I have been looking for a new vehicle for 6 mos or so and thought I had settled on a Mazda CX5 until I found out they had Cylinder Deactivation. I continued my search and yesterday found out that Mazda is producing some CX5's without the Cylinder deactivation in 2024. Their web page says its because thier is a shortage of some parts. Anyway I found that my local dealer has several new CX5's with the L engine code in the vin rather than the M that designates CD. I am trying to find out if this engine has the mechanical's of the CD engine just disabled or if its the base model without the extras. I have sent an email to Mazda with this question but have not heard anything back and wondering if anyone here knows one way or the other. If its the base engine I may have to jump on one of these before their gone.
2024 Mazda CX5 W/O Cylinder Deactivation
- Thread starter samven
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I doubt its truly back to there original 2.5L without cylinder deactivation. Its probably just disabled via software with the hardware still in place. But without disassembling one, or having access to the part diagrams, it hard to truly know.
Thats kind of what I was thinking but I hope since they still make that engine for other markets it was easier to put the older engine in than trying to disable the CD and confuse future repairs with 2 identical engines that operate differently.
dnewton3
Staff member
I didn't realize there was such a thing as a 4-cyl with cylinder deactivation.
Seems odd to me. Would make for a rough running engine IMO.
Seems odd to me. Would make for a rough running engine IMO.
Ford does cylinder deactivation on a 3 cylinders. Source
I have the cylinder deactivation on my CX-50 and I never notice it unless I have the cylinder deactivation screen up on my infotainment screen. It is completely seamless to me.
Since it sounds like its a production issue, I don't think Mazda really got a choice to think about something like future repair-ability. They are probably putting the engine in that they have the capacity to make/use.
Looking through the EPA emission certification data, the 2024 CX-5 without cylinder deactivation shares its application/certification with the CX-50, which has cylinder deactivation. The 2024 CX-5 with cylinder deactivation, has its own application/certification. That makes me lean towards it has the hardware in place vs back to the engine without the cylinder deactivation hardware.
Some newer cars w/ 1.2L are 3 cylinders w/ turbos. I never seen one under hood so hard to tell how good/ bad they are.
I thought the same thing.
Technology is very impressive trying to squeeze every last MPG out of engine.
Personally I don’t want cylinder deactivation on any engine.
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The turbo doesn’t have cylinder deactivation, for what it’s worth…
My CX5 2022 NA has Cyl deactivation. At about 44 mph the engine is running on all four cylinders. Mentally I thought I'd hate it but, it works smoothly in transferring from 4 to 2 to 4. Ed
My concern is that I live in a valley surrounded by large hills or mountains. Some roads have flat sections with 55 mph limits but sharp curves followed by uphill climbs and long downhill runs. Automatic trans, spend most of their time trying to catch up to the terrain. Its much easier to lock out OD or just drive the manual. I worry about CD kicking in and out constantly just due to the on/off load on the engine at speed. I am retired and very seldom see a highway anymore or a city.
I'll gladly take an electric vehicle over any of these new engines with start/stop, cylinder deactivation, turbo everything, and whatever other nonsense they're putting on them these days.
I think the first year(s) of Mazda cylinder deactivation was slightly problematic due to a poorly cast cylinder head. I’ve driven one and could not tell when the cylinder deactivation happened, but I share your concern with it. I’d prefer the regular non cylinder deactivation engine due to all the added complexities and only gaining a half mpg or whatever it may be. Regardless of the fuel mileage gain I’d still rather not have it. I’d explore purchasing the turbo before the cylinder deactivation powertrain.
I’m interested to see if anyone definitively knows that the engine is different or if it’s simply not programmed to be enabled through tech / software.
I’m interested to see if anyone definitively knows that the engine is different or if it’s simply not programmed to be enabled through tech / software.
How about taking the car for a test drive in the very stretch of road you are concerned with?
