10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 57,020 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
My car does not turn off when you push the ignition button. I spoke to Mazda's parts manager about this, and his wife had the same issue and the same model and year as my car. He told me that it is the Parking Lever switch. I feel that not being able to turn your car off is a safety issue. I filed a safety issue with my 2013 Mazda CX-5 on May 26, 2022.
- Solana Beach, CA, USA
When you shut the car off the radio and other components do not shut down. You have to start the car back up and put in gear then back in park and shut the car off (sometimes two or three times) to get everything to shut down. This is getting worse over time.
- Panama City, FL, USA
My car won't shut off! I put it in park and turn it off and the accessories stay on. It is getting worse and worse and has taken up to 7 times of turning it off and on, backing it up and forward before it will just turn off for me. I get scared that it won't turn off. I found this forum online and it seems this is a very common problem that is not being addressed by Mazda. https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t49115_ds799849 Not being able to turn my car off is a very big safety risk for me and my 2 year old son.
- Troy, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that the PUSH to START button was not able to turn off the vehicle until after several attempts were made, which caused the battery to drain quickly. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and the contact was waiting for a callback. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
My vehicle does not want to turn off when placed in park. The car is fully in the park position, but the start push button is illuminated with a red light. The power is still on, and the car beeps when door is open. I can only get the power to turn off, after repeatedly tapping the gear shift left, towards the P symbol. It is already fully seated in the park position, but this finally causes the light to go off and the car turns off. Always hoping the power did not turn back on while away from the car. Is this a fire hazard" I will not park my car in the garage as I am concerned it may overheat the wiring, electrical components, etc...??" I have noticed similar complaints for this vehicle on this website also.
- Rochester Hills, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2013 MAZDA CX5. The contact stated while attempting to shut off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off due to the transmission not being fully in PARK. The contact stated that there was an unknown flashing red warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
- Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
After fixing the electrical problem with the car not fully turning off, the car suddenly died in traffic and wouldn't restart. Replacing mass air sensor, O2 sensor, and plugs, the car will die in traffic when coming to a stop, but restarts immediately. The code says this is a PCM problem. Internet research says this is not uncommon resulting in safety recalls in other year models. 2013 should also be recalled.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
The ignition on my 2013 Mazda Cx-5 would not turn off after putting the vehicle into park. The engine would start with the gearshift lever in park, but once I drove to a destination, pulled into a parking lot, and put the gearshift into park, the vehicle would not entirely turn off. It would take several attempts to manipulate the gearshift around to get the car to turn off. The vehicle's electrical system would still be active, including radio, dash lights, headlights, and other electrical systems would all remain on. After contacting a local Mazda dealership in town, a "park safety switch" in the gearshift lever is being affected, and it is a known problem affecting Mazda Cx-5 vehicles. However, there have not been any recalls issued for this problem. Thanks to a quick google search such as "Mazda Cx-5 will not turn off", I found out about this issue. There are several youtube videos, posts on reddit and Mazda forums discussing this issue. Having a vehicle with an issue where you cannot turn the car off because the car "thinks" that the vehicle is not in park is unsafe and a safety hazard and can cause an accident or worse.
- Las Vegas, NV, USA
The shifter position switch is defective. It does not always shut off the electrical system when the shifter is placed into park and the car is turned off. The electrical system, the radio, lights, etc, remain on even though the car has been turned off. Apparently it caused by a small part that was made of rubber that dries out and breaks down. It is replaced by a plastic part that resists wear and tear and lasts far longer. Mazda is aware of the problem but refuses to replace the defective part for free.
- Bellmore, NY, USA
After you shut the car engine off the ignition is still on. While in park I have looked this up and found out that it's a worn out switch. In these cars this had happened a while back but it's getting worse like every time now
- Stillwater, OK, USA
Ijust purchased this vehicle used from a car dealer. I get it home and find this out. Seems it is a common issue and complaint online with a fix of over $200 in parts and labor. (all our vehicles are Mazda. I purposely bought a Mazda because I believed they were reliable. I am sorely disappointed there is not a recall for this. When car is put in park and turned off it will not shut off. Auxillary power keeps running not allowing the car to lock. Radio turns back on. The only remedy is to continually try to jiggle the gear shift or take car out of park and back in.
- Jefferson City, TN, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Mazda Cx-5. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to shut-off while depressing the start/stop button. After pressing the start/stop button to shut the vehicle off, the engine turned off however, the electronics inside the vehicle and the exterior lights remained activated. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 95,000. The consumer stated the vehicle was taken to the dealer and advised to pay $395 for repairs being as though the consumer was not at fault.
- Centreville, VA, USA
Several months now, I'm having to turn my car back on to turn the radio off and completely shut the car down. This has been going on since the summer of this year. I have to crank it up, put it out of park into drive, and put it back in drive. After that, it turns off. I have push to start and had the car for four years pre-owned. Yesterday, my sister and I were stranded because my car didn't start. The dealership said it was the air intake oxygen sensor. They replaced it plus they put in a new car battery. My husband and I thought it was weird, but now I'm wondering if the car itself is completely shutting down when I turn it off. Now, this is making me scared to drive the car. The repair cost me 490 something.
- Boiling Springs, SC, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Mazda Cx-5. the contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked with the check engine, traction control, and tire pressure monitor system warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to lester glenn Mazda (101 NJ-37 E, toms river, NJ 08753, (888)422-5041) however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the local dealer. The failure mileage was 2,000.
- Redbank, NJ, USA
On many occasions when the vehicle is stationary and I try to turn off the vehicle, it does not completely shut down. The radio and other electrical accessories and lights stay on. The vehicle does not recognize that it is in park.it has push start button. I have had to try repeadly to turn off and on to manage to turn it off. If you leave the vehicle in this state, it will not lock and the battery will drain which then becomes a safety issue. Because the car will not lock and the vehicle can get stolen. I have seen online many have this issue. The only way I am able to turn it off is too hold the shift on park and put pressure so the sensor will grab and push the power button at the same time. This should be recalled the sensor is defective.
- Suisun City, CA, USA
When I try to turn off the car, it remains on. I then have to shift gears to R then back to P and turn it off again to completely shut the car off. It happens every time.
- Kailua, HI, USA
After pressing the "on/off" button, the car will not shut completely off (radio/lights/accessories remain on). To resolve, you have to essentially jam the shifter back and forth, rather strongly (out of park) before trying to turn it off again. This happens more than it doesn't and at some point, I am concerned it wont shut off. This happens when stationary. When looking for possible reasons why and solutions, there are a lot of message boards revealing this as an issue, but no recall has been generated. What would it take to get a recall in place? this has been happening upwards of over a year at least.
- Edmond, OK, USA
This issue has occurred multiple times where I put my car into park (therefore being stationary), press the button to turn off the car and the car does not fully shut down. It appears to be a safety issue with the steering sensor not full recognizing that the car is in park and therefore not shutting off the car completely. In order to get the car to completely shut off, the car has to be shifted from drive to park/actively turning on and off the car sometimes as many as 5-6 times in order for it to fully shut down. I have read dozens of reports of other Mazda owners experiencing the same problem. Cars being unintentionally left on is definitely a safety issue that needs to be looked into.
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
This is a "push button" start vehicle. When you push the button to turn off the engine, the electrical components / accessories remain on instead of turning off with the engine. There is no key to remove so you cannot manually turn off the electrical components / accessories. Even upon exiting the vehicle and locking it, the electrical systems remain "on" even though the engine is off. The vehicle is stationary when this happens. The gear shift shows park. It seems that some type of sensor is not properly communicating to shut itself down.
- Castle Rock, CO, USA
- Clarksville, TN, USA