© 2021 DroitwichNet Limited
based on his personal experience with…
…the MAZDA CX5.
My Mazda CX5 has, for me, become more about style than substance. When the time came in late 2019 to replace my SEAT Ateca, there wasn’t a deal to be had for another one and I had conflicting information from the dealer and VW Finance about being able to ‘buy’ my Ateca at the end of the leasing contract. Two cars caught my eye; the Volvo XC40 and the Mazda CX5. A test drive of the former increased my desire, but the cost/specification seemed out of sync with other SUVs, and the finance quote for leasing was nowhere close to being in line with expectations. The CX5’s build quality and Bose Audio are awesome, the cost/specifications were far more in the real world than the Volvo, and the buying experience at the dealer was great. In fact, it was the best I’d ever experienced, and I’ve bought a lot of cars, as I felt that I was being listened to and the sale was around my expectations and requirements as a buyer. And anyway, am I still not too young to drive a Volvo? Before you knew it, Covid has struck, and with the wife and me stuck at home with two cars, I lent my Mazda to our son so he and his wife didn’t have to rely on using public transport. My CX5 was returned after lockdown ended in July 2020 and my son had invested in his own car, but the ‘work from home’ culture meant my CX5 really wasn’t getting much use. After lockdown 3 ended in 2021, my Mazda started to get more use; it was still massively short of its first service mileage! It was now that a few things really started to irritate me: On the CX5, once you start driving the touch screen that can be used when stationary becomes inoperable. There’s a little wheel in the centre console that Mazda want you to use to navigate, change radio station, etc. Apparently, it’s a safety feature. On YouTube you can find the engineering instructions to enable the Touchscreen whilst driving for an earlier version of the CX5. They’ve changed the codes for the 2020 model so I can’t solve it myself and Mazda refuse to let a dealer do this either. My SEAT Ateca allowed me to use the touchscreen, my son’s Jaguar and my wife’s Hyundai don’t lock out the touchscreen, and my daughter has just taken delivery of an AUDI Q3 and she can use her touchscreen. And like me, they all believe that using the touchscreen is quicker and safer. Using the wheel on the Mazda you still have to look at the screen to make sure you have the correct setting! The Apple CarPlay on my Mazda CX5 is shockingly bad. When I connect the cable, its hit and miss if it connects without me using the wheel and going into select the highlighted Apple CarPlay. After the end of a phone call, I have to go back in and re-select the radio station I was listening to but which has now stopped playing. I reported these issues to Mazda and was told that a software update would solve it. When my CX5 was serviced in June 2021, the software update was applied, but it made no difference. I was then told by Mazda UK that a ‘problem’ with the TAU [Tuner and Amplifier Unit] in the CX5 could cause these Apple Play problems and they put one on order. It took a few weeks for the part to arrive, my dealer fitted the new unit and hey presto, it was just the same as before. That was in early August 2021 and since then neither the Mazda dealer nor Mazda UK [who arranged the work] have called to ask, ‘is your Apple CarPlay problem resolved by the new TAU?’ And twice now, the window screen wash has run out on me whilst on a motorway. Guess what, on a car of this specification, there is no sensor to detect if the screen wash is running low. Who knew? It must be 15 years since I last had a car without this; my Passat, Tiguan, AudiA4, and Seat Ateca all had this, what I like to call, ‘safety feature’. In fact, I’d say that not having this was potentially more dangerous than having a touch screen. But that’s just my personal opinion. My CX5 is the first car I’ve had with a ‘heads-up display’ projecting on the windscreen. I like this and find it very useful, except in sunny conditions when it can still be read without sunglasses, but not once you’ve popped a pair on. June 2023 That’s when my finance contract for the Mazda CX5 ends. It still seems a long way off, but in fact I’m more than 50% of the way through my agreement so I just have to live with it. Will I upgrade my Mazda CX5 with another one? No Would I swap my Mazda back for my previous SEAT Ateca - Yes - without a second thought. I’d get perfect Apple Play again, a Touchscreen that I can use when driving, and a warning light to top up my screen wash.
This is what happens when your washer fluid suddenly runs out! Why is the absence of a ‘Washer Fluid Sensor’ less of a safety concern than enabling the already-present touch screen whilst driving?
Duncan’s Customer Experience
© 2021 DroitwichNet Limited Duncan’s Customer Experience
based on his personal experience with…
My Mazda CX5 has, for me, become more about style than substance. When the time came in late 2019 to replace my SEAT Ateca, there wasn’t a deal to be had for another one and I had conflicting information from the dealer and VW Finance about being able to ‘buy’ my Ateca at the end of the leasing contract. Two cars caught my eye; the Volvo XC40 and the Mazda CX5. A test drive of the former increased my desire, but the cost/specification seemed out of sync with other SUVs, and the finance quote for leasing was nowhere close to being in line with expectations. The CX5’s build quality and Bose Audio are awesome, the cost/specifications were far more in the real world than the Volvo, and the buying experience at the dealer was great. In fact, it was the best I’d ever experienced, and I’ve bought a lot of cars, as I felt that I was being listened to and the sale was around my expectations and requirements as a buyer. And anyway, am I still not too young to drive a Volvo? Before you knew it, Covid has struck, and with the wife and me stuck at home with two cars, I lent my Mazda to our son so he and his wife didn’t have to rely on using public transport. My CX5 was returned after lockdown ended in July 2020 and my son had invested in his own car, but the ‘work from home’ culture meant my CX5 really wasn’t getting much use. After lockdown 3 ended in 2021, my Mazda started to get more use; it was still massively short of its first service mileage! It was now that a few things really started to irritate me: On the CX5, once you start driving the touch screen that can be used when stationary becomes inoperable. There’s a little wheel in the centre console that Mazda want you to use to navigate, change radio station, etc. Apparently, it’s a safety feature. On YouTube you can find the engineering instructions to enable the Touchscreen whilst driving for an earlier version of the CX5. They’ve changed the codes for the 2020 model so I can’t solve it myself and Mazda refuse to let a dealer do this either. My SEAT Ateca allowed me to use the touchscreen, my son’s Jaguar and my wife’s Hyundai don’t lock out the touchscreen, and my daughter has just taken delivery of an AUDI Q3 and she can use her touchscreen. And like me, they all believe that using the touchscreen is quicker and safer. Using the wheel on the Mazda you still have to look at the screen to make sure you have the correct setting! The Apple CarPlay on my Mazda CX5 is shockingly bad. When I connect the cable, its hit and miss if it connects without me using the wheel and going into select the highlighted Apple CarPlay. After the end of a phone call, I have to go back in and re- select the radio station I was listening to but which has now stopped playing. I reported these issues to Mazda and was told that a software update would solve it. When my CX5 was serviced in June 2021, the software update was applied, but it made no difference. I was then told by Mazda UK that a ‘problem’ with the TAU [Tuner and Amplifier Unit] in the CX5 could cause these Apple Play problems and they put one on order. It took a few weeks for the part to arrive, my dealer fitted the new unit and hey presto, it was just the same as before. That was in early August 2021 and since then neither the Mazda dealer nor Mazda UK [who arranged the work] have called to ask, ‘is your Apple CarPlay problem resolved by the new TAU?’ And twice now, the window screen wash has run out on me whilst on a motorway. Guess what, on a car of this specification, there is no sensor to detect if the screen wash is running low. Who knew? It must be 15 years since I last had a car without this; my Passat, Tiguan, AudiA4, and Seat Ateca all had this, what I like to call, ‘safety feature’. In fact, I’d say that not having this was potentially more dangerous than having a touch screen. But that’s just my personal opinion. My CX5 is the first car I’ve had with a ‘heads-up display’ projecting on the windscreen. I like this and find it very useful, except in sunny conditions when it can still be read without sunglasses, but not once you’ve popped a pair on. June 2023 That’s when my finance contract for the Mazda CX5 ends. It still seems a long way off, but in fact I’m more than 50% of the way through my agreement so I just have to live with it. Will I upgrade my Mazda CX5 with another one? No Would I swap my Mazda back for my previous SEAT Ateca - Yes - without a second thought. I’d get perfect Apple Play again, a Touchscreen that I can use when driving, and a warning light to top up my screen wash.
…the MAZDA CX5.
This is what happens when your washer fluid suddenly runs out! Why is the absence of a ‘Washer Fluid Sensor’ less of a safety concern than enabling the already-present touch screen whilst driving?