Update to my claim,

Dealer has modified the wheel alignment by 3mm on the front and 2mm on the rear, to a spec given them by Mazda UK after a lot of pushing. Apparently all new production is set up to this spec.....

To me it seems to make hte situation worse as there's loads of toe in allready, but we'll see.

Not sure what compensation I'll get yet as it been worked through, but one issue I droped into is not replacing with Dunlops, if I had they would have been replaced on warranty, as I went for Michelin's the compensation is via 'Good Will Payment' not sure what this means yet, but I was more keen to get the fundamental alignment problem resolved first.

Apparently the replacment Dunlops are a different composition so may be worth a try..... Good Luck.

 

My dealer said the same thing about different production numbers/adjusted compounds on replacement Dunlop SP50s. Considering that even the dealer said they'd never seen tyres this bad at such a low mileage (6.5k) at least one good thing is that it'll only be a couple of months before I'll know if its made a difference! Got to find some positives I suppose!

Somehow considering the number of complaints and different alignment/toe ins that dealers have been trying, I'm not so sure its as simple as blaming Dunlop...

oh and still no word from Jon Smith.... how about we form a Mazda 5 blockade and picket the MMUK car park? Could set fire to a few old tyres if it gets cold - I don't think they'll be too hard to source?

 

Mazdamit, I copied and pasted your plea to Jon Smith, I got a turse reply saying he needs your details to comment, and obviously wouldn't comment to a 3rd party.

I would send him another missive. Tell him that you were the one who's message from the forum he has already read.

I have had my 3rd set of tyres fitted and alignment changed to the 'final fix' we shall see.....
Thankfully my dealer is pretty upfront and keen to help. I paid £106, but have a new set of shiny Japanese manufactured Dunlop's

The dealer principle did promise another set if they wore, and a good extra warranty deal should the fix not work.....
I think the car will be theirs to sort by then if it eats this set.

 

Nig, the alignment "final fix" to which you refer, did that involve the front wheel alignment or just the rear?
I'm still seething that Mazda UK wouldn't admit that it was the car that wrecked my front tyres, and put the blame on me for running them under-inflated (which I hadn't).

I've done 2000 miles on my new Bridgestones now, and so far so good, but I'm expecting to see the irregular wear sooner or later, as the front wheel alignment has not been adjusted (well, not to my knowledge) since the car was new, as it was always setto the specifications given to my dealer by Mazda UK (which I will put on here when I work out how to make a nice neat table!)

Sounds like your local dealer has a great attitude, shame we can't all get the response you are.

I'm really hoping that my worn Dunlops have been returned to Dunlop, as promised by my dealer, although it's always possible they've been chucked in a skip. If I hear anything, you'll all be the first to know!

Dave.

 

Yes, they gave the car a full alignement check front and rear. They adjusted the settings to the new standard.... (tech speak) Mazda paid for both back tyres, and the dealer and I split the cost for the fronts. As I pointed out the fronts had 3000 miles as rears, therefore compromised by the wear. So I agreed to pay £106 which was cost for the Dunlop SP
I was interested to see they were Japanese imports rather than a UK made tyre though.

Mazda seem to have a bigger problem with the fronts, why I cannot understand.



The dealer I have is indeed a rareity, and I am pleased to be with them. They couldn't believe some of the tales from the forum.

One thing my dealer said whilst I was talking to them, was that my car was the one that brought the problem to light and because of the fact I have been back so often with it, not only for tyres, it is one of the most documented 5's.Sothere is clear record of tyre wear and geometry settings from about for the last 14000 miles of its life.
Mazda had to listen.....
I have written to Jon Smith again, I have again pleaded with him to come clean and at least write to all 5 owners with 17" tyres and tell them to keep an eye out.
It is only a matter of time before an accident is caused because of the tyres.....

What price a life?

I would hound your dealer, and Jon Smith. But maintain a dignified manner. I have found it works wonders.....


Good luck
Nig

 

Agreed on maintaining a dignified manner, but of course I need to speak to the illusive Mr Smith first!

In terms of dealers, I've deliberately not named and shamed (yet) ; the dealer that I bought the car from blames the dealer that said I had to change the tyres then and there; the dealer that changed the tyres understands my anger and blames Mazda... and then of course it all ends at Mazda's call centre. They (and indeed Mr Smith) can still redeem themselves if they pull their fingers out soon. It's such a shame as I love the car's design & performance - I'd already got another three friends interested and as far as having test drives. What's the point in having a 5* NCAP rating if there's a fault with tyre wear? Maybe it is just the tyre and everything will be fine but surely a recall notice would have put everyone's minds at rest?

Strangely, all three friends have now decided to look at other manufacturers. Such a shame that a little more care in the customer care department could have sorted all this ages ago.

Thanks to everyone that's made suggestions as to contacting Jon SMith - we'll see how we go...

 

Greetings all.
I forwarded Jon Smith's email on to Dunlop customer services and the kind chap there rang me to say that as far as he was aware Dunlop had made NO changes to the tyre make up and he was not aware of any warranty payments....

He went on to say something that suggested Mazda were covering their backs at Dunlop's expense, and we are then to believe that Dunlop are to blame, not Mazda!!!

This is a classic case of companies trying to pull the wool!!!

I am going to speak with the Dunlop chap again tomorrow. I will let you know....

 

Hi all,

Long time no post. Yep, it' time to visit the dealer again, my rears are now officially goosed on the inside edge at 15K, despite having been identified as having 5mm of tread all over at the 12.5k service. Opticians anyone? To add insult to injury, the o/s/r shock absorber would appear to have sprayed it's contents all over the wheel arch! On the positive side, the recent replacement of the fronts and what Ipresume was a tracking change seems to have sorted that issue, although interestingly,whenI collected the car from the dealer, they noted that my tyre pressures had been "a bit low". I went straight to a local petrol station and checked them, asI am quite fastideous, only to find they were all at 36psi, and when you consider that the sticker on the car says 33psi, and that was what they were when taken in, I suppose they are right, although telling us the correct pressures in the first place might have helped! I've maintained the pressures at 36psi and it seems to have helped- at 5k from new, when the last set were looking iffy on the outside and inside edges, these seem fine, but then they are the "new" style 2050's! Or not as the case may be!

On a seperate issue, my car is cardinal red. has anyone else experienced excessively easy stone chipping? My 9 month old car is worse than it's predecessor, a Megane Scenic was at 3 yrs and gets driven on the same roads with the same frequency. And I have evidence of corrosion on all 4 alloys too. Deep joy!

The sad thing about all of tis is that it is souring what should be a great experience- I stil haven't found anything else that has the combination of pace, space and grace thatI get from my 5- when it's all going right that is.

I'll post again ith an update when it's been in. Luckily, my dealer seems to be one of the better ones.

Take it easy,

 

I've only recently become aware of the issue of tyre wear on the 5, but sure enough, last night I checked my fronts, and the inside inch of each wheel is pretty badly worn away - only 7k miles on my Oct 06 petrol Furano. The rears seem 100%, with no noticeable wear on the edges and the tread still good. I'll be on the phone shortly to my dealer, and we'll see what he says.

I accidentally bumped into a fellow Furano owner the other night (who's car came out of the same dealership) and he kind of hinted that the dealer principal is aware of a tyre wear issue, although I'm not sure what that means with regards to getting them replaced. We're off on holidays as of next weekend, so I'll be wanting this dealt with before then. I'm noticing some distinctly different experiences with dealerships - I'm hoping mine will be towards the more positive end...

 

Hi Samk, welcome to our (un)Happy Gang

Sorry to hear you're a victim too, I know this isn't what you want to hear but there's no way you'll have thisdealt withby next weekend! Read back through our postings and make sure you get Mazda UK on the case straight away, not that will be of any help, but surely if they get enough similar complaints they MUST acknowledge a problem eventually.

You have exactly same problem as me, front inside edge -one inch worn smoothon both front wheels, by the sound of it. My rears, like yours, are still perfect after 15,000 miles. I have found it impossble to get anyone to accept this is a fault, although the srvice manager at the dealership is behind me but over-ruled by Mazda UK.

Let us all know how you get on, best of luck.

Dave.