Hey folks, I am driving a 2016 CX-5 GT (700 mi) and have some questions about the Sport Mode. I am loving the fuel efficiency of my new Mazda, way better than the 99 Nissan Pathfinder I traded in for the new CX-5. That said, CX-5 sometimes needs a little extra punch - particularly when merging with traffic (or just for plain fun sometimes). I have however in 4 weeks not being able to drive it up to a speed where it will shift into 4th (or perhaps 5th?). I turn it on, throttles past the first three gears I think, improving acceleration, but then it stays kinda "stuck" - again in 3rd gear I think. My question is whether this is normal, or if it's working as intended, ie acceleration booster meant to be switched back to normal when achieved desired cruising speed. Welcome your thoughts.

PS: If anyone reading is considering buying a CX-5, the 2016 is simply awesome - I compared against many before buying, nothing came close in terms of fun-to-drive, cabin styling, exterior look, infotainment (2016 only!) and fuel efficiency. Not to mention price.

 

Is this "around town" driving you're talking about? I don't have sport mode on my 2013, but I know how this feature is supposed to work (holds gears longer and sharpens throttle response). So it sounds like you're just puttering around town in sport mode, which is not what it's intended for. If this is the case, take it out of sport and I'll guarantee you'll get into the higher gears because that's what the tranny is programmed to do in its regular setting.

 

I provided the specific example when merging into traffic, on a highway, Sport is engaged, which helps achieve initial acceleration, but does not seem to be suitable once achieved cruising speed, say 65mph+ My question is if it ever shifts into a high gear while on Sport mode. If so, under what condition, RPMs etc. Thanks.

 

I notice a similar behavior in mine. I tend to just switch out of sport once I achieve my place in traffic because it holds the gear a bit too long when I am clearly not offering any additional throttle input. I like it for merging, lane changing, or when you just have to get off the line to quickly get in the right lane. Outside of that I just use the normal mode.


I can't confirm if this is how it is intended, but it's what I have observed and how I use it.

 

So you're saying that at freeway speeds (65+) it won't shift up into 5th or 6th? That doesn't sound right. If you're sure that's what's happening, I would have the dealer check it out. The only experience I have with a feature like this is on my wife's Z4 BMW with DCT (dual clutch transmission). I use it mainly in twisty mountain roads when you don't want the tranny to be continually trying to shift up. But once you're on level ground, it will eventually get to high (7th) gear. It just takes a little longer than in normal mode.

 

Thanks for the input and validating what I have experienced.


It does take too long to switch into a higher gear so I disengage it once I've used the extra throttle I needed.

 

I am going to test it again on the highway this weekend to definitely see if shifts up. Thanks for the input.

 

I don't have any highway speeds on my daily commute, but I tried this out again yesterday and noticed that I could not get it to shift into 5th until I hit 80mph. It would just hold in 4th whether I held the throttle at station or backed off slightly. The shift from 3rd to 4th seemed as though it wouldn't happen until I was around 4k rpm (not sure of the speed) and not providing additional throttle input.


If this is normal behavior for sport mode on this vehicle, then I would say it's not optimal to be sure. It would be nice if it responded more quickly to throttle input and held the gear a bit longer until you are obviously holding current inputs and then make the up-shift...that would be optimal imho.


This is my first Mazda product (and lease for that matter) and I am just using it to learn about the company so I can make a more informed decision when the Speed 3 launches. My site is set on the Focus RS vs. Speed 3 for the future, issues like we see here don't irritate me as much if I were in in long-term.

 

So if it doesn't get into 5th until 80 mph, when does it upshift to sixth?! Are you actually able to read which gear it's in by the dash display? (As said before, I've got a 2013 without sport mode, so I have no direct experience with the 2016 features.) If so, this doesn't sound right. I would suggest both you and the OP repost these comments on a more active forum like Mazda 24/7 Mazda CX-5 where you'll get better responses from other 2016 owners.

 

Unfortunately I didn't have enough room to see when it switches into 6th. There is no gear indicator on the dash while in automatic mode (I have not tried the manual mode yet) I was just paying attention to what gear I was in while experimenting.


Thanks for the suggestion of the other forum...I will check it out and perhaps mention this to the dealer as well.