general problems of the 2016 Mazda CX-5 - part 1

I was driving on a city street and slowed to turn right onto a driveway at at a private residence. As my car entered the driveway and near the end of the right turn, my car had a sudden unintended uncontrolled acceleration, continued the turn, went over a low hedge of shrubs on the right side of the driveway, continued down a short rocky incline, and landed on a large rock where the car stopped.

About a month ago, started hearing a whining noise from the automatic transaxle when driving at different speeds. The more speed, the more noise you hear inside the vehicle. It occurs with all types of driving, acceleration, deceleration and steady speed. Took my Mazda Cx-5 into auto experts and found there is a service bulletin regarding this issue in 2013-2016 Mazda Cx-5's. There is a damaged bearing in the transaxle due to improper configuration of the transaxle case. There needs to be a recall for this issue, not just a service bulletin. I cannot afford a new transmission and replacing the transmission with a like for like or used transmission, there is no guarantee the issue won't come back.

I was driving on the freeway, going 60-65mph for about 10 minutes. All of a sudden, the engine went from ~2k rpm to ~4 rpm. The speed stayed the same. And then it happened again a few minutes later. A few days after this incident, while driving on the freeway, going 60mph, the car refused to go past 60mph. This also happened ~2 weeks prior. This would have caused an accident had I needed to speed up to avoid an issue but my car refused to go any faster on a flat road.

Car: 2018 Mazda Cx-5 touring with approximately 39,000 miles. Issue: burning smell coming from engine compartment- oil leaking from engine. Problem: cracked cylinder head as diagnosed by dealer and to be replaced under Mazda power train warranty. Safety was a concern not knowing the issue. Concerned of engine failure, fire, and overall safety. Warnings: no warnings or check engine light was also concerning. Time frame: 10/1/22 evening- noticed slight burning smell which lasted only a few minutes. No evidence of oil leaking. - 10/2/ slight burning smell occurred briefly on and off through out late afternoon. No evidence of oil leaking. Smell dissipated. - 10/3/stronger presence of burning smell. Started to notice oil leaking from under car. - 10/4/car inspected by local mechanic and advised to bring to dealer for further assessment. Mechanic observed increased oil leakage and stated oil was coming from within engine. Car towed to dealer, evaluated with a cracked cylinder head. Repair to be covered under Mazda power train warranty. Additional concern: short and long term residual effects on other engine components. Other reports: none. Awareness: I’ve come to understand that there seems to be similar issues with certain model years/production runs that might not be reported due to being covered under warranty.

Dealer identified drive belt tensioner as leaking and in need of replacement on a Mazda Cx-5 with less than 30k miles on it. Many owners have reported identical failures at or around 30k. An insufficient part that is failing so frequently, this early on with low mileage is a significant safety issue.

When the vehicle is parked, then I move gear from park to drive, or reverse to drive, the vehicle stalls to go into to drive for a couple of seconds, the engine revs then there is a forceful jolt when it finally kicks in to drive. Also, when I'm at a stop for a while, then press on the gas pedal to drive, it takes a couple of seconds for the car to drive. This is a big concern for me because there seems to be a delay with the drive gear.

When starting car and putting it into drive, then push the gas, the car hesitates to go into drive then jolts when it finally shifts into gear from park. My concern is that it takes long to go into drive from park, and the engine revs and jolts violently when it finally reads the drive gear which is not normal and is a safety concern for me.

Significant lag in transmission going from stop to either drive or reverse (3 - 5 seconds). Car can roll backward while waiting for gear to engage, and will rev and then jerk harshly into gear. Also will jerk when shifting while accelerating to highway speeds. Vehicle had under 25,000 miles on it when symptoms started. Took it to dealer and got approval for new transmission under warranty very quickly, which leads me to believe this is a known problem for Mazda. Saw many similar complaints on NHTSA website.

While accelerating or decelerating the rpms will jump nearly 1,000rpms before decreasing to its normally expected levels. This results in jumps and stutters in the transmission. Additionally, while shifting from reverse to drive the transmission takes several seconds to engage resulting in a vehicle that lingers in neutral. This makes the vehicle free roll backwards for several seconds before popping into drive which results in increased pressure in the drivetrain.

I purchased this vehicle with 36k miles on it, clean carfax, with only 1 owner. Within an hour from driving it home from the dealership, I noticed an issue when putting it in drive. There was a 5 second delay. Every single time I put it on drive, the delay would happen. If you stepped on the gas, it would act as if it were in neutral and violently jolt forward. Luckily, I was in a parking lot and I was able to avoid accidents. I purchased this car to transport my children but I no longer feel that it is safe. The solution I was given at the dealership was that the transmission may potentially need to be replaced. Now I understand why it took them 3 months to sell this car. I feel like this is unethical.

Parked by the curb at the ft. Lauderdale International airport. I put the car in park and left the car idling with the air-conditioning running. As it was 95 degrees and about 100 at around 8:00 am. There was a shuttle van parked by the curb about 11 feet in front of me. I had to exit my car to talk to the driver in the car behind me. I walked to the car behind me and started talking to the driver. I glanced back at my Mazda cx5 and it started rolling forward. I ran up to the car and got the door open and stepped on the brake. The brakes did not engage. I repeated stepping on the brake several times and the car would not stop. I got in the drivers seat to shift the car into reverse and keep my foot on the brake pedal. The car would not shift into reverse. And by this time the Mazda had pinned to the shuttle van a lady who was trying to unload her luggage. On the sixth attempt to shift into reverse the shifter finally moved into reverse and by standers came to the aid of the lady that had been pinned to the shuttle van. Airport security and the broward county police took the statements. The lady retrieving her baggage declined medical attention. When I checked to see what the police were reporting they did not acknowledge that I was attempting to stop a runaway vehicle. The report said that I failed to put the car in park and left it in drive. It is not possible to get out of a car that is idling and in gear without the car moving forward or backward before you can even get all the way out of the car. This incident happened about mid July in 2017. Near the end of June this year while in my driveway I left the car idling and in park, exited the car walking to the rear of the car and it dropped into reverse. Got back in the car and shut off the engine. July 2017 the local Mazda dealer inspected the vehicle and could not find as problem. Not unlikely with an intermittent electrical anomaly. There were no prior warning lamps in either incident.

I purchased a 2016 new Mazda Cx-5 in October 2016. My car was only 5 months old with 5411 mileage on it when I experienced this problem. I was pulling up my driveway when I got in front of my garage doors of my home, with my foot on the brake about ready to put the car in park , the engine began to rev up to a high rate of speed and accelerated into my house. The house stopped the car from going any further. My husband was in the passenger seat and experienced this as well. I was pressing down on the brake, but nothing stopped it. I was close distance to the house and it happened so fast. I backed off my house. I had to get my garage doors replaced and the car fixed. I did not drive the car again. Once the body shop fixed the car (damage $2300. 00 dollars), I had the vehicle towed to the Mazda dealership where I purchased the car to investigate the problem. They drove it for a few weeks with a black box, but never determined the problem or it happening again. Mazda corporation was involved with this investigation. I had filed the problem with them immediately after the accident had occurred. I refused to drive the car again. The dealership (Mazda in manchester, nh) worked a deal with me to buy the car back and get me into a new 2016 Mazda Cx-5. I hope I don't experience this with my new Cx-5. I really like the car, but I have to say that was an experience that no one would ever want to experience. I am just grateful that I wasn't on a street and it happened to my own property. It cost quite a bit in deductibles on house and car and I am sure my rates will go up on insurance on both. Unfortunately Mazda could not prove there was something wrong with the car, so my insurance company could not go after them for the damages. As I said before I am grateful my husband and I are ok and no one got hurt. Also, I found 4-6 others reporting this same complaint on the Cx-5.

Parked my car. Open up drivers door , radio and dash lights came on. Standing on driveway now push button to turn off radio and dash. Everything came back on. Did it three times and on the third time vehicle started to roll backwards. Had to curly on the floor bard and door wide open. Vehicle gaining speed, engine off, look at gear shift saying it's in park still. I had to jump out of vehicle because I thought I was going to die. Neighbor came to help me out and called 911 who sent an ambulance and police. Paramedics attended to my needs and rushed me to the hospital. Police ask the neighbors if someone was inside the vehicle and they said no. Police report shows vehicle still in park. Vehicle hit a tree and high center on a pge electrical box. Now vehicle is at a dealership who told my father under the table they were able to duplicate concerns but will not note it on the repair order. They looked at sensors and know codes appeared. Once my father mention he worked at a dealership they mention that I must have had the vehicle in reverse. If I stand outside of the vehicle and for a good minute to two minutes and it showed in park the whole time, there is something electrical going wrong with the vehicle. If you google radio is staying on when vehicle is shut off regarding these make and model there are several cases of this happening. People say they have to slam the vehicle into park to get the radio to work. Some people had a brake sensor replace which finally fixed the concern.

While driving the vehicle, the infotainment system abruptly turned off. Shortly thereafter and immediately after activating the turn signal the car stalled. The vehicle seemed to have completely turned off and coasted to a stop. The car then restarted and the check engine light was on.

The 'start/stop' button to turn off the vehicle, can be done in any gear. When done in "park" the vehicle locks up the wheels and the vehicle does not roll. When stopped in other grears' the vehicle will roll out of my driveway. Vehicle should be corrected so the transmission will lock the wheels up when the vehicle is turned off in any transmission position.

The following has happened numerous times on my 2016 Mazda cx5 touring over the course of almost a year. The last incident occurred on or about September 23, 2016. 1) while in reverse, moving to drive, there is a lag before the transmission engages and then lurches forward. 2) from a stop, there is a lag before the transmission engages, the engine revs very loudly and then lurches forward. 3) at another time, the engine revs loudly and very high with no noticeable increase in speed and then all of a sudden, it seems that the transmission engages. Very dangerous.

While driving the would not shift. Engine light, traction control light and flat tire light all came on and the car would not go over 10. Tried to shift manually and nothing. Got over and stopped, restarted car and only engine light was on tried to move and it did for a very short distance and al the light and not shifting again. Stopped and re-started again and I could shift manually. I let the car sit for two hours and the auto transmission did work but didn't respond well. After about an hour drive it loss power and wouldn't shift again. I believe the transmission isn't being allowed to shift due to a valve issue. Currently waiting for Mazda to make a decision dealer re-set computer and all light are off, but car still doesn't respond well when driving so it is still at dealer ship and the car isn't a year old with only 18500 miles.

I bought this car June 2016 and last week I took it to the dealership after a few weeks of stepping on the accelerator and waiting for the vehicle to move. Then one day 6/2/16 I put it in drive after backing out of the driveway into a street, stepped on the accelerator and it would not move. It took me 3 times of putting it back in park then in drive to move at which point I drove it right to the dealership. I was told the next day that they did not know why it failed but they were going to have to replace it. I got online and saw that many other cx5 owners have had the same problem. Having the power train fail after stopping at a stop sign, a red light, or after backing out of a driveway onto a street puts the driver in a dangerous situation.

At 609 miles the car started to buck when starting to accelerate from being stopped. The car then would also shift roughly on the the highway when you hit the 25 mph mark. The car then advanced to being only able to go in reverse or first gear only from a stopped position. . You could not move forward in drive. The car is currently at the dealers awaiting a new transmission.

After pulling into a parking and entering parking space my wife attempted to stop car, with her foot on the brake the vehicle jerked forward jumping a parking bumper at an accelerated rate of speed. After jumping the bumper our Cx-5 headed toward two parked cars, she was able to turn the wheel to the right where she was then headed toward a crosswalk, between two parking lots, with a hand rail. The vehicle finally came to a stop after becoming wedged under the hand rail and bumping a parked car. Damage was to the r fender, front bumper and hood a total of $5,100 worth of damage. Vehicle was towed to dealer. Mazda would no look into what or why it happened, our insurance company sent out a member of their forensic group to investigate the problem. Nothing was found to be wrong at the time that he checked and could not duplicate as he could not drive the vehicle. This was our second Mazda and our last, moving on.

I was driving about 35 mph along a mountain road I drive on to commute to work, suddenly I had no forward power, it was like the car was in neutral but it was in drive. The city brake system malfunction light came on also. I was lucky in that I was able to safely pull off the road. I turned the car off and then on again but still had no forward motion however the car would operate in reverse. I did some on line research while waiting for the tow truck and discovered that my vehicle was not the only one that this had happened to. The car only had 17,000. 00 miles on it. The dealership replaced the entire transmission but could not offer me any explanation as to what exactly went wrong with it. They said they sent the entire transmission back to Mazda. They also mentioned that mine was not the first transmission they had replaced. I am lucky that this happened in an area where I could safely pull off the road. As I stated there was no advance warning of this it just happened. In fact I had just had the vehicle at the dealership the week before for the 15,000. 00 mile service. I would like to know what is going on with these transmissions and certainly don't feel confident driving around in my car any longer especially since the dealership could not assure me that the problem had been fixed.

There is a rubbing/grinding/vibration feel on the pedals and steering wheel, including the entire body vibration that can be also seen in the side mirrors. These problem are more noticeable at high speed. I suspect either the tire, brake, rotors, alignment, suspension or transmission problems. I have brought my car 6 times to three different dealership already with the guidance from Mazda corporate costumer service but they are denying my Cx-5 issues. This is pretty scary to drive, I always feel that something bad gonna happen on my car in the freeway because of rough and bumpy ride. This happened since the day I bought this. I am very disappointed with this car for 32k $. All Mazda dealership are not cooperating. Very bad experience.

Put car into reverse and all was fine. When I tried to put it into drive it wouldn't engage in drive. After a while it engaged with a hard clunk. When I drove it and would try to accelerate it was the same thing. As if the car was not shifting. This happened on both neighborhood streets and on the highway.

Purchased a brand new Cx-5 grand touring on Feb 14, 2016. After only 1,300 miles and about 3 weeks, my brand new vehicle decided to nearly come to a complete stop on its own after making a right turn. It was as if I had shifted the car into park while driving. Abrupt stop. Heard a couple beeps, saw a warning light come on. Driver behind me nearly rear ended me. Pulled over, turned on flashers, got my whits about me. Beeping gone. No warning lights on. Look around, foot off break, merge back onto road. Call their service department and make an appointment for next day. Drop off car, tell them what happened, ask for loaner while they are looking at it. Nope, no loaners but can arrange rental for $35/day. Tell me they can definitely find out what happened because if warning light came on it will store the event in the onboard computer. Borrow wife's car cause not willing to pay for rental. Speak with them near end if day. We couldn't find anything wrong. No stored event in onboard computer. Tell me if you cant duplicate the problem for us nothing we can do. Oh well. Take car home. Drives fine for 2 more weeks. Its now March 18, car owned about 6-weeks, with approx 1,600 miles. Damned if it doesn't do exact same thing again 3:30pm on Friday. Amazed driver behind me doesn't rear end me. This time no beeps or warning light. Major safety issue.

I purchased my car on sept 10, 2015. I currently have 6,300 miles on my vehicle. When at a stop light and I step on the gas to go, the car does not move and just revs very loudly. After a few seconds, the car accelerates and the car jerks pretty violently (to the point where my head hits the back of the head rest). This was very consistent on my way home from work. When I was driving up an incline, the car's timing seemed to be off as it needed to downshift but couldn't when it should have. I made it home and had to have my car towed to the Mazda dealership in nashua, nh. Per the dealership on 2/22, the car needs a brand new transmission.

Transmission began to fail at around 1800 miles. Car would hesitate to engage in gear from a stop, and also would just spin before engaging in a new gear on the highway. Dealer replaced transmission per Mazda recommendation. This seems to be a common complaint on this model.

1600 miles in, transmission is being replaced by dealer. Shifting into drive, it would take 2-5 seconds to engage. Dealer indicates Mazda's solution to problem is to replace entire transmission.

Bought 2016 Cx-5 mid-sept, then started experiencing 5-second lags after shifting into drive in late Dec (approx 4,000 miles on vehicle). The car would hesitate and jerk, as if it had been in neutral, despite pressing down accelerator gently or fully. On new years' day the car was unreliable from a stop, even after a minute pressing accelerator in drive. 5 warning lights lit up on dash including at, engine, transaxle warning, and emergency, drive acted like neutral, so it was dangerous to cross an intersection after a stop light. Couldn't get above 2000 rpm, and that after a slow ramp-up. Still worked fine in rev which eliminated some possibilities like trans fluid. Check in with the service department of Mazda hamilton imports in NJ 609-587-7600 to find out what they had to replace!.

The transmission needed to be replaced after 1,525 miles. Today, after 1,600 miles the driver's window automatic up/down function stopped working.

While attempting to pull into a parking space with a 2016 Mazda Cx-5 (7000 miles) all of the warning lights on the dashboard lit up and the car started accelerating on its own (unintended acceleration). The brakes would not work! in an attempt to avoid the car parked in front of me I swerved to the right, unfortunately I hit the parked car with enough force to moved it about 12 feet forward. My vehicle continued going up an over a curbed median and finally came to rest approximately 100 feet away with enough force (brakes finally worked) to knock my glasses off as my head jerked forward. Vehicle was towed to the dealer and was examined and deemed "working as designed". Supposedly, information was sent to Mazda USA engineers, the dealer states they found nothing unusual but have never given me a written report stating so even though I have requested it on multiple occasions. The dealer recommendation was to fix the damage to my car ($4400. 00 worth) and then they would install a "special black box" and drive the vehicle for a few days. After driving the vehicle for 3 days, the dealer still says that nothing is wrong with the vehicle. We feel that Mazda corp should take this vehicle back and inspect it thoroughly for unintended acceleration, as we do not feel comfortable driving this vehicle anymore.

Had fully loaded cx5 touring 4 months. Suddenly today, when I press on accelerator, car would jerk as it was attempting to drive forward. After I made it to work, left work early to go to dealership. Car would start and go into reverse, but it would not go forward in drive. Car had to be towed to dealership, where they are trying to diagnose the problem. I am really nervous that they find the problem and fix it correctly the first time. I have a 90 mile commute (round trip) on a fast moving toll road, and cannot take the chance of breaking down when I am in route.

The same story happened on my 2016 Cx-5. I purchased my car on July 8th 2015. I only had 2000 miles on my vehicle when this happened. When at a stop light and I step on the gas to go, the car does not move and just revs very loudly. After a few seconds, the car accelerates and the car jerks pretty violently. This was very consistent on my way home from work. When I was driving up an incline, the car's timing seemed to be off as it needed to downshift but couldn't when it should have. I made it home and had to have my car towed to the Mazda dealership in irvine, CA. The dealership just told me that the car needs a brand new transmission. They do not what is the reason. And they could not tell is the repair totally fix the problem. They just did whatever Mazda told them to do. After three weeks, finally I got my Cx-5 repaid. It was a really bad experience. I don't feel safe to drive with Mazda anymore. There are more and more same cases about Cx-5 power train. Further investigations are strongly needed.

The vehicle would not go from reverse to drive or drive to reverse. It would be in drive but would reverse. Then it would lurch forward and the engine would rev and it would go forward. It had a delayed reaction when changing the gears and engine would rev up when it finally would change. I took it to Mazda dealer and they said it needs a new transmission. It has 1000 miles and is about 6 weeks old.

Automobile was almost brand new, didn't even have license plates on it yet, when I proceeded to back out of a parking spot. The vehicle backed out but would not go forward in drive. It finally lurched into drive after giving it more gas and revving the engine. I turned the vehicle off and restarted it, again same issue. Would not move forward in drive, even in manual shift mode. Had vehicle towed. Mazda stated they are replacing the entire transmission. I am reporting in case their are others having this issue. Very thankful it happened in a parking lot and not when I was trying to pull out into traffic.

Stopped on highway at red light. Went to pull out on green, car hesitated then it felt like I was being hit from behind the transmission engaged with a big thud before I could get moving. Further on down the road it would without warning, downshift then upshift, going sometimes from 6th gear to 3rd and throwing me forward. Everytime I would stop and try to start there was hesitation from the transmission then it would slam into gear. When I was stopped on a slight upgrade, the car would drift backward a good bit, the only way to stop it was to give it more gas and the transmission would again slam into gear. During all this no engine or warning lights of any kind came on. The model I was driving was less than 30 days old with only 3300 miles on it. I am concerned, because I traded in a 2014 Mazda cx 5 ( same model) and it also had to have the transmission replaced. Mazda is replacing the transmission in this 2016 unit.