2014 MAZDA CX5 -Audio and IPOD
 

Bought on 3/22/13 and so far I love it but i do have some issues with the audio. First off the Bose sound system is bad. I can't believe Bose put their name on it. Most of the sound comes from the center front speaker on the dash and the only adjustment is to fade more to rear speakers. Now the problems with the Audio interface. I have an IPOD NANO 4G hooked up and everytime the car is restarted, the IPOD doesn't continue where you left off but starts again at the first song listed. Very aggravating. Yesterday, the song playing on my IPOD doesn't match to the name and title on song list displayed. Anybody else having issues with the Bluetooth or IPOD?

This might not be what you want to hear, but I didn't upgrade to the Bose, and my I-Pod Nano works with the car perfectly.

Always reverts to the last point of play, and is fully conversant with the screen display on the in-car unit. I do keep the I-Pod connected at all times though, perhaps it defaults to the first track on the play list when you reconnect. Not sure, haven't tried it.

I presume you have connected via the USB and not through the I-Pod headphone jack?

Alex

My IPOD stays plugged into the USB port. I had a 2011 Ford Fusion with the Sync interface that worked perfectly with my Ipod. I just expected more from Mazda

The 2013 models resume where the song left off. The 2014 models start again from the first song every time. The 2014s got some other features added but apparently the programming changes affected a key item that worked right on the 2013 models.

So far I haven't heard of any sort of an update to fix that.

I read where a couple people put mp3 files of no sound at the start of the folder so it would play those each time to at least give you a minute or two to select a different song before hearing the start of the same one for the millionth time.

Haven't heard of the song name not matching problem.

Thanks HandA. Hopefully they can get this issued resolved. I used to really Like Motley Crue's 10 seconds to love :)

I just bought my 2014 cx5 on Monday and have noticed this problem too.

I've been using bluetooth audio through my iphone 4 for playing music, but it also has a couple of annoyances.

1. Upon turning the car on, it starts playing whatever it played last (which is a lot better than the ipod bug), but it plays even if I had turned the audio off, so then I have to turn it off again... basically it doesn't remember it was off or paused.

2. The folder navigation doesn't appear to do anything. To switch playlists or albums I have to do it through the phone.

I use Pandora through my Galaxy S3 and that's pathetic. I can play 3 or 4 songs before I get " Pandora error". when i am able to skip to he next song, it takes about 10 seconds to play. I have same problem with the folders. don't even bother to try that anymore. I don't even use Pandora anymore in the car. Works fabulous on my phone. . The IPOD is so aggravating to use I'm actually back to listening to CD's.
Using the on screen nav for the IPOD, I can go to a playlist but when i press a song to play, a different song plays but the song on the display doesn't match the song playing. Nice

I am having a problem with my new 2014 CX-5 where i connect my iPod touch (2nd generation) through the USB cord and it says accessory not compatible. The main reason I bought this car was because it would play and display my iPod information and I wouldn't have to use an aux cord. I even looked in the manual to make sure that the iPod touch i had was compatible and it lists my iPod right there in the manual saying it will work!

I just called the salesman who sold the car to me, and pretty much he said "suck it up" (by the way, don't buy your car from Bel Air Mazda in MD, customer service isn't great).

Anyone have any suggestions? Is there something wrong with my iPod? Does anyone else with a 2014 have problems with their iPod touch?

I bought the 2014 CX5 also and so far im not impressed with most of the electronics. When i first plugged in my IPOD nano, i kept getting error messages. I thought it might have been because i was using an after market USB cord so i switched to the original cord and that worked. I wouldn't go back to the salesman if i were you. Go see the Service dept manager.

My experience is even worse. I bought my 2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring on April 7th. I plugged in my iPOD Classic 7th gen 160GB that I have been using for more than 2 years in my Infiniti. It worked fine for the first week. Then it stopped working. When I connect the iPod it says iPod instead of USB so it is in fact detecting that an iPod is connected. But it just doesn't display anything. I reset the iPod multiple times. It says iPod Reading for a few minutes and that's it. Doesn't show anything. There is no sound either. I tried plugging in an iPhone 4s too. Same thing. I took it to the dealer and he says the iPod is not compatible. I called mazda support and made sure my iPod is in fact supported. Now they say that the iPod maybe malfunctioning. I can play music through my iPod just fine. I am completely disappointed by the kind of support mazda is offering. The software is very slow and buggy. No proper error reporting. I wrote better software when I was in High school.

I have to agree with you Motiver. The electronics seems below par. I would keep trying the IPOD because i had the same problem for about 3 days and it just suddenly started working and has worked fine since except that it starts with the first song instead of where i left off last time like my Ford Fusion did.

I have an iphone 5 and I am not having that issue with my 2014. Maybe take it back to the dealer?

So I've got my eye on a 2014 CX-5 GS. As a music enthusiast, I am concerned that what is coming across as a minor annoyance may turn into a major one. I have a 160gb ipod classic that has about 10000 songs on it. As an owner of a 2005 MPV I've had to make to do with an FM transmitter that while functional does suffer from interference from nearby stations.
I want to be able to plug my ipod directly into either the USB port or the aux jack in the CX-5 so that I'm connected directly to the stereo and avoid the interference and audio problems associated with an FM transmitter. So...
1) Does plugging the ipod in via either the aux jack (and the headphone jack of the ipod) allow me to see the songs playing on the navigation screen?
2) Same as above, except using the USB connection?
3) If I am listening to the ipod in shuffle mode while driving and the ipod is plugged into the aux jack, then stop the car and turn off the engine, will the ipod pickup where it left off or start again from the begininng?
4) Same as above, except using the USB connection?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Bullwinkle, you might want to rethink buying the 2014 CX5. I have it and i can tell you I am very disappointed in the electronics and the audio quality. I'll answer your questions
1) I only use the usb connection
2) yes
3 & 4= I use the USB connection and it starts over with the first song everytime which is very annoying. Not only that it takes a good 2 minutes for the IPOD to restart. Several times I have pulled out of my driveway and reached my destination 5 mins later and the IPOD hasnt started playing yet. Also, I can't play the playlist i have set up on my IPOD in my Mazda. I had none of these issues with my Ford Fusion and Fords Sync system. It is light years ahead of the crap Mazda put in their vehicles.
Also, most of the sound comes from the front center speaker. Listening quality is poor in all modes except the IPOD which is merely acceptable.
The Pandora option is a joke. Play 2 songs if your lucky then you get the dreaded 'pandora error' flash across the screen

Just picked up 2014 CX-5, I too am having issues with iPod playback. I have a 160gb classic and my wife has a nano. Her iPod seems to do a little better but both restart and play the first song :mad: I really hope Mazda will have an answer to this soon as this is my first Mazda and already beginning to give me a bad taste in my mouth for the brand. Would going back to the dealer really help at all?

Thanks very helpful. These bugs with the audio need to be fixed. Although my wife likes the car so I if we do end up getting it I may have to make do with my trusty iPod FM transmitter.

Why not just use a AUX cable?

I'm going to bring one when I bring my wife for another test drive to see how that works. Is that what you use?

FM transmitter
 

I've never had any luck with the FM transmitter. No power source, poor audio quality and not a stable connection. What brand are you using?

It's what I probably will start using yea. My iPod seems to only work around 40% of the time using the USB, pretty ridiculous. Either that or Bluetooth, both I would think would perform better than a FM transmitter.

Aside from the plays on first track ipod bug, I haven't had any audio issues. Bluetooth works pretty well and the sound quality is excellent through it when I use Spotify's highest bit rate option.

My phone sometimes loses where it was in the playlist, but that's the phone's issue and not the car's.

In fact, I'm surprised that I can tell the difference as well as I can when low bit rate items play. HD radio, FM etc are all low rate and you can tell when compared to a good clean audio file.

I use this one:
Canadian Tire - Digipower 3-in-1 iPod FM Transmitter customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings

But overall, are you happy with the CX-5?

Overall, I would give the 2014 CX5 Grand Touring a grade of a B. This vehicle drives better than all of the crossover SUV's. Feels like your driving a small car. It handles wonderfully.
Driveabilty - A
Comfort - A
Electronics - C
Stereo - C
Affordability - A
Style - A

B
 

I would give a B too.

Also, a quick update on the iPod issue. I filed a complaint with Mazda and threatened a class action for selling crappy product. I went to my dealer and left the car there telling them I don't want it until they fixed it. I got a call back from them last week and they acknowledged that there is software issue and they are aware of it. They said they are working on a fix and said that they will inform me when an update is available. They did give me a time line but at least they acknowledged for the first time.

Also, I have been streaming from my Nexus 4 over bluetooth and the streaming has been flawless. I don't have any issues that I had with my iPod. It has been working great and I am very happy with it now. It is perfect, but I found an awesome workaround.

When you saying 'streaming from nexus 4 over bluetooth' are you using Pandora?
Good to hear that they finally have acknowledged a software issue. Please keep us informed

Have had my CX-5 GT AWD w Nav for a week now. Wonderful in so many ways, but the audio system is not one of them. It's like Mazda just forgot to finish designing it. Here's what I've been experiencing:

- BT music streaming from iPhone 4S/iOS 6.1.3 will not shuffle but only play tracks in alphabetical order. Very painful after the 5th or 8th version of 'Old Joe Clark.' (I know, I probably should listen to something else.)

- iPod MB150LL/1.1.2 (Old thick 'Classic') with 130GB of music on it takes 5-6 minutes to start playing once plugged into USB. Once it does, functionality is limited, on-screen buttons sometimes don't respond, sometimes do, etc. Almost as bad with the iPhone plugged into USB.

- On same iPhone, performing text message download results in 'Messages Downloaded' on the display, but there are no messages there. If a text comes into the phone while driving, a notification comes on the CX-5 screen, and offer to download, but nothing is there.

What was almost more frustrating than the problem was how the dealer sales and service folks got a case of the vapors when I asked about them, claiming they'd never heard of such things. They should read these forums more.

Any solutions or workarounds out there? I'm dusting off my stereo 'Aux' cable, with sadness.Thanks.

I have pretty much the same issues with my 2014 CX5. Nothing you can do really. It's just a crappy entertainment system. I noticed that if you unpair phone and then reconnect, the messages start working for about a month. Pretty pathetic really

It is easy. If your guys operate it according the insatallation guide:
http://www.autoradiodvdgpstv.com/use...-Manual-C8.rar

Thanks hearty, but your link doesn't work. Could you check it and resend?

I would also rate the CX-5 a B. There are some questionable interior choices such as the cup holders and armrest not being padded. I can live with most of that, but the infotainment & navigation system is so sub-par. I feel that its operation is dangerous. I have problems with while I am entering a destination via voice while driving and I come to a stop, it resets as the safety lock disengages. I fiddle with the zoom levels to try to see street names around me while navigating. I guess that is what they mean by zoom-zoom.

Ugh, the whole stereo & nav makes me dislike an overall fun to drive vehicle. I did email Mazda and they acknowledged that the problem does exist and a fix is in the works.

Regarding the iPod, my biggest issue is when using USB, in addition to always starting with the first song, it also doesn't like to play audio from other apps (I am not counting the Pandora app) Basically if I use Spotify, as soon as it starts playing a song, it jumps back to the first track stored on the iPhone. I am using an iPhone 4. Yes, I can use BT, but audio quality is better through USB.

I do hope they fix these issues. I know the new Mazda 3 with have a new infotainment system which will probably fix all of this, but I know I will be annoyed if the 2015 CX-5 gets it and they don't address the issues with the 2014. Then I will probably be dumb and trade in my 14 for a 15. Maybe if the add diesel and a sub-woofer, it might seem worth it.

If I didn't like the way it drove so much, I would probably trade it in for something else.

Confirmed - Major problem with CX-5 USB interface
 

As an engineer, I should know better than to specifically blame the problem on the USB interface. It is just as likely to be related to software implementation in the head unit.

Anyway, I tested a new 2014 CX-5 touring today. It had all the relevant options, except Nav.

I had no issues using my iPhone 4s over bluetooth and hands-free phone worked very well. But when connected to USB, I encountered major, critical issues.

I found that if I had the engine running with music playing, when I turned off the ignition and restarted the car, the audio system refused to recognize the iPod/iPhone at all. It was absolutely unable to see it. This was 100% reproducible. I had to unplug the device and plug it back in.

I was also able to confirm that under ALL conditions under which the system DID see the iPod, it restarted at the first song in the play list each and every time. Normally, this wouldn't be that big a deal to me as I always play my songs on shuffle. So it would just mean I need to hit a button to advance to the next song. BUT...I found that the shuffle option was OFF every time I restarted the system. That really killed the deal.:mad:

The USB interface installed in the 2014 CX5 is something you might have expected to see in a 2008 model. I am really regretting the purchase of my 2014 MAZDA CX5.

I really should have placed more importance on this when I bought the car. I knew the problem was there, but I thought I could live with it since I liked the car so much otherwise. I guess I have leaned to live with using bluetooth. It works pretty well with the iphone and Spotify, which is what I use primarily now.

Still the screen resolution, screen size, overall flakieness of the interface, annoys me whenever I use the car. It looks like the new Mazda 3 fixes a lot of that, although I don't know if anyone has used the new system firsthand. It doesn't help us though.

In the Escape, the MyFord Touch interface worked quite well with the iPhone and USB interface. I did see a couple bugs with Album art and occasionally no audio when using Spotify, but the fact that it even picked up audio art from Spotify was really cool.

Would I be crazy to trade in the CX-5 I just bought for an Escape? It has crossed my mind and the main reason is the radio/nav

After test driving all of the crossover SUV's, it came down to the Escape and CX5 for me.
I loved the electronics on the Escape. First class all the way. I loved the interior, but hated the exterior. Even though i knew the electronics on the CX5 were not as good I pulled the plug on the Mazda. Regret it today but Im prob stuck with my 2014 CX5 for at least 24 months. I'd prob take too great a hit to trade it in now and it's not like it doesn't drive great. I love the ride. Live and learn. Im just hoping they do some kind of update

Similar story here, but I like the exterior design on the Escape. Not as much as the CX-5, but I like it. Honda CRV wasn't even close to either of these.

I thoroughly tested the iPhone interface and operation on the Escape and it impressed me. Now I'm placing a factory order for a 2014 Escape and I'm going with the 2.0L Ecoboost. Mazda in Melbourne, Florida wouldn't negotiate under MSRP. Seriously? I walked out and headed straight over to Ford!

One other note about the Mazda dealership in Melbourne...The price started off about $4K OVER MSRP! They claimed that at MSRP they could barely keep the lights on!

I'm no fan of the Escape's (and recent Ford in general) Cylon-esque look. It's too over the top. Ford does make a good head interface though, best I've seen of all the manufacturers.

Also the CX5 handles better and has good price/performance:mileage.

I don't have issues with my old iphone 4. I would suggest using a bluetooth capable device while waiting for the forthcoming software update. If you send a message to Mazda they will tell you one is coming though no ETA yet.

The 14 Mazda6 uses the same unit and has the same problem, and it looks like the new 3 may also use it. My guess is they rushed the '14 out so as to have the 2.5L engine available and the software just wasn't ready.

Although Ford's system is very buggy: Move over MyFord Touch apologists, it truly is a reliability issue

A quick google about the MyTouch makes the Mazda problems seem minor.

I'll add my name to the list of new CX-5 owners extremely perturbed by the USB issue. I haven't used the CD player yet, but I understand for searching around for these problems that if you're listening to MP3s through the CD player, it will actually resume playing from where you left off, AND allow folder-level access.

So will the CD player also play DVDs? Or are we limited to sticking 800MB of MP3s on a CD?

Possible fix for some people...
 

I though I'd just chime in here because I was running into the "iPod error" issue with a 5th gen iPod Classic and came here looking for answers. I had absolutely no connectivity issues with my iPhone 4 when I was at the dealer and was a bit perplexed when my CX5 kept spitting out the error message when the iPod was connected. I was able to fix the problem by doing the following:

1) On the iPod, remove all menu items except for Playlist, Artist, Genre, Song and Album. this can be done in the iPod's "Settings" menu
2) Prep the iPod so that it is in one of the above menus (not sure this is necessary but it's what I did)
3) connect the iPod to the CX5 USB port and select iPod from the display when it is accessible
4) Let the CX5 sync with the iPod (mine took a good minute to sync)

When the CX5 connects correctly, the first song on your iPod should play automatically. Once I did this I haven't had any issues since.

I don't know if these steps will work on other models, but it worked for my 30GB 5th gen iPod Classic.

Hope this helps for some of you.