2019 Mazda CX-5 Problems

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 31,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• Ask the seller not to warm the car up, and start it cold. Listen for ticking, knocking or a rough idle in the first minute.
• Pull the oil dipstick and the oil cap. Low oil, a gasoline smell or a milky film on the cap are reasons to walk away or get an inspection.
• Plug in an OBD2 scanner. Stored or pending codes matter, and so do readiness monitors that show "not ready", which usually means the codes were cleared right before the sale.
• Ask for oil change records. A gap in the records on a model known for engine complaints is a negotiating point at minimum.

Tools that help

What owners said

7 year old vehicle purchased new 2/23/2019 with 80,000 miles driven. Rear of cylinder head has cracked causing an oil leak. Leaking engine oil dripping directly on the exhaust components creates an immediate, severe under hood fire risk and visibility hazard while driving.Owner complaint, filed 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH and turning into a driveway, smoke emerged from the engine compartment. The vehicle was turned off and inspected. Upon opening the hood, smoke was observed near the rear firewall of the engine compartment, and oil was leaking under the engine compartment.…Owner complaint, filed 2026, at 100,000 miles

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 4,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• Test every switch: windows, locks, mirrors, seat heaters, the screen, the backup camera, Bluetooth and every USB port.
• Watch the dash at startup. Every warning light should come on briefly and then go out.
• Have the battery and charging system tested. A weak alternator or battery drain shows up here.

Tools that help

What owners said

The contact owns a 2019 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that the infotainment system occasionally turned off independently, preventing the radio and GPS from operating as intended. The contact stated that while driving, the voice assistant feature repeatedly activated at a very high volume, prompting the contact to attempt to mute the…Owner complaint, filed 2026, at 37,000 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the instrument panel independently switched between features. The contact stated that the failure was persistent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, however the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was requested to pay a diagnostic fee, the…Owner complaint, filed 2026, at 35,000 miles

What to check before you buy

• Drive it from cold if you can. Shifts should be smooth in every gear, including reverse.
• Feel for slipping (revs rise without the car speeding up), shudder at low speed and a delay when you put it in gear.
• Listen for whining, which is a common CVT complaint, and clunks when you go from drive to reverse.
• If it has 4WD or AWD, engage it on the test drive and ask when the transmission and differential fluids were last changed.

Tools that help

What owners said

1. January 2025 Diagnosis (Inside Powertrain Warranty): I presented the vehicle (2019 Mazda CX5, 36K miles) with severe transmission jerking and shift lurching at a local Mazda dealership. Technicians diagnosed teh issue as described in TSB 05-004/23 and applied a software flash to the PCM/TCM stated in TSB 05-004/23. Mazda’s o􀆯icial…Owner complaint, filed 2026

1.January 2025 Diagnosis (Inside Powertrain Warranty): I presented the vehicle with severe transmission jerking and shift lurching. Your technicians applied a software flash to the PCM/TCM per TSB 05-004/23. Mazda’s official text states the root cause of this symptom is torque fluctuation and torsional resonance within the torque…Owner complaint, filed 2026

What to check before you buy

• Smell around the engine bay and under the rear of the car for raw fuel.
• On the test drive, accelerate firmly from a stop and up a grade. Stumbling, surging or a flashing check engine light are red flags.
• Fuel pump recalls are common. Check this exact VIN for open recalls before you buy.

Tools that help

What owners said

My fuel pump burned out after only 60k miles.... very expensive repair. Mazda said the problem was only with the early 2019 models so mine wasn't included yet my fuel pump did exactly what the ones included in the recall did, but I was left with over $1700 repair bill to replace the fuel pump. Obviously the "improved design" used in the…Owner complaint, filed 2026

Unknown. The engine started to stall as I was driving and the gas pedal wasn't working. The car shutdown after reaching 0 moles per hour and it would jerk when I tried starting it. The car had enough fuel, battery and was service a month prior. The car would not start and had to wait a few hours to try again. The issue is similar to the…Owner complaint, filed 2022

Parts named most: Automatic emergency braking (15).

What to check before you buy

• Where it is safe, try the adaptive cruise and lane keeping on the test drive and watch for sudden braking or warnings with nothing there.
• Check the windshield in front of the camera and the bumper sensors for cracks, chips or poor repairs.
• Ask whether the windshield has been replaced. The camera has to be recalibrated afterward, and many shops skip it.

Tools that help

What owners said

Back up camera display does not always immediately come on when placing car in reverse. It can sometimes be 10 -15 seconds before an image appears. I wait in the garage, driveway, or parking spot before backing but this potentially puts pedestrians behind the vehicle at risk. Per FMVSS 111 guidelines. S5.5.3 regarding response time: The…Owner complaint, filed 2024

When the system thinks there might be a collision it initiates a hard braking even when there is enough space to avoid a collision. Multiple times, the car behind me had to do a hard break as well not to hit me from behind. A google search revealed multiple people complaining of similar issue. The system brakes too extremely aggressively…Owner complaint, filed 2023

What to check before you buy

• Check every light: headlights on low and high, fog lights, brake lights, turn signals and reverse lights.
• Run the wipers on every speed with washer fluid, and run the defroster front and back.

Tools that help

What owners said

On my Mazda CX-5, the auto-folding side mirrors began failing to open fully, resulting in poor visibility. It is possible that the mirrors may become fully folded and unable to open resulting in compromised awareness when driving. It is not possible to force the mirrors open without risking damage to the internal mechanism and no…Owner complaint, filed 2023

Windshield cracks too easy on 2019 Mazda CX-5. The car is 2019 and has already had 7 separate incidents (Crack and or Chip). Mazda knows of the problem and there are many Mazda customers that have reported problems with the integrity of the windshield. It's very concerning because it could be a safety issue if the windshield cracks so…Owner complaint, filed 2023

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 2,000 miles.

What to check before you buy

• On the test drive, press the gas gently and firmly. The response should be smooth with no lag or surge.
• Set the cruise control, then use resume and cancel to make sure each one works.

Tools that help

What owners said

Mrcc (mazda radar cruise control) will [VIN] decrease vehicle speed when in a turn even if not following another vehicle. Speed decrease happens regardless of vehicle speed. Amount of decrease is severe depending on "sharpness" of the turn, but will happen even on gentle sweeping turns on an interstate highway. Behavior is reproducible…Owner complaint, filed 2020, at 2,100 miles

I purchased a 2019 Mazda CX-5 (As is) on July 20, 2015. On September 11, 2025, as I was traveling on a three lane highway. I attempted to pass another vehicle. As I was attempting to go around the vehicle, my Mazda suddenly began braking and quickly losing acceleration. The speed limit on the highway was 70 mph. I estimated my speed at…Owner complaint, filed 2026

What to check before you buy

• The pedal should feel firm and the car should stop straight without pulling, grinding or a pulsing pedal.
• The ABS and stability control lights should go out after startup and stay out.
• Look through the wheels at the rotors. A deep lip on the edge means brakes are due soon, which is a fair thing to negotiate on.

Tools that help

What owners said

Sat down to start car. After it started I thought I pushed the open function for hatch..instead I locked it . After I closed the door I saw that the fob was on passenger seat and all doors locked.Owner complaint, filed 2020, at 4,300 miles

Traffic was heavy on the parkway that day so there was a lot of stopping and going. Applying the brakes, the car started to slow down but suddenly there was a jerk and the car accelerate while the brakes were still being applied. There was a frontal collision which indicates that the smart brakes system was also not working. The warning…Owner complaint, filed 2019, at 5,000 miles

What to check before you buy

• The air bag (SRS) light should come on at startup and go out within a few seconds. If it stays on, the system may not work in a crash.
• Air bag recalls are some of the most serious. Check this exact VIN for open recalls and get proof any recall work was done.

Tools that help

What owners said

I am reporting a safety defect in my 2019 Mazda CX‑5 involving the heated seats and airbag system. The vehicle was bought certified pre‑owned with a warranty up to 100,000 miles included in the sale. Around March, at about 82,000 miles, the heated seats began causing electrical problems, and I was told this fault could affect the airbag…Owner complaint, filed 2026

My air bag light warning light is constantly blinking and I took it to the dealer ship. I informed the service guy this could be a malfunction due to a recall. He only asked me to pay for an diagnostic for $175.00. I think based on a history dated from 2004-2018 regarding Air bags recalls this is a recall. I contacted Mazda…Owner complaint, filed 2023

Half of the owners who gave a mileage had the problem by about 5,000 miles. Parts named most: Body (7).

What to check before you buy

• Look underneath with a flashlight. Utah road salt is hard on frames, brake lines and the bottoms of doors.
• Open and close every door, the hood and the liftgate, and lock and unlock each one.
• Use a paint thickness gauge and compare panels. A panel that reads very differently from the rest has likely been repaired.

Tools that help

What owners said

Extreme paint chipping (down to the primer/metal) on the hood primarily. Color is soul red. The paint appears to be brittle and not properly bonded to the primer/metal. Chipping started occurring the first month after purchase and has continued to gain more chips. The car is driven mostly for city commuting. This car has the most fragile…Owner complaint, filed 2020, at 900 miles

I have owned my car for only two months and the paint is already chipping. I have never owned a car where this happened after owning it for such a short time. I use this car for commuting to work on the highway.Owner complaint, filed 2019, at 2,500 miles

What to check before you buy

• Turn the wheel lock to lock while parked and listen for groaning, clicking or binding.
• On a straight road the car should track straight with the wheel centered and no loose feeling.
• A power steering warning on the dash, even briefly, deserves a mechanic’s look before you buy.

Tools that help

What owners said

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…Owner complaint, filed 2024

As I was driving home one day in February 2024, my car felt like a strong gust of wind was getting up underneath the hood of my car, causing it to pull left and right slightly. When checking the weather, wind gusts were at 5 MPH and you could barely see trees/leaf movement. I pulled off the side of the road, checked underneath the car to…Owner complaint, filed 2024

What to check before you buy

• Pull out and latch every seat belt, and let each one retract on its own.
• Try every seat adjuster, and watch for a passenger air bag "off" light when an adult is in the seat.

Tools that help

What owners said

Today I was using this vehicle and the cars my pocket got stuck in between the car seat dial for the movement of the car seat and the door and as I was in reverse the car seat started to move and pushed me all the way to the steering wheel as I was in a drive situation mode so I had to break it all off disconnected and everythingOwner complaint, filed 2026

We were at a stop light and we were rear ended by a Lexus SUV. We're assuming she was going 45mph + but we're not too sure yet. I couldn't figure out why myself, the drive of the car that was hit, had such a horrendous neck ache after being hit. I turned around & saw that my headrest had been completely ripped out of the seat itself…Owner complaint, filed 2023

What to check before you buy

• Read the four-digit DOT date on each tire. Tires older than about six years should be replaced, whatever the tread looks like.
• Check tread depth on all four. On AWD vehicles all four tires should match.
• The tire pressure light should go out after startup.

Tools that help

What owners said

P225/55R19 99V: On November 2, 2021, I was slowing down at a stop light. I was about 5 minutes away when my tire separated. I heard my car make a big sound and drop to the ground on the front passenger side. I lost control and hit the side of the curb, but I was able to pull my car over to a side road safely. It took over 3 hours for the…Owner complaint, filed 2022

I had a flat tire on the front left corner of the vehicle while driving on a high speed highway. In my effort (and that of a wisconsin state trooper) to install the temporary spare tire I (we) discovered it would not fit on the car. It seemed to be the wrong type for my vehicle. I had it towed to a nearby dealership and they too could…Owner complaint, filed 2019, at 3,400 miles