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Thread: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

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    Default CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    This is not a Mazda 3 issue - but is from our Mazda CX-5. I just want to inform fellow owners of possible winter damage and how Mazda's responded to the situation / what to expect.

    I'm a Mazda guy, this is my 4th consecutive vehicle from the brand. 2nd purchased brand new. Both new ones and the 2nd used one serviced at the same dealer (when needed). The CX-5 was purchased from this same servicing dealer. Unfortunately I've been terribly disappointing by the response and lack of assistance from both Mazda Canada and the dealership independently given what's happened. No offer to help at all not even partially. It hurts real bad being given the cold shoulder for someone who's been loyal to the brand and tried to be an advocate for their cars and services.

    Here's what happened: I opened my hatch Tues morning during the melt after the ice storm. It should be noted that before I opened the hatch I was very careful to make sure nothing was in the way of opening the trunk at roof level. From outside there's no snow or ice anywhere in the area of the rear-most section of the roof or the hatch. No indications I have any reason to believe I will encounter body damage by opening the trunk.

    After hitting the button I heard the power tailgate sounding different / straining. Went to the side of the car to see if I missed something that was slowing the roof. I saw nothing but a clear rear roof and the metal on the top of the hatch starting to bend, and heard a crunch / pop. Immediately jumped back to the rear of the vehicle and put most of my weight on the tailgate to try and stop the motors... but it was too late and the damage was done.

    I did not attempt to re-open the hatch until later that afternoon at the dealer. They immediately blamed environmental conditions.





    It may be tough to see with the white paint, but the center of the upper middle section of the hatch is now bent up, while slightly behind it is dented in. This should be one smooth plane from the roof to the spoiler.

    The side photo was taken immediately after the damage occurred. You can see the raised seam at the roof. And you can also see how there's snow / ice at the antenna, but nothing at all at the roof joint.

    Mazda says water got in there and froze and that's no fault of theirs. They also say that anything other than the innermost weather seal is for wind only and cannot be relied on to keep water out. The motors on the hatch are strong enough to bend the metal with no external indication that opening the hatch could cause any issues. The motors did not reverse themselves, they only stopped because I jumped on it.

    I realize that the weather had a role to play, but at the same time there must be an underlying issue or design flaw which should be looked at. This did not happen to any colleagues with any of their vehicles exposed to the exact same weather conditions, nor did it happen to any of my neighbors' or family's vehicles. The dealer admitted I was the first they saw with the issue - but to Mazda the issue is 100% the weather and as such it's on me.

    I've escalated the issue with Mazda Canada, saw another dealer who contacted their territory managers and service reps - likely the same territory manager, so not sure how much of a second opinion it was. They're all coming back the same - environmental. The second dealer at least seemed somewhat compassionate at the situation, but couldn't do anything else without his reps authorization.

    I 100% understand the weather played a part - obviously, but at the same time something with the vehicle also contributed to this happening. It sure as heck would've been nice to be offered any kind of assistance - even if partial - to get this fixed. As of right now there is less than a thickness of a piece of paper between the edge of the hatch and the roof edge when opening the hatch - so I'm not using it at all until it gets fixed because I don't want to make things any worse.

    I just want to get this out there for others to see in case they also run into this. I have twins on the way, due in 2 weeks, and don't have the time or energy to push this any further. I don't even know how I can at this point. I will be getting the repair done on my own time and $ so I can move on with the important things in life.

    It's a shame Mazda has taken this position and seriously tarnished what I thought was a great relationship. My business with that dealership is done (I was extremely disappointed at no offer of even partial assistance with their internal body shop even after Mazda said no) and I will be seriously re-considering repeating another vehicle from the brand when it comes time for what could've been Mazda #5.

    End of the world? Absolutely not. Overreacting? Maybe to you... But trust and faith in the brand has been seriously damaged and even after I get it fixed I will be forever worried about this damage happening again.

    On the positive side I've received a special rate from a local body shop to help at near cost after they heard my story. I was referred to this body shop after trying to investigate paintless dent repair as an option, and that person thought it might be a bit too involved for that given it's location. It was amazing to have someone appear to give a crap - someone totally outside of the situation who had no obligation to.

    At standard rates all 3 independent body shops I visited were withing $150 of each other for the repair at $850-$1,000. I will be getting this repair done for just north of $500 with the special rate applied from the shop I'm going with. Not a major outset in the end, but only palatable due to this one person's willingness to help.

    It's a shame neither Mazda or the dealer have chosen to offer no assistance at all. This is why I've scheduled my required 24k KMs service with another dealer closer to my work - which is actually more convenient for me anyways. If maintaining a relationship with a dealer means nothing for abnormal situations like this I have no interest in continuing my business with them.

    Former selling and servicing dealer: Kieswetter Motors in Kitchener. Up until now I've had no complaints, but this experience hit hard.

    That's the end of my vent. And if it happens to anyone else, know you're not the only one. Something for other gen2 CX-5 owner's to watch out for - particularly with the power gate.

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    m_bisson (05-03-2018),SonicBoy (04-27-2018)

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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    Wow! Thanks for posting this and something to watch out for.

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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    That looks like a huge dent I always clear the ice off my cars because I always thought something like that could happen that shit freezes solid and if I cant wipe it off I use the coin wash to blast it off.

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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    Have you spoken to Jeff Yost at Forbes Mazda in Waterloo yet? Forbes has been a supporter of TM3 for a long time and are generally a more helpful dealership than Kieswetter.

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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    Quote Originally Posted by SomeGuy View Post
    Have you spoken to Jeff Yost at Forbes Mazda in Waterloo yet? Forbes has been a supporter of TM3 for a long time and are generally a more helpful dealership than Kieswetter.
    I have not. Perhaps I'll touch base and see if he'd be OK with me stopping by / interested in taking a look. I still have a week and a half before my appointment for my own repair.

    My expectations at this point are low though, after the second opinion I received from Guelph Mazda - where the service manager was very pleasant and took some time with me unannounced (I was literally driving by and pulled in). His return phone call explained that when he called his contacts it had already gone to the territory managers and to Mazda and was declined so there wasn't anything he could do. I imagine it was the same case / territory managers at Mazda that Kieswetter had been in contact with.

    It was after that phone call I booked the repair on my own - the twins are due in a week and a half now and as disappointed as I am with how Mazda's chosen to handle this I have more important things to worry about :-)

    But thank you for the recommendation. If I'm honest I had forgotten they were just a little further up the road and will reach out.

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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    That's a huge dent, thank you for the info. We'll just be finishing the installation of the new rack and tonneau cover for kayak mount on the truck and I'll go with my uncle to look at a CX-5. This issue is something I will check out.
    Last edited by S.F.W.; 05-03-2018 at 12:27 PM. Reason: possible spam link

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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    Just an update: The car is fixed and my hatch is fully / safely usable again. Mazda was of no help, however I was lucky to find a body shop who seemed to care about my situation and wanted to help.

    3 body shops quoted $850 - $950 all in for a repair. I ended up getting it repaired for $480 all-in, once again only because someone absolutely outside of the situation decided to help me - and I'm very thankful for it.

    The metal on the roof was straightened the dent popped back out / edge straightened. After the panel was reshaped the hatch was removed and the damage caused by the body work tool repaired (this was not PDR, they had to weld something to the roof to pop the dent out evenly). Then the top portion above the spoiler re-painted, then the hatch re-installed. They did all of this while I was in the hospital with my wife with our twins being delivered and I got the car back with a usable trunk the day after we got released from the hospital. It looks a million times better, the repair is transparent and everything is working 100%. Needless to say, we are VERY thankful for the help.



    My twins were delivered early and they now occupy nearly all my time so I've moved on. I literally have no time to do anything other than be happy that they're here healthy and continue on with the more important things in life.

    In the end I'm still disappointed with how Mazda and my servicing / purchasing dealer handled the situation - but that damage is done. I still love the car and how it drives but my faith in the brand is no longer unquestioned. Before this had happened I had intended to purchase extended warranty due to my usage, however I've now chosen against that. The taste left behind from all this is too sour.

    In my humble opinion if an independent body shop was able to repair for this amount the dealer's own internal body shop could've offered the same discounted service with Mazda's support and I would've walked away from the whole situation with much more satisfaction as a customer. Or Mazda could've sent it to a body shop of their choosing - frankly I would've been happy with any help from them. But... it didn't work out that way and that dealer's lost me for good.

    I just had my 1 yr maintenance done at another dealer 10 minutes further away from home (2nd most convenient access-wise) and drove away completely satisfied.

    Kieswetter will lose the $ amount equal to my repair in revenue from me with my regular maintenance visits within the next calendar year (I drive 40k / yr), not including any future non-maintenance business.

    Oh well, onward and upward. I didn't get a chance to contact Forbes - see the whole twins coming early thing above. An unfortunately they're further from me in the wrong direction. But I will certainly consider them for future servicing needs that I can better coordinate and parts / accessory purchases. I find myself already wanting an accessory I've had on my two Mazda 3s that isn't on the CX-5 yet.

    I'll end it with the fact that if this happens again next year I'll be ditching it much earlier than planned. This is not something I want to have to do on a regular basis.

    Thanks to the guys who tried to help.

    If anyone needs bodywork done I won't hesitate to recommend Carstar Cambridge. I feel like they really went above and beyond to help me out when we needed it the most and we're absolutely happy with the work performed.

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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    Congratulations on the twins!

    Glad you got it fixed. Did the repair shop say what could have caused it and fixed that issue? If you can park it indoors in the winter or during icy weather that may help.


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    Default Re: CX-5 Body Damage From Opening Hatch

    I have a theory as to what caused it and will be doing my own minor mod. Will post a photo and explain when I get some time to put it together.

    Esentially the top of the hatch has 2 seals. Both of which Mazda says is for wind intrusion. The first seal, at least on my car, isn't even a seal. It doesn't contact the roof section. I have no idea if this is normal or not.

    The second seal closes off the hatch against the body structure before the water has a chance to hit the drainage channel around the hatch opening. I'm wondering if water is supposed to flow to the side of this seal and down the edges of the hatch opening to avoid standing water in the top of the drainage trough.

    However if the water gets past the first seal (easy) and hits the second seal and freezes before it can drain off the sides it creates a dam, where any more water coming in freezes before it can drain away (if the conditions are right).

    This seal has lightly frozen to the roof before, but it's held in with plastic pop-rivets and I've just pushed it back into place. Thought it was designed to rip away in that scenario. Had happened 2 or 3 times before the big damage occurred which means water got in and froze the seal to the hatch. It just wasn't enough water freezing to build up an ice block.

    Now I'm thinking that is what screwed me over. My plan is to remove that second piece completely and see if I have any issues. Let the water drain straight down to the hatch drainage trough.
    Last edited by studum; 05-25-2018 at 04:26 PM.

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