10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
47 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.

2021 Mazda CX-5 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2021 Mazda CX-5 Owner Comments

problem #11

Oct 142023

CX-5

  • miles

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

Purchasers of Mazda Vehicles are not being notified that tow eye bolts do not come with the vehicle. That is in some fine print somewhere in the owners manual which is as dense as an encyclopedia. When there is a need to be towed with a rope or strap it is impossible without damaging the vehicle. There are no accessible frame areas that can be reached to strap a hook, rope or strap to safely tow a vehicle without damaging it. Out in the desert in a wilderness area, I got stuck in some mud in a potentially dangerous situation, possibly life threatening. Finally, upon a miracle I was able to find someone with an electric wench but we were unable to attach it to the vehicle because THERE WAS NO TOW EYE HOOK where it was supposed to be. Mazda intentionally did not include it. It's equivalent to NOT providing a jack and socket to change a flat tire to a spare tire! I had to abandon the vehicle overnight and eventually had to tow it out of the mud using the rear frame and damaging the plastic bumper. This is bewilderingly negligent and UNSAFE and Dangerous! It is beyond the realm of common sense.

- Berkeley, CA, USA

problem #10

Jun 252023

CX-5

  • miles
Our 2021 Mazda CX-5 infotainment/backup screen went black/blank. I could still hear radio, but when vehicle put in reverse, backup camera not working. Tried a recommended -??fix-?? which was putting vehicle in reverse and pushing down volume knob for 3 seconds which did not work. Turned vehicle off, waited a minute and then restarted but screen still black and backup camera not working. After vehicle sat for approximately 15 minutes, restarted vehicle and system back to normal. Contacted decker and they had no fix. This is the third time this type of incident has occurred since purchasing vehicle in March 2021.

- Belleville, IL, USA

problem #9

Dec 012022

CX-5

  • miles
The car has a key fob which is supposed to automatically lock the car when you walk away (and unlock when you press a button on the door handle when the fob is in close proximity). My car sometimes does not lock when I walk away. They encourage relying on this method, and so sometimes I return to my car, and it is unlocked. I consider this a safety issue both from a personal safety standpoint and from a car theft/ interior item theft standpoint. I have tried discussing this with the dealership repair department, but they mansplain to me that you have to walk FAR away for the lock to activate (which is actually directly contrary to the owner's manual for this model, as well as my personal experience).

- Longmont, CO, USA

problem #8

Feb 072022

CX-5

  • miles

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

Feb 2,2022 received Critical Vehicle Malfunction Warning, all vehicle systems affected told to call roadside assistance and not to drive vehicle. Received same warning again February 11,2022 after vehicle had been inspected by dealer service again had vehicle towed to dealer. April 14, 2022 Critical vehicle malfunction again. October 30, 2022, again Critical vehicle malfunction warning. All vehicle systems affected.

- Old Bridge, NJ, USA

problem #7

Sep 282022

CX-5

  • miles
Upon exiting my local car wash, I drove my car around to the area used for vacuuming. I pulled into the parking space and when I applied the brake pedal to stop, the car suddenly accelerated and crashed into the wall of the building. I have the Car Wash Security Camera footage of this incident. It shows my brake light is ON at the car's point of acceleration and my brake light is ON at point of impact with the wall. If you need to review it, I can email it to you.

- Cordova, TN, USA

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problem #6

Jan 242022

CX-5

  • miles
I parked my car in my driveway and accidentally left the gear in park when I turned off the engine with the push button. This is the first time I had driven this car so I didn't know what to do for the warning beep. I exited the car and took the key fob with me. My daughter exited the car just after me and when she closed the car door the pressure was enough to start the car rolling backwards. The vehicle rolled down our driveway which has a steep slope, across the street, over our neighbor's yard and crashed against their house. We are lucky that no pedestrians or other vehicles were involved. There is significant structural damage to the neighbor's house. A police report was filed. I believe this is a significant safety hazard that a driver could turn off the engine and leave with the key fob while the car is in drive and there is no braking mechanism to prevent the car from rolling! In addition, the quiet warning beep should be more pronounced such as the horn honking or something more extreme to get the attention of the distracted driver.

- Arlington, VA, USA

problem #5

Nov 182021

CX-5

  • miles

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

2021 Mazda cr-5 Automatic rear hatch comes open on its own. This has happened 6-7 times. I make sure the car is locked and have come back to parking lot to find the hatch open. I have even locked the car and when I have walked to door of Walmart (long way off) and look back the hatch is not open. When I come back out, the rear hatch is open. I took to dealership and they could not rectify the problem.

- Cabot , AR, USA

problem #4

Nov 012021

CX-5

  • miles
The design of the remote control is poor. Placement of the buttons on the side and the light pressure needed to activate the unlock for the trunk has led to it opening unexpectedly. It can open and strike a pedestrian when you did not intend to activate the powered trunk open feature. It could also open when near an object and damage the trunk b/c of how sensitive the remote buttons are. This has also led to the doors unlocking b/c of placement and light pressure needed to activate. On one occasion the button was pressed accidentally and the trunk was partially open as I backed up.

- Avon, OH, USA

problem #3

Oct 042021

CX-5

  • miles
Primary hood latch released while driving. It happened at night in heavy rain and was not seen. This vehicle appears to lack a hood open warning indicator. I am unable to find it in the manual. There is an indicator for doors and back hatch but not the hood. Had the secondary latch failed, this could have had a catastrophic outcome.

- Lexington, SC, USA

problem #2

Mar 032021

CX-5

  • 500 miles
The informant controls are not safe to use while driving. Way to many sub groups to scroll through just to get the radio to work. Very confusing and distracting.

- Port Washington, WI, USA

problem #1

Feb 182021

CX-5

  • 12 miles
The paint on this car is notoriously poor and Mazda is aware. We purchased this vehicle on 16 February 2021, drove it home and left it in the driveway due to snow/ice. On Thursday, 18 February instead of brushing or scraping off the ice we left it to melt. Unfortunately, the ice melt left huge scratches on the hood. There is no reason for ice/snow to cause this much damage. We reviewed a number of websites and it appears that Mazda is aware of this inferior paint and has done nothing to rectify the problem. But they do charge $595 more for it. I have not received any call backs from Mazda corporation. Browns chantilly did attempt to repair the damage but all that did was mask it slightly. The damage is still very visible. This car has 12 miles on it and most of those are from the dealer. I am unable to upload more than one photo. The photo shows the largest scratch but T here are many more on the car.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

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