10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,868 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 (Page 1 of 2)

problem #26

Jun 052024

CX-5

  • miles

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

2018 mazda started smoking from under hood and noticed a burning oil smell. Took to mechanic and was told engine head gasket has a huge Crack. Car only has 22k on it and never been in any accident. All appropriate preventative services are up to date. There was no indication light no warning light nothing to identify why the car was leaking oil and smoking until it was looked at. This has multiple.complaints in regards to this specific year and model and needs to be addresses before someone's car catches fire or stalls in the middle of highway

- Cortlandt Manor , NY, USA

problem #25

Jan 062024

CX-5

  • miles
Constant ticking sound coming from engine, most apparent while idling but continues even after oil change and engine warm up. Goes away for short periods of time. Always comes back and is very loud. Sometimes engine block shakes and can be felt through the steering wheel.

- Bellingham, WA, USA

problem #24

Apr 012024

CX-5

  • miles
Cracked cylinder head. Burning oil smell. Coolant leaking into oil. Car purchased a year ago for $21,500. Dealer I bought it from paid 1/2 after sending it out to Mazda to be diagnosed and fixed.

- Wilmington, MA, USA

problem #23

Apr 102024

CX-5

  • miles

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

Noticed a burning oil smell coming from the car along with leaking oil in the driveway. Vehicle has 53000 miles on it and was 3 months out of powertrain warranty but still under the 60000 mileage cap. Local Mazda dealership came back saying that it was a "SA-037/23 Oil leak at cylinder head, cylinder head replacement with parts kit" and quoted $5100 to repair. Dealership stated that the vehicle was unsafe to operate. There were no dash indicator lights or symptoms of overheating to indicate that there was a problem outside of the smell. After the diagnosis was made, we researched and found that this was a commonly reported problem for this model year

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #22

Apr 022024

CX-5

  • miles
Noticed an oil smell when driving the vehicle, slightly premature to when it was due for an oil change. Engine was emitting light blue smoke when parked after driving for more than 20 minutes. Took the car to a Mazda dealership to get serviced two days after noticing the issue and was told that the cylinder head was cracked and needed to be replaced. There was oil leaking from the vehicle, which I had not noticed, and it had soaked a lot of the front undercarriage of the car. Research into the effects of an oil leak indicate that it can cause a serious malfunction of the engine and other components of the car, but I did not experience that in the time of noticing the problem and taking the vehicle to get serviced. The problem was diagnosed by the service department at a Mazda dealership and is being repaired there. The oil indicator came on a day after noticing the smell.

- Golden, CO, USA

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problem #21

Mar 182024

CX-5

  • miles
2018 Mazda CX-5 with roughly 52,000 miles on it was emitting a burnt rubber smell and white smoke from the engine. Repair shop thought it was a bad timing lock. Replaced that and car continued to emit white smoke and smell like burnt rubber. Engine then began leaking oil. Took the car back to the repair shop and it was confirmed that the engine had a cracked cylinder head. The repair shop said this is a known issue with 2018-2019 Mazdas. In three days time, the engine leaked roughly 1 quart of oil and was deemed not safe to drive by the repair shop.

- Chesterfield, MO, USA

problem #20

Nov 032023

CX-5

  • miles

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

Vehicle engine has stalled multiple times at low speeds. Vehicle will not restart immediately. In order to get vehicle to restart, gas must be revved while pressing start button to get engine to restart. It appears as if fuel is not being delivered to engine. Electrical components remain functional. Vehicle was inspected by dealer and issue could not be recreated. No issues were found. No warning lights displayed or codes found upon inspection. No symptoms of problem; occurrence is sporadic. It has caused traffic and safety hazards due to stalling in roadways.

- Newport, PA, USA

problem #19

Sep 132023

CX-5

  • miles
Oil leak. Smoke from the engine. Inspected by the local body shop, we were told that the leakage would probably come from cylinder head. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #18

Aug 132023

CX-5

  • miles
Many incidents have occurred with this vehicle. First occurrence happened 11/25/21. Attempting to pass another vehicle and the car began slowing down and various warnings came on. Pulled off to the side of the road, turned off the vehicle and restarted without any further incident. This same thing happened 2 times in 12/2021 both time attempting to pass another vehicle. 2nd time in December the check engine light came on. Scheduled to be seen by a mechanic with the earliest appointment on 12/31/21. Mechanic recommended taking to a licensed Mazda mechanic. Appointment was on 01/07/22. They looked at the car and fixed the issue. Can't remember the issue at that time. By 05/2022, check engine light came back on and car would start slowing down and shutting off when attempting to pass another vehicle. If RPMs would go to high, car would do this. Check engine light came back on. Took to Mazda mechanic on 06/17/22. After several troubleshooting fixes, it was determined I needed a new engine as there were parts broken missing or broken. Did not have my car for 13 weeks. Most recently, on 08/13/23, car shut off in a drive through. Towed to mechanic and needed a new camshaft. Picked up my car on 08/21/23 and within 45 minutes, car shut off while driving up a hill. Towed back to mechanic. This time there are electical issues and an ill fiitting pin. Have to take it to a licensed Mazda mechanic. Having to tow it due to how unsafe it is to drive. Reached out to Mazda with my concerns over saftey and waiting to hear back. Very concerned that this will never be resolved and that this is a very unsafe vehicle to drive.

- Johnstown, PA, USA

problem #17

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 #16

Jul 122022

CX-5

  • miles

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

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
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

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
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
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

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