I am new to the forum as I just became a first time Mazda owner yesterday. I purchased a 2017 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring AWD with the premium package in eternal blue mica with black leather interior. I love it and am excited about owning it for many years to come. However, my wife was not available to go with me on the test drive so today was the first time she got to ride in it. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time since this was for my daily driver, so she really didn't care what I bought as long as I stuck to our budget and it made me happy. However, she is EXTREMELY sensitive to motion sickness. Within 5 minutes of riding in the CX-5 today, she said it felt "floaty" and she was starting to not feel well. Within a few more minutes, she had a fairly bad headache. We've owned other SUVs in the past, and many with less sporty suspensions than the CX-5. However, for the last 3 years, both our daily drivers have been cars (2 door, sporty cars) with fairly tight suspensions. I'm not sure if what happened today is a symptom of her just needing a little time to adjust to riding a bit higher, or she was just having a bad day, or if this is going to be an on-going issue. However, just in case this issue does continue, I wanted to ask for some suggestions so I could be prepared with a solution. Are there any easy adjustments that can be made to tighten up the suspension on the new CX-5? I don't want to go too tight because this will be our primary road trip car, plus I have a fairly long commute to work so I want to keep as much comfort as possible. I just need to get rid of a bit of the "floaty feeling" or body roll so that my wife can ride in it with me without having to be medicated. Any suggestions?

 

Wow; this is the first time I've come across this in 5 years of ownership and as many years on 2 CX-5 forums! It sounds as though your wife has become unaccustomed to the typical CUV/SUV high seating position. That, together with Mazda's penchant for leaving a certain amount of body roll (more in the Gen II CX-5 than was in the Gen I) in their suspension setups while tightly controlling other parameters, may be too much for her. I can sympathize to an extent as I've never liked the seating position of any CUV and after the aforementioned 5 years driving a 2013 CX-5, I'm probably going to be trading it in for a 5 door hatch of some sort next year. Maybe a Mazda 3, but something that feels more "planted", especially in spirited driving. You might want to consider heavier sway bars if her symptoms persist and when such bars become available in the aftermarket. I don't know of anyone who makes them yet, but they have been available for the earlier CX-5 for some time and I'm sure someone out there is tooling them up for the Gen II car as we speak. Good luck!

 

I too suffer from bad motion sickness, so I understand what your wife is going thru.

Check the tyre pressures, set them at 38 or 40 psi. This will stiffen up the ride a bit.

As mention above, it may be that your wife needs to adjust to the new seating position & general ride of the CX-5.

Has your wife tried motion sickness treatments? ie wristbands with pressure points or tablets?

Hope things improve.

 

Quick update. Last night, my wife got another chance to ride in the new CX-5. This time, she didn't seem to have the issue. Fingers crossed she was just having a bad day and this becomes a non-issue.

 

Hopefully the 2nd ride in your new CX-5 was what your wife needed. I am betting on the fact she's not used to sitting at that height. I have a variety of vehicles ranging from a Corvette to a 4x4 F150 Supercrew - a Mazda 3 and a Millenia in between. I remember the first few times I drove my original Supercrew I felt like I was going to tip over and was leery driving it. That lasted a very short time. I sold that Supercrew and went a whole year until I bought a replacement 4x4 Supercrew ('16). In the meantime I was driving the Vette and Mazdas - I had forgotten how it was to be up high again. I went through the same tippy feeling for a short time. The funny thing is at some point it doesn't matter what I'm driving the view out seems pretty much the same - high or low...

P.S. I'm here gathering info on the '17 CX-5 that is most likely going to be my 3rd Mazda. I'm completely happy with my Millenia (2000 with about 75,000 miles) and 3 (2006 with 118,000 miles).

 

My wife gets sick of my driving . To my defense we live in South Florida!

Hope it works out for you. We have had our new to us 2017 for two weeks and enjoy it so far.

Jim