I AM BEYOND PISSED OFF! No Warranty Help from MAZDA for a design flaw on their part! If you buy a Mazda CX-50 be prepared for a $800 to $1200 repair bill! Be prepared for "Vehicle System Malfunction" warning lights and be prepared to replace the Radiator Shutter Flaps due to a Mazda design flaw!
Details follow!
I purchased this 2023 Mazda CX-50 brand new to replace my wife's Kia Sorento that was in an accident and was totaled out. After spending weeks researching and getting good feedback and reviews on Mazda warranty and reliability from online reviews and friends we decided to give Mazda a try.
Our CX-50 had to go back to the dealership after owning it for 10 months for a battery draining issue due to the satellite link. No huge complaint there because they fixed it with a supposed software update, and we have not had that issue since.
However, just recently, December 12th 2024, The car gave us the "Oil Monitoring Malfunction, Have the vehicle inspected" warning light as shown in my attached pictures. This light went away on its own and a few days later the second pictured warning "Vehicle System Malfunction, Have the Vehicle Inspected" came on.
I took the Car back to the dealership. I wasn't initially worried because I figured the car would be warranted considering its only just now 2 years old and was purchased brand new!
Oh boy was I wrong about that! Mazda told me there will be a charge of $180 for a diagnosis. If deemed warranted, it would be waived. Ok, cool, no problem and very reasonable. A week later they called and said that the components seem to be okay and that they think it's likely an electrical issue like a possible cut wire or bad connector, but they needed to remove the front bumper for additional inspection which would now bring my total up to $500 without even knowing what the real problem is or what the solution even is. fast forward another week and now they said they found the problem at that it's the Radiator shutter flaps are corroded due to water damage and that now my total is up to $810!
To top it all off, they said since the car is now out of warranty, I'm responsible for the full cost. I argued that its clearly a design flaw because the car has never been driven through any water or than standard rain and that the car is washed and maintained by myself with a standard garden hose and wash bucket. The dealership told me that they already reached out to Mazda and that the $810 is my responsibility because the 30,000 mile/3 year warranty is out by 20,000 miles. Yes, we do have 50,500 miles on the car and yes, its 20,000 over that warranty, but how is it my responsibility when it's a design flaw from the manufacturer? They responded that this if the first vehicle they have seen with this issue.... This is an outright LIE!
If you google Mazda CX-50 Radiator Shutter Flaps and "Vehicle System Malfunction, have the vehicle inspected" you will run across several stories just like mine! This is beyond ridiculous, and I plan to contact Mazda directly with this description in effort to get reimbursed.
Why even bother buying a brand new vehicle if you're going to have to pay expensive bills for things that are a design flaw when the car is only 2 years old!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
click to see larger images
I AM BEYOND PISSED OFF! No Warranty Help from MAZDA for a design flaw on their part! If you buy a Mazda CX-50 be prepared for a $800 to $1200 repair bill! Be prepared for "Vehicle System Malfunction" warning lights and be prepared to replace the Radiator Shutter Flaps due to a Mazda design flaw! Details follow!
I purchased this 2023 Mazda CX-50 brand new to replace my wife's Kia Sorento that was in an accident and was totaled out. After spending weeks researching and getting good feedback and reviews on Mazda warranty and reliability from online reviews and friends we decided to give Mazda a try.
Our CX-50 had to go back to the dealership after owning it for 10 months for a battery draining issue due to the satellite link. No huge complaint there because they fixed it with a supposed software update, and we have not had that issue since.
However, just recently, December 12th 2024, The car gave us the "Oil Monitoring Malfunction, Have the vehicle inspected" warning light as shown in my attached pictures. This light went away on its own and a few days later the second pictured warning "Vehicle System Malfunction, Have the Vehicle Inspected" came on.
I took the Car back to the dealership. I wasn't initially worried because I figured the car would be warranted considering its only just now 2 years old and was purchased brand new!
Oh boy was I wrong about that! Mazda told me there will be a charge of $180 for a diagnosis. If deemed warranted, it would be waived. Ok, cool, no problem and very reasonable. A week later they called and said that the components seem to be okay and that they think it's likely an electrical issue like a possible cut wire or bad connector, but they needed to remove the front bumper for additional inspection which would now bring my total up to $500 without even knowing what the real problem is or what the solution even is. fast forward another week and now they said they found the problem at that it's the Radiator shutter flaps are corroded due to water damage and that now my total is up to $810!
To top it all off, they said since the car is now out of warranty, I'm responsible for the full cost. I argued that its clearly a design flaw because the car has never been driven through any water or than standard rain and that the car is washed and maintained by myself with a standard garden hose and wash bucket. The dealership told me that they already reached out to Mazda and that the $810 is my responsibility because the 30,000 mile/3 year warranty is out by 20,000 miles. Yes, we do have 50,500 miles on the car and yes, its 20,000 over that warranty, but how is it my responsibility when it's a design flaw from the manufacturer? They responded that this if the first vehicle they have seen with this issue.... This is an outright LIE!
If you google Mazda CX-50 Radiator Shutter Flaps and "Vehicle System Malfunction, have the vehicle inspected" you will run across several stories just like mine! This is beyond ridiculous, and I plan to contact Mazda directly with this description in effort to get reimbursed. Why even bother buying a brand new vehicle if you're going to have to pay expensive bills for things that are a design flaw when the car is only 2 years old!
- Josh B., Liberty, US