Hey everybody!
I'm new to the forum and hope somebody has answers as to why my front fenders get so hot.
I gather that this is not a unique issue but I can find no answers to the problem.
The temp gauge reads ok but when idling both fenders get extremely hot.
I have a '21 CX5 but I understand other models have had this issue.
The Dealership says that this is normal but I doubt that.
The fenders get"really" hot!

 

You might want to use a car cover.

 

Thank you for your fast reply.
It is not the sun that is making my fenders hot!
They are quite cool when the car is turned off.
And it is only the tops of both fenders that get hot.

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Unless you are using a handheld digital temperature gauge/gun and post the heat you are describing also the condition you took the temperature reading. in the garage outside, after a drive using or not using the AC. Then I would also need to see a few areas under the hood for temperature readings. The valve covers the intake cover, the radiator revivor to name a few to start with.

Otherwise, what you think is hot experience speaking when having many customers ask the same question as you are are simply normal and that you do not have enough from of reference to know hot from normal?

 

Thank you Callisto!
Your suggestions are well founded and sound.
I am 72 years old and have had many cars in my life. I have put on millions of miles during work and play.
I DO have a point of reference since I know for a fact that I have never experienced this before.
If it was the radiator then the heat would eminate from the front - it does not.
If it was from the motor or valve cover area you would think that the hood would be hot - even if it was just around the insulation. It is not.
I could use my gun to record the temp on the fenders but that would just confirm that it is so hot that you can barely touch it. I'm surprised that there is no paint damage.
It doesn't matter how long the drive is. The last time was a short drive to the Dealership. At that point the left fender was extremely hot but the right one was not too bad. A couple minutes late while the engine was running while parked, the right fender got just as hot.
I will, however take my temp gun out and see what there might be around the fenders to cause this.
Thank you for stating what I should have done already.
I will be going to the Dealership again this week for an oil change and if they say this heat is 'normal' then I will ask them to show me another car that does this.
And don't get me wrong . . . I really like this car. I just don't think that this heat is good for it.

 

\Not sure what age has to do with it? Why lately so many members reference their age?
. .

A few things to remember or consider having to do with vehicle operating temperatures..

You MAZDA (as it is with many vehicles manufactured from about 1995 to present) run a standard 195F thermostat. The Transmissons predominately automatics will run at the same temperature as the coolant (195-210F) . The CAT can run as high as and get this...1300F with normal operating temperatures approx. below 50mph and under no load about 450f-600f. When you shut off the engine there will be heat soak and all the temperatures under the hood from whatever they are at with few exceptions will raise about 5-20F depending on the ambient for about the first 15minutes of engine shut down.
So if you can differentiate between all these different temperatures, you would be the "1" (one).

The ECU monitors all vital engine and transmission operation and not just from a single sensor or source of temperature input. If yu were having any heating issue, there would have been at least a DTC even if for a short while and then cleared (shut off the check engine light automatically) which you did not indicate happened? If the engine was running to hot even for a flash the ECU input from the knock sensor would have gone to its limits and you would have likely gone into limp mode or gotten the RED engine light and the power level would have drop considerably. You did not indicate any of that ever happening.

. Don't forget to get a tail pipe reading of what the exhaust temperatures are at the tail pipe. Not the rear muffler only the tail pipe.


So we will wait and see what the temperature values you find are.

 

Welcome to the forum

 

This is interesting and I would like to know more. I am 43 and have worked on cars since I was 15 and have never experienced this behavior.

Could it maybe be hot air from the engine cannot exit the back of the hood and it exits along the sides?

I would see about getting a thermal camera. If I was close I would stop by. Try googling thermal camera rental. There are places in the USA that do. Oddly enough today I found a website private people can post up their tools for rent.

P.S. I think people mention age to express the potential time one is exposed to experiences. Not to mention, the vast majority of people seem to accuse anyone asking odd or dumb questions are young and dumb. That is my experience.

 

Ya and again I say what does age have to do with working on a vehicle..? rolmao

In my line of work, it more "are you old and dumb"! lol

DIY of age think that because they have a crescent wrench and a pair of vise grips in their toolbox that they know how to work on a vehicle?
Maybe they should claim the same and do surgery on themselves when they get injured as well?

But I do understand the need for some to post their age on some threads. You just can't see the joke on my side when I see that?

I did an experiment the other day, returning from a short shopping trip I popped my hood and told the wife that I thought the Mazda was running really hot. She walked over and said "OMG its so hot what's wrong with it?". The fenders and the engine radiated heat.
Here the thing the ambient was 106F, the engine registered coolant at 205F (AC was used for the trip), transmission was 185F(coooooool). The IAT were 116F which would be correct). I measured the fender temperature to be 106-110F. Nothing was out of normal yet the radiated heat and to touch parts of the body and engine to the untrained individual no matter what age it would appear to be hot to the point of concern!
I could go on with PID that I watch like a Hawk everything I drive but that would likely go over many people head as it often does? My Mazda was actually running well withing and slightly lower in temperature then a similar Model and year Mazda then mine under the same conditions. Point.... humans really cant tell without a reference what a temperature is!
Oh and my CAT before I shut down the engine one block from the house was 849F... lol Normal......