I am a new owner of a mazda 5 2009 gt that I just picked up today. Does anyone have any good tricks or tips that i should know about.

 

Clear paint protection isa good idea. W/O it, you will notice paint chips starting to develop on any exposed front end surface.
Also, if yours came w/the Bad~Year tires... get rid of them... QUICK!!! This is especially true if you drive in any bad weather. They suck on anything but dry roads.
Get the alignment checked ASAP. Many 3 & especially 5 series owners complain about bad tire wear. They should be able to dial out some of the negative camber from the factory.
When the OE wiper blades go away, in a yr or <, look into replacing them w/the Rain-X Latitude or Bosch Iconbeam blades. I am using the Trico Neoformsright now, and while they do an excellent job of clearing the windshield, they develop chatter after about 6 months. I won"t be using them again.
If you want better turn-in and less understeer, consider an aftermarket rear sway bar. OE is a non-adjustable 20mm. Progress makes an adjustable 22mm, H&R makes a 24mm that is also adjustable. Or to go the full route, Eibach (also the maker of the Mazdaspeed accessory brand) makes a full F&R kit, as does Racing Beat. The RB"s are really beefy though and if not auto-Xing the car you may want to stay away from those. But I warn you, the front bar is a bitch to change. The rear bar is a 20min job in your driveway w/hand tools. Faster with air or power tools.
If you have harsh winter weather, a set of 16" steel wheels (the smallest that will fit over the brakes) and snow/winter tires are a very good idea.
That"s about it for now. Congrats on the new ride though, and Welcome to the site!! You"ll have to post some pics when you have a chance to.

 

I agree 100% with this, just put on snowies (see other thread) adn it makes a HUGE difference in the snow.

the other stuff virgin1 mentions is probably good, I dunno, I didnt do any of it, but some great little tid-bits in there.

one thing I suggest is getting a roof rack (get a thule from parts store or local dealer) much cheaper than from mazda, and get a car top box - I find it comes in handy BIG time (photo of my 5 with the car box is to the left)

Also, get the rear bumper step plate, the rubber thing that goes over the back bumper. Looks good, but protects that bumper. We had our 5 for only a few short weeks, and while wating for the ordered step plate to come in, saw some nasty scratches already! (most from the dog).

I also heard that the moon-roof deflector is a bad idea as it will damage the paint, but we cancelled our order after realizing that this vehicle doesnt really need it.

There are a bunch of little things that bug me, but overall we (my wife and I) are VERY happy with our 5

 

When the OE wiper blades go away, in a yr or <, look into replacing them w/the Rain-X Latitude or Bosch Iconbeam blades. I am using the Trico Neoformsright now, and while they do an excellent job of clearing the windshield, they develop chatter after about 6 months. I won"t be using them again.

do you know the exact length of the wipers? thanks!

 

Biggest tip I can give you is to buy a third key. Why you ask since you already have two keys? If you have two working keys you (yourself and for free) can program in additional keys up to a max of eight. If however you only have one working key (let's say you lose one of your flip keys) then the dealer must do any programming for you and will charge you for it (~$75). You can buy a standard transponder key for ~$20, then if you lose a key later you can just buy another one and program it yourself. Using this method you'd have to buy and lose four keys before paying more than getting one through the dealer.

My father just bought a five, and at my recommendation got a third key. First the dealership told him the non-flip key wouldn't work (since the car comes with the flip keys). Next they told him the self-programming method didn't work with the 5 and that they'd have to program it for him. Well, all NA Mazdas use the same transponder chip, so they were wrong on that part. My sister was picking up the key and figured she'd try the self-programming while there just to make sure it didn't work before paying them money..... lo and behold it was programmed in 15 seconds.

 

to get the third key, do you have to go through mazda, or can you get the $20 key from any locksmith?

 

If you want it to start the car you need to get it from Mazda. If you want it to just open the doors you can buy an el cheapo key at a locksmith. The locksmith key won't have a transponder chip in it and that's why it won't start the car.

The standard transponder key from Mazda is ~$22. That price is from Jason at www.onlinemazdaparts.com. He's a very cool guy with great customer service. You can also get it from any Mazda dealer, though they may jack the price up a bit. Jason will cut your key for free (if your data matches the data in the database). My dealer locally also cut my key for free. When my sister got the third key for my dad's 5 they ended up charging them $38 (for the key plus cutting). I tried to get them to order online, but they wanted to get a good relationship going with the local dealer. Still, they payed about $16 too much. Oh well. At least I had described the programming so she tried it before they convinced her it wouldn't work. You might also be able to find the keys online, but honestly for the price Jason charges I'd rather get what I know will work.

Here's the info. for the standard key.
-Standard transponder key ('04-'08): Part number F1Y1762GX. MSRP-$27.51, Website-$22.01