I have a 2009 Mazda 5 with about 66,000 miles. I do have a 100,000 total care warranty that I purchased with the car.

It seems to eat tires lilke others seem to have trouble with. I am concerned about safety. Is there anything I can do about this deisgn issue?

It has a clunk in the back end that is very annoying. Is there anything I can do about this?

Thanks

 

Safety issue? No. But you could install adjustable rear camber arms, get it reasonably aligned (-1* camber/0" toe) and that will save your tires and your money in the long run.
The clunk is likely to be the rear sway bar. Check the bushings and end links. Remove, clean and lube as necessary.

 

Great, thanks for the response. Will the Mazda dealer install the adjustable camber arms or do I need to have someone independent do this?

I assume that even though this is a design issue that Mazda will not help financially with this?

Anything here that could be covered unde the exntended warranty inclduding the sway bar?

Thanks

 

You may want to get your shocks looked at. Apparently this is a common concern as well.
Search more on Mazda 5 section.

 

If the sway bar bushings are bad, then yes, but I'd doubt they are with such little mileage. It's a 15 min job in your driveway to pull the sway bar and check it out.
4 17mm bolts to lower the rear susp connecting plate, 2 @ the sway bar end links and 4 more at the attachment bushings. It actually sounds harder than it is.

And no, Mazda does not even acknowledge that adj rear arms exist, so no they won't help you at all there.

 

My wear issue seems to be mostly on the inside of the front tires. Is this common or is it more common on the rear tires?

 

It is definitely time for a 4 wheel alignment. They check all steering components and adjust where necessary. Make sure you also tell them about clunking----to inspect rear sway bar and shocks.

 

Where can I read more about those adjustable rear camber arms, and about how much do they cost? I have an '09 Sport.

 

The easiest place I know of, and Man have these gotten cheap!! When I bought mine I get them for $160/pr, which was a deal at that time!!

Rear:
Mazda 5 adjustable camber arms | eBay

If additional alignment is necessary in front, several ways to do that: The upper strut mounting holes can be elongated (this has been done for years,) or some companies, such as Bear offer eccentric lower control arm bolt kits that can be install in place of the OE's and offer a small degree of adjustment... usually 1/2* or so. I don't personally know if they offer ones for the Mazda, but if there's a market for them, I'd bet they do. They are probably available through an alignment shop, though you might also check out any good local parts store for them as well.
If they don't have a listing for the Mazda5, ask them to look up Mazda3's.

 

Check the rear springs too. They crack near the top.