locking each door individually, and just left it open. I just kept the glovebox locked. I figured if anyone really wanted a ’93 Escort stock tape deck, they were welcome to it.
Yep my dad’s 91 escort had the same issue and I think he just pulled the fuse for the central locking
My 99 Miata has a power lock on the passenger side where when the driver is unlocked/locked the passenger matches it. That stopped working intermittently but being a 2 door I decided it was more prudent to just unplug it. Easy enough to just reach across and unlock it.
That reminds me of the annoying problem I had with my old Ford Escort. All doors were supposed to lock/unlock with the key in the driver’s door. They all unlocked – but stopped all locking after a while. I got tired of going around and locking each door individually, and just left it open. I just kept the glovebox locked. I figured if anyone really wanted a ’93 Escort stock tape deck, they were welcome to it.
Yep my dad’s 91 escort had the same issue and I think he just pulled the fuse for the central locking
My 99 Miata has a power lock on the passenger side where when the driver is unlocked/locked the passenger matches it. That stopped working intermittently but being a 2 door I decided it was more prudent to just unplug it. Easy enough to just reach across and unlock it.
Matt: “We bought an Aztek!”
Also Matt: “I’m getting rid of this car within the month.”
Interesting. Very interesting…
Oh man… I don’t think I’d win that argument, but we’d be saving so much money.
Pretty sure you’re not going to want it after it absorbs a week straight of David’s ‘alluring aroma’.
And Aztec spaghetti
Matt: “We bought an Aztek!”
Also Matt: “I’m getting rid of this car within the month.”
Interesting. Very interesting…
Oh man… I don’t think I’d win that argument, but we’d be saving so much money.
Pretty sure you’re not going to want it after it absorbs a week straight of David’s ‘alluring aroma’.
And Aztec spaghetti
I have a good friend who bought her’s new also. Same model, same year. 120K miles.
She just took it in to dealer for oil change. They came back with estimates of recommended repairs to her. Well over $11K. Yes $11 grand!
I am going to look it over for her to verify the dealer’s take.
Except for the door lock issues, the stuff wrong with her car mirrors what Matt has endured. Ridiculous.
I grew up driving 1970’s (early) Subies. Beat the crap out of them. Never a problem.
I am going to try and gently suggest to her that it may be time to start considering a new car.
Good luck Matt.
That’s rough! You’re a good friend for getting it checked out.
Sounds like about the right mileage for its first engine-out overhaul, lmao
About 120k-130k is where my friends Outback lost its first engine.
Of course is was only 120k.
I have a good friend who bought her’s new also. Same model, same year. 120K miles.
She just took it in to dealer for oil change. They came back with estimates of recommended repairs to her. Well over $11K. Yes $11 grand!
I am going to look it over for her to verify the dealer’s take.
Except for the door lock issues, the stuff wrong with her car mirrors what Matt has endured. Ridiculous.
I grew up driving 1970’s (early) Subies. Beat the crap out of them. Never a problem.
I am going to try and gently suggest to her that it may be time to start considering a new car.
Good luck Matt.
That’s rough! You’re a good friend for getting it checked out.
Sounds like about the right mileage for its first engine-out overhaul, lmao
About 120k-130k is where my friends Outback lost its first engine.
Of course is was only 120k.
Should have spent the extra cheddar on the CX-5 back then!
This is why they make therapists see other therapists. I feel like I give pretty decent car advice to everyone but myself.
True! Your advice to others was sound. Our 2015 CX-5 has been nearly flawless. It’s a great car.
Same here. We got used CX-5s for both our kids from that timeframe and both have been trouble-free. The kids love them too even without the turbo engine.
Yeah, we have the NA 2.5, it does just fine.
To be fair, these also have lower control arm wear issues.
To be fair, that in only one issue, versus the many many maladies that his Subaru has experienced, all of which are very common to Subarus.
It’s strange to see the CX-5 has a reputation for reliability in the US. The UK ones are mostly complete dogs, as are most things Mazda from the last 15 years or so. Presumably you didn’t get the terrible SkyActiv diesel that was a big part of the problem, since Mazda put it in everything.
Nope, no diesel. They sold them for like 8 minutes in top trim CX-5s only. I’ve never seen one. Most of them have a 2.5L NA gas engine that is dead nuts reliable.
Yep, my fiancee has a 2018 Mazda3 hatch with that engine. Over 80k miles on it now, he put something like 60k of those on it in the past few years. Not a single issue. I change the oil, filters, and rotate the tires, and that’s all I’ve ever had to do. As a long-time VW owner (with a habit of modifying my cars), it’s nice to have one car in our household that literally needs nothing but consumables.
Yeah, it’s nice to have a vehicle that just … works. Our CX-5 had one warranty claim when it was 6-months old for a dead center screen. Other than that, just oil changes and a set of tires so far.
Oh, we had a silly issue this spring. Something was rattling over hard bumps. Turned out the bottom inch of the left rear coil spring had rusted off, and slid into the lower control arm. My mechanic fished it out, and pronounced it good to go. Rust belt life! (Salt life?)
Hasn’t everyone had diesel issues the last 10-15 years, though? But yes, the gasoline-powered SkyActiv engines have been solid. From the 1.5L in the 2 and some iterations of the Miata all the way up to the 2.5L Turbo (and apparently the new 3.3L I6) they’ve got a good reputation AFAIK.
Seconded.
CX-5s are one of the very few vehicles I’ll stake my name and reputation on and recommend. Really pretty much the whole ICE-only modern (2016+) Mazda lineup. Even their turbo engines haven’t really had issues. My wife’s on her third (repeat leases, not the best anecdote but for how hard she can be on vehicles), countless relatives, friends, and customers have them; they’re just so solid as modern cars go. If I had to replace my current DD (knock on wood) then a CX-50 would be at the top of my shopping list.
Yet Toyota and Honda (and others) can’t seem to figure out their newest turbos despite the tech generally being proven on the mass market since the ’80s. But little ol’ Mazda has theirs sorted. *shrug* More power to ’em.
Should have spent the extra cheddar on the CX-5 back then!
This is why they make therapists see other therapists. I feel like I give pretty decent car advice to everyone but myself.
True! Your advice to others was sound. Our 2015 CX-5 has been nearly flawless. It’s a great car.
Same here. We got used CX-5s for both our kids from that timeframe and both have been trouble-free. The kids love them too even without the turbo engine.
Yeah, we have the NA 2.5, it does just fine.
To be fair, these also have lower control arm wear issues.
To be fair, that in only one issue, versus the many many maladies that his Subaru has experienced, all of which are very common to Subarus.
It’s strange to see the CX-5 has a reputation for reliability in the US. The UK ones are mostly complete dogs, as are most things Mazda from the last 15 years or so. Presumably you didn’t get the terrible SkyActiv diesel that was a big part of the problem, since Mazda put it in everything.
Nope, no diesel. They sold them for like 8 minutes in top trim CX-5s only. I’ve never seen one. Most of them have a 2.5L NA gas engine that is dead nuts reliable.
Yep, my fiancee has a 2018 Mazda3 hatch with that engine. Over 80k miles on it now, he put something like 60k of those on it in the past few years. Not a single issue. I change the oil, filters, and rotate the tires, and that’s all I’ve ever had to do. As a long-time VW owner (with a habit of modifying my cars), it’s nice to have one car in our household that literally needs nothing but consumables.
Yeah, it’s nice to have a vehicle that just … works. Our CX-5 had one warranty claim when it was 6-months old for a dead center screen. Other than that, just oil changes and a set of tires so far.
Oh, we had a silly issue this spring. Something was rattling over hard bumps. Turned out the bottom inch of the left rear coil spring had rusted off, and slid into the lower control arm. My mechanic fished it out, and pronounced it good to go. Rust belt life! (Salt life?)
Hasn’t everyone had diesel issues the last 10-15 years, though? But yes, the gasoline-powered SkyActiv engines have been solid. From the 1.5L in the 2 and some iterations of the Miata all the way up to the 2.5L Turbo (and apparently the new 3.3L I6) they’ve got a good reputation AFAIK.
Seconded.
CX-5s are one of the very few vehicles I’ll stake my name and reputation on and recommend. Really pretty much the whole ICE-only modern (2016+) Mazda lineup. Even their turbo engines haven’t really had issues. My wife’s on her third (repeat leases, not the best anecdote but for how hard she can be on vehicles), countless relatives, friends, and customers have them; they’re just so solid as modern cars go. If I had to replace my current DD (knock on wood) then a CX-50 would be at the top of my shopping list.
Yet Toyota and Honda (and others) can’t seem to figure out their newest turbos despite the tech generally being proven on the mass market since the ’80s. But little ol’ Mazda has theirs sorted. *shrug* More power to ’em.
The Lotus Elise has a terrible (from the factory) immobilizer / remote lock system. If your fob or central lock module die which they have won’t to do you are well and truly screwed. You see the electric locks are NOT connected to the mechanical “key” locking mechanism. Imagine your surprise when you first discover this bit of engineering excellence.
The Lotus Elise has a terrible (from the factory) immobilizer / remote lock system. If your fob or central lock module die which they have won’t to do you are well and truly screwed. You see the electric locks are NOT connected to the mechanical “key” locking mechanism. Imagine your surprise when you first discover this bit of engineering excellence.
have you narrowed down the list yet? I am hoping you get the Mazda CX-90, or the 50 just because I want to hear about them more than just about anything else on the market. Love me a Mazda.
Yes, I am pretty sure I know what’s next.
Yes, please do. The CX-90 is on the list to replace my wife’s Highlander at some point.
I like the CX-90. I’m probably going two-row, because we have just one kid.
Fingers crossed for a CX-50 or -70 (despite the relative waste of space) so I can live vicariously through your experiences. Maverick would also be neat.
have you narrowed down the list yet? I am hoping you get the Mazda CX-90, or the 50 just because I want to hear about them more than just about anything else on the market. Love me a Mazda.
Yes, I am pretty sure I know what’s next.
Yes, please do. The CX-90 is on the list to replace my wife’s Highlander at some point.
I like the CX-90. I’m probably going two-row, because we have just one kid.
Fingers crossed for a CX-50 or -70 (despite the relative waste of space) so I can live vicariously through your experiences. Maverick would also be neat.
Love. It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru. Not functional door locks. Not headlights that have shorter lifespans than fruit flies. Not faulty wheel bearings or alignments that are more of a suggestion than adjustment. Love man! It’s about love. When you got love all that other shit is just noise. Right? I mean … love, right?
Get out of here with your damn hippy talk…/s
I like them because they smell like stinky dogs and drool.
I think you’re referring to Stockholm syndrome…
I thought you were quoting Jerome from Boogie Nights for a second: “it’s all about love. You know what I mean? If you love someone, how hard can the world be. I mean, people will come and they will go and so will problems. But, ultimately, if you have got love on your side and it is just – I mean – it is just deep down in your soul, what’s a problem going to be that takes your attention away from that? You understand?”
My district manager came to me and said he was just quoted about $800 to fix his headlight, asked me if I could get one cheaper. I looked into it and pretty much – nope, that’s what they cost.
Head gaskets are what makes a Subaru a Subaru
Love. It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru. Not functional door locks. Not headlights that have shorter lifespans than fruit flies. Not faulty wheel bearings or alignments that are more of a suggestion than adjustment. Love man! It’s about love. When you got love all that other shit is just noise. Right? I mean … love, right?
Get out of here with your damn hippy talk…/s
I like them because they smell like stinky dogs and drool.
I think you’re referring to Stockholm syndrome…
I thought you were quoting Jerome from Boogie Nights for a second: “it’s all about love. You know what I mean? If you love someone, how hard can the world be. I mean, people will come and they will go and so will problems. But, ultimately, if you have got love on your side and it is just – I mean – it is just deep down in your soul, what’s a problem going to be that takes your attention away from that? You understand?”
My district manager came to me and said he was just quoted about $800 to fix his headlight, asked me if I could get one cheaper. I looked into it and pretty much – nope, that’s what they cost.
Head gaskets are what makes a Subaru a Subaru
Get rid of this fucking thing already, or are the clicks worth the trouble? (They very well could be, since they would probably cover the repair cost)
Since this is the family car, the clicks are not worth the trouble they just make the trouble a little more amusing. I’m not kicking and screaming when this stuff happens, now I just lightly pat Subie on its wheel and chuckle while mumbling “you dumb asshole” under my breath.
haha, I love it. Acceptance can go a long way to staying calm in life.
kind of like: “Hate the Sin, love the Sinner” 😉
This sounds suspiciously like having an orange cat in the house. Every time it does something really annoying, like knocking over a glass because it doesn’t realize where its tail is, all I can do is just say “You absolute MORON!” and then shake my head because he doesn’t know better, and it wasn’t malicious, it’s just the way he is.
I have had more than one orange cat. The last one- I wasn’t sure he knew what he was doing. The current one isn’t a moron, he knows what he’s doing and he’s just plain evil.
r/oneorangebrancell
My three cats get totally different reactions from my wife and I.
Orange – “Oh you sweet little angel muffin, there isn’t a thing going on in that little head is there”
Black – “Oh it’s okay, you didn’t mean to”
Tortoiseshell – “Oh it’s you again, you little chaos gremlin, you”
Our black cat is the chaos gremlin in our household. He started out as a cute little salt and pepper fuzzball of a kitten, then became a black agent of entropy.
Mine is a dignified lady, who rarely even meows but when she does the whole house listens. She typically is calmly curled up near my wife or me and just observes. The tort is constantly in something and rarely comes to a rest.
Why didn’t you cover the Toyota engine debris recall last week in the Morning Dump? 100,000+ ticking time bombs that might eventually need new long blocks.
Get rid of this fucking thing already, or are the clicks worth the trouble? (They very well could be, since they would probably cover the repair cost)
Since this is the family car, the clicks are not worth the trouble they just make the trouble a little more amusing. I’m not kicking and screaming when this stuff happens, now I just lightly pat Subie on its wheel and chuckle while mumbling “you dumb asshole” under my breath.
haha, I love it. Acceptance can go a long way to staying calm in life.
kind of like: “Hate the Sin, love the Sinner” 😉
This sounds suspiciously like having an orange cat in the house. Every time it does something really annoying, like knocking over a glass because it doesn’t realize where its tail is, all I can do is just say “You absolute MORON!” and then shake my head because he doesn’t know better, and it wasn’t malicious, it’s just the way he is.
I have had more than one orange cat. The last one- I wasn’t sure he knew what he was doing. The current one isn’t a moron, he knows what he’s doing and he’s just plain evil.
r/oneorangebrancell
My three cats get totally different reactions from my wife and I.
Orange – “Oh you sweet little angel muffin, there isn’t a thing going on in that little head is there”
Black – “Oh it’s okay, you didn’t mean to”
Tortoiseshell – “Oh it’s you again, you little chaos gremlin, you”
Our black cat is the chaos gremlin in our household. He started out as a cute little salt and pepper fuzzball of a kitten, then became a black agent of entropy.
Mine is a dignified lady, who rarely even meows but when she does the whole house listens. She typically is calmly curled up near my wife or me and just observes. The tort is constantly in something and rarely comes to a rest.
Why didn’t you cover the Toyota engine debris recall last week in the Morning Dump? 100,000+ ticking time bombs that might eventually need new long blocks.
My 2016 Mazda3 is acting up similarly and I also want out. The paint is failing spectacularly, it constantly blows through interior lights, the door weatherstripping has failed, the screen is slowly melting off, and now the driver’s side window is making bad noises (on top of it sucking to drive). Yet, my 1994 Miata, 2004 Tacoma, and 2014 CRV seem to be fine. It only adds insult to injury when I keep thinking that the car is only 4 years old (guess I am still stuck in 2020 mentally). I am considering selling the Taco and 3 for a Ford Maverick AWD Ecoboost.
If you do… I know a guy.
Sounds like a decision has been made…
my 2015 3 had super thin paint (the red that everyone loves from mazda)
Is it thin or just easily scratched-through? My mom’s CX-5 has that Soul Red Crystal and it gouges seemingly easily (her neighbor also can’t be bothered to keep the bushes in their shared alley trimmed) but the light scratches buff out easily enough. It seems to be a harder paint, if that makes sense, probably due to the 5-layer process.
Both lol scratches through very easily and I couldn’t believe the amount of rock chips that were through the paint compared to every other car I’ve owned. I got the top of the roof by the windshield repainted because it was genuinely that bad.
How does it suck to drive? Our ’14 Mazda3 is still a great little car at 135k miles.
It feels as if it is falling apart at 90K miles. 2nd gear grinds slightly. Clutch isn’t incredible. Front end clunks. Wind noise is not incredible. I’ve never seen anywhere close to the promised 39mpg highway (even with hypermiling).
Sounds like my ’06 “Zoom Zoom” “driver’s car”. It was even a 2.3 hatch with a manual, so the sportiest they sold at the time. It felt end of life in 5 years and well before I traded it in at 167k as well as starting to rot like it was built in 1980. To top it off, it was only fun to drive if the sportiest thing someone had ever driven was a Corolla or Camry. Replaced it with a 5MT ’12 Focus SE with the sport package with the same size tires so that it was about exactly the same spec as possible. It was built on the same platform, but felt so much better built, durable, better mileage with the same performance, even more reliable, had no rust at over 200k and 5 years and felt like it had maybe 50k (which I rate as virtually nothing) on it when it was totaled.
On my 2015 Mazda 3 (90,000klms), the gearbox grind was a TSB and fixed under warranty with a new gearbox (bad syncros). The front end clunks never went away I changed the stab links and the shocks.
Do you have the TSB number by any chance?
It was for Canada, but my TSB bulletin number was 05-008/14. From my searches, looks like there’s a few more that have superceeded it as more people had the same issue.
There were also two TSBs for front-end clunks on early cars; one added plastic pieces on the coil springs, another replaced the inner tie-rod ends (they would bind and pop).
Those were fixed under warranty on ours. Another TSB was not but I fixed it later with updated parts – the rear caliper mounting bracket would rust and cause the caliper to stick on one side, wearing one brake pad down quickly while the other has plenty of pad.
Ya it’s made me hesitant to own another Mazda. While the interior was fantastic, the other little things like suspension issues (I had the rear right spring break the bottom of the coil off??) added up. It’s what makes me look for manufacturers with better warranties because though my gearbox was covered (5,000klms short of expiry @100,000) I’m sure there are lots of people out there who weren’t so lucky.
My sister has a 2014 3 Sport (I think?) and is almost abusive with her cars, and it’s still trucking along quite nicely. Way better than the Honda Civic she had before, though she also “inherited” that [very] used versus buying new.
Yeah, that generation of Mazdas aren’t the best at outside sound insulation, but otherwise they seem to hold up well. I think that’s one of the most noticeable differences between the 2016 CX-5 my wife had and the 2022 CX-5 she has now.
Sounds terrible, how much do you want for it? 🙂
My 2016 Mazda3 is acting up similarly and I also want out. The paint is failing spectacularly, it constantly blows through interior lights, the door weatherstripping has failed, the screen is slowly melting off, and now the driver’s side window is making bad noises (on top of it sucking to drive). Yet, my 1994 Miata, 2004 Tacoma, and 2014 CRV seem to be fine. It only adds insult to injury when I keep thinking that the car is only 4 years old (guess I am still stuck in 2020 mentally). I am considering selling the Taco and 3 for a Ford Maverick AWD Ecoboost.
If you do… I know a guy.
Sounds like a decision has been made…
my 2015 3 had super thin paint (the red that everyone loves from mazda)
Is it thin or just easily scratched-through? My mom’s CX-5 has that Soul Red Crystal and it gouges seemingly easily (her neighbor also can’t be bothered to keep the bushes in their shared alley trimmed) but the light scratches buff out easily enough. It seems to be a harder paint, if that makes sense, probably due to the 5-layer process.
Both lol scratches through very easily and I couldn’t believe the amount of rock chips that were through the paint compared to every other car I’ve owned. I got the top of the roof by the windshield repainted because it was genuinely that bad.
How does it suck to drive? Our ’14 Mazda3 is still a great little car at 135k miles.
It feels as if it is falling apart at 90K miles. 2nd gear grinds slightly. Clutch isn’t incredible. Front end clunks. Wind noise is not incredible. I’ve never seen anywhere close to the promised 39mpg highway (even with hypermiling).
Sounds like my ’06 “Zoom Zoom” “driver’s car”. It was even a 2.3 hatch with a manual, so the sportiest they sold at the time. It felt end of life in 5 years and well before I traded it in at 167k as well as starting to rot like it was built in 1980. To top it off, it was only fun to drive if the sportiest thing someone had ever driven was a Corolla or Camry. Replaced it with a 5MT ’12 Focus SE with the sport package with the same size tires so that it was about exactly the same spec as possible. It was built on the same platform, but felt so much better built, durable, better mileage with the same performance, even more reliable, had no rust at over 200k and 5 years and felt like it had maybe 50k (which I rate as virtually nothing) on it when it was totaled.
On my 2015 Mazda 3 (90,000klms), the gearbox grind was a TSB and fixed under warranty with a new gearbox (bad syncros). The front end clunks never went away I changed the stab links and the shocks.
Do you have the TSB number by any chance?
It was for Canada, but my TSB bulletin number was 05-008/14. From my searches, looks like there’s a few more that have superceeded it as more people had the same issue.
There were also two TSBs for front-end clunks on early cars; one added plastic pieces on the coil springs, another replaced the inner tie-rod ends (they would bind and pop).
Those were fixed under warranty on ours. Another TSB was not but I fixed it later with updated parts – the rear caliper mounting bracket would rust and cause the caliper to stick on one side, wearing one brake pad down quickly while the other has plenty of pad.
Ya it’s made me hesitant to own another Mazda. While the interior was fantastic, the other little things like suspension issues (I had the rear right spring break the bottom of the coil off??) added up. It’s what makes me look for manufacturers with better warranties because though my gearbox was covered (5,000klms short of expiry @100,000) I’m sure there are lots of people out there who weren’t so lucky.
My sister has a 2014 3 Sport (I think?) and is almost abusive with her cars, and it’s still trucking along quite nicely. Way better than the Honda Civic she had before, though she also “inherited” that [very] used versus buying new.
Yeah, that generation of Mazdas aren’t the best at outside sound insulation, but otherwise they seem to hold up well. I think that’s one of the most noticeable differences between the 2016 CX-5 my wife had and the 2022 CX-5 she has now.
Sounds terrible, how much do you want for it? 🙂
Door lock switch/actuator issues were common on some of our Saturns. I remember my dad buying the switch from the dealer parts counter and swapping it out in the parking lot on his SL1, but that was a simpler design where the lock and switch were basically one unit. His Aura chewed through them, and seemed to happen to the back doors more. That had a plunger style lock too at the very back of those long doors so you couldn’t just reach in to use it.
The passenger’s front door lock on his Niro has now done the same, and I assume it’s the actuator as well but haven’t looked into it more. Hopefully it’d be an easy fix to pop off the door card and replace ourselves.
Generally one of those annoying ‘shouldn’t really happen but otherwise nickel-and-dime’ type of things…assuming the rest of the car is otherwise reliable or cheap to maintain. For your Forester it seems like the equivalent of dropping your keys at the front door at the end of a long day: otherwise a small issue but a breaking point in that moment.
Door lock switch/actuator issues were common on some of our Saturns. I remember my dad buying the switch from the dealer parts counter and swapping it out in the parking lot on his SL1, but that was a simpler design where the lock and switch were basically one unit. His Aura chewed through them, and seemed to happen to the back doors more. That had a plunger style lock too at the very back of those long doors so you couldn’t just reach in to use it.
The passenger’s front door lock on his Niro has now done the same, and I assume it’s the actuator as well but haven’t looked into it more. Hopefully it’d be an easy fix to pop off the door card and replace ourselves.
Generally one of those annoying ‘shouldn’t really happen but otherwise nickel-and-dime’ type of things…assuming the rest of the car is otherwise reliable or cheap to maintain. For your Forester it seems like the equivalent of dropping your keys at the front door at the end of a long day: otherwise a small issue but a breaking point in that moment.
…have you considered our parsh-parts-hauling savior, the Mitsubishi Lancer?
Like, I’m just saying.
He probably would if there was a write up on said Lancer so he could see how awesome it is. Just saying
Heh. (I gotta get through this week first.)
You and me both. It’s only Tuesday and I feel like it should be Friday already. Luckily due to various things happening and holidays, I don’t work a full week again until August I think
Lancer Sportback with an Evo powertrain, you mean?
I mean, you could, but I really prefer the sedan over the sportback. If you’re gonna go Evo, go full Evo.
Now, the unobtanium CT9W wagon…hhhhrrrnnnngggg yes.