Service Brakes Problems of Mazda CX-5 - part 1

I pulled the car into garage, and realized it's not inside enough. So I moved the car forward, but forgot to place the shift to p position. With the shift in d position, I shut off the engine, opened the door, ready to get out. I did not notice the car was moving backward, until the open door hit the garage frame. I file a claim with my insurance, had the front door replaced in a local body shop. I confirmed that in d position, with engine shut off, the car can move freely in my drive way. I did have this issue in my other two cars, I occasionally forgot put the shift from d position to p position, but the car did not move. This issue - a car can move freely without driver's awareness - is a serious and dangerous issue. If this happens in the street, a serious crash can occur. The car manufacturer should figure a way to prevent this from happening when the shift is in d position and engine is shut off.

The car has a lot of vibration when driving 60mph and above. Have had this issue looked at more than 5 times and they had my card for 1 month at the dealership trying to find the issue. This started back in February of 2024 and I have purchased 4 sets of tires and nothing makes the vibrations of the seat, steering wheel go away. Originally it wasn’t vibrating while driving back in February of 2025 only when braking to which I said to them I think it’s the rotors that have an issue. They never check the rotors and said it was my tires that were cupped. I put new tires on the car and still the same issue and went back to the dealership in April of 2024 and let them know it think it’s the rotors. In fact it was the rotors they were warped and they balanced the tires again. The dealership recommended resurfacing the rotors to which I had done. A couple of months later the vibration while driving started. Bought another set of tires had then installed, balanced and aligned and still vibration. I thought maybe it’s the brand so I bought another set of tires to which the problem is still there. Now besides the vibration while driving I have vibrations while braking again after the dealership put in new rotors back in Nov. 2024. When to the dealership on 06. 26. 25 let them know the vibration while braking is happening again and I think it’s the rotors. They check them and rotors are warped again about only 6. 5 months. The service manager said she will resurface them for me for no charge but then the service advisor said if they do that that the resurfacing is going to make me have to change the brake pads as I will end up in the red since my brake pads are in the yellow right now. I said then don’t resurface because I am not paying for the brake pads when that should’ve been done the first time the rotors were warped. I feel like I risk my life everyday driving this car to work 34miles one way.

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

From my service mechanic. . . "rear brakes at 8mm/8mm on the right side, but 4mm/6mm on the left. These brakes were replaced 1500 miles ago and should not be showing this kind of wear. Examined brake pads, found evidence of overheating. Scanned vehicle, confirmed no codes from electronic parking brake. Actuated parking brake and confirmed it is engaging and releasing as commanded. Found a technical service bulletin related to parking brake drag on this vehicle. The brake pad damage pattern is consistent with what we observed today. Mazda recommends replacing the affect caliper(s) with an updated version to address this issue. Confirmed by lot number that current calipers are older version. TSB attached. Recommend replacing calipers and rear brake materials. ".

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

I bought this 2020 Mazda Cx-5 sport 2. 5l all wheel drive from a big dealership on July 31, 2023. I started having issues with epb (electronic parking brakes) in February 2024. When I put the e-brakes on, the yellow parking brake light and the red brake light would come on. Seems like they would engage and disengage just fine except those 2 lights would stay on no matter how many times I tried turning the e-brakes off. I put a new battery in because of some research I did to no avail. Tried putting it in service mode then taking it off service mode. . . . . . Which did work for a couple of months. Then the problem reappeared and the two lights came back on. Sometimes you hear the e-brakes retracting on the rear right side only. And you can smell the brakes from heating up. On 2/26/2025 after getting out of work, I got in my car, turned it on and boom the brake lights are on again. I tried to drive and noticed the e-brakes were engaged. I didn't do it because I don't use the e-brakes at all for fear it would get stuck on and leave me stranded. I have been dealing with this for months and I am so frustrated. This car is only 5 years old. It shouldn't be having e-brakes issues. I've been doing a lot of research and found out that a lot of Mazda owners are having this very same problem. Mazda is very aware of this issue and has known about it for some time, but refuses to do a recall. I’m afraid to drive the car for fear that the e-brakes would engage while I'm driving in the highway and cause me to have an accident. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed. I don't know what else to do. One thing I do know. . . . . . If Mazda doesn't fix this issue, I will never buy a Mazda again and make sure my kids never buy a Mazda either.

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

Click sound 1. When first moving forward or reverse from a stop or 2. When first applying the brakes while moving forward at slow speeds. Ref 04-001/22 Mazda TSB.

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

Good afternoon. I am reporting an incident that occurred on December 29, 2024. I was driving my 2019 Mazda Cx-5 and I was about to make a left turn. However, as I was making the left turn, I received a notification on my dashboard about a "forward Smart city brake support malfunction" (a photo of the notification will be included). My car instantly lost control and it did not stop until it collided with the street curb of the road I was attempting to turn on. Fortunately for those around me, my car did not collide with any other vehicles on the road. However, this collision caused damage to the right side of the vehicle, as the right airbag of the vehicle had deployed. I believe that this is a very significant problem that should be looked into as soon as possible. If my car were to hit other drivers on the road, it could have led to a very tragic incident. As far as repairs go, I wanted to wait and see how this complaint would carry out. I do not believe that it would be fair for me to pay repairs for an event that was out of my control. Thank you.

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

The steering and braking systems on my vehicle malfunctioned after jumping my vehicle when the battery drained too far to start, or even power my cars baseline electrical systems. After jumping my car, I started backing out of my parking spot and when I turned the wheel it very violently jerked in a manner that could have hurt me if I'd been holding onto the wheel tighter. Around this same time I believe I recall the brakes automatically applying and halting the vehicle. I was too far out of my parking spot when this began occurring and had to try to maneuver into a different one, during this attempt both of the conditions described above reoccured several times. I eventually noticed that it only seemed to trigger when the wheel was at more extreme steering angles, by keeping the steering angle lower I was eventually able to maneuver into another spot without triggering the issues. After parking and letting the car run for a bit to recharge the battery I no longer experienced these issues. There were several warning lights related to roll stability control, lane departure monitoring before pulling out. The following warnings were present, but I'm unable to recall whether they displayed before I first hit the issues: Smart braking malfunction, power steering malfunction, transmission malfunction, check engine light. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by anyone, however I was able to find evidence of other people complaining about what sounds to be the same issue going back several years online. [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The vehicle accelerated on its own, while I was parking. My foot was on the brake when the vehicle just took off. It continued to accelerate until a building stopped it. I continued to brake but the vehicle did not stop. Once the vehicle collided with building, saw on the digital read out the "brake system malfunction" and then camera malfunction. The vehicle was towed from the site and the insurance adjuster has sent me word that the vehicle is a total loss.

On [xxx], I was the operator of a 2019 Mazda Cx-5 in los angeles, California. I parked the vehicle on an incline on or around [xxx] in los angeles, California, and then exited the vehicle. The vehicle remained stationary for some time, until it suddenly began rolling backwards at a speed that pushed me to the ground while I was getting my things from the passenger side door, causing me serious injuries. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

While driving through town the braking system malfunctioned and the car came to a stop in the middle of the road with messages on dash saying the Smart city braking support was malfunctioning as well as brake assist. Engine light came on as well as traction control light right after the car coming to a sudden hard braking stop. Drove straight to shop to check engine code which was p0882. I am so afraid of this happening on the highway with my daughter in the car. There is a recall for this system but my car isn’t under the recall so I'm sure there are others that are having the issue but aren’t covered under the recall either.

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

After having brakes serviced brake lights continue to come on. After research from many other complaints they are saying it’s the emergency parking that needs replaced? we shouldn’t have to replace this every time the brakes are replaced.

The most recent incident: driving 35 mph on a 4 lane divided boulevard, vehicle 5-6 car lengths in front of me indicates intention to turn right. No traffic in lane to my left should I need to change lanes. I continue to coast. At approximately 2-3 car lengths, the vehicle in front has nearly completed the right turn - there is no risk of collision - but my car brakes hard. This is the 4th time my car has activated emegency braking in a situation it is not warranted. I have been dirving for 36 years with no accident. I do not need nor want this technology as it is more prone to causing accidents than preventing them. Additionally, the car throttle response is slow to recover in these situations, so while I mashed the acclerator to the floor to avoid being rear-ended - the car did not accelerate for 1-2 seconds (rpm went up, but the engine did not engage for several seconds). In situations where aeb might have been marginally helpful, detecting cross traffic running red lights, the car has never detected this - and thankfully I'm an experienced driver so aeb was not needed. This technology, imo, is not safe and will lead to over-reliance causing more accidents in the future.

Something malfunctioned with the brake system of the car. The car was in park and off. I exited the car, reached back into the car for an item, and shut the door. I then walked up the driveway and to the front door. At that point, the car began to roll down the driveway. Someone coming down the road in front of the driveway hit it on the front passenger side. The car then continued to roll across the street and part way up the driveway across the street, coming back across the street and then ran into the same car that hit it. I was then able to open the car door and get inside. It was still off and in park. I depressed the brake pedal, started the car, put it into drive, and moved it to the side of the street. After the incident, I tried multiple times to replicate the incident with my car. I tried leaving it in reverse, even though I know it was off and parked. I also tried leaving it in neutral and turning it off, even though I know it was off and in park. Each time, the car began to roll immediately. There was no way that I could have done what I did that day, which was to step out, reach back in to get a bag, shut the door, and then walk away. The car was definitely off and parked when it happened. The vehicle is currently at a Mazda authorized repair shop, and I am awaiting the final word on whether or not they can detect what exactly caused the brakes to malfunction. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the issue; however, I did notice that something seemed to be going on with the screen of the car prior to the incident. Though the clock was set to the correct time, the screens auto-sensor for day and night mode was not functioning correctly. (when it got dark, the screen was still staying lit up brightly. I confirmed that it was on "auto" mode, and it should have dimmed since it was after 9:30pm and dark out, but it didn't. I had to manually switch it to "night" each time it was dark. ).

Back brakes arent gripping, caliper isn’t working been changed quite a few times. Either the abs or electric brakes.

I was waiting at a traffic signal to make a left turn, with my foot on the brake. The car accelerated aggressively, with no warning, like the pedal was pushed to the floor. I stood on the brake and shoved the shifter into park - coming to a stop in the middle of the intersection, fortunately my wheels were pointed straight and the car did not race into oncoming traffic. My 96 year old father was in the car with me. Thankfully, my grandchildren were not in the car. You could smell the gas and brakes. It was not driver foot placement, nor was it floor mats. Vehicle has ~ 75k miles, and I am terrified of this happening again. I had driven this car regularly in rush hour stop & go traffic for years with no event like this ever before. Apparently sudden unintended vehicle acceleration is a recognized problem.

See all problems of the 2014 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

I had coplained about a long, soft brake pedal on 10 February 2024 to hiley fort worth motorcars and got a report on 13 February 2024 stated that after inspection, they could not duplicate my complaint, so they did a visual inspection and washed the car!!!! today, 29 may 2024, I had to make an emergency stop and pressed the brake pedal to the floor! the abs came on, but the brake pedal should never reach the floor. The other car had stopped and I swerved out of the way. No warning lights came on nor sounds. Additional information; if the brakes are applied by the adaptive cruise control, and you step on the brake pedal after the brakes have been applied automatically, the brake pedal is nice and firm, like it should be. But if there is no intervention with the car, the brake pedal is very long and soft.

I was near a red light and applied the brakes, but the car accelerated and ran into the truck stopped in front of me. This happened around may of 2024. I took the car to the elk grove Mazda dealer. They ran diagnostic and road tests but found nothing wrong. The car had the same problem again sometime later inside my garage. The car rammed into the drywall while I tried to stop by pressing the brake pedal. I took the car to the aaa repair shop in August 2024. They spent three days, and they told me they found a problem with the "steering angle sensor. " it was 22 degrees off calibration. They reset the sensor, and the car ran better. However, the car acted again after some driving. It tries to accelerate while I apply the brake pedal near a stop. I took the car back to the aaa shop, but they did not find any problems in a whole week. I still drive this(my only) car, but extra careful, keeping a longer distance between cars in front of me and braking ahead few times ahead of any stop.

See all problems of the 2015 Mazda CX-5 🔎.

This vehicle has rear electric parking brakes. Some time it's works sometimes it doesn't release the rear passenger side breaks. The rear passenger side brakes make to much noise and brakes pads destroy rotor earlier then others. Mazda dealers doesn't says to much on that and ask for above $1000 repair to change faulty epb clipper. But my research says many people have same complaints with this model by Mazda built-in around 2016. This is safety issue, if I replace brake pads every 4 or 5 months it cost me money. If I don't I cost me my safety.

My brake light and my emergency brake light stays on and they blink constantly while the engine is turned on. They have been like that for at least a year. Both my brakes and the emergency brake both work but I cant get the lights to go out.

I have a 2024 Mazda Cx-5 but this is in any model and year that has the adaptive radar cruise control. When you set the distance you want to follow the vehicle in front of you, you will go the speed you are going until you come to the space you have set for the vehicle in front of you. Your vehicle will slow to match that vehicles speed. If that vehicle slows down, you will slow down. What it doesn't do it turn on your brake lights so the vehicle behind you knows that your vehicle is slowing down. Sometimes if the vehicle in front of you slows down fast, so does your vehicle. You have no control how fast it does that, it just does it. Now if the vehicle behind you doesn't realize that your vehicle has done this, well it has been very close two times so far. I do not want my new car rearened. I did not know it did this with the brake lights and Mazda doesn't tell you that you have no brake lights when this happens. Why would they have a setup like this. It is like brake checking the vehicle behind you. I do not use my cruise control for that reason. It would be nice to be able to use it on a new car but I do not want to get hurt or get someone else hurt by doing so. I did contact Mazda and they know it does that. This is what they told me "case number 00171326      hello. My name is dominique. I am sorry that you have had some very close calls while slowing down while vehicles were behind you. As for the question you had asked about cruise control activating the brakes when your vehicle starts to slow down, it does not activate the brake lights. It is just like when you are driving without cruise control and you go to take your foot off of the gas pedal instead of using the brake to slow down, it would not activate brake lights either unless you actually mash the brakes, the same with cruise control.  thank you for being a part of the Mazda family.  " isn't that great. I am now a safely hazard or at least my vehicle is, and they are all like that. Who knew. Not me.

At 15k mi the rear left wheel started to squeal. Took car to dealer, they claimed all brake pads on the car worn out and replaced all of them (front+back), paperwork is available. That's an indication of a design defect impacting the brake system, this is not acceptable. Next week I was driving in winter storm and at one point the car started shifting to the left. I managed to regain control, dashcam video is available. I used to have a 2016 Cx-5 and it experienced exactly the same issue. At one point dealer wanted to change brake pads after just 6k mi, I replaced them myself and noticed that the pads were worn unevenly, but it was easier to get rid of the car back then. The number of reports similar to mine is overwhelming, it is sad to see NHTSA not taking any action on this life threatening ticking time bomb.

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

While driving forward in a straight line during broad daylight at approximately 40mph, the car in front of me slowed and turned right onto a side street. I applied brakes to slow myself (to ~25mph I estimate) until the car in front of me was fully out of my lane. Once the car in front of me was out of my lane, I released the brake in order to accelerate back up to the speed limit, but before I could press the gas pedal the car suddenly slammed on the brakes, beeped warning beeps, and displayed brake on the dash. It did this for less than a second before deactivating. It did not fully stop the car. It just caused a sudden, severe braking event and then the car returned to normal operations. This exact road scenario (car in front turning right onto a side street while traveling at city speeds of ~30-40 mph during daylight) has caused the sudden temporary automatic braking twice, and two other times in this same scenario the brake warning displayed and sounds activated but without automatic braking. These four events occurred within the less than one year that I have owned the car. One of the automatic braking incidents happened in cold temperatures on snowy/icy road conditions. The other occurred in traffic with vehicles following behind my car close enough to risk a rear-end collision. I have reached out to a dealership to request the safety sensors be inspected, but I have seen on internet communities (reddit. Com/r/Mazda and reddit. Com/r/cx5) that many people have encountered this exact behavior (sudden unexpected braking) in the exact same scenarios (car ahead turning right).

I have had this cc-5 for less than 2 years less than 16,000 miles on it and the rotors on the break are completely rusted! I had a corolla for 10 years never had this issue before. Brought it to the dealer quirk Mazda in quincy MA and they refuse to take accountability that this vehicle should not be having these issues and they want to charge me $800 to replace. The service manager here was nasty and rude. I am so beyond disappointed that they refuse to make this right. I saw online so many people with the same issue with this vehicle and seems like the dealers do nothing. I bought this vehicle brand new and should not have these issues. I want someone to look at this and do justice. I will never buy a Mazda again as this seems like a scam. I fear driving now because every time I hit the break the car stalls and I feel like I am going to hit the car in front of me. Mazdas are a scam and cheaply made with horrible customer service.

Two bolts simultaneously dislodged brake caliper which, in turn, disconnected brake fluid hose resulting in loss in brake responsiveness.

I got my rear brakes replaced. Within a few days I noticed drag on each of the rear brakes would seize up at times causing excessive heat and a burning smell. When I took it into my local Mazda service center, I was told by the service manager and the service tech that this is a known issue with Mazda cx5s, that when the Mazda is not put into “maintenance mode” when replacing the rear brakes, it can cause damage to the parking brake motors and calipers. They said my vehicle was allegedly put into maintenance mode before brake service and that the issue can still happen even when the precautions are taken. Upon doing some brief online research I am finding that I am far from the first person to experience this unsafe defect. My safety and the safety of those on the road with me are at an extreme risk as my brakes could overheat and fail, causing a deadly accident. I believe this needs to be addressed by the manufacturer on all 2016/2017 cx5 models immediately as more and more are needing rear brake replacements, causing more and more risk on the roadways. Please hold Mazda accountable for this defect in their parking brake mechanism and require them to replace calipers and parking brake motors when performing rear brake replacements, and even better would be to recall all cx5 models to ensure a safe parking brake mechanism is on every vehicle Mazda sells. I was a huge fan of Mazda and planned to purchase more of their vehicles in my lifetime until this incident happened. I always service at authorized Mazda service centers to ensure I get expert level service and avoid mistakes or shortcuts being made.

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

2nd time in 40k miles right rear caliper locked up mechanic suggest getting both left and right replaced figuring if one failed its only a matter of time, calipers should last 10 years and 2nd replacement in 4 years, this is a bad safety issue.

At 2:00 on a clear afternoon I was slowly coasting into a right hand turn into a parking space, and lightly tapping the brake to finalize the stop, when the car accelerated hard forward over a curb and a sidewalk into the brick wall of a building. Airbag was deployed. My injuries were a nasty wrist contusion and bloody gashes where the airbag "door" deployed and I also had complete seatbelt brusing on my throat, chest and across my abdomen. This after traveling a mere 7-8 feet. At the time I was very shaken up and incredulous that such a thing could have happened logically, and conceded that perhaps I had made a mistake somehow. As I settled down later I became dubious, especially when I got behind the wheel of my rental car and 100% when I sat in my actual car at the wrecking yard. I am crystal clear I was depressing just the brake. Even if I had accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake (I did not) it would not have accelerated to the degree that it did. I am now scared of my car and am just hoping it is declared totaled by my insurance so I don't have to drive it again - any car but that one.

On septmber 2, 2023 the car had been on a 4 hour road trip. I came into the driveway, left the car running in park with the brakes on (listening to music while I cleaned the car out) it was idylling for about 5 minutes. I went to the drivers side door, which was open and reached in to turn the car off using the start/stop button. Before I could turn the car off, it started backing up and the door ran over me. The car was definitely in park and the brake was on. There was no reason for the parking brake to disengage.

My car only has 32000 miles on it and I was told that I need new brakes and calipers. My car is making grinding and creaking noises when I back up, stop or get into it. Because of these brake issues it feels like the car is taking longer to stop. I have never had a car that needed this extensive of a brake job at 32000 miles. This seems excessive.

Brand new 2023 Mazda Cx-5 with 150 miles on it experienced unintended acceleration while braking. Pulled into a parking spot with my foot on the brakes but the car didn't stop & even accelerated over a sidewalk and into a building. I experienced a bruise from the seatbelt. Airbags did not deploy. Someone could have been killed if they had been on the sidewalk. Car is currently at an auto body shop to fix the cosmetic damages, and once released, will have the car towed to our local Mazda dealership/service center to get the car inspected. In doing research on NHTSA's website, at least 4 vehicles (2-2023 Mazda Cx-5s and 2-2023 Mazda cx-30s) have experienced this issue. Mazda needs to recall these vehicles and investigate.

Car with 15,000 miles needs a front and back brake job. Front rotors are rusty and chipping. Brake pads are chipping and front end has vibrations when brake pedal is applied. Back brakes are not as bad but will need repair soon. 15,000 miles on a set of front brakes pad and rotors is unacceptable, rust and chips should not happen with a new 2 year car. This is a safety concern. Car was in for oil change an tire rotation when problem was found. I believe brakes should last for at least 25,000 or more. This is a possible defect in materials or engineering. This should be looked into and recall acted upon.

When applying the brakes car surges forward. If put in neutral engine races. Very difficult to bring to a stop with reduced braking. Multiple occurrences. Dealer states vehicle is operating within design perimeters.

Brakes are very poor, car lurches forward at stop lights and you have to stomp the brake pedal to prevent running into the car in front of you.

Parking brake system malfunction. Flashing brake light and the parking exclamation point light on. When I try to release the emergency parking brake it continues to light up on the dashboard as well as yellow flashing light on the physical brake similar problem with 2016 model. Seen multiple people with similar problem but no solution restarting the car multiple times makes the light go away eventually.

Brakes make a jerking sound decelerating from 40 miles an hour or from coming off a freeway ramp. After two trips to the dealership, the jerking sound still persists, the dealership had mentioned it was either the ball bearings or the brake pads were worn out, but somehow the noise is still there. The vehicle still makes stop safely, but we feel that if this is not resolved that this may become a greater safety issue down the road.