Electrical System Problems of Mazda CX-5 - part 1

I purchased this vehicle new in June 2025. About a month after the dealer service inspection, the vehicle suddenly would not start at all. The key fob sometimes cannot unlock the door, and I have to use the backup key to open it. After entering the vehicle, the engine will not start. I previously brought the car to the dealer for inspection, but they said no issue was found. Now the problem has happened again and the vehicle cannot start. This is a serious reliability and safety concern for a new vehicle.

See all problems of the 2025 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

The Smart brake support system malfunctioned while driving. The vehicle began shaking and lost power, requiring excessive throttle to move. The car hesitates and may not accelerate normally, creating a dangerous situation in traffic. Warning lights appeared on the dashboard and the vehicle became unsafe to operate. The issue occurred shortly after purchase and was reproduced multiple times. The dealer inspected the vehicle but refused to provide a written diagnosis or repair timeline. The vehicle is unreliable and poses a risk of sudden loss of control or rear-end collision.

See all problems of the 2020 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

I noticed smoke filling the inside of my car. I looked over at the passenger seat, and my coat was on fire. I poured my drink on it, pulled over, and threw the coat out of the car. I saw a large hole in the lumbar area of the passenger seat, and it was glowing red and putting out a lot of heat. The seat heater was on, so I immediately turned it off. It was obvious that the fire has started inside the seat, and there was no other fire source in car--ie. Lit cigarette, lighter, etc. If someone had been sitting there, they would have serious burns. The seat will need to be replaced.

See all problems of the 2016 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

Hello. I started hearing this noise on my car, it was distracting and found it that it only happens when my headlight is turned on. I believe that the headlight leveling motor went out, I have an appointment for next week to have it checked, but the more I reach out to others Mazda drivers, the more I hear this is a common issue. My car is brand new, well taken care of, this seems to happen a lot.

See all problems of the 2024 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - Smart brake support (sbs) & forward obstruction warning system malfunctioned. Front radar sensor malfunctioned. Parking brake malfunctioned. I-activesense system malfunctioned. Emergency lane keep disabled. Dynamic stability control malfunctioned. Traction control system not operating correctly. Anti-lock brake system (abs) malfunctioned. Brake system not responding. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? in total 10 malfunctions led to brake not responding and could not stop the car and resulted into a car accident. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? police report from car accident states brake malfunction. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? car was totally fine until all 10 error messages appeared on Jan. 17th 2026 12:42-12:43pm and immediately the brake system did not respond and resulted in the car accident. **important** police report documented that the officer on scene is a witness of the car dashboard shows “brake malfunction”.

See all problems of the 2023 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

The infotainment system suffers from ghost touching. It has gotten out of control even after a “recall” fix at the dealership. Without being touched the volume changes, the stations change, the presets change, the car makes calls to my contacts. I am often unable to control the screen as it turns the car to max volume while driving. It is extremely unsafe, distracting and alarming.

See all problems of the 2017 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

I was driving down the road and started smelling smoke then looked over and my passenger seat was in flames.

Passenger side seat heater overheated and burned upholstery.

The battery died, the car wouldn't start one night. The battery which is the original that came with the car is only about 2 years old. I googled the code from the code reader, it said some Mazda Cx-5 have a starting problem but then I checked the recall website and there was none.

Radio audio randomly stopped working and you have to disconnect the negative or you have to leave the car off essentially all night. It’s definitely unknown issue there’s videos all over youtube about it and there’s forms on read about it.

See all problems of the 2021 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

During a one-hour car ride, the front passenger side seat heater burned a hole through the seat, damaging my wife's skirt and leaving a hole in the upholstery. The overheating definitely originated within the seat. We immediately turned the seat heater off and have not used it since. It could have started a fire, which is very scary, or burned my wife, which is a serious safety risk. This issue has been mentioned by other Mazda owners, but I cannot find any recall reports. There were no warnings prior to the burning. The component is being taken to the dealership to be examined today.

Summary of issue: the infotainment system in my 2019 Mazda Cx-5 has been malfunctioning for a long period of time, and the issue has now escalated to the point where the system is unsafe and distracting while driving. Details: the infotainment screen intermittently “ghosts” and activates functions on its own—clicking through menus, changing settings, and moving erratically without any driver input. The system has also frozen and rebooted while the vehicle is in motion. This creates a serious distraction and safety concern. I previously reported this issue to the dealership, where they attempted a reset and told me to come back if the problem returned. The issue persisted and worsened. I recently returned, and the dealership diagnosed a communication failure between the cmu and the infotainment screen. However, they cannot identify any cause, and the screen itself has no physical damage and has never been struck. Mazda has declined to cover this under warranty, even though this appears to be an internal failure of components that should not fail at this mileage. Additionally, infotainment failures in Mazda vehicles have been the subject of prior complaints and service bulletins. Safety concern: the malfunction causes the screen to operate unpredictably while driving, which distracts from the road and creates a risk of an accident. Because the system controls access to vehicle settings, bluetooth, audio, navigation, and backup camera interfaces, the failure presents a potential safety defect. Requested action: I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether this infotainment / cmu communication failure is a broader defect affecting 2019 Mazda Cx-5 vehicles, as dealerships cannot identify the cause and the failure poses a clear distraction hazard.

See all problems of the 2019 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

The front passenger seat heating system caught fire and burned through the fabric and my dog's seat. The fumes made me and my dog nauseous. I had to swerve across the highway and stop on the shoulder to extinguish the seat fire/burn. The fuse was pulled for safety. The seat is in storage for inspection. Mazda will be contacted.

Unknown the infotainment system started malfunctioning on its own.

I purchased this vehicle on the 10th of September. By the 12th I I noticed the infotainment system was doing its own thing without me touching anything. The next day it did the same thing I e. Changing stations on its own,volume going up or down etc. . .

Dashboard lit up like a christmas tree. Multiple warning lights all at once. This issue has been reported on multiple Mazda vehicle years. Took to delker auto repairs. Is electrical problem. Stated that so far nothing wrong with components. Will have to hunt for. Mazda has known electrical issues. In addition, your file upload will not let me upload picture even though it's in correct format. I can send separately.

My vehicle was damaged by an as yet determined electrical fire seemingly having originated in the passenger door speaker components.

The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Cx-5. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning light was illuminated. In addition, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine. The contact pulled over to the side of the road before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the engine had failed due to a lack of maintenance. The contact stated that the vehicle was equipped with an automatic reminder regarding the oil change. The contact stated that the oil change reminder failed to illuminate to indicate that the oil level was extremely low. The check engine warning light also failed to illuminate. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

The infotainment screen in the vehicle suffers from phantom/ghost touching, rending a safety hazard as while following navigation it can act on it's own, becoming a large distraction.

Cx-5's infotainment system randomly, and without warning starts beeping and changing options while driving, a very distracting event. I tried to shut the screen off but it comes back on randomly and causes concern and distraction while driving, it has been happening for years now and of what I read Mazda will not correct the problem.

When accelerating, the transmission feels jerky/stutters. The check engine light and traction control light are illuminated and on the instrument cluster the messages: "forward Smart city brake support malfunction", "Smart brake system malfunction" and "front radar sensor system malfunction" appear. The vehicle acts like it doesn't know which gear it should be in, it'll buck pretty hard and then it refuses to accelerate. . . It feels like it's in a "limp mode". A previous driver of the vehicle complained and said that it actually stalled in traffic on the highway and was of course difficult to steer due to loss of power. I took it to a dealership and they came up with a laundry list of things to fix. . . Most of which wouldn't have any bearing on this issue. I did have the serpentine belt replaced and the belt tensioner replaced due to wear on the belt and loose tension. On 7/16/25, I scanned the vehicle with a code reader, the codes p0301 and p0506 appeared. P0301 is a generic "cylinder 1 misfire detected" message and p0506 is a generic "iac system rpm lower than expected. The vehicle was taken to a shop where the spark plugs and the cylinder 1 coil was replaces and the iac cleaned. On 7/24/25 the same vehicle behaviors were observed and the same warning lights and messages were activated. I scanned the vehicle and got "p0300 random/multiple cylinder misfire detected and p0304 cylinder 4 misfire detected. There was a recall on this particular vehicle make, model and year and my vehicle was out of the VIN# range. I firmly believe that the recall needs to be expanded to include a larger number of vehicles. . . You can google about this vehicle and see many others with similar issues. Usually, the cure is a pcm reflashing/software update that seems to take care of the issue. Please expand the recall before someone dies in an accident because of this problem.

I own a 2020 Mazda Cx-5 equipped with the Mazda connect infotainment system. The touchscreen display malfunctions regularly by randomly selecting menu items, jumping between screens, zooming in and out, and activating functions without any input from me. These “phantom touch” events occur even when the vehicle is in drive, which means the touchscreen should be disabled — yet the system behaves as if it’s receiving constant false touch input. When this happens, I cannot back out of screens or use the physical control knob or buttons, making it extremely distracting and unsafe while driving. The dealer initially diagnosed it as a screen laminate issue, which they said isn’t covered under warranty. However, this appears to be a known defect in the cmu (connectivity master unit) that Mazda has not properly addressed in many cases, even though there is an ongoing class action settlement about it. The cmu passed their diagnostic test, but the issue persists — and others have reported receiving full replacements despite passing those same tests. Mazda refuses to escalate or repair unless the screen kit fails first. I believe this is a defect affecting driver safety, especially since it continues while the vehicle is moving.

. . . . . On at least 5 seperate occasions our 2021 Mazda cx5 SUV accelerated to a high rate of speed (on it's own). It has done it to my wife and I both. I contacted two different Mazda service centers and was advised they have no knowledge of this and that there are no open recalls or TSB's and as intermittent as it is it would be almost impossible to duplicate. On July 18th the car accelerated (on its own) again but this time it drove my wife into a tree at aprox. 35/40 mph breaking her ribs. The body shop informed me this morning that the car is a total loss. Mazda needs to get to the bottom of this and resolve this issue ASAP. This time it was a tree, the next time it may be at a crosswalk or at an intersection. It's just a mater of time until someone is killed or at the very least badly hurt. I don't know how Mazda can be unaware of this problem, it's all over the internet. Our body shop pulled it up on line and was shocked at the amount of complaints/ concerns that existed related to this problem. Please investigate this because the next person may not be as fortunate. Thank you in advance.

Critical malfunction- causing parking brake malfunction, anti lock brake system malfunction, dynamic stability control malfunction, disabled blind spot monitoring, keyless entry system malfunction, front brake / and obstruction warning disabled, keyless entry system malfunction, air bag system and seat belt pre-tensioner system malfunction. Vehicle not starting. /dead. Sat at dealership service where purchased for 6 days saying they could not test bc they did not have a battery tester- magically when I complained they found one- and say everything checks out ok. Vehicle is not safe!!!! if this malfunction happened while driving I could have been killed. The dealership refuses to anything g but say it’s ok- and it’s not a lemon. I cannot put my life at risk and they will not guarantee it will not happen again- or say why it happened- other than check g the battery.

The vehicle reboots the screen/infotainment system while driving. The dealership has updated the software and replaced the screen (screen was at my cost). They reset the codes and it comes back. This is a safety hazard as it could cause non compliance with the fmvss in regards to rear-view cameras being required. There is currently a settlement in place under a class action.

While driving down highway the car suddenly will stop accelerating. Once this occurs the check engine light will turn on and shortly after the battery light will turn on. The car will not move and the ac will then stop working. The first time the car was brought to dealership (under warranty). They had to replace battery, fuel pump and fuel level indicator. They stated the fuel pump was broken as was the fuel level indicator. They were able to reproduce the problem prior to fixing it the first time. Less than a month after the car was repaired the exact same issue happened. This is a significant safety concern as I was driving on the highway with a [xxx] child in the back seat when the car stopped driving the second time. I was barely able to get over a lane and off the road before the car stopped driving. The ac then stopped working on a day where the feels like temperature was over 100. I had to lay wet cloths over my infant to prevent her from overheating while we waited for aaa and a family member to reach us. The inability to accelerate/sudden stopping of the car while driving on a highway with a speed limit of 70mph posed a significant safety risk to my life, my child’s life and potentially other cars if they weren’t able to stop. I had to wave frantically at the car in the lane next to me so that they wouldn’t hit me. No warning lights came on until after the issue (stopped accelerating) occurred. The dealership (Mazda) now has the car again and will be inspecting it. I have files from the first incident however they are in the car. Once I get my car back I can send over the reports of what they replaced/work completed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2022 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

Infotainment system went dark and I cannot get it to come back on. I’ve read that this has been an ongoing issue and is covered in Mazda cx5 models up to 2020 thru a class action lawsuit, but my one is a 2021 (manufactured we’ll before 2021 though) with a virtually identical system.

The info uni in the car constantly resets itself. It happens when gps is activated, parking, listening to directions, pretty much at all time especially in crucial moments. Nav center doesn't even load at times, this causes unknown information of speed limits and streets.

Car “died” while idling at a traffic light. It started but would not start several hours later and car was towed to mechanic. Diagnostics “determined “after several days that car needed an ecm. Ecm was ordered and replaced, along with the battery. This took several weeks, in the meantime, I had to rent a vehicle. Vehicle picked up on may 29th and driven 250 miles and car sputtered, hesitated, slowing down in heavy traffic at high speeds on highway, putting other drivers and myself in a very unsafe situation. Several days later this happened again while traveling back home, again, at highway speed putting other drivers and myself in high risk situation. (this happened several times during both trips. ) as I was focused on the road, I did not see if any messages were displayed. After returning home, the mechanic was informed via voice mail and again via telephone. The following morning (June 2), the car sputtered, hesitated to accelerate at low speeds and died while driving to repair shop (battery indicator illuminated as I was pulling over). Car has been towed again to repair shop.

Keyless entry stopped working, key fob battery replaced as well as car battery. Coolant issues. Heater core and sensors.

This is a complete electrical system failure. My screen continues scroll all systems fails. At least it is not draining the battery again. I have had to replace the battery 2 times in the last 6 months. Maybe carmax sold me a "lemon". . I received a recall notice, however when I spoke with the service department at the bob Mazda dealership in carlsbad and they told me that the recall on my vehicle is closed. I can come in for repairs, but at my own expense. I have only owned this vehicle for 6 months in which 2 months I was in the hospital recovering from a major surgery. When I get in my car and start it, if it starts the "blue" light is on every time, which is apparently thermostat. After about 20 minutes or so the light turns off, sometimes 30 minutes. The next part is the scrolling malfunctions. It lists about everything on the car. I am [xxx] and live in baja. I live in a very safe, gated with a security guard neighborhood, however I am scared of going any due to my car issues and being stranded. I also really need to cross the border to see my doctor but I am afraid. When you have to replace 2 batteries in 6 months and I have only driven under 5,000 since I purchased the car. Mazda needs to make me whole. My car also only has 24,000 and when I bought it had20,000 miles. There is something seriously wrong, actually multiple things are wrong with my 2019 Mazda. A person should never be afraid to get in the vehicle due to safety issues. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

While driving, the infotainment screen went crazy! it randomly changed screens rapidly, and the navigation voice started talking loudly about changing volume level, and repeatedly. Very distracting and dangerous.

Summary of events: purchase date: 05/27/2023 coolant warning: in January 2025, I received a coolant temperature warning (code p0126) indicating insufficient coolant temperature. Repairs: I brought the vehicle in for repairs on 02/15/2025 for thermostat and related parts. The repairs were completed by 02/17/2025. New warning: on 03/18/2025, I received a high coolant temperature warning. Upon inspection, coolant was nearly empty, and I found coolant contamination in the engine bay. Notification to dealership: I emailed hennessy Mazda on 03/19/2025, but after no response, I filed a claim with Mazda headquarters on 03/20/2025. Only after that, they called me and instructed me to bring the vehicle in. They claimed that after replacing the faulty parts and cleaning the engine bay, the car was ready for pickup. (while they assert that all actions were completed on 03/22, based on the fact that the car door was opened approximately five times in April, it can be inferred that the necessary actions were likely completed in early April. ) concerns: coolant leak: the coolant leak persisted for nearly a month, likely causing damage to internal components due to engine overheating. Electronic contamination: the leaked coolant likely contaminated sensitive electronic systems, wiring, and connectors, potentially leading to long-term failures due to the conductive and corrosive properties of modern coolants like Mazda fl22. Long-term risks: hidden corrosion inside connectors and wiring. Potential for electrical failure, sensor malfunctions, and further degradation over time. Hennessy Mazda is currently addressing only the visible issues and claiming the car is now functioning properly, while attempting to shift the long-term and hidden risks onto me. I am requesting a vehicle replacement or compensation due to the safety and long-term reliability risks posed by the unresolved coolant leak and contamination.

We had another Cx-5 in the back that we used to test whether or not it was either the throttle body or the bcm ( body control module ) or the pcm ( power control module ) not working that is causing your vehicle to not wanting to turn on the throttle body passed we transferred it over from vehicle a ( being the donor ) to vehicle b (being your vehicle ) and it was still doing the same thing which it would crank but not fully turn on and that is how we ruled that part out the bcm we also transferred over from vehicle a to vehicle b and same thing it would crank but not fully turn on this is what the mechanic at Mazda collision center of irving stated: the pcm has power and is communicating with everything else in the vehicle. If it was the pcm then nothing would work and we wouldn't be able to even cycle the power as if we were going to turn on the vehicle we brought this over to our Mazda foreman and we showed him the codes it was throwing and what was going on and explained everything and he did tell us that it could be the main harness that is causing all of this he is not for sure just because he is not the mechanic involved in this but he said that is a good start. I am uncertain exactly what is wrong with the vehicle. When I took it in to be serviced, it worked. The mechanic then said he couldn't work on it anymore after trying to fix the body work because the electrical system had failed. I then had it towed to Mazda to see if they could fix the issue. I had originally took it in because of a minor fender bender. I am unclear as to why it has taken four months and my car still doesn't work and I do not know how to afford buying a car to replace it when I cannot trade it in since we cannot resolve the electronic portion through insurance.

I purchased this vehicle as a used car from a dealership. On my way home, the infotainment panel began to shout at top volume that this is the volume that navigation would be set at. The volume was so loud that it was startling, and it continued on until I had to pull over. I contacted the dealer, but they offered no assistance. The car continues to control itself at the panel ferning with the use of android auto so that you can't use your phone gps for directions. The radio will control itself, changing stations, making loud beeps, and turning the volume up. There is no way to stop this feature because you can't turn the system completely off while the car is on. I can find no way to fix this on my own. I have tried resets, but have seen ample information about other people having this problem online. This does not seem to be an unknown problem and I don't know why there has not been issued a recall because it's very dangerous.