Do you have a Mazda with a 2.5L?

[350Rocket]

Maybe they'll split the cost, which I would agree to. Either way, I believe they are at least partially liable as they should notify vehicle owners of the bulletins when they're released, if the vehicle's VIN is one of the affected ones. Mazda never notified me at all...how else was I supposed to know there was a TSB for my vehicle?

As redspider said...tsb's aren't meant for you. That's why you will never be notified. They are specific instructions for the technician doing the repair and they have nothing to do with the owner of the vehicle. You seem to be confusing these with a "recall".
They absolutely will not repair it at half their cost when there is no problem with your engine at this time. I worked for several years as a service advisor at a dealership. I promise you, they won't even consider what you're trying for.
Also I bet it's a very low rate of failure, probably nowhere near the 2.0 ford EcoBoost failure rate.

 

[grampi]

As redspider said...tsb's aren't meant for you. That's why you will never be notified. They are specific instructions for the technician doing the repair and they have nothing to do with the owner of the vehicle. You seem to be confusing these with a "recall".
They absolutely will not repair it at half their cost when there is no problem with your engine at this time. I worked for several years as a service advisor at a dealership. I promise you, they won't even consider what you're trying for.
Also I bet it's a very low rate of failure, probably nowhere near the 2.0 ford EcoBoost failure rate.

I gave up that notion long ago. Decided to live with the risk, after all, I'm a risky person!

 

[tblt44]

Just drive it, chances are you'll be ok

 

[tcp71]

There are 193 TSBs for my 2016 F150. Didn't get notice of any of them nor do I seem to have any of the problems. I did get 3 recall letters, but that's different.

2016 Ford F-150 TSBs | CarComplaints.com

423 Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) have been issued for the 2016 Ford F-150.

www.carcomplaints.com

 

[Exhaustgases]

There’s tons of TSBs for any make and model out there, sometimes hundreds. As someone else said, it’s just a guide as to how to diagnose and repair common problems to a certain model. They create a TSB because it’s common enough to do so, but it doesn’t mean it happens to all, half, or any significant number of the vehicles.

They wouldn’t have helped you out (or covered it for that matter) when you were in warranty unless you had the actual problem and they could verify it. They may be telling you that now to sound good, but they wouldn’t have.

When I got into a long drawn out front end rattle diagnosis with Mazda, they quit paying the shop diagnosis time because they weren’t fixing the problem. Then the shop refused to even drive or check for my noise anymore even though I was still in basic warranty. I got corporate involved, sent videos of the noise, got further diagnosis time approved for the dealer, and STILL got nowhere with getting it repaired. They fell back on “we’re a boutique brand and don’t have the funds to chase down this isolated issue with your car, or to throw parts at it and hope we get it right…we’ve already tried a few things and fixed one noise, your car is safe, we’re at the end of the road”. This is for an actual problem they could hear and experience, they just couldn’t figure out how to fix.

I would have said, No problemo, just give me back 1/2 my purchase price and all will be good.

 

[spasm3]

Is the head failure limited to the turbo 2.5 engines?

 

[Cherrybomb]

The tsb's aren't for you,there info for all the shop people so they can do the work with more knowledge and efficiency. If you want to take better care of your vehicle,drive it carefully,follow the manufacturer reconmended maintenance. Observe for leaks,smells,vibrations anything that doesn't feel right.If you sense something,call,get the thing in.If you learn about oil analsis and use this periodically, it can tell you a lot about motor health.Buy a infrared temp gun from Napa,you can check for hot brakes,wheel bearings.Enjoy your car,your odds are slim for failure,all makes have their nuances

 

[RedSpider]

Is the head failure limited to the turbo 2.5 engines?

There have been non turbo reports as well, at least from what I can see on the various Mazda forums I'm on, but the vast majority of them seem to be for the turbo. Looks like most of them are 2018 and newer.

My friend is the service manager at one of the Mazda dealerships here, next time I'm in there buying oil filters in the next few weeks I'll ask him how big of a problem this really is. Around here you cant swing a dead cat without hitting a Cx-5, if its really a widespread issue he will know about it.

Most of the threads I see on the forums are one or two people saying it happened to them, then a hundred people posting after them (understandably) freaking out that its going to happen to them as well and it all blows up into hysteria.

 

[panthermike]

We lucked out on our 2018. Due to a mix-up with the actual vs stated mileage at time of purchase we got a 9yr/150K b2b warranty in the deal.

 

[DwightFrye]

I have a 2019 Mazda CX 5 with the 2.5L turbo engine. It falls within the VIN range of vehicles that may possibly experience the head gasket failure or whatever the problem is that causes coolant to leak into the engine.

I keep a very close eye on the coolant tank level and when I check the oil I look for any signs of coolant mixed with the oil. I only have about 22,500 miles on the car. I don't think I have topped off more than a few ounces of coolant since the car was new. I did get a Blackstone report when I did an oil change at the 20k mark and specifically asked them to check for traces of oil contamination. None was found. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I never experience the problem. My fear is that the 5 year part of the 5 year/50,000 mile warranty is going to expire long before I get even close to 30,000 miles on the car. If the engine blows after the warranty I'm screwed. I really like the car and am hoping to own it a long time. It is well maintained and I paid cash for it. I'm surprised that the problem even exists as the Skyactiv engines have built up a good reputation for reliability. From what I understand, the issue was caused during the manufacture/assembly of a narrow range of vehicles and isn't a widespread problem for all of those 2.5L engines.

 

[RedSpider]

I've read various explanations to the cause, ranging from a casting problem (too thin) on the backside on one side of the exhaust manifold that was a result of reengineering the head to accomodate cylinder deactivation and/or the turbo, another said the factory robot severely overtorqued one of the exhaust manifold nuts causing microcracks in the head that propagate with mileage, and another that said the casting plug was the wrong spec and expands and cracks the block. I'm sure Mazda probably knows but I cant imagine they are too happy about it.

None of my VINs are anywhere near the range affected or even the same model year but it does give me a slight case of the heeby jeebies. My daughter was wanting to get a new CX5 when she graduates next spring but I've been watching this telling her to hold off a while to see how this progresses.

 

[someonesomewhere]

I've read various explanations to the cause, ranging from a casting problem (too thin) on the backside on one side of the exhaust manifold that was a result of reengineering the head to accomodate cylinder deactivation and/or the turbo, another said the factory robot severely overtorqued one of the exhaust manifold nuts causing microcracks in the head that propagate with mileage, and another that said the casting plug was the wrong spec and expands and cracks the block. I'm sure Mazda probably knows but I cant imagine they are too happy about it.

None of my VINs are anywhere near the range affected or even the same model year but it does give me a slight case of the heeby jeebies. My daughter was wanting to get a new CX5 when she graduates next spring but I've been watching this telling her to hold off a while to see how this progresses.

This issue was resolved on new model cars starting with 21 MY-current, iirc. They're good to go now. And everything I've seen/read about the issue, it was only the turbo cars. So it's definitely something in the head design/manufacture specific to the turbos.

She should be totally safe to get herself a 24 CX-5 and drive it til the wheels fall off. Congratulations to you for successfully raising one to completion! Not the easiest job in the world! Lol

 

[MikeyD]

For those not already aware, it was brought to my attention that Mazda has released (quite some time ago now) a service bulletin for 2016-2020 Mazdas with the 2.5L turbo. Apparently the cylinder head can crack and either leak externally, or crack inside, which would destroy the entire engine. There is a fix for this, but if the vehicle's out of warranty, the fix would be on the owner's dime. The fix includes replacing the head, and installing four separate gasket kits. I priced out all of the parts (Mazda parts, not aftermarket), and they come to $1300. Labor would be the killer on this project as the engine has to come out of the vehicle to replace all of the parts.

This puts me at a crossroad with our 2017 CX-9. It's in excellent shape, as I take very good care of it both cosmetically and mechanically, but it has 78K miles now. My wife and I absolutely love this vehicle, and further more it's paid off. Trading it in for something else is not plan A, because I don't want to start another round of car payments. On the other hand, spending several thousands of $$$ on a vehicle when the turbo could go out next year, or even next week, wouldn't be good either. I looked up the value of the CX-9 and it's value is still fairly high, but how much does that change in 2 or 3 years when it has over 100K miles? Trade-in value is as good as it's gonna get right now. I had looked into getting a warranty plan, but even that would run $100-$150 a month. There's also the chance our vehicle won't be affected by this issue, but going this route leaves us with a vehicle of questionable reliability. I'm going in to talk to my mechanic about this tomorrow to find out what he would charge me to do this repair, and get some of his advice. I've had him for years and I know he's a straight shooter so I know can trust him. That will probably have a lot of influence on my decision. I really don't know which to go with this...

As your message is a year old, this may no longer be of interest to you but I’ll just share my experience with my cracked head issue on my 2017 CX-9. This year, at 80,000 miles, the cylinder head cracked inside the engine and I had to have the whole thing replaced. I managed to get a brand new engine from Mazda Canada through my dealership. The deal was that I only had to cover the labor costs for installation which came to a little over $2800 CND (about $2100 US). The warranty on the new engine is 12000 miles/ one year which is not great. This should never have happened on a vehicle with this mileage. Overall, I think I got a good deal. If I get another 80000 miles I’ll be happy.

 

[Kira]

Is your CX-9 turbocharged?

 

[MikeyD]

Is your CX-9 turbocharged?

Yes it is…all CX-9’s from 2016 onwards have the 2.5 litre turbocharged engine. From what I gather, the ones affected by this issue are model years 2016-2020…