Mazda BT-50 (UP, UR) (2011-2019)

annoyed with mazda nz – speed sensor in 2017 bt50 jumping out of gear very harshly. mazda nz don't want a bar of it spoken to dealers nothing mazda nz customer service said not our problem. just done 90000kms only use for getting to and from work hardly any towing 5 days a week. Show details

Not perfect but good , exciting ,solid – My BT 50 is in Thailand ! …..6 years of life and only 36,000 km !!! I have spent the last 3 years in Noosa/ QLD , with my Pajero . The thai model , 3.2 , top of the range , came with a very hard suspension ,and no lock diff !!! ……Well , I have redone the suspension and decided to forget about lock diff . I can tow my boat , get into muddy… Read more ·  1

roads ,etc

The good thing is : The engine is just SUPER ! I feel like the top raider out there in most occasions . Right now i am in the top north / north east , next to Laos border . After 7 hours drive , starting from Chiang Mai , I did not have serious competition on the mountain roads . Using the premium diesel ( 20% more expensive ) I am fast , powerful, got clean cylinder heads , no smoke behind ! I guess I will enjoy this car an average of 3 month a year for quite a few years to come ! Keep my Pajero in Australia and my 20 y.o. Suzuki V6 in New Zealand , but in terms of handling , pleasure of driving , Mazda BT 50 3.2 remains the best .

Don't Buy Mazda - Fuel Pump Dead at 42,000 ks. $5000 Quote to fix by Mazda – Fuel pump died at $42,500 ks. Quote for repair is $5000, by Mazda. Vehicle had 3 year warranty and was 5 years old. However, here in Victoria we had two years of lockdown, during that 5 years, so the vehicle went virtually nowhere those two years. Not long after purchasing the vehicle Mazda extended new car warranty to 5 years. The vehicle has… Read more

a camper on the back and the vehicle was used on an average fewer than 60 days a year over those 5 years. Vehicle has been continuously serviced by Mazda in case a problem like this should arise. Vehicle was serviced at 10,000 K intervals not 15,000 ks, by Mazda. All driving has been on country roads. Mazda supposedly has a good reputation in Australia, I question this? The vehicle was purchased with superannuation money and was purchased new to avoid this sort of situation. Coming up with 5 G whilst on the pension is very difficult. 3 Mazda dealers and Mazda Australia, not one bit interested in helping. No such thing as good will. Buyer Beware, Don't Buy Mazda. Thanks Mazda Australia.

FOOTNOTE! Subsequent to the diagnosis by my local Mazda dealer, I had the vehicle towed to a repairer of my choice. The first thing they did was check the fuel and found out the fuel had been contaminated. From what I've learnt damage from contaminated fuel can be claimed on your comprehensive motor vehicle insurance. Which, I'm currently in the process of doing. Seems to be taking forever. The vehicle has been off the road two months now. Estimated cost of repair $9,000, plus. My feelings towards Mazda, have still not changed and one would have expected the first thing the dealership would have done was check the fuel. Imagine what their repair bill would have been had I had the dealership repair it, especiy after they found the fuel contamination. $15,000, $20,000 who knows at $170/hour.

Great family 4x4 – Bought the Mazda BT50 4x4 dual cab (3.2l 5 cylinder Diesel, Automatic) as the kids were getting bigger and we wanted to do the odd off-roading and camping/fishing trips (no "bush bashing" work though). WARNING: The standard colour coded wheel nuts have a very thin "cover" on them. When this eventually tears away (such as when tyre shops use… Read more

rattle guns) the nuts are near impossible to get off as they are no longer a standard size to suit a wheel brace or socket. My local tyre shop replaced all these at their own cost (thanks Beaurepaires) with some good quality aftermarket chrome nuts. Has proved to by an extremely reliable both for daily use in town and off road. Fuel economy from the diesel is good in town and excellent on the highway. Approximate 13l/100 km around town (20mpg) and even with a decent load in the canopy plus 2 kids (no trailer) and steady driving on the highway gets about 9l/100 km (30 mpg). 4X4 controls easily accessed by switching and also rear diff lock. In-dash GPS is not great - sim card is provided by a 3rd party, they only upgrade every 3 years or so and it will cost (last price) $300 give or take. Bluetooth is temperamental on connecting with devices on ours since new. Has plenty of power for overtaking when the auto kicks down and easily tows a trailer/van (although as expected economy drops but is still more than acceptable for a 4x4). We don't go trail bashing but vehicle has held together well and looks good for its age (2013 - 125000 km). Servicing costs are okay (I do some myself as a mechanical Tradesman) but I usually steer clear of the Dealer services and use third party when needed. Dealer costs are rude. Example -$18 for a litre of oil (10 litre fill) when average is around $7 local. Same with filter costs and consumables. The only issues I have are 1: Paint is not exceptional in quality - seems to be quite thin and fades easily (compared to other 4x4's I've owned). 2: No air-con vented to rear seats - can be uncomfortable for rear passengers on our 40+ C degree days. 3: The Mazda also has/had an issue with stripping air con solenoid gears which require unit replacement every few years. Not a biggy nor super expensive (can be home done) - but annoying. Even with the new(er) models out (albeit I like the 3.2 litre 5 cylinder diesel) I would definitely buy another one.

Love it – 2015 model up to just over 100000km. Automatic transmission. Love the fuel economy and the towing capacity. Mostly highway driving with occasional off road trips pulling a horse float. Have been very happy with it from day one. Show details

Reliable and strong off-road – BT-50 2017 model XT: Added a lot of off-road modifications and found this 4x4 to be strong and reliable and goes everywhere with is rear locker as factory standard. Tows our two 16.3 hand stock horses easily. Very good low range, it's a real low range giving excellent control through the manual gearbox. Excellent downhill engine breaking. The… Read more

BT50 crossed the Madigan Line through the middle of the Simpson desert and didn't get stuck once with Toyo R/T 285/75R16 at 18 psi and they fit beautifully on this car.

As good as any, great support from Mazda so far 5yr warranty is a plus – The Bt 50 has been great, after talking to Amarok owners and Hilux guys they are all much the same. Mazda has come to the party with the 2 issues I had with the car. vinyl Floor replaced due to a tear, and DAB radio reception issue fixed. Returns 10.5l/100km urban and 11.7l/100km on road at 110 kmph with 4 swags on canopy roof . Show details

A lemon – Bought 2016 replaced first motor at 53 thousand k in 2019 never went of road towers a caravan.in shop now maybe second motor at 126 thousand k . Oil leak and missing stoped on highway. Serviced every 15 thousand k by mazda dealer all the time ute used nealy every day . Show details

To work and back no tow no hard work major mechanical issues see – Just had a gearbox replacement new clutch last year have chattering when cold idle with clutch out. Now I have engine noise and vibration at 60-80 kms. Not happy with vehicle very unreliable Show details

Don't Ever Buy A Mazda BT 50 – Absolute Lemon of a car. Had a partial engine rebuild at 100000 km, two injectors worked their way loose, & were repaced, radiator leak, & replaced , 2 days later complete EGR cooling system failure cooked the motor.. All this after an additional 80,000km. Drove this car 5 days a week, only highway driving, no towing use, serviced every 10,000km. No off road use, spent more time at the mechanics than on the road Show details

Great ute – I bought this ute from Taylor Motors in Hamilton, Victoria in February 2012, with 7141 km on the clock. It's going in next week for its 248 000 km service. Apart from timing belt changes it has been a reliable, trouble free vehicle. There's no cruise control and none of the other annoying features that the latest models possess .I've added a nudge… Read more

bar , spotties alight bar and some DTRL's plus an extra reversing light. It's a country ute, so lots of dirt roads but not a great deal of 4WD work and only some towing of a tandem trailer. It is my daily driver, and it is always serviced locally every 10 000 km. If anything goes wrong, I get it dealt with quickly, but it has given very little trouble. It is a bit alarming to read some of the other reviews of later models. I am soon looking to update to a later model either in a BT 50 or a D- Max. I would still prefer a manual (old school) and without too many bells and whistles. Also, next time it will be a tray top ute and not a tub. Cheers.

Poor quality – We purchased the fitted car seat covers supplied by Mazda at a cost of over $400. As a family of four, we used the truck on average, 3-4 days a week. The car was regularly serviced and kept clean. After 12 months the covers began to fray at the top and bottom corners. Show details

Spent most of its two years getting fixed under warranty – Had it for one day. Broke down. The next two years the turbo went, gearbox, differential......this thing was just a lemon. All it ever did was highway miles and it just kept breaking down.  Show details

dont ever get one cause you going to pay big time. epic motor failure – epic motor failure with only 165000 k , no warning always serviced , just limp mode pull over dead. a used motor was $13000 . Mazda is selling Australia a terrible motor.dont buy this ute you will be sorry. Show details

Disappointment in Mazda Australia, but totally satisfied in Wanneroo Mazda(big 5 stars – My BT50 displayed traction warning and jammed in 3rd gear Auto. On inspection was advised of an inherent problem with auto gearbox on BT50 and Ford Ranger. valve body requiring total replacement of gearbox, which Mazda Aust. have agreed to replace on other BT50s. Mazda Aust requested many tests by dealer over several weeks, then refused to replace… Read more

because of age 7 years and kms 129000. Another problem raised was a coolant leak which was repaired on recall several years ago, also refused. Also another common problem the Turbo Intercooler Hose required replacement. Wanneroo Mazda tried wholeheartedly to support my claim, but Mazda Australia were not prepared to back their product. Prior to these problems my BT50 had performed beautifully, but now why should I buy another Mazda after this experience of Mazda pathetic customer support

Bad quality, cheaply made, highly fuel use and turbo lag – Bought new 2017. A few months in the trim started to fall apart. Sub par plastics bubbling and peeling. According to Mazda this is considered normal wear and tear and NOT covered by warranty . Car broke down in central Australia ( power train light) resulting in a 1500 tow bill. Not covered by warranty Because the car had been modified (reversing… Read more

camera) . Light is still on but car drives( 2 k fix ) . Massive turbo lag making roundabouts and fast takeoffs not safe. Chassis paint has all but washed off. Thin paint scratches to easily. Gear stick plastic came off( actually replaced under warranty). Fuel use between 12 to 14 liter/ 100. Mazda seem to be marketing themselves as a premium brand but suffer from rude, unhelpful staff unwilling to honour their warranty. Cars are made cheaply without any quality standards. Will be purchasing a alternative brand next time.

We purchased a Lemon! – Purchased our Bt 50 and have had nothing but trouble since we purchased it..Including a Timing chain tensioner. new motor. Numerous other small problems.and now requires a new gearbox(automatic transmission) Sick of being let down since purchased..Has always been serviced regularly. And well looked after never been off road..We were hoping this… Read more

was going to be our last big purchase in our twilight years..Please could you give us a reason to buy another Mazda?Cheers.

Fuel consumption – Up to 21.6L/100km around town. Most I've had for 70L of fuel is 480km which was Sydney Goulburn return trip driving sensibly yo try and maximise economy Very disappointed. Been battling with Mazda since for 14 months. Sometimes as low as 330km for tank of fuel. Not good when I'm trying to run my business. Also big problem with radio reception both FM and DAB. Wish I hadn't bought it now. Show details

Fuel consumption not good – Sold my old F250 which had the 6T/Diesel in her. Used 11/100 around town and 12.5 towing "real " loads. This thing uses 14-15 around town with me driving like an old woman with just me in it. Recently got down to 11.7/100 freeway. Show details

Design fault – Sway bar rubbed through cv boot on left side . Mazda not interested.obvious design fault but Im out of warranty even though its only done 34k. New models have been changed?....

20,000km in and going well – Almost went with another ute however pleasantly surprised with the smooth ride. Fuel consumption not great however it's not a small hatchback. Has power when needed and taken off-road a few times and performed well.

The Good, The Bad and The Downright Ugly! – I thought I'd wait a few years before I submitted a review to see how it fared. You'll also find a lot of the mechanical and interior features are similar to the Ford Ranger as they share the same engine/gearbox and similar dash components. It's gone now, so time for a review! (sorry it's long, but it's pretty in depth). I normally do long… Read more

kilometres, highway, dirt roads and through snow. So if it's going to rattle apart, I'll make it! I purchased the 2014 GT series (leather seats, Bose stereo etc) and a manual gearbox as a dealer demo (2000km on the clock). I wasn't too concerned with leather seats but that's what was in the demo model that I drove. I actually thought the leather seats would be hot in summer and cold in winter but nothing could be further from the truth.

Lets start with the good stuff:

Interior: Came with leather seats (drivers side electronic adjustment). You should moisturize them periodically - I think I did it 3 times and they still looked fine after 4 years. The interior is very spacious (I'm a sales rep and found the front area to have a lot of room for moving around). The back seat lifts up and you can store quite a lot of stuff on the floor. With the back seat down, you could put 3 blokes in the back and it's not so squeazy! There's three mounts for child restraints behind the back seat. Also, there's lot's of hidy holes (the centre console had a split storage compartment which I found handy), cup holders in the centre console and the doors and two compartments underneath the back seat, This model came with electric windows and central locking, The Bose stereo could play a HDD and could index every single song on it (400GB as long as it's formatted in FAT32). If your file and directory structure was clear (i.e. Band/Album etc), you could browse easily through it or hit random and it would spit out a random collection. Bluetooth connectivity is included (easy to connect and you could play music through it, use google maps). The sound was clear when talking on the phone however Mazda (in their wise wisdom), turned off text messaging. It did however have speech control (again, not that I used it). Those leather arms rests on the door...mmm, So comfy! There's Dual climate control (which I never used) and the aircon worked pretty well (except if it was a stinking 40+ day, then it just worked). The large side mirrors are handy (I found on quick trips, I didn't need to add mirrors when towing the van), The odometer had revolving info (odometer, A+B trip, fuel until empty, fuel economy, average speed). Once the fuel light comes on, you have about 80Km until you run out.

Engine and driving: Handles pretty well, rides good and even on dirt roads. The 3.2L engine was a good choice. It's pretty robust (compared to the older and under powered 3.0L BT-50 and ranger), plenty of power (for how heavy the car is, it went pretty good off the lights). I'd hardly notice a van on the back unless I looked in the mirror. Fuel economy was pretty good (once run in, the trip meter said 8.5Km/100 (normally about 680-700Km per tank which would put it at around 10Km/100)). Some of the upgrades from the older models which were sorely lacking - a 6 speed box (although not reliable - read on), a diff lock (great for reversing your van) and cruise control (which is so easy to use). The headlights are pretty good too, especially high beams (you could see at the sides of the road pretty well) and I didn't feel a need to add extra driving lights.

Servicing: Service intervals are great: normal 10K for oil and filter, 60K for majors (air filter, fuel filter and brake fluid), no timing belts (yeah!), 250K for all other oils (transmission, diff, hydraulic). Coolants changed at 200K and every 100K after that. Normal servicing (oil + filter + inspection - because that's all they need) would set me back between $330-400 depending.

The Bad: Inside The Cab There's an internal air pipe behind the dash that squeaks with every bump. The front seat covers (the actual seat) kept coming off the clip (unless you put self tappers in there). The stereo would glitch occasionally (playing music from the HDD, the stereo would become unresponsive and you'd have to stop and turn off the car, remove the HDD and plug it back in to reset it). While the sound of the stereo was superb (Bose), the interface was already dated and very plain (considering it has a 5" LCD screen for the GPS on it). Also, you couldn't see the entire song title (you'd think on a 5" screen they'd have scrolling of something). Nope, just use half the screen with a stupid picture of a USB. The GPS is basically useless as it's too hard to get the address in there (you need to use the 3 key press letters). Although I did like where it was situated and you could see it while driving. The windows had a mind of their own (if you pressed down, a lot of the time it went all the way down and you couldn't get it to stop halfway - even though it should when you pull up on the switch, then it would go ALL the way up). The door seals seem to go and let dust in after about 100K. The centre console (as it connected to the dash) seems to come out too far and was constantly bashing against my leg (the Ranger has just that little less making it a little bit more comfy).

Exterior The external wiring is garbage (broken headlight/parker/blinker light wires to the bull bar) and rear wheel sensor looms. The panels are pretty thin (a roo barely touched the back quarter and dented it). Side skirts are flimsy and bend if you take it over a mound that doesn't have a decent access angle. Tray bars aren't included as standard (even on their higher models, unlike the XLT ranger) unless you want to spend a whopping $2500 extra. Although I put an ARB bull bar on the car, I've heard stories of the Mazda bars coming loose. I also had that with the ARB, but I put that down to bad serving than anything else. They supply a small scissor jack to lift a two tonne 4x4 vehicle? If you try and jack the car up on the smallest of unevenness, the jacks likely to tilt and buckle. Depending on which direction it goes, may mean it goes straight through the side wall of the tyre you're changing and you're up for another one (if it wasn't already stuffed)

Servicing Oil changes are a pain (the cartridge filter can only be accessed by taking off the passenger wheel. If the plastic outer cartridge holder seal isn't lubed it will get stuck and you're up for a new assembly (about $400). So lets see, there's no price difference now between a replaceable filter or cartridge, but if you stuff the assembly you're up for $400? Doesn't make sense. Also if you drain the oil and don't refill it soon, the oil pump may not prime and that's all sorts of problems. It does take 10L of oil every service! If the battery is disconnected, it resets the computer and the temperature sensor will read -40Deg. Because of this, the aircon won't work until the sensor basically resets itself (which could take up to an hour to reach ambient temperature again). The temp sensor also doesn't change when you're stationary. Brakes! The front discs were always wobbling from day dot. I put up with it for the first 90K, then machined them and about 30K later started doing it again. At 180K (second pad change), the rotors were under sized so never replaced them (was going to do at 270K). Oh, did I mention the price of genuine Mazda pads? $330! I put bendix on there for 1/3 of the price. Once again, when you put a bull bar on the front you'll need to get the guys to adjust the camber of the front tyres and splay them out a little or the tyres wear on the inside.

Warranty Only 5 year/100K warranty (now they're 5 year unlimited - that's a good thing).

The Ugly: Interior The interior door trims mark very easily from scratches. The silver coated plastic parts wore through quickly if something was left beside it to rub.

Exterior The car definitely doesn't win any beauty prizes. My missus never liked driving this car and found it to be too bulky - said the car drove her. They still cut the front bumper off when they put a bull bar on! Why manufacturers don't make their bumpers to be removed (or split) for 4x4 vehicles and a bull bar sit in it's place is beyond me.

Mechanical The bearing's in the gearbox are crap. You only change the gear box oil every 250K and once you do that, the gearbox bearings go (it's probably the thicker used oil stopping them failing). Some boxes go earlier. I'd steer clear of a BT-50 with 200K on it, unless you don't mind paying $3000 for a new box in the future.

Parking The front end hangs out further than on a Ranger - even further when you add a bull bar, making it extremely hard to park nose in. Even if you do manage to get it in there, because the side windows slope, you have no way of knowing if you're straight or not (9/10 I was crooked like a dogs hind leg). In the end, I'd just reverse park it.

How long did things last and what went wrong? - From day one, the front drivers seat lip kept coming off. Mazda never did fix it - 70K rear wheel sensor wiring loom broke (from the constant movement of the diff), and kept breaking every 70K. Was told by Mazda service this is just the way it is and would require periodic repair. Personally, I think Mazda just drilled the wiring loom hole in the wrong spot. - 90K front brake pads - 110K oil cartridge container got stuck (no lube applied to seal). Had to be replaced, but got done under service warranty (otherwise a $400 bill) - 150K front and rear shocks - 200K driver door window actuator failed - 240K rear break shoes - 260K manual gearbox bearings went By the time I got rid of it (at 270K), the clutch was still good and the engine. Pity about the gear box and constant rear wheel sensor wire issues.

Overall, I think this has less major problems than the older BT-50 and PJ/PK rangers (EGR cooler and head gasket, 5th gear and clutch burn out issues). A lot of the changes addressed this (bigger engine, 6 speed box, rear diff lock). Although, there's still issues with the gear boxes and the newer issue's of crappy wiring. I think there's a lot of minor issues you'll get with a Mazda over the Ranger. Least of which, I generally found servicing and warranty work was much less of hassle with Mazda than Ford.

In the end, because of the gearbox issue (which would have been $3000-4500 bill to fix) and 270K on the clock (I wasn't sticking around to find out what went on it next) and the fact the missus never liked driving it (even with the vantage of free fuel), I ended up getting an SR5 Hilux. It's not as spacious or comfy, but it's much easier to drive and fingers crossed it lives up to it's unbreakable moniker.

Unreal towing smooth and comfortable – I use this 2018 bt50 for everyday driving and purchased mostly for towing horse float as towing capacity is 3500kg, tows like there is nothing behind me it is an Auto and just cruises up and down the highway and hills, love it Show details