Hey guys and gals,

I've seen enough threads from people asking about how reliable the CX5 is that I thought I would share my own experience with my 2018 CX-5 Sport. I got the car new for a pretty good deal and right now it sits at about 89600 miles. The payoff is about 12.5k. Soon after I got the car I started a job where I was driving hours away several days a week and it racked up miles really quick. I am trying to keep the miles low now as I have a new job (still have to drive quite a bit).

So far the car has been really reliable. The only thing I can sense about the wear on the vehicle is the engine is starting to make a soft clunking type noise from start-up and it continues constantly as far as I can tell. I can hear it through the cabin but it's not loud and I can't hear it when driving or with music or AC on. This is really the only sign of the vehicles wear that I can see. I have changed the oil routinely at around 4-5k miles and I have put new break pads and rotors on all 4 tires. I did have to get a new battery after 2-3 years but that I don't mind. I'm going to flush and replace the transmission fluid soon and then will do it again about every 40-50k miles. I'm also going to replace the timing chain soon as I heard its really not a "lifetime" part and I don't expect it will be too expensive to replace.

I really like the car for many reasons and I like it even more that I have been comparing 2020 CRVs, HRVs, Corolla Crosses and RAV4s (considering trading or selling, very likely wont). I think the CX5 has a great balance of HP, space, aesthetics, quality of build and price. I overall just really like the vehicle and I'm doing what I can to maintain it.

FUNNY STORY! About three or four days after I bought the car, when I was driving home to see my mother who just flew into town, I rear ended a mini van and completely demolished the back of the mini van. My Mazda was 100% fine with the exception of a barely noticeable dent the size of a penny. I have no idea how my car took absolutely no damage but I'll never be that lucky again. I had the car less than a week. I did pay 750 cash in damages.

EDIT: Looking to flush and replace transmission fluid and replace timing chain within 10k miles. Will check and water pump, coolant and brake fluid also.

 

If it is a timing chain don't replace it. Do not flush your transmission, drain and refill.

 

UPDATED:

My vehicle is near 100k miles now. I recently had the water pump replaced and fluid replaced. Still runs great. Looking forward to the cx-50 hybrids!