This is my 1st post but I've been reading various Mazda5 forums for two years now trying to deal with/figure out my 2006 GT's issues.
It's a bit of a ranty novel, sorry about that.
This van has been a constant stress in my life for over a year now.
Let me first off say that the idea of the Mazda5 was spot on.Spec wise it was the perfect van for me. It was exactly what I was looking for in my next vehicle.

I bought a 2006 Mazda5 GT four years ago with already 140,000 km on it.
So I wasn't expecting a preowned budget priced van to feel like it was a luxury brand or the parts to be like it was just unloaded at the dealership.
I consider a used older car to have parts that need to be replaced normal. But the frequency of replacement of suspension related parts was mind boggling. I was never able to keep up with the repairs.
I would just get something replaced and bam another went..struts breaking, shocks, bushings, bearings, crossmember, control arms,and on and on and on.
In the four years I owned the thing, I never was able to get an alignment done because something in the suspension was about to go or needed to be replaced. I went through 4 sets of tires last winter alone. It was ridiculous, and dangerous.

I did the best I could to maintain it, but if you are driving an older car it usually means you don't have the extra cash to dump on expensive monthly repairs.
And there are many times that unknowingly drove it and risked the lives of my family and others on the road.
Unless you are able
to lift it up and know what you are looking for how is one to know that the wheel might detach from the car. The handling and sound of the car was always off. It always sounded always like I was driving an empty school bus at high speeds on a potholed dirt road.
The one good thing about owning this van was I learnt so much about the suspension of cars. I almost wish I had become a car mechanic as I find it an extremely interesting subject. I just wish it hadn't been such a hands on experience.

The 5 speed manual was awesome, loved it. I don't want to ever own an automatic again.

Never had an engine or transmission issue ever. If the suspension issues had been resolved I would have loved it.
Even with the other common issues/complaints, I would have been happy with the van, but the suspension problems were the deal breaker for me.
No matter what brand/model, most have design flaws or production problems. But to put such an inadequate suspension that caused problems from the get go just sounds like they cheaped out when they designed the van.
I only have two children, so it wasn't often I filled all 6 seats, but loved having that option. As well as the extra cargo space for hauling home large purchases.
My van had the typical Mazda5 issues, both sliding rear doors stopped working and I was only able to get one repaired. And that one only opened from the outside only. Not only inconvenient but something I consider a safety issue.
It had a loud rattling sound when you put the car neutral..engine mounts.
It had some electrical issues, only in warm weather though, the front power windows would take a few tries before they would go up.
I never explored this issue because although it was annoying, I had bigger repairs to take care of.
Ignition was going. Often took the key out and the van thought it was still in. I seem to recall this being a common Mazda5 issue but I could be wrong.
I am happy to say though that even though I thought it would be the death of me, it wasn't.

I was driving to work this week and was coming out of turn and ended up crossing the yellow line and went Dukes of Harzard style down an embankment into the woods. Never even had a chance to touch the brakes, and I think I was doing about 70 km/h at the time. For those of wondering why it happened, I have no idea why I lost control. At this point I can only attribute it to an error on my part. And I extremely thankful I didn't end up hitting another car when I went over the line.
I was alone due to a last minute change of plans. My 12 year old
son was supposed to be with me and would have been sitting in the seat with the most severe damage.
All of the damage was on the passenger side. The sliding door was peeled back like a tin can and if he had been with me, well I don't even want to think about what his injuries could
have been. I don't know what parts of the tree or door ended up coming into the second row area as the accident was happening.

By chance I entered the woods at just the right place, and the right angle that I didn't slam nose first into a tree/boulder or the river.
When I was leaving the road, a large piece of wood used to shore up the shoulder of the road dragged my undercarriage and slowed me down so I wasn't pushed further into the woods.
The only thing that broke on my side of the car was the rear Mazda mag broke apart from the tire. The curtain airbags only deployed on the passenger side because the van hit the trees on that side, so I was lucky not to even have to deal with airbag injuries. I'm not even 5 feet tall and haven't figured out a comfortable/safe position to reach the pedals without sitting on top of the steering wheel.

It's a total write off, I'm sure to not even get an amount from the insurance that comes anywhere close to what I paid for it, or even the cost of repairs in the past 12 months. I don't care that
my deductible will lower that amount to a laughable amount.
I'm ecstatic that I today when went to the garage to clean out my belongings, that I will never see that van again.
I gave it a big kick in the door before I left.

 

I tried to include pictures for those of you interested in seeing how it a 10 year old/over 200,000 km/low cost van held up to hitting the woods at 70 km/h, but the picture tab ends up closing my browser window.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. But who was diagnosing these supposed bad parts? These days you can't just walk into a shop and let them take advantage with a parts guessing game.