Shouldn't a 2 year old car be more or less trouble free?

[Lord Warlock]

Just bought the wife a 2014 Mazda CX5, something she has been wanting badly for a few years now.  Had to get a used one because it was the only way to get the color we wanted.  At least it came loaded with about every option you could check off.  This was 9 days ago that we took possession.  3 days ago, the car started making loud noises from the rear axle.  Took it in to Mazda to have looked at since it was still under the full warranty for a few more months, and we find that the the rear differential has failed and needs replacement, in addition to that was told all 4 tires are at a 4/32 tread depth, the dealer we bought it from said they were at 7/32 and didn't need to be changed, one of the tires had a nail in the sidewall and we had to replace that, tomorrow we have to go get a 2nd tire because the back axle has one low tread tire and one new tire and is driving rougher than it should.

Almost every car I've ever bought from a dealer has been in very good condition and didn't need any major work for at least a year or two, only exception was the 99 intrepid we bought that the ac system started failing two weeks after we got it, and it was brand new.  4 years later we wished we had taken the car back as a lemon.  Lost about 10k on that car, was a poor investment.

I love the mazda, looks great, drives great when the rear isn't making noise.  Can't believe i'm replacing tires less than two weeks after buying the car.  The differential made the back tires wear too fast.  Don't mind the money to replace it but just feel like I was ripped off by the dealership.  I contacted the dealer and told them the local dealer told me to call them and see if they'd pay for new tires,  didn't expect to get all 4 replaced, which was good, because they only gave us 150 bucks as a gesture of good faith, not enough to even buy the one replacement tire we just had put on due to a nail.  (can't blame them for a nail) At least I was able to get a whole new rear differential installed for free.  And Mazda local did treat us well and provided a loaner for free. 

Car only has 19k miles on it, I wouldn't think the tires would be less than 60% used with only 19k miles on it.  Hope the next set of tires lasts longer. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Perhaps you are now finding out the reason(s) why this car was traded in so early.

[mightywing7]

Was the car privately owned, or used as a rental / dealer loaner car? I have several coworkers who own the same year and model suv and have had trouble-free miles. 

Per MyturB, I agree there must have been a reason the previous owner may have unloaded it early, or the vehicle was possibly abused if used as a rental / loaner.

Either way, I hope everything works out for you moving forward.  Best of luck!

[myk]

Some cars, not necessarily the entire line, but the car itself is just cursed...

[RCCDrew]

I had problems with a brand new 2012 jeep. Had to trade it in because the engine was failing. Long story, but the 3.6 pentastar engine is a piece of crap.
So yes, they should be trouble free, but oftentimes aren't.

[DixieRestoParts]

Yes, for the most part they should be, but often aren't. My recommendation is to return it if they'll let you, or if you local laws allow it. Otherwise, you may want to check and see if it qualifies for an extended warranty from Mazda. Don't buy one from anybody other than the manufacturer. You don't have to buy it from the selling dealer. You can go online and find other dealers selling factory warranties and get really good prices on them. I'd highly recommend that and buy the most comprehensive coverage you can afford. I've done that with all my new or newer used cars and they've all paid for themselves. 

[Baldwinvette77]

All new cars can have problems, there was a problem with nissans where the assembly plant missed some spotwelds, and the car would have to be condemned, then im sure everyone heard of GM, as for the axle failing in your mazda, it could been a bad batch that was made with too little or too great clearance and it grenaded.

I don't know, but as for those tires, you may have been lied to, i can't say for sure, it depends on the mechanic, (or 17 year old co-op student) that looked at it.

[Troy]

I can see the rear diff being an issue.

Tires, well, that's another story. First because you can just look at them and/or measure them yourself. Second, they're wear items and often go bad more from the driver than the car. Mine aren't expected to last more than about 20k - but yours should last significantly longer. You can check the brand (and date) to see if they are original equipment or if the previous owner or dealer swapped them out.

Unfortunately, cars are complex. They are made up of parts from many manufacturers all with some margin of error. Even if only 1 out of 100,000 parts from any single vendor are defective, once you assemble them into modules and then assemble the modules into cars the likelihood of everything being perfect gets pretty slim. That's why they come with warranties - most serious issues will reveal themselves rather quickly. It's the parts that don't last that I hate!

The reviews seem pretty good for that car. I did see this which may interest you:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123843413-Rear-differential-issues

Troy

[polywideblock]

                                              noisy rear end with one tyre worn and the other new      

            rental or private I'd put money on someone discovering how easy it is to do burnouts with "modern" suv's   

       my kia sorento  will light up the rears at will (in the dry)if you give it enough gas off the line     see people doing it all the time over here   

                seems like your wife likes it otherwise , could you just get the diff fixed , put some tyres on it and move on     

                                                                                                         

[Lord Warlock]

Oh, we're going to fix it and move on, the car itself should be a nice driver for quite a while, and while I do wonder about longevity when a differential dies this quick, i'm hoping it was a bad batch the factory built and the replacement units are a bit stronger.  I didn't really need AWD, have had it before on a car but it lasted 24 years and still works fine. 

This would likely explain why the original owner decided to part with it with only 19k miles, it was a 1 owner car before me.  Wife said the loaner CX5 we got drove a lot better and is complaining about vibration above 40mph, so is possible a tire is causing it, but its also possible alignment issue, won't know till we can get another tire.  We plan on having them measured by the tire shop on Monday to see if all the tires are as worn as the dealer said they were, have trouble believing all 4 tires would wear 30% of tread depth in a couple months.  When I first looked the car over the tires looked fine to me, didn't look new but also didn't look overly worn.
I'm actually happy to get a new rear differential, always good to get big expensive parts replaced under warranty.  While I normally do not buy extended warranties, I may end up getting one on this car just to be safe, only the 3 year general warranty is getting close to expiration, the drivetrain warranty still has life left. There are a lot of doo dads on this car that may justify having coverage for electronics.  My experience with import cars is that the Japanese cars tend to be pretty reliable, surprised to have one wearing out so soon. I'd read that the car goes through brake pads pretty quick and can accept that, but if we have other issues with the drivetrain or motor the car may have a short life with us.  I'd trade it and get a new one, price we paid wasn't that far off the cost of a new one.