10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,149 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2015 Mazda CX-5 engine problems

engine problem

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2015 Mazda CX-5 Owner Comments

problem #12

Sep 052022

CX-5

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2015 Mazda CX-5 with 91,000 miles on it. Automatic transmission has failed. When I attempted to pull out into traffic the vehicle would not shift into 2nd gear and instead jerked hard and the engine RPMs revved up. I was not able to get the vehicle past 10mph. This failure with the transmission resulted in the oncoming traffic having to swerve and break to avoid a collision with me. The vehicle was taken to a Mazda dealership who did a diagnostic on it and found that the Mazda had an "internal transmission failure" and would require a full replacement. I asked if it would be replaced with the same exact transmission and was told "no, the defect was discovered by Mazda and has been correct for new transmission models." The manufacture knows about this issue. Luckily I escaped serious bodily injury. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer as well as an independent 3rd party transmission repair specialist. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to this incident to give warning.

- Altamonte Springs, FL, USA

problem #11

Apr 302021

CX-5

  • 130,000 miles
2015 Mazda CX5 2.0 L, well maintained; recommended oil used at proper intervals, with 130,000 miles, mostly highway driven. With no warning lights and/or sounds, vehicle started loosing power at around 30 mph in the city and engine completely stalled. Aaa was called to start the vehicle to no avail, battery checked out ok. Towed to Mazda dealership in wichita, ks. Dealer service examined vehicle and found a valve stem broken and lying on top of engine, visible through the spark plug well. As the owner, along with the service manager, I saw the broken valve stem in the engine but also notice my engine was extremely clean on the inside with clean oil as well, no evidence of dirt and/or sludge of any kind. Vehicle owner commented to the dealer how clean the engine and the vehicle was kept inside and out. Dealer responded by text to owner, new engine replacement, at the cost of $7000; used engine with 91,000 miles at $5000. Dealer stated after 60,000, vehicle of out of warranty. Owner researched and found evidence the failure is likely due too engine design. Mazda built an aluminum engine with high compression ratio, but built it lighter and with smaller component parts. According to engineers, that's a recipe for various component parts and ultimately overall engine failure. The skyactiv engine operates at 13.0 compression ratio, by design; if not designed properly and being it's new technology, failures like internal component parts and the engine, are likely. Owner's vehicle at dealer for almost 3 weeks and they are offering no assistance to repair the vehicle. There needs to be an inquiry into the design of the skyactiv engine and address Mazda alleging owner's are abusing vehicles and charging exorbitant prices for mechanical issues caused by their product design. Owner currently has two 2015 Mazda CX5's. dealer/Mazda offering no assistance.

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #10

Sep 262020

CX-5

  • 85,600 miles
Was turning right onto side city street to park, was going maybe 2 miles an hour because I was going to park. The car engine self accelerated and I could not control it, hit a chain link fence and sheared off a natural gas meter to a home. The break pedal did not stop the car, I was in drive put into park and shut the engine off

- Jefferson Twp, PA, USA

problem #9

Aug 282019

CX-5

  • 48,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My vehicle heater core has pluged up after 48,000 miles. I cant drive in cool weather do to fog windshields. This is a hug problem with Mazda Cx-5 between 2014 and 2016.

- Harbor, OR, USA

problem #8

May 182019

CX-5 4-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
I was trying to park my vehicle in a soccer field parking lot. As I slowly turning right into my spot at about 3-5mph, my foot was lightly depressed on brake pedal and about to come to a complete stop, the vehicle suddenly made a very loud engine sound (my foot was still on the brake pedal and not on the gas pedal) as the engine rev up for about a second or two then accelerated forward jumping the curb and hit a big fence pole which stopped the vehicle. The vehicle felt like it sped up from 3mph to 30mph and I had no time to react. The front passenger side badly destroyed and the vehicle is totaled. The car was five years old and about 75K miles. It is very safety concerning and should be seriously look into.

- Ashland, MA, USA

problem #7

Apr 242015

CX-5

  • 75,000 miles
I bought a brand new 2015 Mazda Cx-5 it had less than 50 miles on it. That was December 2015. I gave the car to my son, who has been driving it for the last 2 years. He had the oil changed every 5000 miles with the synthetic oil which I was told was the correct way according to Mazda. On April the 24th 2019 the car died on the highway. My son said the lights on the control panel flashed and the car started slowing down and killed over would not start before it died my son said the engine started knocking really loud. Now the dealership wants $10,304 to fix a car that has a bb value of 12,000 to 15000 dollars. They want to replace the engine, fuel injectors, and the fuel pump and it also blew a fuse that the guy working on it said he had never seen happen before. Now that was a Mazda employee, now I have researched this site and this is not a uncommon problem for Mazda, but the dealership won't own up to it. They just say it is past warranty. I don't need this stress.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

problem #6

Oct 262018

CX-5

  • 27,775 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was parking my Mazda CX5 in a spot at a shopping center and when I touched the brake with my right foot and went to shift car into park, it suddenly accelerated full speed, making a vroom sound, jumping the curb and smashing into a brick post (luckily I hit the post and not a person!). I don't know if it's a transmission, brake or accelerator issue - but there is definitely something wrong. I did not hit the accelerator instead of the brake. At first I thought it must be me, somehow, someway, hitting the accelerater but I never really believed this. Today, April 26, 2019, the same thing happened! luckily, this time the car jumped the curb and I hit a tree, leaving a small dent in my hood. Again I heard that vroom sound, and just thought - oh no, not again!

- Richmond, KY, USA

problem #5

Jan 032018

CX-5 4-cyl

  • 44,740 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Mazda Cx-5. while driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning and lost power completely. The contact was able to coast the vehicle into a parking lot. The contact restarted the vehicle and several bsm off, tire pressure monitoring system warning light, tcs/dsc indicators remained illuminated. Lannan Mazda in lowell, Massachusetts was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,740.

- Dracut, MA, USA

problem #4

Aug 172017

CX-5

  • 100,000 miles
Mazda engine defect I purchased a 2015 Mazda Cx-5 used two years ago. While my daughter was driving to work she noticed a loud ticking noises from engine. She scheduled a service with Mazda dealership and they stated that the problem is within the internal combustion and the engine needs to be torn down for complete diagnosis, he further suggested that I replace the defective engine with a Mazda new engine totaling over $7000. Alarmed, I researched and found other Mazda owner experiencing the same problems. This constitutes my formal complaint for Mazda defective engines.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #3

Jul 112016

CX-5

  • miles
NHTSA recall 16C-644 insufficient corrosion. Rear hatch or lift gate may drop. Car was in the shop for transmission issues. Recall was not repaired

- Hudson, CO, USA

problem #2

Jan 152016

CX-5

  • 15,000 miles
Transmission issue: I turned on the car in a parking lot and tmps and scsb code and the tire pressure lights came on. I had about 15K on the car and it was just a year old and due for it's service. I wrote down the codes and figured I would tell the dealership when I took it in for service. I drove a little ways and stopped at a light. The car started to make a loud noise and shudder. I drove through the light and pulled up to the stop sign. The tachometer revved up but the car wouldn't go anywhere. I made it to the stop sign, put on my flashers and put the car in park. I turned it off and turned it back on again. I was able to drive a few more feet then again the entire engine revved up again. Repeat this about 6 more times. I was able to make it the mile to my house doing the drive, stop, turn off, start again and repeat. I had it towed to the dealership. The dealership fixed the car and said it was the transmission and that Mazda was able to tell them how to fix it because they'd seen it before and it was a a "shift concern and software upgrade needed." I'd really like to save someone else from going through this so I want to report it. If I'd been driving faster and the engine shut down like that, I could have had a serious accident. Has anyone else had this problem? also why wasn't this reported on any of the car/driver, consumer reports reviews. This is a serious issue and people should consider it before they buy the car. Mazda should fix the issue in the Cx-5 so that it doesn't happen.

- Glen Burnie, MD, USA

problem #1

Feb 262015

CX-5 4-cyl

  • 675 miles
Accelerating onto the freeway, the engine lost power and the check engine as well as several dash warning lights illuminated. The vehicle would not respond to the accelerator pedal, and would only go 45-50mph. I took it to the dealer and after reading out the data on the engine computer, I was told the problem was most likely "bad" gas. I was directed to just burn through the gas in the tank. When the car was returned to me from the garage it was running fine and I was not told anything had been done to correct the problem. I am still using the same tank of gas and have not experienced the problem again so far. I checked with the gas retailer and they have had no other complaints with respect to contaminated gas. I feel this is a safety issue. I had to drive the car on a 75mph freeway at 45mph to reach the dealer. Even with emergency flashers on that was a very harrowing experience.

- Spring, TX, USA

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