Exterior Lighting Problems of Mazda CX-5 - part 1

My 2022 Mazda Cx-5 signature began producing a loud whirring/rattling noise from the driver-side front headlight assembly. After investigation, the noise was identified as coming from the internal cooling fan located inside the led headlight unit. The cooling fan, which is integrated into the bi-led headlamp assembly, appears to be failing prematurely due to bearing wear. This is a known widespread defect on 2019–2023 Mazda Cx-5 models. Mazda has already issued technical service bulletin (TSB) 09-015-23, which acknowledges the noise issue and instructs dealers to replace the entire front combination light assembly under warranty. However, no formal recall has been issued. The root cause appears to be Mazda’s design decision to use the full led headlight beam as the daytime running light (drl), which keeps the headlight cooling fans running continuously whenever the vehicle is in operation — even in daylight. This accelerates fan bearing wear far beyond normal expectations. The headlight assembly costs $1,200–$1,700 per side to replace out of warranty. Owners whose warranty has expired are facing repair bills of $2,400–$3,400 for both sides. This constitutes a significant safety risk as headlight failure reduces nighttime visibility. I have scheduled a warranty repair at an authorized Mazda dealer under TSB 09-015-23.

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

Both led headlights died within two months of each other on this relatively new vehicle. Outside the three year warranty, but only 27,000 miles (well within the 36,000 warranty period). As it's outside of the three years, the warranty already expired regardless of mileage. One headlight was grinding (fan) while the other's low beam simply died. Each headlight cost $2800 to replace. You can't simply replace a burned out bulb with this headlight design. The entire unit must be replaced at a cost of almost $3000 depending on your dealer. This is a major safety issue when headlights die while driving at night. This is not a user maintenance issue. It is not normal wear and tear. Almost $6000 dollars to replace poorly designed headlights within two months of each other on a new-ish vehicle while being a safety concern constitutes reason enough to issue a recall, and to reimburse owners for previous replacements.

Rh led headlight cooling fan failure. Diagnosed by Mazda dealer and quoted $2450 cost. Vehicle is just outside warranty coverage by 2900 miles. This is a very well known and documented problem that Mazda is not standing behind. Owners are removing the relay for their daytime running lights, rendering them inoperable in order to save wear and tear on the headlight cooling fans. This is a safety hazard.

My driver side front headlight fan is malfunctioning. It stays on and makes a loud noise when the car is parked and off and the lights are still on. This is a known defect and my dealership is asking for 2k to pay for it. I am concerned the light will go out causing safety concerns. (TSB) sa01323 and 09-015/23. This should be recalled as is it not a general wear and tear issue, it is a manufacturing issue. My car is out of warranty but this should still be covered.

The contact owns a 2022 Mazda Cx-5. The contact stated that while driving at nighttime at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the headlights. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with an unknown headlight fan bearing failure. The vehicle was not repaired because the warranty had expired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000.

The mechanical motor assembly inside the adaptive front-lighting headlamp unit has failed on my 2022 Mazda Cx-5. This mechanical malfunction severely compromises nighttime driving illumination, creating a direct road hazard by reducing forward visibility during essential evening commutes. An initial repair and parts request was submitted to Mazda several months ago, but no corporate response or resolution was ever received. The vehicle and component are currently available for inspection at yark Mazda in toledo, OH, where technicians have confirmed the headlight motor failure. Because the prior request went unanswered, the dealership has advised me to contact Mazda corporate directly to follow up. No dashboard warning lights appeared prior to the component failure.

My 2023 Mazda Cx-5 (48,000 miles) is experiencing a loud mechanical whirring/grinding from the driver-side headlight assembly, a documented manufacturing defect involving foreign matter contamination of the internal led cooling fan bearings (TSB 09-029/25). Despite the manufacturer acknowledging this factory-installed defect, Mazda has refused to proactively remedy the issue because the vehicle is nominally past its 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper period. I have been explicitly advised by service personnel to continue operating the vehicle until the headlight unit 'entirely fails' before further assistance may be considered. This 'fail-first' directive is a reckless disregard for public safety; the internal cooling fan exists specifically to prevent the high-intensity led from overheating. A failure of this fan leads directly to the sudden burnout of the main headlamp while the vehicle is in motion. Mazda is essentially requiring me to drive a vehicle with a known, ticking-clock lighting defect and wait for a total loss of visibility at night before they will address a part that was contaminated during their own production process. This is a critical safety hazard that places myself and other drivers at risk of a collision due to sudden headlamp failure.

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Both front headlights are making an abnormal loud whining noise which started intermittently about 6 months ago and became continuous January 2026. Took vehicle to dealership where the dealership reported that the noise may be due to contamination by a foreign matter during the manufacturing process getting inside the adaptive headlight system causing the fan motor bearings inside the headlight to wear out. Mazda dealership in bridgeport wv stated the fix is to replace both front headlights at a significant cost to the owner if the vehicle is outside the warranty. The only indication that there is a problem is the loud noise coming from the headlights, there has been no warning messages. Mazda is not willing to fix the issue unless the vehicle is within warranty. My vehicle is not within the known vins listed below having this issue and is outside of the warranty. I reached out to Mazda corp with case # [xxx] and Mazda corp denied financial assistance, but stated I could work with the dealership to trade my vehicle instead of fixing the issue. Mazda knows the issue is on these vehicles per the TSB report given to me when I took my vehicle to the dealership. Previous tsbs per the report (sa-013/23 & 09-015/23) 2020-2025 cx 30 (mexico built) vins lower 3mv dm **** ** 794028 (produced before Dec. , 2020) 2022-2025 Cx-5 vins lower than jm3 kf **** ** 57088 (produced before Sep. , 2024) 2025 cx-70 vins lower than jm3 *** ** 118240 (produced before Sep. , 2024) 2024-2025 cx-90 vins lower than jm3 *** ** 204555 (produced before Sep. , 2024) 2022-2024 mx-30 vins lower than jm1 *** ** 200939 (produced before Apr. , 2024) 2016-2024 mx-5 vins lower than jm1 *** ** 610111 (produced before oct. , 2024) information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I am reporting a safety defect in my 2023 Mazda Cx-5 involving the right headlight assembly. The internal led cooling fan has failed, causing loud noise and excessive vibration. This is a confirmed manufacturing defect (documented in Mazda service alert sa-013-23). Safety risk: the cooling fan is essential to prevent the led from overheating. A failure of this component can cause the headlight to dim or shut off completely without warning while driving at night, creating a severe visibility hazard and increasing the risk of a crash. Repair details: an authorized Mazda dealer confirmed the internal failure and verified no external damage. Despite being a 2023 vehicle and a known safety issue, Mazda north american operations has refused to cover the repair.

Just out of warranty passenger headlight is making a humming noise. Many other owners are having same malfunctions. Cost to replace at dealership is around $2,000. 00. Led headlight has a cooling fan that is failing. Many have been replaced under warranty. Mine started just outside of the warranty mileage. It’s a known issue that should have a recall issued.

Premature failure of headlight assembly unit, (buzzing sound, known issue) completely unacceptable for this to happen right out of warranty. I don't think I will touch another Mazda in the future.

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

Over the past several weeks, we began hearing a pronounced noise coming from the front of the vehicle, which the dealership diagnosed as a failing motor within the driver-side headlight unit. Given that this is a critical safety component, and part of the upgraded package purchased when the vehicle was new — we were surprised to encounter this issue on a vehicle of 4 years and 41,540 miles. Mazda customer care told me to pound salt.

The led headline assembly in the 2022+ Cx-5 frequently malfunctions by itself causing the headlight to burn out and fail on a frequent basis. This is an unacceptable issue that is causing new car owners in lost time and money to get this poor headlight design repaired on a frequent basis. This is a known issue for this vehicle and has been frequently reported online that it really needs a recall for Mazda to change the headlight design to ensure the entire lighting system does not fail on a frequent basis. This has happened to both headlights.

I have a failed leveling motor on my led headlight assembly causing a constant noise as it is attempting to level. This is apparently a known problem and has had a tsa technical service bulletin of 09-015/23. My car is past the 3 yr warranty but under the 36,000 mile warranty period with only 33,000 miles. Mazda refuses to cover it since it has not had a recall yet even though it is a common and known problem. They are quoting a $1200+ repair cost. Can you please help in any way and address this? thank you.

Headlight cooling fan is faulty and causing headlight outage prematurely.

Drivers side led headlight cooling fan is making a loud buzzing noise 100% of the time when the headlight is turned on which indicates that the fan is failing. If fan fails, it will lead to overheating and failure of the headlight. Vehicle was inspected by Mazda to confirm the issue. Mazda issues service alert sa-013/23 and technical service bulletin 09-015/23 have been issued for this problem. TSB states: some customers may notice an abnormal noise (I. E. Whine, groan, rattle or squeak) coming from the front combination lights when turning them on, or a few minutes after turning them off. The noise may be due to contamination by foreign matter during the manufacturing process. The fan motor bearing may become worn out during use. To eliminate the noise, the production process at the supplier and the material has been modified.

Adaptive headlight motor does not work. It makes a huge noise. Unfortunately it is not under warranty but Mazda dealerships have informed me that this is a known issue. This is a concern because the headlight does not function properly and does not work. The issue is a motor that fails, however you cannot just replace the motor. The entire headlight assembly needs to be replaced and is over 2,000. I strongly believe Mazda should be looked into and a special recall should be issued due to this. There should not be. $2 part that fails continuously causing a $2,000 repair.

Headlight humming / headlight unit failure. Known issue with Mazda but they refuse to repair unless I pay $2k for a new headlight. Vehicle has less than 50k miles and this is a know issue for 2019-2023 cx5s.

Headlight fan motor went out in both lights in under 3 years.

Headlamps cooling fan motors Mazda Cx-5 2022 make loud noise during driving and for few minutes even after the car is turned off. Car is at about 29,000miles. Unfortunately, it's past 3yrs old and hence jimclick Mazda dealer is asking for more than $3000 to replace the lights with motor assembly.

Headlight motor created a loud noise while it's on distracting driving and indicating an impending failure . This happened when the vehicle just got out of warranty (38000 miles approximately). Mazda refused to replace the headlight assembly for free. They charged for replacing it.

The right headlight is very noisy. Like it is going to fail very soon. People say it's the problem with the cooling fan inside. A lot people have the same issues? Mazda should recall it ASAP.

My headlights have a motor (or motors) in them. This feature is to adjust headlights in accordance with the steering wheel. I think it's referred to as afs (adaptive front-lighting system). The left headlight's motor makes a noise. I do not always hear it when driving but when stopped or parking and exiting the vehicle, I can hear it until the lights turn off. The car has about 37,000 - 38,000 miles on it.

Humming or moaning noise from the passenger side headlamp. Inspected by dealer mechanic and mentioned the TSB 09-015-23b bulletin. Dealership replaced headlamp covered under warranty.

The adaptive headlight system and motor in 2023 Mazda Cx-5 has defect and it makes buzzing noise and vibration. It was recognized by Mazda and its known defect. They should replace the defective headlight system even after the warranty period since this is not normal wear and tear part.

Loud fan noise coming from the passenger side headlight. Noise continues when car has been turned off and stops when the light shuts off. Dealer said that replacement of the passenger headlamp assembly needed but would charge because it was not longer under warrant due to mileage. No warning lamps, messages nor other items appeared. The symptoms began around 40,000 miles.

Only one headlight was addressed by dealer in repair for 4320a | NHTSA #20v-063 and they're refusing to cover the other side. The other drl led light is now out from seemingly the same cause. They stated they did not fully follow the procedure in the documents I found regarding this recall when they repaired the first one because they "pre authorized" the swap of one side on "good faith" so there is not a record I can cite around the serial or lot numbers of the new or old lights on my own.

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

A grating/moaning noise started coming from the passenger-side headlight. After googling, it seems that it is a common issue that others have had which requires replacement of the headlight assembly. I took this to the dealership, and the tech told me this is common. They didn’t even have to take it back into the shop to make a diagnosis. He said that dirt gets into the bearings on the fan meant to cool the lamp during manufacturing. This causes the fan to fail and the light to overheat if the headlight assembly is not replaced. This problem seems to be so common that the dealership already had the part in stock that they would need.

Mazda issued a safety recall (Mazda safety recall 4320a, NHTSA campaign number 20v-063) to address daytime running light flickering/failure. At the time, only the passenger side daytime running light was replaced under the recall by Mazda, with a gasket/gas absorption sheet being installed on the driver's side. The driver's side daytime running light is now flickering/dim. Mazda did not repair the safety defect properly on the driver's side for the daytime running lights under Mazda safety recall 4320a, NHTSA campaign number 20v-063, because Mazda only installed the gasket/gas absorption sheets that have since failed, causing the daytime running lights to flicker, increasing the risk of crash. Mazda has refused to cover the cost for replacement of the daytime running lights per safety recall notice 4320a / NHTSA 20v-063, even though replacement of these lights is covered by the recall. Both a Mazda dealer and Mazda corporate customer service have been contacted regarding this issue and both have refused to provide the remedy as outlined in the safety recall. Mazda has provided an estimate of $1,466 to replace the daytime running lights. Attached documents: -correspondence with Mazda where Mazda's refuses to cover work -estimate from Mazda to perform work -original invoice from recall work performed (gasket kit on driver side only, not full light replacement).

I own a 2022 Mazda Cx-5 carbon edition and have recently noticed a persistent noise coming from the left headlight. The noise resembles a fan or vibrating sound. Coincidentally, this issue started only a month after I bought out the vehicle following the lease expiration. Component/system failure and inspection: the issue appears to be caused by a malfunctioning auto-leveling or adaptive headlight motor. The component is still installed in the vehicle and can be inspected upon request by a dealer or manufacturer. Safety risks: while this issue has not yet caused immediate driving hazards, a malfunctioning headlight system could pose a safety risk if the auto-leveling function fails, leading to improper headlight beam alignment. This could impact nighttime visibility or cause glare for other drivers, increasing the risk of accidents. Reproduction and confirmation: the problem has not yet been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center in my case, but many other customers have reported similar issues, some of whom have had the component replaced under warranty. Inspection status: as of now, the vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or other parties. Warning signs or symptoms prior to failure: no warning lamps, messages, or dashboard alerts appeared before the noise started. The issue began suddenly and has been persistent ever since. I have a video, but it cannot be uploaded in this report.

Headlights on these vehicles go out around 40,000 miles due to issues during their manufacturing. The repair costs $2,500+. The issue is known by Mazda and is widespread but they refuse to recall.

The controls on the windshield wiper/headlight control stalk are not visible when driving at night. The setting markings on the control stalk are completely dark at night. This creates a safety hazard when driving at night in the rain and turning on your windshield wipers or changing your headlight settings is needed.

I own a 2022 Mazda Cx-5 carbon edition and have recently noticed a persistent noise coming from the left headlight. The noise resembles a fan or vibrating sound. The issue appears to be caused by a malfunctioning auto-leveling or adaptive headlight motor. The component is still installed in the vehicle and can be inspected upon request by a dealer or manufacturer. Safety risks: while this issue has not yet caused immediate driving hazards, a malfunctioning headlight system could pose a safety risk if the auto-leveling function fails, leading to improper headlight beam alignment. This could impact nighttime visibility or cause glare for other drivers, increasing the risk of accidents.

Left headlight fails to adequately illuminate left side, produced light appears shaded/obstructed, less than right side. Night visibility is reduced. Dealer examined headlight, found uneven light distribution, shadows, referred to manufacturer , Mazda stated this is normal. Right headlight was previously replaced under warranty, after excess headlight. Noise detected . Is available for examination.

The center display on it own ( ghosting) changes setting randomly this impacts safety information displayed including rear camera, and distracts the driver. The cause is a defectinve digitizer on the lcd screen panel. The 2016 model year of the same car Mazda Cx-5 has a simalar problem and was recalled there is no warning prior to these occurances.

See all problems of the 2018 Mazda CX-5 🔎.