10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
2,857 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.

2018 Mazda CX-5 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2018 Mazda CX-5 Owner Comments

problem #17

Sep 072022

CX-5

  • miles

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

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 #16

Jul 122022

CX-5

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

- Shawnee, KS, USA

problem #15

Aug 112022

CX-5

  • miles
Vehicle was brought to dealership for a fuel pump safety recall. I was advised that the belt tightener was leaking and was in urgent need of replacement. Failure of the belt tightener would result in drive train belts loosening with an impact on operation of the vehicle. The car is 4 years old and has less than 12,000 miles on it. Belt tighteners are normally designed to last 75,000+ miles, suggesting a possible defect in this case.

- Saint James, NY, USA

problem #14

Aug 082022

CX-5

  • miles

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

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 #13

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

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problem #12

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 #11

Mar 122021

CX-5

  • miles

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

I find I have to put my foot down on the gas pedal to the floor to make it literally go at times. Ive heard this cloaking noise several times like its getting ready to conk out. The brakes seems to me don't stop as they should at times I have to go in hard on the brake pedal. The air conditioner does not blow cold an see where previous owner had same issue 2 yrs straight from looking the the service invoices that was left in the truck. The sensor detection does not always work to let me know car/person is around. Coleman Taylor Transmission informed me that this thing does have a issue, the rpm are not as they should be. When I took it back to Kia Gossett about the brakes the used mgr drove it made it seems there were no issues as well as Norcross Mazda. Previous owner invoice show brakes were a concern as well. Had I known there was a prior recall on the PCM I would never bought this JUNK!

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #10

May 012018

CX-5

  • 2,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Cx-5. the contact stated while driving at low speeds, the vehicle stalled and was restarted. While the push-to-start was engaged, the vehicle revved up high, stalled, and restarted. Additionally, the air conditioner failed to operate as designed. The radio was also inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to gunther Mazda (1800 S state rd 7, fort lauderdale, fl 33317, (954) 420-6565) where it was diagnosed that the battery, A/C motor and an unknown controller needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired several times however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 2,000.

- Plantation, FL, USA

problem #9

Aug 292019

CX-5

  • 24,800 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Cx-5. while driving 20 mph and below, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact had to depress the accelerator pedal with force to increase the speed. The contact took the vehicle to findlay Mazda (7760 eastgate road, henderson, nv 89011, (702) 955-5555) to be repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 19V497000 (engine, power train); however, the repair did not correct the failure. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer, but they were unable to locate any failure codes. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 1-2318934006. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 24,800.

- Boulder City, NV, USA

problem #8

Jun 262019

CX-5 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,226 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Cx-5. when the engine was warmed up and the vehicle was placed in park, the accelerator pedal automatically dropped to the floorboard. The failure caused the vehicle to drive forward and the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to roger beasley Mazda georgetown (7551 ih 35 South, georgetown, tx 78626, 512-591-9313) to be diagnosed, but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 7,226.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #7

May 012019

CX-5

  • 1,500 miles

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

The car tries to lunge forward immediately after coming to a complete stop. I always keep my foot on the brake when I come to an intersection or red light so it hasn't yet caused an accident and the force of the braking action seems to be enough to keep it from lunging for the time being but you can feel it tugging wanting to move forward. An engine light recently came on the dashboard along with a transmission light and traction control light. I took it to local dealer and they replaced a transmission sensor but the car still wants to nudge forward after coming to a stop. The mileage is only 3500.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #6

Dec 312018

CX-5

  • 5,100 miles
2018 Mazda Cx-5 when I check the oil it is extremely over full and strong odor of gas when the dipstick is pulled out to be wiped off. It is like 4 inches above the max mark/ oil is very thin. This is an excessive amounts of gas in there.I warm up my car before leaving and drive it regularly everyday. This is very bad I read that gas is not a lubricant and washes the oil out of where it needs to be lubricating engine. It continues to happen. Checked manual to make sure I am checking it correctly. Says to get to operating temp. Wait 5 min to let oil settle back into engine then check it. I contact Mazda corps again, they have me take car to vallejo to inspect it with their regional technical specialist, then leave it there for repairs. During this inspection we discover oil leaking from the rear main seal. Their specialist confirms where it is leaking. I leave my car 5 days. Then they call me to pick it up to take it to hansel Mazda in santa rosa. Before I drop it off for repairs I have the oil changed at hansel Mazda. Then a few days later I check the oil, again it is extremely over full with strong odor of gas. I take it to hansel Mazda to have it checked to confirm that this is happening and make app to have the oil leak that was confirmed by Mazda's specialist and this problem of gas getting into the oil fixed. I check oil before dropping it off at hansel, it is way over full and very thin. Drop it off, they keep it for 5 day too then say there is no oil leak and nothing wrong with my car. They said they did anything to my car except inspect it. It is running different. I check oil next day it is very thick and very low at the minimum mark on dipstick. The oil has never read this low on the dipstick hansel Mazda must have taken a lot of oil out to counter for all the excessive amounts of gas getting there and added something to try to seal the leak. They lie

- Sebastopol, CA, USA

problem #5

Jul 182018

CX-5

  • 1,500 miles
1509 miles on my new Mazda cx 5 purchased at marin Mazda in san rafael ca. On May 22, 2018 this vehicle keeps having some kind of what feels like a wheel resistance issue. Not sure if it is something happening in the drive train or transmission. Also not sure if it has anything to do with the way the vehicle starts everyday - this car over revs itself when started first thing ticking very loudly, rattling, pinging all kinds of different noises. It is ticking so loudly because it is over revving itself and there is no oil throughout the engine yet. Even after it stops over revving after a few minutes the car continues to have excessive engine noise the service advisor at marin Mazda insists that this is normal for Mazda's to sound like this & is ok. I don't believe him. This kind of start up everyday is going to cause problems in this engine quickly and premature failure of this cars engine. Mazda dealers are concealing some defect that is causing this car to start like this. This is something that should have been disclosed to the customers before they sell this car. Because it did not sound like this when I test drove it. That is because they take you inside while the car is warmed up so you can't hear it. That is concealing this major issue from the consumer. This is Mazda's standards of doing business. Concealing known defects of their vehicles then when a customer brings the vehicle in for repair they tell them it is operating as it was intended to by the manufacture. If this is correct then these things should have been printed on the window sticker on the car not concealed and not mentioned to the customers. This is very deceptive for Mazda, it's dealers and representatives to hide and lie about the merchantability condition of this vehicle. Because nobody wants to buy a brand new car that sounds like a rattle trap ghetto sled when it is started everyday.

- Sebastopol, CA, USA

problem #4

Jun 042018

CX-5

  • 350 miles
June 4 2018 my brand new 2018 Mazda cx 5 that I bought from marin Mazda in san rafael ca driving on freeway at approximately 68 mph my car suddenly is slowing down- like self braking on its own- I was not braking- this was happing while I was accelerating -it felt like I was towing a large tractor - this resistance keeps recurring causing safety concern as well as bad gas mileage- while this issue is happening I get between 15 -17 miles per gal. - took pictures of fuel monitoring system. Having to make my way to the nearest exit with cars honking at me was dangerous. Car had 350 miles on it. Took car back to marin Mazda a couple days later for this issue and because it is very loud with excessive engine noise when started everyday. Very concerning as to it being a new car. Dealer said that's just how Mazda's sound it's ok we didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Your car is fine. The wheel resistance you are feeling is probably because they spray stuff on the car to prevent rust before they ship vehicle, that coating just needs to burn off. So you need to drive it to burn it off. Your car is operating the way it was intended to. Really - this is not how any new car sounds or drives. I have a passenger with me at this time he also stated this was not a normal condition for any vehicle that is operating properly.

- Sebastopol, CA, USA

problem #3

Jul 312018

CX-5

  • 2,345 miles
Takata recall. I purchased a brand new Mazda Cx-5 sport from a Mazda dealership on 6/4/2018. On 7/31/ 2018 the check engine light came on so I took it back to the dealership with only 2,357 on the odometer. My Cx-5 was in the shop from 7/31/ 2018 until 8/10/ 2018, during the first car repair attempt, heritage Mazda towson replaced the oil pump strainer, during the second repair attempt, the dealership replaced the oil pressure switch. On 10/10/2018, the check engine light came on while I was traveling to Virginia beach. So, I took my car to the Mazda dealership there in Virginia beach to have my car serviced. The very next day, I was informed by the service consultant that my Mazda Cx-5 had a defective oil pressure switch and that a replacement part had been ordered. On 10/12/2018, when I returned to the Mazda dealership, I was informed by the service manager, that my Mazda Cx-5 needed a replacement engine with only 5,796 miles on the odometer. My car has been out of service for 32 days collectively.

- Pikesville, MD, USA

problem #2

Sep 012018

CX-5

  • 3,250 miles
The vehicle wants to keep going when the brakes are applied. When at a stop light, you must keep you foot firmly on the brake as the car wants to lurch forward. When you slow down while driving, the car acts like the turbo is kicking in and wants to lurch forward. Very dangerous. I thought it was the engine, but someone told me it is the transmission.

- Lakewood, CO, USA

problem #1

Sep 082018

CX-5

  • 493 miles
Attempt to stop at light. Brakes were engaged fully engine kept revving up. Car kept going forward. In motion in city street. Straight and braking. Car has 496 miles.

- North Clarendon, VT, USA

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