Dunno how I missed it. Thanks for the note. It too me about 20 minutes as well..

You can also loosen the bottom bolt on the idler pulley (top right when looking at the pulley system from the passenger side) , then remove the two top bolts on the idler and let it rotate to the left side of the vehicle. Route your belt through and then use a prybar to push the idler pully back into alignment with the holes. Done.

No idea. Changing this belt woild not affect timing. I'd take to a shop if timing belt is off. Damage to timing belt might screw up engine.

@@sigor2011 reason I ask was because it has that magnetic timing sensor thing on it and if not on the right tooth than your out of time. After replacing belt it’s dying upon idle down and was hard to start.

​@@michaelhatfield7647 wrong belt routing perhaps?

@@badandylaoc no it could only go on one way but it fixed on its own after driving it a day but the weird thing was it was like the belt was so tight it made the car stall a few times and hard to start until the belt got broke in

Sorry man, all I could find on-line as I'm not competent enough to make my onw. Prior to 2012, this engine had tensioner but was changed to stretch belt after. Good luck with your project.

@@sigor2011 what's worse than you not knowing what you're talking about is that you're arguing that you're right with someone who worked on cars for 20 years to make a living and just changed the belt on the same car just few months ago. You and people like you are why the internet is full of false information.

@@sigor2011 MAZDA 5 BELT TENSIONER | MAZDA OEM PART NUMBER LFG1-15-980C That's the OEM part number for the tensioner, and it fits from 2012-2015. Next time ask people who know instead of follow and repeating false information from "geniuses" who don't know and just make things up.

Anyway, if there is a tensioner, I did miss it and did not see it, would still get belt replaces either way. But ya, I did not see one and when purchasing part, was told it is a stretch belt. Life.......

By the way, do post where the tensioner is located so others can read where jib can be done differently. 2.3L motor had tensioner on top, easy access... not so on 2.5, they must have moved it into a hard to reach spot.

I'm sure at Mazda dealer belt is priced way more and don't trust the video length. Budget 1 hour at home, probably 30 minutes at the shop.

@Allen & Ginter Wow. Majorly painful. I think I would expect to pay max $600 for tires, $75 for synthetic oil change, $150 for belt with install, and $150 for brakes without new rotors. That's under 1k total... where'd the other $1k go? Did she buy racing tires? I would do the oil change, belt, and brakes myself for about $100 and about 2 hours of my time I think.

Because the dealer knows what they're doing ( not all the time ) and have other expenses to cover. Yes they are a bit more expensive that the average mechanic, but still better than this shade tree mechanic that has no clue that the car has a tensioner and doesn't need a special tool for belt installation. And it probably took him couple of hours to install it while it takes an experienced mechanic 30 minutes without special tool. Sometimes you have to pay for the experience, knowledge doesn't come cheap.

I can do it by snapping my fingers on a video. big mechanic hates this one weird trick!