Tyre wear on UK Mazda5
 

I too am experiencing the pronounced tyre wear on the inside of the tyres on my Mazda 5 Sport (purchased new Feb 2006). The worrying thing is that there appears to be no fix for this making me assume I will be replacing my tyres every 10, 000 miles or less. I have read the posts where tyre pressures are increased but I suspect this is not a real cure, especially as wear is assymetric. This problem is totally unacceptable and I thought I would post on this forum to let other sufferers of this in the UK know that I am going to raise this with Which? (I am a member). I will also consider raising this with Watchdog as well. Anyone else interested doing the same?

My car also has the problems with squeaking suspension and needs front lower suspension arms and anti-roll bar bushes replacing. First Mazda purchased - likely to be my last. Car also demonstrates very bad bump steer/tram-lining and can feel twitchy under braking - anyone else find this?

Tyre wear on UK Mazda5
 

I certainly would be with you.
You will probably have read my posts on this and other forums.
My last conversation about the car was with the dealer principle. He listened to my complaints. There is much more than simply tyre wear. wind noise on the drivers side, amongst others. He said that he would get back to MMUK and speak to Nicole. (has shefallen out with Papa and Renault?)
To date I have not heard back.
I told him that my second set of tyres which have already been rotated, are showing serious signs of wear. I suggested that MMUK would get pretty fed up of fitting new tyres every 12 months. He took my meaning.
My main worry is to do with resale. Have we got ourselves lemons that will not be worth the tyres they are standing on when it comes to selling on?
I have also wondered about sticking two fingers up at MMUK and passing the car to a local tyre dealership, who said that the rear tracking (thrust) is out and until that is put right the whole car would never be true.
It might make the waranty null, but if it stopped the wear problems.............????

Let me know if you get any more support. I know that there are at least a dozen UK cars out there with the problem.
Apparently it is only the Sport models with the 17" tyres that are affected.
Nig

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Thanks for the reply. Yes I have seen your posts and it was your posts that got me thinking action needs taking. I fully agree with your theory that we are proud owners of lemons that will have a very poor trade-in value. No doubt problems such as we are experiencing spread like wild fire round all car dealers.

Anyway, I have subscribed to Which? Legal Services and so will be speaking to a legal advisor on Monday as I want to know if I can reject the car. As you point out there is an inherent fault and putting new tyres on solves nothing. I am also convinced that the way the car is it is not as safe as it should be. It is evident that the weight of the car is not distributed evenly across the width of the tyre and so the contact patch to the road must be smaller than designed. I don't feel the car is right when braking in the wet and this is due to the weight transfer to the front wheels on braking not being distributed evenly across the tyre's contact patch.

Interesting what your tyre dealer has said and I suspect he is right. Not sure why Mazda can't see that there is an inherent fault. I have had the rubbish about loading of the car. It's a 7 seater for goodness sake and mostly it is 4 of us in it. Let me see what Which? legal services say before you go ahead with a wheel re-alignment. If we can reject the cars we may be be able to get rid of the dodgy things . Other avenues I am considering is BBC Watchdog and getting an independent automotive engineer's report, the cost of which I will claim back off MMUK.

I'll keep you posted

Cheers

Dave

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

I took would like you to take this to which and watchdog you can count on my support if you do take this further. I am very dissapointed with my mazda 5 and feel like returning it to the dealer and telling them exactly what i think and how i feel. Although this would probably get me arrested, Im sick of going to the dealer and being fobbed off with excuses after excuses.
So yes you can count on my support!!!!!!!

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

My car is Sept 06 and was wondering if any of you could take a wee peek under the back of your cars to see if you too had these blocks of steel bolted onto the cross member, I have looked around the blocks and there are no visible brake pipes or wires, or perhaps someone already knows what they are, I did get a reaction from a specialist geometry and alignment company when I showed him, more on that later. See photo below...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...deUnderCar.jpg

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Yes mine too has these ugly blocks of steel attached to it!!! Whatever they are for!!!

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Yip mine has it too!!

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

My car has this block also. Any further info would be very useful.

Further to my posts I am getting an independent engineer's report on the car. The legal position is that if the car has been sold with an inherent defect then you can return it to the dealer who sold it to you if they cannot repair it, after a major legal battle mostly likely involving court action - yes, we are stuffed! The biggest downside is that you will get market value for the car, not what you paid, minus legal costs assuming you get that far. There are arbitration services which are a better bet.

Re-examined my tyres and the wear is extremely bad on the fronts and the severest wear is confined to a 1cm wide band. See linked photo - note darker band of wear which is now down to the rubber layer below the tread rubber layer. Everyone else's tyre wear like this? My car has done 12.5K miles

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Minty6...81689387750050

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Hi Minty, your tyres look just like my first set looked like at about 12.5K Mazda replaced them for me.
Nig

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Follow this link for an interesting article on a similar tyre wear problem on MG Fs. One imagines the 5 problems are similar.

http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2...n/tyrewear.htm

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Hi, just wondered how you were getting on?
I was in Tesco's this afternoon, I saw a 55 plate 5 and noticed the tyres as I went past. Looked like ours did @ 6500 miles.
When I came out I saw an old boy and his good lady getting in, I thought I needed to let him know because he probably was blissfully unaware. Good job I did, his car had 6000 miles on the clock and all 4 tyres were worn on the inner edge. He was really shocked.

I am disgusted that Mazda are not doing something about it. Surely they have a duty of care to ensure their cars are roadworthy!

I have rung the Dealer Principle at my local dealer, and he is going to get back to me tonight. I am going to suggest that he as the person who sold the car owes each and every 5 owner a courtesy call to have the car checked just in case.
Nig

Tyre wear breakthrough!
 

Greetings all!
Just had the return call from the Dealer Principle and it is generally good news I bring you all.
MMUK have acknowledged that there is an issue and are in discussions withthe factory for a fix.
At the moment there are a few tweaks that they will suggest dealers do when cars are returned and MMUK will give a mileage allowance on any tyres that need replacing prematurely.
One line of thought Nicole at MMUK suggested might have a bearing is the make up of the tyre wall and the load bearing therein. MMUK may suggest a different rating of tyre which would then mean a completely new set of new tyres F.O.C!
Not the remedy we would all require, but a big step in the right direction.

Get down to your dealer and pester them to get onto MMUK and speak to Nicole to get upto speed with the situation......

Nig

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

I have been speaking to the Service Manager at my Mazda dealer. He says that he has been in touch with Mazda as he has a number of customers in the same boat as us - no surprise there. Anyway, he says the following 2 things have been recommended by Mazda to overcome the tyre wear problem.

1. Fit Dunlop SP Sport 205/50 R17 93V tyres. Sadly these are the tyres that are already fitted to my car! Furthermore my dealer can't source any of these tyres as there has been a rush on them - wonder why that is? Mazda will pay I am told.
2. Realign all 4 wheels to 2 degree toe-in. The theory goes that the wheels are currently parallel and as the car is driven forwards the wheels slightly splay outwards to a toe-out angle so the toe-in will compensate for this. Seems plausible in that toe-out will cause inner tyre wear but not sure about wheels splaying out when car is moving forwards even if it is only 2 degree. I also think 2 degree is quite a lot as I have seen toe-in values of minutes rather than degrees

If my dealer ever get any tyres I will go ahead with this suggested remedy. Have you had this toe-in alignment applied to your car? Perhaps I will be complaining of outer tyre wear in 2 or 3 months time :-)

As for making a fuss I think we are in a weak position. Saw Watchdog last night with bonnets flying up whilst driving in Renault Clios and Renault are just doing a Gallic shrug - amazing when this problem is extremely dangerous. Bit of tyre wear seems a lot less serious.

If my 5 still has tyre wear as now after this remedy I will get rid of it and put it down to experience - never buy a car until it has been on the market for at least 12 months. Knew I should have bought a VW Touran ................................

Dave

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

I forwarded your post onto my dealer, he responded this morning saying that he had forwarded it onto the delightful Nicole at MMUK!
He assures me that if she gives him any advice we will be the first to know.

On a slightly different note: When we first got the car I noticed that the wind noise on the drivers side was terrible. It is not the noise that was reputed to be coming from the door mirror area, this noise appears to be coming from the area between the front and rear doors. We have had the seal around the door replaced, but it did not remedy the problem, I let this ****le lie for a while because the tyres were far more important in my opinion,also my wife, who drives the car most often had restricted hearing in her right ear, so she couldn't hear it!! Fortunatley her hearing has improved, and she refers to it as the whirlwind!!
However, I have mentioned it again, and am interested to hear if anyone else is aware of the problem
Nig

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

No news of any replacement tyres yet (Monday 29th) - now been waiting over 2 weeks (tyre wear noted Jan 11th) . Been informed that the replacement lower suspension arms are in so hopefully the suspension will be set up ready and waiting for some new tyres and also stop creaking!. I agree with you telling your dealer to call all his 5 owners (previous post) but I also think Mazda should recall all 5s to have the suspension realigned and have new tyres fitted as appropriate (assuming this works of course). I wonder if we will end up beta testing this solution......get the feeling we and others have been beta testing the car up until now.

As for wind noise my 5 doesn't suffer from the wind noise as you describe. Reasonably quiet on a motorway. Does the door sit tight on the door seal - it could be the hinges or catch that need adjusting? Is it above a certain speed as the door could be lifting off the seal if the catch is slightly misadjusted?

I'll post when I have new tyres (hopefully sometime this year:)) and also monitor the tyre wear and post again with a verdict on the alignment 'repair' as concerns my 5.

Let me know the reponse from your dealer and the now legendary Nicole of MMUK

Dave

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

just been looking on ebay paste the item number in and have a look. Item number: 8045567906. may be a possible cure if mazda do not do any thing and cheaper than new tyres do not know what mazda would do about the warranty though .

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Hiya,

yeah i agree with the majority of the stuff you are all saying here guys, I too am having wear problems, had tyres replaced at 12.5k, and god the pictures i've seen on here are nothing compared to mine - will get round to posting them. Mine that i had replaced were fronts, and had old tyres put on front and new onto back as had to have slightly different size. HOWEVER have now had to have the ones on the front replaced again, at 15.5k as were doing exactly the same.

Will join you in complaints, but feel we must be carefully as we could shoot ourselves in the foot about resale once the news is public.

Mazda are being incredibly slow in responding to this problem, and i agree safety must be questionned. any idea how many 5 sport carshave been sold in uk so far?

i feel because of the slow response the problem must be more complex than just geometry, if it isn't then why the delay in solving it???????? surely if it was a camber problem then the rest of the tyre would wear at an angle, not leave the inner edge disappearing and the rest of the tyre pattern wear being consant?

helen

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Saab owners have been dealing with this for a while. We found a shop that sold shims to correct the negative camber. The Saabnet board always recommended tire rotation between 3-5K miles. I did mine every 3K. We called it "cupping".

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Our car has been at the dealers now since Thursday. They are looking into the hurricane that blows around the drivers ear at 45mph+, the sluggish performance and clunky 1st gear and of course the tyres, which are wearing as before. The dealer gave us a brand new Mazda 5 TS2 2L the car is a completely different beast to ours. It is perky, and responsive, the wheels are only 16", but they look completely different when you look at them from the rear. i.e. straight.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Hi Nig,

Look forward to hearing the outcome.

What model etc is your own mazda 5? Thought problems with the tyre wear were only on sport model, hence diff suspension?

Helen

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Hi, yes our car is a sport. The car they loaned us was a TS2.
They seem to have sorted the wind noise and have taken more readings on the tyres..... take it back in 1000 miles.
Apparently MMUK are poised to send a letter and are possibly going to be recommending a change of tyre....
My breath is bated!

Nig

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Yeah mine too.

Spoke to my dealership again today, finally have a payment coming for tyres changed in november!!!

Warranty manager admitted can't understand why Mazda are dragging their feet as there is an "inherent problem with the cars,with suspension or geometry, and needs sorting".

Also told me that its only the sport but lots of cases around country. Told him that MMUK customer service is useless, giving no info to customers and many want to take to press, and he told me he already knew that.

Lets see what happens next .........

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

My wife runs a Sep 06 5 Sport and after 5000 miles inner shoulder of front tyres (esp offside) are severely worn. Read all the posts on site and have booked to take in to dealer on Monday. Have had a laser alignment check at Kwikfit and all was within tolerance (and they didn't charge me!). The senior guy there suggested that Dunlop SP weren't the best tyre for the job, something to do with the belting. If anyone else with this problem gets a solution or a satisfactory reply from Mazda please be sure to post it, I'm not looking forwards to shelling out for new tyres with every service! Apart from that it is the best MPV I've driven, even a match for the much loved, but sadly departed Toyota Picnic (great car, daft name).

It's all in the wrist action.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Greetings.
As you can see from all the previous posts this isa known problem and Mazda are on the cusp of admitting it. What Kwik Fit suggest about the tyre may be right. MMUK have suggested as much. However, I replaced my Dunlops with Avon's and they are suffering as well.
I would suggest that you do not part with any money for the replacements. Why should you?
I got all 4 tyres replaced and eventually got all of the money back from the dealer......
The wonderful Nicole, at MMUK is dealing with my complaint and I am sure that if your dealer was to speak with her she will give them all the information they need.
I see no need or reason that each person has to go through the mill I have had to trapes through to get the problem sorted.
You are totally right Mazda should be proud of what they have got in the 5. It beats all of the competition by a mile, just because of the sliding doors. (Needs the headlights upgrading though!)
However they need to put some serious money behind fixing this elementary problem......

Good luck

Nig

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

My Mazda 5 Sport is with the dealer with serious tyre wear and steering noise problem (see other discussion thread). Been there since 22nd Feb and I will not take it back until both problems solved. I have managed to get a new Ford Galaxy rental which Mazda are paying for in the meantime.

I could not believe it when I found that these are inherent problems after reading this forum... and I thought it was such a fantastic car!

Joe

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

It IS a fantastic car, just that it has a couple of inherent problems and they are doing NOTHING to sort it out.

The 5 is the best car in it's class, and as Nig said the sliding doors are its biggest bonus.

don't think think the brand of tyres is the issue, but more that they think it might keep us happy for a while if they blame that. We know better!!!

hoping that Nicole issues a suitable solution soon, and yes Nig it is unfair that we are all on that treadmill, a recall and solution is required MMUK.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Hi Helen
Can I ask how much you got towards your tyres and how many miles you did on them as I did 20,000 miles on mine and they gave me very little towards mine (30 % for the rears) though I still had 4 mm of useable tread on the rears

And I still get the steering noise

Adrian

Thanks Adrian

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

I got all 4 tyres replaced eventually FOC after the dealer pitched in to cover some of the cost, then MMUK refunded the difference. Originally I paid for about £150 towards the cost. As I have said before no one should pay anything. Having said that though, with 20K on them I can understand that they are less likely to cover all the cost. Mine started to show wear at 5000 miles, I reported it to the dealer, and was told it was fine, I continued to monitor them until I noticed serious wear on the front tyres (I wasn't watching them as closely)they changed them all at about 6500 miles.
Have to say that my dealer has bent over backwards over the past couple of weeks to make sure all of ourother problems have been addressed. Big thanks to the new service manager at Nunns.
Hopefully the tyres will be next.......
Nig

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Hiya,

Had the first set of tryes replaced at 12, 500. Don't actually know how much I'm getting for them as yet, waiting for the cheque to arrive any day. they were so bad though that one actually wore right through the tyre wall causing a puncture!!! dealer did mention 80% of cost of replacing but until get cheque can't be sure.

Had old back tyres moved to front, so had part worn on, but they were replaced 2 months later. Not as badly worn but down to not legal, just on inner rim, and again no idea what they are actually paying.

have to agree with nig, for the miles you got out of yours i can understand why you didn't get that much back. And on top of miles you got out of them, you actually still had tread left on them, which i think i can safely say is unusual here.

what was the inner edge like? Could you see the steel cords/canvas? Mine certainly were! will find the pics and try to upload them.

Helen

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Pleased that this gets high up in Google search!
Last week - my wife who drives the car took our UK Mazda 2 2.0 tdi sport 140 in for 12k service and on picking the car up was told that she needed 2 rear tyres and on the job sheet - this was marked as asap. She was allowed to reload 2 children under3 into the car and drive 22 miles home.
On inspection that evening and the next morning - looked at the now usual area - inside edge of rear tyres and photos show the now all too familiar picture.
SB tyres
Thursday morning - rang dealer and he suggested to me that it was not his fault - under inflated - suggested that this was not the case, had he heard of this problem before - he had not so I quoted some of the UK cases below. Can you log this with Mazdauk, this was easy and the woman admitted on the phone that this was not a unique problem and that she had conme across this more than once.
Garage then phoned back to ask if I wanted tyres and they could order in. Reply - yes but we will not yet decide who pays for them... will get the Dunlops in.... do you konw what is causing this? - no sir have not seen this before!

Thursday eve - firm letter to MD at garage suggesting poor car and faulty product that created this problem after 12k and negligent action to allow the car out of garage with casing showing on one tyre and extreme wear on others.
Friday am - car collected by Mazda Assist and not had to drive 22 miles on close to or illegal tyres - (3 potential points per tyre) and hire car delivered.
Service approach has jumped up a gear and tyres still not in on Saturday... but lots of phone contact and now a suggestion that all 4 tyres are to be replaced..... we await the phone call on Monday morning.

What concerns me is will I be here in another 12 k miles with the same issue or can the garage sort out a solution?
The tyres and cost are one aspect - but the long term prognosis is the issue.
We have a Vauxhall Zafira - and it is not as good as the 5 in terms of space, forward visablity and using it with a young family - we want the 5 back as all other aspects are very good.

Will keep people updated as to the final outcome - but looks like 4 tyres at present - but % still to be discussed.

We also had steering noise and the steering rack was replaced - 6 months ago over a period of 2 week in garage. have only had a slight nice back since - once - seems to have curred it.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Re Excessive Front Tyre Wear
Took the car to the dealer this morning (car dealer that is) and had it confirmed that the alignment is within specifications therefore tracking is not the issue. Service Manager contacted MMUK immediately (when they answered the telephone that is) and was told that currently there is no record of problems with excessive and premature front tyre wear, but that rear tyre wear is being monitored. Contacted MMUK Customer Services by telephone but would like to back it up in writing. Does anyone have the address of Customer Services (AKA Complaints Dept) as it is cunningly concealed on their web site, so cunningly that I can't find it.

Thanks, in anticipation of a reply.

Dave M

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

At 10,000 milesI was very worried about the uneven wear and took it to the dealers who told me it was fine. At 12000 miles I took it back to another Mazda dealer. They charged me £60 for tracking and told me all 4 tyres we NOT legal, hence all 4 tyres had to be replaced At another £550. Il lease this vehicle and will be returning it back to Mazda as soon as I can get out the lease. regards Kev.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Dave,

Oh yes they do have logged case of front tyre wear - MINE, and have just paid out towards two sets of tyres. Nicole seems to be the woman who knows all at MMUK about this, get the dealer to contact her.

Mazda motors UK ltd
Riverbridge House
Anchor Boulevard
Dartford
Kent
DA2 6QH.

Helen

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Just had dealer ring, update - MMUK have recognised the rear tyres problem and issued a bulllitin to dealers last week.
Dealer has to take tread measurements and work out % wear and then negotiate this with customer.
The rear tyres on pics have achieved 80% refund by MMUK and the dealer ( Donalds Peterborough) is throwing in a further 20% for rear tyres + free tracking and alignment - to set at 2mm toe in.
But MMUK are not recognising front wear at all and so having to pay for this myself - an issue to take up with MMUK as this is a bill for £229.00 which I did not expect for atleast 30k miles - my other car is a Fabia and it has done 46k on a set of orginal tyres - Michelins.
Any clues about this on how to approach MMUK wold be well recieved.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

What I can't understand is how often do the tyres get rotated? Surely more than every 12k miles. Wouldn't it be plausible to have similar wear issues on front as on rear?

I had a Saab 9-5 wagon that had rear wear issue (along with many others). We drove no more than 5K miles between rotations. It didn't matter what brand of tyre I had.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

This is completely confusing, as I received a cheque yesterday paying out for 4 tyres, all having been on the front!!!

why are mmuk paying percentage and some dealers making up the difference?

why are some people getting everything paid, some a percentage and some nothing??????

come on mazda, start singing a consistant song and stop making it up as you go along!!!!!!!!!!

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

It seems I am in good company. I have a Mazda 5 2.0D Sport, new in September '06, with virtually worn-through inside edges on my FRONT tyres.
I noticed this about 6 weeks ago, at approx 8500 miles, and immediately contacted my dealer, Lythgoe in Bolton. They are like a stuck record, repeatedly telling me that wheel alignment problems are NOT covered by warranty. I have agreed to pay the 40 quid to have the alignment adjusted, but the problem they have is that they have no data on the actual specifications for wheel alignment on the Mazda 5 Sport, so don't know what angleto set the wheels to. I've had two wasted journeys to Bolton at 40 miles per round trip, on one occassion sitting around for two hours whilst the technicians searched in vain for the correct specs for the car. Consequently I've been driving around causing more damage to the tyreswhilst corresponding with Mazda UK who tell me that "wheel alignment problems are NOT covered by warranty" !!
This really is driving me mad, and is not at all what I expected from Mazda.
Mazda UK's customer sevices department have now assured me that by my next appointment in Bolton, the necessary data will be available and the wheels will be adjusted correctly. Ha! having read this forum I'm not so sure they know what exactly the correct settings are.
I will let you all know how my case progresses. Has anyone out theretried contacting a newspaper motoring correspondant regarding this?
Whilst I'm having a rant, I'll also mention the alarming creaks and groans from the suspension in very cold weather (below about2C).
The stereo's blooming fantastic though!!!!

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Just had my Mazda 5 L/E Furano (same as 2.0 Sport c/w full body kit), back from dealer service. what a surprise..! Rear tyres worn on inside edge, fronts better, but still appear to have premature wear after 13,7000 mls. Guy who returned car said garage wanted to speak to me, so called them & spoke to guy in service dept who advised that i need to speak to someone else & that the would get him to call back before close of play today. No call came..! Decoded to Google "Mazda 5 tyre wear", & hear I am..! Garage have advised that I (My company) would have to pay a percentage of the cost of replacing rear tyres & that front also need replacing, at cost. Also said that getting hold of these is difficult but hope to get some from Newport (Wales). Company car so wont personally be out of pocket but all the same not good. Upside - don't have the suspension or wind noise troubles if heard about!

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Just boughta newFurano last week, and then read all this - oh dear. Dealer seemed to be pushing it big style as I wanted the TS2. He gave me a good deal so I thought why not. When I test drove the sport diesel (sales guys own car) it pulled like mad on the motorway and I was actually tired after 30 minutes fighting it. I mentioned it to him and he of course denied all knowledge, but I just figured he needed his tracking sorting. I must admit I am not finding the thought of forking out 500 quid for tyres every year particularly appealing. My 3-Series tyres cost 300 quid and last 50K. We've had no suspension noises so far and it seems fairly quiet compared to some of your experiences. It does drive really well and no speed bump noises, but is this something that's likely to develop over the first few thousand miles?
The plastic retainer for the rear middle seat belt has fallen out though. The salesmans' incredulous reaction made me laugh, as I'd read this is pretty much a standard event.
Short question is, have I made a big mistake? It has everything we need, but I don't like the idea of my wife and kids testing just how good the curtain airbags are after a motorway blowout.

RE: Tyre wear on UK Mazda 5
 

Strikes me that there is definitely a different quality of service depending upon which dealer you are dealing with. However, this said if one dealer can manage to get Mazda UK to fund the repairs etc, and replace worn tyres. Front and rear.....
All dealers should be able to do so.
As I said to the Dealer Principle at my dealers, they have a duty of care to ensure that the product THEY are selling is fit for purpose. obviously worn tyres apart from being illegal are downright dangerous!
Fortunately he agreed......
MMUK and the delightful Nicole..... They need to go further than a bulletin. They need to issue a full recall and get the problem sorted once and for all.

My advice to all of you is to stick by your rights and demand the dealer foots all costs and then it is up to them to negociate with MMUK to cover their loss, rather than a humble customer trying to do the same.