Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Mazda CX-5 - part 1

In August 2025, we brought our Mazda Cx-5 (non-turbo engine) to a Mazda service center and paid nearly $3,000 for repairs, including replacement of belts and other related service. Despite this, we continued to experience a burning smell from the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, the problem escalated — the burning smell persisted and smoke began to appear. Mazda is now demanding an additional $4,500 to replace a cracked cylinder head. This defect must have been present when the car was serviced in August, and the initial repairs failed to identify or correct it. While there is an NHTSA technical service bulletin for the turbo version of this engine, there are numerous complaints online about the same defect in the non-turbo model, which is what we own. This indicates that the problem is not isolated. Mazda should be held responsible for this safety issue. A cracked cylinder head that leads to burning smells and smoke is a serious hazard that could cause engine failure or even fire. Consumers should not be forced to spend thousands of dollars on repairs for what appears to be a widespread defect and when our vehicle has only $50k miles and it should last for the life of the vehicle.

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

2018 Mazda Cx-5, 2. 5l naturally aspirated engine the vehicle has been diagnosed with a leak from the cylinder head cover, resulting in engine oil dripping directly onto the exhaust manifold. This issue causes noticeable smoke and a strong burning oil odor inside the cabin while the engine is running. This defect presents multiple serious safety concerns: 1) health hazard due to prolonged exposure to burning oil fumes inside the vehicle. 2) fire risk from oil contacting hot engine components. 3) potential engine failure, which could lead to vehicle stalling or loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash and possible loss of life. Mazda issued technical service bulletin TSB #sa-031-21, which introduced a redesigned cylinder head for 2018–2019 Cx-5 models. The release of this TSB indicates Mazda’s awareness of the underlying design flaw. There is substantial evidence, including numerous owner reports, that this is a widespread issue affecting these model years. The defect is not related to vehicle mileage or user negligence. Mazda should be held fully accountable and take corrective action by issuing a formal safety recall or offering an extended warranty to affected owners. Immediate attention to this matter is necessary to protect consumer safety and prevent future incidents.

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Cracked cylinder head leaks oil directly onto hot exhaust, causing smoke, fumes in cabin and a fire risk.

The contact owns a 2020 Mazda Cx-5. The contact stated that while the cruise control was activated and driving 65 mph in the middle lane of a busy six-lane highway, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle was suddenly stalled and coasted to a complete stop in the middle of the highway. The contact was able to restart the vehicle to continue driving. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure and was unable to confirm that the failure had occurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 32,000.

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The contact owns a 2019 Mazda Cx-5. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph with a toddler occupying the rear seat, the contact noticed smoke and an abnormal burning rubber odor coming through the vents. The contact pulled into a gas station and then pulled into a nail salon parking lot. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence, where an independent mechanic inspected the vehicle and found an oil leak, and the mechanic diagnosed that the cylinder head had cracked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under an unknown extended warranty because of the type of engine. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under goodwill assistance because the oil changes had not been mainly performed by the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

Cracked/leaking cylinder head on my 2019 Mazda cx5. It is understood that Mazda has extended warranty for the turbo model (csp11) of this car, but not the standard engine, even though they both are displaying the same issue in many 2019 cx5s. Quoted at $6000 for a vehicle under 90k miles. Issue needs to be escalated.

The cylinder head has a crack in it witch sprays oil all over the engine. It also sprays oil on to the very catalitic converter that's very hot . Smoke is everywhere and iam afraid it will cause a fire.

Dealership service department found a cracked cylinder head. This issue has been reported to NHTSA by Mazda. The car is being serviced and this issue was found. I’m attaching photos and also report from dealership l.

Cracked cylinder head.

Engine cylinder heads started to leak at 75k miles causing oil and coolant to leak and puddle. This was after a fuel pump recall.

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.

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Timing cover oil leak. This is the same issue reported in technical bulletin #01-006/23 issued on 04/26/2023. There is oil leaking and the engine is smoking. No engine warning lights or other messages appeared. My car is a 2019 Mazda Cx-5 and has 31,954 miles. This problem has been confirmed by both an independent mechanic and the dealer service center. On 08/22/2025, I took my vehicle to dealer service for the repair. I also submitted a ticket to Mazda care for review of the case.

I noticed an oil leak. I had it diagnosed and its a crack in the cylinder head, right above the exhaust manifold. This is known issue for Mazda's online. There is oil spilling everywhere. The oil burns off as it is driving. Smoke fills my car.

. . . . . 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.

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For the 3rd or 4th time since I have own this car I experienced a loss of acceleration when attempting to make quick acceleration while attempting to merge with traffic. Acceleration is fine around town where quick acceleration is not appropriate. But the first attempt to merge with flowing traffic the car will slowly accelerates to about 30 mph and no more regardless as to position of accelerator pedal. On all occasion this bad behavior has this first drive of the day - going to work in the a. M. There is often a warning message indicating the safety radar is not working due to limited visibility which is a very common warning in the a. M.

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.

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).

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Engine developed multiple oil leaks from oil seal and timing cover. The leaks could result in engine failure and endanger driver and/or passengers. No warning lights activated, was found at routine oil change. Defect was reported to manufacturer, but warranty had expired, and they refused accept responsibility. Research revealed this vehicle is known to have this defect.

The timing chain cover gasket failed and is leaking oil at 66,000 miles. It is currently being addressed at borgman Mazda in grand rapids. No crash or safety risk. There were no warning lamps, it was found by an separate inspection not from the dealership.

While waiting at a stop light the engine will turn off. This has happened three times since I’ve owned the car 2/16/2025.

I own a 2018 Mazda Cx-5. I currently have 64,770 miles on the car. I have had a burning smell and smoke coming from the engine. The car was taken to the dealer (john kennedy Mazda conshohocken) and I was told it was fixed by replacing a gasket. The smell and smoke persisted. I took it back to the dealer and now I am told there is a leaking cylinder head. I do not feel safe driving this car especially with my kids in the car while the engine is smoking. I have had to pull over on the highway due to this. No warning lights were on until a week prior to taking it back a second time when my oil light finally came on.

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.

My vehicle has 64k miles and has had regular maintenance - oil changes, etc. It has recently developed an oil leak. I took it to the dealer today & they said the cylinder head and gasket needs to be replaced. My car has not overheating or even run warm. I understand there are 2019 Cx-5s that have had a casting issue with cylinder heads. I feel sure that’s what the issue is here yet they want almost $6k to repair my vehicle!.

The contact owns a 2019 Mazda Cx-5. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message that the engine oil level was low was displayed. The contact stated that oil was added to the engine; however, the next day the message reoccurred. The contact stated that later while the vehicle was parked, the contact discovered an oil leak underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the local mechanic who confirmed oil leaking from the engine, but the cause of the oil leak was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted, and a service appointment was scheduled. The cause of the failure was not yet determined, and the vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 96,600.

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

Vehicle is a 2023 Mazda Cx-5 signature turbo model that had a leaking hydraulic tensioner for the serpentine belt at 15,759 miles. Mazda technician cleaned the hydraulic tensioner, and less than 500 miles later the leak returned. This is common enough in the community to expand TSB’s on this part.

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

Just got diagnosed with cracked cylinder head. After looking on social media, it appears this is a thing for the model years 2018 and 2019. Bad casting? anyway I believe this should be a voluntary recall to correct such a flawed engine. I bought this new from a Mazda dealership and kept it up to date with service only through the dealer. The 60 month/60,000 mile drive train warranty ran out last July. However I only have 50,000 miles on the car. . . Babied.

Straight to the point, I backed the vehicle up, pushed the brake peddle in and shifted into park. The engine begun to increase in rpms and I could hear the engine load increase, maybe about 2,000 to 5,000 rpms higher than idle or first start building vacuum idle, as if I was pushing on the accelerator. I literally looked down at the peddles, as I was just doing a quick spot change in my driveway, the accelerator did not appear to be stuck or in contact with the aftermarket winter weather plastic floor mat. I decompressed the brake peddle again and shifted the car from p to d and the engine went to its normal baseline idling rpms and sound. I put it back in p and turned it off, no issue. I have noticed this problem before, but I only noticed it during this past winter season and blamed it on my winter boots and/or myself instead of the vehicle. I am going to guess this has happened in total about 4 times, including the most recent incident that I just wrote about. The Cx-5 is connected to Mazda's network/ data service or whatever it is called, because I like my cars clock to maintain correct time, which it won't or can't do if I prefer my privacy from Mazda. So Mazda should be able to see what happened on their end. It happened in the late afternoon to early evening. I do also use 'auto hold' daily and cruise control w/out radar active.

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

2018 Mazda cx5 2. 5 ltr engine. Major oil leak that has been diagnosed as cracked or porous aluminum casting on the cylinder block. Oil is dripping consistently out of the problem area onto the manifold, causing smoke to flow into the cabin of the car and out of the hood as well. Car is currently at a Mazda dealership for a second diagnosis that confirmed the leak. Car is 3,000 miles out of warranty. Waiting to hear what the dealership is going to do. I also have contacted Mazda corp. And have a case# to take further action if needed. As you can see by the list of "engine" complaints for this problem, it is well documented that this is not an isolated issue.

Unknown. Ticking noise on engine.

Had an oil leak suddenly appear on the vehicle with only 55400 miles. Found there are technical service bulletins for this motor that the head cracks causing leaks. It is on many forums. Reached out to Mazda and got zero help.

At 30,000 miles car began leaking oil severely and was told that the engine block was cracked and needed to be replaced. There are numerous complaints of this same issue online happening just after the warranty has expired. The cost of repair is $6000.

Car started leaking and burning oil. Blue smoke coming out of engine. Low oil pressure light went on. I had it looked at by an auto mechanic. This is a major safety issue as the engine will fail because of the low pressure. The car is not drivable. Turns out it's a known issue with the cylinder head that Mazda knows about because they issued a redesign and issued recalls for the 2019 and the turbo engine. They also issued a TSB for this problem. Car is out of warranty, but not old enough to have major engine issues.

Started 2018 Mazda Cx-5 and the engine was extremely loud and a ticking noise was heard. Brought it to my local garage (charlies garage) and it was determined that the lifters needed replacement. Garage told me that Mazda issued a service alert on November 22, 2019 (alert # sa-012/19) and did not notify customers of the valve tapping or knocking noise from cylinder head. The garage then told me that Mazda issued a technical service bulletin on April 23, 2020 (bulletin no. 01-006/20). Again, customers were not notified of the tapping noise from engine bulletin that was issued. There were no alerts on the dashboard of the car, no warning lights, or other indicators. If Mazda had notified customers, the car would have been fixed under warranty. I do have a video of the noise and if you let me know how to send that, I will.

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.