Update: The shuffling is working by moving the position of the songs as opposed to randomising which number song is played. Each time you press the shuffle button it moves the song position in the list.
My car now feels complete.

 

Got the USB/Bluetooth update yesterday and now it does remember which song it was on when it was turned off. However, it doesn't remember that it was in shuffle mode. When you first press the shuffle button, it randomizes and then numbers the songs in the play list. When you turn it off, it forgets that it was in shuffle mode. If you press the shuffle button after turning it on, you get a new randomized list with a new numbered order. That means after you finish the song it was playing before you turned it off, it could repeat the song it was playing just before the last song. They still didn't get it right! If you want to listen to songs in alphabetic order without shuffling, you won't have a problem, except waiting for 30 seconds before it starts playing.

 

I am just glad that when I listen to an artist or CD it continues where I left off when I get back in the car and that it doesn't start at the same darn song every time.
No, it doesn't work perfect like it does in my Honda - but the Tom Tom GPS doesn't work as well as in my Honda along with some other things. Hey, "I shoulda bought another Honda?" I got my Mazda 6 2015 because of all of the tech. stuff and it looks more sporty than the accord. Maybe they got it right in the 2016, I don't know.

 

I found the same problem with the new bluetooth. It does remember what song you left off on and will resume playing fairly quickly but if I DO NOT press the shuffle button when I get in the car the next song will always be 99 Red Balloons by Nena - it's not even the German version and I am getting tired of it! I have to remember to press shuffle before the current song is done playing and then WAIT for it to process and then it will move to the next random song. It also does not display the song titles right away and don't keep pushing the buttons if it doesn't respond because you will confuse and crash it. Overall it is better than the previous version but it still needs tweaking. I still cannot believe MAZDA signed off on the original design without doing a thorough QC to see this huge flaw before installing it in many of their top selling vehicles, It's horrible to say but I hope someone got fired over it.

 

fixed mine ,ive brought the new cx5 and its a completely new system .much better

 

Having called Mazda customer service twice about the iPod problem, and finally writing a letter to the US CEO of Mazda, they e-mailed me telling me that TSB 09-008/15 solves the problem and to contact the dealer.

Took our 2014 CX-5 in today for the fix. The iPod does work better, but if you have a whole lot of playlists, it may not see all of them some of the time. Does it work as well as the iPod worked in the VW I bought in 2009? No. Doesn't work as well as in my 2014 MINI either. Still, it works better than it did before.

The more I play with it, the less impressed I am. I keep telling myself that it's better than before.

 

Hi All,

I've had the latest and greatest Bluetooth module installed and it's not perfect, so I thought I'd share my work-arounds with the gear I have and potential options for making the system work reasonably well. This will apply to all those who'd like to listen to their music via USB and if they have an iPod.

Mazda CX-9 2013 (Grand Touring with Bose Audio and TomTom)
iPod Classic 120GB
iPhone 5S with iOS 8
NB1: Herein referred to as the Mazda Infotainment Screen

Option 1: Use one of these
Review: Griffin Technology AutoPilot | iLounge

Choose the AUX option on you NB1 and use the Griffin to control your iPod, this isn't the most ideal situation because you end up with a few cables hanging around and you don't get any information showing on the NB1. But you can have some control of the music and it stops and starts the music automatically when you start or stop the car (Power on/off). If you have passengers, they can have direct control of the iPod which makes it handy for selecting different tracks or playlists on the go. The big advantage here is you always start music playback where you left off which is the biggest irritation with the new system and you can allow your passengers to easily change music.

Option 2: Plugging the iPod into the USB port and selecting iPod on NB1.

When you first plug in the iPod, it will play the first song listed alphabetically. Once the system has downloaded all the content info (times vary based on library size) you can assess the iPod menu and choose artist, albums, playlists etc. If you choose a playlist, when you turn the car off and on again, it will reset back to the first song on the iPod so unfortunately playlists are out. Albums and Artists however will restart where they left off even if you unplug the device. A work-around that I've tried is basically making a fake album via iTunes with all the songs that are in one of my playlists. So I select all the songs in a playlist, copy them to a folder outside iTunes on the desktop, use a Metadata editor to change the Album name on every song to '1A playlist name' (1A means it will show up at the top of the list on the NB1 and you can call it whatever you want after this i.e. 'top rated' or 'most played' etc). Then change all the 'album artist' values to 'various playlist.' Once you've made those changes, you can re-import those files back into iTunes. This creates a new, separate album on you library called '1A playlist name.' Once you go through the process of doing this on you iTunes library, re-sync you iPod. When you plug the device back into the car, and once you've selected the '1A playlist name' in artists, the iPod will always stay with this album (or Playlist), even if you turn the car off and on or disconnect the device. You can shuffle this list, skip songs and browse via the song list. It's a pain in the *** to do but the results are good. This is the option that I use and I highly recommend it.

Option 3: Bluetooth

If you use Pandora, Spotify, iTunes Match or just music off you iPhone, use Bluetooth. I don't think the audio quality is as good, but you can use all these online based music services with no disruptions. So this is my second best recommended option. You won't be able to shuffle anything via Bluetooth which is another minor bug.

Option 4: USB Stick

If you don't have a very big library, use iTunes to make playlist and copy it onto a USB stick, Shuffle works and so does resuming.

Option 5: Replace the factory head unit.

Drastic and expensive but I've seen some people have done it and come up with good results. Visit iPod Integration for your car and More by Pac-Audio - Connecting you to the future They have all sorts of gear you can use for conversions.

Hope this helps, please feel free to ask any questions.

Cheers, Jason

 

ive got rid of my 2014 cx5 sport and now have the new 2016 facelift cx5 sport and i can say its fantastic ,all the issues are fixed the Bluetooth handsfree / shuffle the whole entertainment system and sat nav is working perfectly .the mirrors are smaller so don't rattle at speed and they have upgraded the sound proofing,it is so quite now .i have to say i think they listened to the complaints but didn't give a !!! about existing customers which is bad .if my local dealer wasn't so great i would not have gone with another Mazda after all the problems .i know this is no help to the millions of people who have the older models.

 

We bought the CX-5 in February 2014. Since my iPod nano worked fine in the VW CC I bought in 2009, I figured a 2014 CX-5 would work as well or better -- wrong. It was very slow to get to playlists, never started a playlist where it had left off, etc. Complained to the dealer, and they played dumb. My wife's son bought a 2015 Mazda6 from the same dealer and was told that Apple wouldn't supply Mazda with the information so that an iPod would work.

I don't drive my wife's CX-5 much, I bought a 2014 MINI Cooper S (iPod works great) but the CX-5 problem is still very irritating. I called Mazda customer service a couple of times and they told me a solution was coming.

Figuring that Mazda was stalling until the warranty ran out, I sent a letter to James O’Sullivan. CEO of Mazda Motors of America. Not long after I got an e-mail from Mazda that Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) #09-008/15 was available to deal with the problem.

Called the dealer and then customer service, and the dealer installed the part ("Bluetooth module"). It works somewhat better. Sometimes very slow to connect to the iPod, usually starts with the first playlist, not where it left off, although it sometimes starts at odd places. My wife's son took his Mazda in for the work, and they gave him another run-a-round.

Called Mazda customer service and was told that there were no plans for further improvements. Good luck!!!!

 

I had the Mazda Bluetooth module installed in my 2015 6, and it's an interesting improvement. First, the guys at the dealership are the BEST in customer service (Go Tod and Corey!). They hadn't heard of the change in modules, and when they inquired (after visiting these pages) they got the part and installed it. It really is a huge improvement over the original.

It's amazing if I were wont to complain, that, in 2015 there were ANY remaining questions regarding the functionality of these systems.

The unit gets a little skitzy... but it does remember where it left off of the usb drive (even if it's been out of the car)...

It does get confused from time to time, yet it's light years ahead of what was originally shipped.

I've not tested specifics because I don't get into that level of functionality...it works much better than the original, and that is a plus.

If you have a 6 (not sure which other models were affected) go and ask your service writer to order the new module. Refer them to these forum pages if they have questions. If they won't do that, find a dealership that has a better service team!

Enjoy!