10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
5,146 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2018 Mazda CX-5:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #39

Oct 292022

CX-5

  • miles
After driving for approximately 1 minute, the vehicle approached a stop sign and car stalled and would not restart. When attempting to restart vehicle, engine was firing but not turning over. Attempted to jump start the vehicle with no success until vehicle was given throttle at which point it restarted. No lights were illuminated prior to the incident, but when the vehicle stalled the battery light and check engine light illuminated.

- Liverpool, PA, USA

problem #38

Sep 242022

CX-5

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" Engine Heads Cracked How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Smoke from engine bay and fumes entering cabin via AC vents. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Inspected by Mazda dealer and confirmed defective header from manufacture. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" No warning lamps, burning smell Burning oil smoke from engine bay. Smoke order enters cabin via AC vents odor very strong. Appeared at 28,000 odometer mileage.

- Sun Valley, CA, USA

problem #37

Sep 052022

CX-5

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a burning odor was detected with smoke coming from underneath the hood. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a cracked engine block. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

- Clinton Twp, MI, USA

problem #36

Sep 072022

CX-5

  • miles
Hello, I am writing to you for a possible failure post update to the software as specified in Recall 19V-497 dated 09/06/2022 found on the manufacturer's recall website (https://www.mazdarecallinfo.com/). The status is marked as CLOSED. However, I faced the exact problem yesterday as described in the Safety Risk section of the recall details on their website (Summary section on NHTSA website). Below is my best attempt to describe my event: Event: I made a stop at a red light. As it turned green, I accelerated and the engine shut off/stalled. I pushed the engine stop button, switched gear to "P", and the car won't start at all. I was also not able to press the brake or accelerator. I was not able to move the gearstick. Safety risk: My car stalled in the middle of the road. It was a busy junction. If this occurred on a highway, it is possible this may lead to serious injuries or death. After-events: I got the car towed to the dealership where I was told by the service crew that the car worked fine. I was sent a video of multipoint inspection with recommended additional services, a business that I understand. However, they were not able to identify the cause of the engine stall. I decided to check recall information and found this recall (19V-497) with status as CLOSED. But this is the exact problem I faced yesterday. Therefore, either/some/all of the below cases are possible: 1. The status is marked incorrectly as CLOSED 2. The date of recall on the website is misleading; this recall was placed 06/27/2019. 3. My service did not actually service the recall (I service my car every 5000 miles) 4. The recall failed to resolve the engine stall issue. 5. Issue may not be related to failure of this recall remediation; meaning, service did not perform a root-cause inspection of the problem itself. This message is intended to keep you informed in case point (4) holds true.

- Oak Park, IL, USA

problem #35

Jul 122022

CX-5

  • miles
oil leak from a cracked cylinder head, common issue seen

- Shawnee, KS, USA

problem #34

Aug 082022

CX-5

  • miles
Driving on highway going 70-75 mph, all of a sudden car starts to stall, check engine light lights up informing me keyless, power steering, vehicle system, smart brake malfunction. I almost crashed as I was on I-55 heading to downtown Chicago. My girlfriend and I could have died.

- Joliet, IL, USA

problem #33

Jul 212022

CX-5

  • miles
Magna motors in evansville, Indiana is refusing to address the fuel pump recall on my 2018 Mazda Cx-5. they claim there are no parts to fix it so they cant help me. My vehicle doesnt start half the time and they refuse to provide a loaner until mine is fixed. There has to be something they can do.

- Evansville, IN, USA

problem #32

Sep 152021

CX-5

  • 17,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX-5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V875000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) in January of 2022 however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the engine was not stable while driving under 30 MPH. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that there was no failure and that the issue was normal. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact stated that she had an arbitration hearing with the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #31

May 282022

CX-5

  • miles
My wife was pulling into a parking place today with her foot on the brake when the car suddenly accelerated, causing it to jump a curb and come to a stop over two large shrubs, which saved her from entering a busy highway and colliding with another car. This caused damage to the front end of the car and wheel wells. She told me she absolutely did not have her foot on the accelerator at the time. The cruse control was off and the driver's side floor mat was not out of position. She was not injured and the air bags did not go off. We have not yet taken this vehicle in for inspection of this defect. It is in the repair shop right now for body work. Our insurance company has been notified. My wife did not report any warning lights. The vehicle is available for inspection. Prior to this episode, I have noticed that at low speeds, the car tends to "surge" with slight pressure on the accelerator but we did not report that to the dealer.

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #30

Apr 252022

CX-5

  • miles
2018 Mazda CX5 with 62000 has an oil leak coming from what the Mazda dealership in Barre VT say it is the cylinder head and gasket have gone faulty for a repair price of $4,191 and that this is a known issue. I had no lights letting me know of an oil leak, the only way I knew it was leaking was because I smelled burnt oil and then looked under the car to see the drops from the leak. My complaint is if Mazda Corporation knows its a known issue and know it can cause a fire why does it not issue a recall. An engine should not be having faulty cylinder and gaskets at only 62,000 miles.

- Marshfield, VT, USA

problem #29

Jan 032022

CX-5

  • miles
The engine has a massive oil leak that seems to be more common than Mazda will admit. The safety-related issue is the oil pours out like pancake syrup which can be bad for other drivers, the environment and cause road asphalt to break down at a rapid pace. I also don't have a warranty. When I consulted Mazda all they wanted to do is charge me $7,000 for a new engine from all the research I found on the internet. This is a problem that is affecting many people because when you only have one vehicle and have no way to make money. Most people will just keep adding oil to keep it going. Many customers are left with a car payment with no way out and a car they can't really drive other than short distances. Something needs to be done to hold them accountable for this common problem. I don't know anyone that can afford a $ 40,000-yard brick. If we can hold big pharma accountable why not vehicle manufactories.

- Lillington , NC, USA

problem #28

Jan 012022

CX-5

  • miles
There is no recall on this which is a huge safety issue. This has happened to me on highway several times and Mazda will not do anything about it. Very dangerous when you are going 65 on a highway! TSB Number 01-007/19- misfire P0304- of 4th cylinder. Recommendation to replace main silencer due to condensation accumulation in the exhaust baffle. Please search the TSB and misfire code I provided to learn more about it. If you are out of warranty. You are out of luck with Mazda. I will take upon myself to educate others where Mazda could careless to correct this or let the public now.

- Wakefield , MA, USA

problem #27

Dec 312021

CX-5

  • miles
While driving, my car has stopped two times. first time I crashed on the side of road causing all of my tires and rim busted and had to replace all of them. I had no idea what was going on. second time I was taking kids to school where can just stopped in the middle of road and restarted. Recently it was smelling so I took it to dealer where they said its one of the cylinder and its not safe to drive so they replaced it as its under warranty. While my car is been with Mazda dealer I have been using their loaner car. but then received this letter of Safety recall on similar issue i had in the past and i have been trying to contact Mazda but no success. no email, chat or phone call response. I do not feel safe to drive this car which i bought in 2018, its been having lot of engine related issues. and i do not feel safe to drive this car with my kids in it. I have requested Dealer to let me keep the loner car until they fix safety recall issue. and i am trying to contact Mazda but no response please help.

- Fremont,Ca, CA, USA

problem #26

Nov 202021

CX-5

  • miles
Massive oil leak onto exhaust manifold, dealership checked and found oil leaking from right rear area of cylinder head. "Per SA/031/21 should replace cylinder head and all gaskets and hardware". My safety and the safety of others was put at risk because if my car had no oil in it, which it was close to, the engine could have seized and caused an accident. The fumes of burning oil made me severely ill as well. The problem was confirmed by the Mazda dealership and has been inspected as well. The only reason I knew something was wrong was because the oil light came on and I contacted the dealership and they said it was a sensor issue and I did not believe that they were correct so I brought it in and they looked at it and said it was a massive oil leak and then told me that the cylinder head assembly needed to be replaced and it was a rare occurance but it had happened due to a casting issue.

- Woburn, MA, USA

problem #25

Dec 262021

CX-5

  • miles
This is more of a general notice to fellow Mazda CX-5 drivers with the issue described below: Our car is a 2018 CX-5 with 25K miles. The check engine light came on upon entering the highway at the beginning of the day. Subsequently, stopping by an AutoZone to diagnose it revealed a malfunctioning thermostat. Only then did I realize the car took a long time to reach the operating temperature (for the blue indicator light to go away), and engine temperature would generally stay around 165 and hit 210 only after a very long time of driving, while idling or in traffic. However, our internal heater performance never had any issues while being kept at 75 and blowing mild to moderately. Upon taking the car to our Mazda dealership and requesting a diagnostic service, did we learn it was a malfunctioning coolant control valve that there is a technical service bulletin (# 01-011/21) for such a thing, and covered under our CPO powertrain warranty for replacement.

- Jamaica, NY, USA

problem #24

Nov 262021

CX-5

  • miles
Engine light came on, pulled over to the side to open the hood. Engine was smoking and oil was leaking all over the floor. Checked the oil dipsitick, still had oil but could smell the burnt oil. Towed the truck to the dealers and said its Engine head cylinder is cracked.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #23

Oct 062021

CX-5

  • miles
The vehicle stall at very low speed in a parking lot could not restart it was turning over the battery was fine came back 3 hours later and was able to start

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #22

Oct 062021

CX-5

  • miles
Engine turned off while making a k turn. This is the same issue I experienced in 2019. Mazda issued a recall for software malfunction shortly thereafter and my car was serviced as part of this recall (NHTSA campaign number: 19V497). But now the exact issue happened again last week.

- Glen Rock, NJ, USA

problem #21

Sep 122020

CX-5

  • miles
Will not accelerate at times no matter how far you press down on gas pedal and will stall right after. I will pull over shut off vehicle and restart. This sometimes corrects the problem right away. Other times it lasts longer. System malfunction light randomly comes on.

- Wakefield , MA, USA

problem #20

May 162021

CX-5

  • miles
Approximately 9:15am 5/16/21 I was driving on the road when my engine stalled and went out. Was stuck in the middle of the road for a couple of minutes while I tried to restart the car. My vehicle was recalled for this very purpose but 13 days prior I went into the dealership to fix the issue and get a software update. After said update I experienced the recall issue on my vehicle.

- Plano , TX, USA

Read the next 19 complaints »