Mazda CX-5 Extended Warranty: Cost, Coverage and Plans

Mazda CX-5 extended warranty coverage

An extended auto warranty effectively lengthens your warranty protection beyond what your vehicle comes with from the factory. For a Mazda CX-5, you have two main options for an extended warranty:

1. An official Mazda-backed extended warranty (also known as a Mazda Protection Products Vehicle Service Agreement)
2. A plan from a third-party extended warranty company

A ConsumerAffairs investigation found that most drivers surveyed couldn’t afford to pay cash for a $1,000 repair bill, and 13% of respondents simply had no way to handle a bill that large — even with credit.

Mazda-backed vs. third-party extended warranty

The chief advantage of buying an official Mazda warranty is that you’ll get a $100 “disappearing deductible” option that waives your deductible if you return to the same dealer that sold you the warranty for covered repairs.

On the flip side, the advantage of buying a third-party warranty is that you don’t have to return to the dealer at all. You’ll almost always have the option of visiting any ASE-certified mechanic for repairs.

Mazda factory warranty coverage

For context, all new Mazda vehicles come with the following manufacturer’s warranties:

• A 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty covering the vast majority of the parts on the car
• A 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty covering your engine, transmission and drive axle

If you buy a used Mazda, you’ll inherit whatever remains of the factory warranty. So, if you buy a 2-year-old CX-5 with 20,000 miles on it, you should still have one year or 16,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper protection and three years or 40,000 miles of powertrain protection left.

That said, three years or 36,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper protection isn’t much. In fact, it’s the baseline for the automotive industry. (Mazda isn’t the only brand to offer this amount of warranty protection — Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet offer warranties that are just as short.)

» MORE: What does a car warranty cover?

Mazda CX-5 extended warranty cost

We got quotes for four-year extended warranties on our sample CX-5, and the results varied significantly, ranging between $1,600 and $4,000.

You can usually save some money on your warranty by getting quotes from multiple warranty providers. 

To find that range, we collected multiple quotes from Mazda and two third-party extended warranty companies — olive and Endurance. Mazda and olive were close together near the bottom of that price range, while a comparable plan from Endurance was more than twice as expensive (and lacked Mazda’s disappearing deductible).

For context, the average extended auto warranty costs around $1,000 per year of coverage. That makes the plans from Mazda and olive relatively good bargains at around half the usual cost.

» MORE: Car warranty guide: what you need to know

Mazda CX-5 extended warranty pros and cons

An extended warranty can offer added protection for some Mazda CX-5 owners, but it isn’t a must-have for everyone. Here’s a quick look at the key pros and cons to help you decide whether the coverage is worth the cost.

» MORE: Pros and cons of extended auto warranties

Common CX-5 repairs after factory warranty

Like most modern vehicles, the Mazda CX-5 tends to be reliable early on, with repair needs increasing gradually as it ages. While many owners won’t face major issues right away, certain repairs are more likely once the factory warranty ends.

After the factory warranty expires, CX-5 owners most often report issues involving:

• Infotainment and electronics: Touchscreens, backup cameras and software glitches
• Suspension components: Shocks, struts and bushings, especially with higher mileage
• Sensors and driver-assist systems: Blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and parking sensors

For many drivers, the extended warranty decision comes down to how long they plan to keep their CX-5 and how comfortable they are paying for electronic or suspension repairs out of pocket once factory coverage ends.

Here’s a breakdown of when repairs are most likely to help you in your decision:

» MORE: Mazda maintenance: cost, plans and service schedule

Is a Mazda CX-5 extended warranty worth it?

While your Mazda CX-5 extended warranty may be a relative bargain, that doesn’t mean it’s worth paying extra for. In general, you’re more likely to find that an extended warranty is worth the cost when:

• You drive a vehicle with below-average reliability.
• The cost of the warranty is less than the average cost of expected repairs.
• A surprise repair bill could create financial difficulties for you.
• You don’t mind paying a few thousand dollars just for peace of mind.

Since the third and fourth points above are entirely dependent on your situation, let’s look at the first two.

Mazda reliability

In terms of overall reliability, Mazda tends to perform well above average. J.D. Power ranked the brand third out of 30 automakers.

RepairPal, which ranks models based on the cost and frequency of their repairs, gave the CX-5 a 4.5 out of 5 rating. According to that site, CX-5s cost owners 22% less in repair and maintenance costs than the average SUV, and the probability of repairs costing $2,000 is just 8% (compared with the 13% SUV average).

What Mazda drivers say

CX-5 owners who left reviews on our site seem satisfied with the vehicle overall but have mixed feelings about their dealership experience. “While we love our CX-5 we are disappointed with the service we received at McKinney Mazda,” wrote John, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer in South Carolina.

When a Mazda extended warranty makes sense

A CX-5 extended warranty may make sense if:

• You plan to keep the vehicle well past 100,000 miles
• You want predictable repair costs
• A $1,500 to $3,000 repair would be financially stressful
• You value peace of mind over expected value

When a Mazda extended warranty doesn’t make sense

It may not be worth it if:

• You plan to sell within five to six years
• You can comfortably cover unexpected repairs
• You trust Mazda’s long-term reliability

All things considered, you can probably expect a Mazda CX-5 to be highly reliable and cheap to own. That means an extended warranty probably isn’t a good investment, but if you want one for the added peace of mind, you may be able to find one at a relatively cheap price.