OK, I researched this and I think I know the answer and I don't like it.

I was visiting my mom over the holidays and helped her buy a nice new 2016 Cx-5 Touring which has the Touring Tech Package and the Bose/Moonroof Package. I asked the salesman specifically if the touring trim had XM and he said yes look on the technology tab and it said XM Sirius ready (that "ready" should have been a red flag but I took to to mean it just needed activation). The final checkout yesterday was a little rushed (I had to get to the airport) and we asked him about activating and he said just call XM Sirius and give then the VIN number. OK, mom did that today and XM said sorry the car is not equipped with XM Sirius. In fact the XM line in the menu is grayed out.

So 2 things... Seriously Mazda, a mid to high trim WITH optional Tech Package AND WITH upgraded Bose stereo is only XM Sirius "ready" with no receiver installed? And seriously Mazda salesman are you dishonest or just uninformed??

Sweet vehicle otherwise, lots of safety features and drives great. But a little sour taste in my mouth right now.

 

I got a 2016 CX-5 GT in Sept with Tech package and SiriusXM "ready". The Ready is that you get a 4 month trial for free and then you can subscribe. I'm not sure why the SiruisXM bar is grayed out on your mother's car, she should bring it back in to the dealership because it's probably some code they need to punch in. I had a SiriusXM preview station when I clicked on XM (Channel 1). Finally called the activation number to start my free trial and it went on without a problem (actually did it while sitting in the car in a mall parking lot). The thing is, I never had satellite radio and didn't really care, but figured WTH. Two things I found out; one, I listen too it more than the "free radio", and two, the "trial period" started from when I bought the car (actually bought the car on 9/8/15 and the "trial period" started 9/1/15. Now, Jan 1 my free trial was over and I have to pay for it if I want to keep it. To keep me, they offered to extend my service for 4 mo for the discount of $30 (subscription was $14.95/mo) and then reg price automatically kicks in unless I physically call and cancel. They then also offered me flat rate of $100 for the year (supposedly saving $80).
They got me (damn free trial!). I paid the $100 for the year. I'm 45, never thought I would ever pay for something that's been free my whole life - radio. But I realized I was listening to XM about 80% of the time and I get to hear my kind of music.

 

The receiver needs to be installed, I always thought it was a dealer option, but has to be installed nonetheless.

I always negotiated the price with the good people at XM when I had my subscription, I never paid full price. There were also discount coupons online.

 

Actually no, the satellite receiver can't be installed.

This just keeps getting better. I called Mazda corporate and opened up a case and in discussing the situation they told me that for 2016 Mazda removed the ability to add the XM accessory receiver in the Touring trim **for the CX-5 only**! Other models, Mazda 6 for instance you still can do that. But for 2016 CX-5 The only trim that has any Sirius-XM capability AT ALL at all is Grand Touring where it is a standard feature.

But the dealer's own web page still showed that the 2016 Touring trim CX-5s had Sirius XM (they must have cut and pasted from 2015) and we were assured by the salesman that all we had to do was call XM with the VIN number to activate. What has happened is that Mazda's ridiculous decision to remove satellite radio capability on the Touring trim of this one model, when it was available in the previous model year, caught the dealer out.

So, I am working with corporate and the dealer for a vehicle swap. It'll cost me a bit to cover the difference in MSRP on the 2 trims but so be it. Need to get this resolved. Wish me luck.

 

Like me, you found out the hard way that this is how Mazda does business. They advertise items on their vehicle but don't tell you until after the deal is done that the advertised item is not available on the vehicle you just purchased. I went through this when I was stupid enough to purchase a 2014 CX-5 only to find out that the Bluetooth is NOT compatible with my iPhone nor any others it seems. You might want to check that out too with the swap.

 

Wow, I wonder how hard they have to work to make bluetooth not compatible with an iPhone. Bizarre. Haven't heard of BT compatibility issues in years.

But honestly the Mazda USA website is accurate in terms of Sirius-XM it is the dealer's site (and knowledge) that was wrong. The dealer claims their site self populates from some Mazda data source so they obviously have issues there. But if we knew up front there is a good chance we would have opted for the GT in the first place. The dealer truly dropped the ball in what I believe was an honest mistake.

Yeah, I am not thrilled with paying for the upgraded model but life is short. Mom likes the car and the dealer agreed to do the swap so it's a done deal. Hope the darned thing is reliable.

 

I feel your pain. I have a similar issue with a 2014 CX-9 I purchased from a local Mazda dealer. It was certified and the salesman assured me that it had Sirius XM radio, all I had to do was activate it. Not being familiar with the technology tab on my infotainment system I took his word for it. After I purchased the vehicle my son tried to find the Sirius XM radio tab and it wasn't even there. It was not just grayed out, it was missing completely. I took the vehicle back and the dealership told me that there was nothing they could do and even joked about it. They told me to have my son sing to me! I called Mazda corporate and they were apologetic but said there was nothing they could do about that, I would have to go back to the dealership which basically laughed at my situation. Be careful when you purchase one of these vehicles, and make sure everything is there, and works before you buy it. Most of all make sure you check out the dealership first! I can't believe Mazda would not have incorporated Sirius XM radio on a CX-9 Touring otherwise fully loaded. Ridiculous!!

 

And they don't have live traffic streamed in to your nav on ANY model. They screwed the pooch on that one.

We don't care, cuz we have smart phones that do it, and we're hoping for 'car-play'. But yeah, a GM onstar equipped nav you pay $3 a month to get live overlay on your nav screen. It's very handy and a great feature. You'll never see it on a Mazda though.

Compared to any GARMIN product, the nav is far inferior. IMHO

 

Just get a portable.

 

I ran into the same situation on my new CX-5 Touring. I called Sirius XM and they said the 2017 is equipped to accept the receiver so I'm going to negotiate the deal with them.
What has happened to Sirius XM? It used to be that nearly every car came equipped and you got a 3 to 4 month trial period. Apparently the Sirius XM business is so good there's no need for new customers.