Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[Bubba]

all winding tree canopied backroads.

Top-notch scenery.

[Firm]

Thanks Guys. And yes, Dante, in my mind SUVs are square, not big round blubs, and I like them that way.

[2JDM]

Love the tree canopy roads. It seems like you can only see those in the mid-southern US.

[Firm]

Yeah, I think it's a combination of the fact that trees grow a lot larger here due to the climate, but also the fact that the tree line tends to be a lot closer to the road, at least compared to what I was used to. There are spots where you've got maybe a 2-3 feet between the edge of the asphalt and the tree line. Keeps you focused 

[OliverD]

We were finally able to register the Mini, eight days after picking it up. The dealer in Quebec had failed to give us the power of attorney letter from BMW Financial Services that we need in order to register the car here but it was FedExed it to us this week.

What's aggravating is that when my wife tried to register the car last week without the letter the person working at Service New Brunswick asked her "How did you expect to do this without the letter?" as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

[draghon]

Oil change for the Sienna today. Still surprising how thin the 0W16 oil is.

Also cleaned the hybrid battery filters and replaced the air filter and cabin air filter. Got all the filters from Toyota but am considering switching to something less expensive for the cabin air filter only. I can get 3-4 from amazon for the same price as one from Toyota. Any thoughts?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Well, first major (potentially expensive) failure on the CX-5.  The power liftgate is malfunctioning.  Press the button to open it, it lifts about a foot, stops, then goes down a few inches and stops again.  Doesn't work at all after that.  I googled the symptoms, and tried all sorts of 'reset' functions.  From what I can tell, it could be the lift motors (about $750ea, and there's two of them), or the sensors, or the control module.  Either way, all beyond my capability to properly diagnose.  Booked in with the mechanic in two weeks, and I'm not looking forward to the bill. 

5 years old now, with 68 000 kms.

Wonder if it thinks there's an obstruction or something?

That's how it's acting, which to me means the obstruction sensor is acting up, or perhaps the controller.  BUT, I watched a couple of YouTube videos, and they all pointed towards the lift motors failing. 

I dunno, I'll let the mechanic figure it out.  Apparently there are some codes that get stored, but they're pretty deep in there, and you need a fairly advanced OBDII reader (like, Pro level) to get to them.

So this was diagnosed by my mechanic today.  There were a few codes stored related to the problem - in a separate module for the liftgate hatch, too.  As I suspected, one of the lift motors is bad and needs replacing.  Apparently it's conventional to replace both lift motors at the same time.  One of the lift motors is about $1050, and the other lift motor is $750.  Tack on labour, and it's about a $2300 - $2500 job. 

The best part is that one of the lift motors (and it happens to be the one that is causing the issue) is backordered 6-8 weeks, so that's annoying.

Research on my behalf, and also my mechanic agrees, this is not an uncommon failure on the CX-5.  So to all you CX-5 owners out there, be forewarned, and prepared. 

[JG20]

Can they be replaced with manual struts?

[tortoise]

$2500 for a repair on a 5 year old feature I don't want would drive me bonkers. Presumably you're out of warranty.

Might be worth sending Mazda an email asking for some goodwill.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

$2500 for a repair on a 5 year old feature I don't want would drive me bonkers. Presumably you're out of warranty.

Might be worth sending Mazda an email asking for some goodwill.

Hehe, so we spent $2500 on an extended warranty that includes coverage on all the 'luxury' features when we bought the car. This will be covered, minus a $100 deductible.  Other inclusions are the auto climate control, infotainment screen, driving assists,etc. On top of all the usual powertrain stuff. 

My shocks weren't covered, as they're considered a 'wear item', so I paid for those out of pocket when the rear ones started leaking.

The warranty just paid for itself.  The two month backorder is the only real irritation here.

[marcus_go]

$2500 for a repair on a 5 year old feature I don't want would drive me bonkers. Presumably you're out of warranty.

Might be worth sending Mazda an email asking for some goodwill.

Hehe, so we spent $2500 on an extended warranty that includes coverage on all the 'luxury' features when we bought the car. This will be covered, minus a $100 deductible.  Other inclusions are the auto climate control, infotainment screen, driving assists,etc. On top of all the usual powertrain stuff. 

My shocks weren't covered, as they're considered a 'wear item', so I paid for those out of pocket when the rear ones started leaking.

The warranty just paid for itself.  The two month backorder is the only real irritation here.

How many kms on your CX-5?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

68500 ish

[PJungnitsch]

Hehe, so we spent $2500 on an extended warranty that includes coverage on all the 'luxury' features when we bought the car. This will be covered, minus a $100 deductible.  Other inclusions are the auto climate control, infotainment screen, driving assists,etc. On top of all the usual powertrain stuff.

 

We did the same thing with the RX when we got it, mostly as it was our first modern vehicle with all the gizmos and it was coming off warranty fairly quickly. Paid for itself as well when the radio died. Looks like it might come in handy if our hatch ever gives trouble

Have to say for me that I wish power hatches (and pano roofs) were always optional

[ktm525]

Hehe, so we spent $2500 on an extended warranty that includes coverage on all the 'luxury' features when we bought the car. This will be covered, minus a $100 deductible.  Other inclusions are the auto climate control, infotainment screen, driving assists,etc. On top of all the usual powertrain stuff.

 

We did the same thing with the RX when we got it, mostly as it was our first modern vehicle with all the gizmos and it was coming off warranty fairly quickly. Paid for itself as well when the radio died. Looks like it might come in handy if our hatch ever gives trouble

Have to say for me that I wish power hatches (and pano roofs) were always optional

Whoah whoah whoah, back up... A Lexus had a dead radio?  What happened to the relentless pursuit of perfection? Or is the LS only?

[Blueprint]

Hehe, so we spent $2500 on an extended warranty that includes coverage on all the 'luxury' features when we bought the car. This will be covered, minus a $100 deductible.  Other inclusions are the auto climate control, infotainment screen, driving assists,etc. On top of all the usual powertrain stuff.

 

We did the same thing with the RX when we got it, mostly as it was our first modern vehicle with all the gizmos and it was coming off warranty fairly quickly. Paid for itself as well when the radio died. Looks like it might come in handy if our hatch ever gives trouble

Have to say for me that I wish power hatches (and pano roofs) were always optional

Whoah whoah whoah, back up... A Lexus had a dead radio?  What happened to the relentless pursuit of perfection? Or is the LS only?

The LS (post Gen1) has expensive air suspension issues, from what we've read here. Friend's Gen2 RX was an overall lemon. IS and ES are the sure bets these days.

[ktm525]

First gen LS FTW!

[Blueprint]

First gen LS FTW!

More of a classic/hobby car than a daily driver by now. Plain age gets to a lot of components.

[PJungnitsch]

Hehe, so we spent $2500 on an extended warranty that includes coverage on all the 'luxury' features when we bought the car. This will be covered, minus a $100 deductible.  Other inclusions are the auto climate control, infotainment screen, driving assists,etc. On top of all the usual powertrain stuff.

 

We did the same thing with the RX when we got it, mostly as it was our first modern vehicle with all the gizmos and it was coming off warranty fairly quickly. Paid for itself as well when the radio died. Looks like it might come in handy if our hatch ever gives trouble

Have to say for me that I wish power hatches (and pano roofs) were always optional

Whoah whoah whoah, back up... A Lexus had a dead radio?  What happened to the relentless pursuit of perfection? Or is the LS only?

The LS (post Gen1) has expensive air suspension issues, from what we've read here. Friend's Gen2 RX was an overall lemon. IS and ES are the sure bets these days.

Yeah it seems on the 2017's anyway the radio system is a weak point. As it's tied into the complicated mouse based screen control system that made it expensive

It's been trouble free the last 4 years now other than that

[ktm525]

First gen LS FTW!

More of a classic/hobby car than a daily driver by now. Plain age gets to a lot of components.

How so? I have a buddy who dailies a  late eighties C/K pickup.   

[Blueprint]

First gen LS FTW!

More of a classic/hobby car than a daily driver by now. Plain age gets to a lot of components.

How so? I have a buddy who dailies a  late eighties C/K pickup.   

Hoses, rubber, gaskets - anything plastic / rubber dries. Simple maintenance, but it adds up on a dd.