Hi all, I know this is my first post, but we've had our 5 for just over three years now. Since owning it, it has been a great practical car, but over the past year it has really started to annoy me.

1) rear tires had uneven wear and shredded on the motorway with my wife and baby alone in the car.

2) In February it cost me just shy of £1000 for a service, 4 new tyres, a new battery and new brake pads.

3) Now it's developed the following problems:
i) on start up, there is a rattle from the engine and it sounds really tappety.
ii) the off side rear damper has now blown.

The suspension is going to be at £250 and who knows how much for the engine rattle.

My local dealer are going to speak to Mazda UK to see if they will contribute anything.

I'm really quite dissappointed with the car now. It's a 2006 Mazda 5 SportNav 2.0 petrol.

So....

Should i get rid before costs spiral out of control with more things going wrong???

 

Nice try, SPAMMER DMC. Spam. What professional athletes have for breakfast. You've gotten away with this long enough. I'm surprised I didn't catch you before this.

To gg8,
Overall, these cars are known to be quite reliable but like all other modern vehicles can be expensive to repair and do seem to have rear tire (tyre) wear issues. All that negative camber is a trade-off for exceptional and safer handling. You can help reduce this wear by rotating the tires every +/-5000 miles and maintaining the air pressure. Personally, I always recommend a front to rear rotation, never a side-to-side where radial tires are concerned. My personal preference/opinion.
As far as the tap is concerned, I would ask what kind and weight of oil are you using? Have you maintained it's level regularly? You might try a different brand of oil, e.g. Castrol or Valvoline. In Great Britain I would think a 5w-20 would be correct. I am currently using Castrol Syntec 5w-20 or 5w-30 because I live in a hotter climate and w/46k on the odometer have no problems in that area.
I will say that I have not found these engine to be the most refined I am familiar with, but reliable and fairly sturdy if you don't over-boost them (+15 lb boost turbo system.)