I am in the market for a canoe and since I don’t plan on keeping my Mazda 3 for much longer I do not want to invest in a roof rack. Luckily I have discovered these niffty foam blocks that allow you to strap a canoe down without a rack. The catch is you need tie downs to keep it secure. That should be no problem right? WRONG!
For some reason Mazda in their infinite wisdom thinks it’s a good idea to squeeze an extra $30 out of their buyers for a tow hook/tie down by not including one with the standard tool kit. There is a space for it in the tool tray and it is shown in the owner’s manual*. Yep, a big fat asterisk citing “Some models”. Apparently the Touring S(second highest trim for 2015) was not worthy of a tie down, but I did get the Flat tire belt, which according to the owner’s manual is for securing a flat tire in the trunk(eye roll).
I called my dad who has a 2016 CX-5 but he doesn’t have one either, and his is a higher trim level as well.
So with Mazda being so stingy about providing you a eyelet welded to a screw, you’d think “surely you must be able to pick one up at your local dealer, right?”. Again you’d be wrong. I called the parts department and not only do they not stock them, the guy said he can see the inventory for the other three local dealers and none of them stock them either. GTFO Mazda.
But back to the canoe, I may try and pick it up anyways. It’s a short solo canoe, about 11'9", and none of the roads on my route have a speed limit above 45, so I am hoping two tie downs around the roof and one to my tow hitch will be enough. We shall see.