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.
2020 Mazda CX-5 complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2020 record →
The rear windshield wiper stops working while driving in a rainstorm. This has happened twice. The wiper works for 30-60 minutes and then stops. Was inoperable for the remaining 4 hours of the trip. When we took the car in for troubleshooting the 1st time, they could not reproduce the problem. After the second time the dealer was able to reproduce the problem. It appears to be related to the operating time and not the rain. Searching online discovered numerous Mazda CX5 owners reported the same issue. Our safety was at risk since we could not see out the rear windshield. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms that warned us the wiper had stopped working. We noticed it had stopped by looking out the rear view mirror.
The infotainment screen is malfunctioning and making selections on it's own without me, the driver, pushing any buttons or the screen. This is troublesome while driving as I then have to end calls or turn things down, etc. out of nowhere. This also means I am unable to take any calls while driving, which is also a driving hazard and not safe if an urgent call comes through to my phone. It is not usable at this point due to this malfunction. This has been an issue in previous years' models as well, and there have been recalls on this same issue. Not sure why or how this has not been resolved for future models, and is still being sold with this huge malfunction. This is a new vehicle with just under 30,000 miles and should not have this big of a malfunction this early on. There are tons of other owners that report this issue all over online as well. It is a known issue, but yet nothing has been done about it.
The front seats, both electric and manual powered are rocking back and forth. Upon acceleration both seats will slightly rock backwards and then upon applying the brakes they will rock forward. It's almost like whatever is holding the seats still has a defected part or a defect somewhere else. This concerns me as a safety issue, if something were to happen and if I got into an accident, aren't the seats supposed to be secured and not have any slack or rocking in them? This has happened before on my driver side seat when I had a mazda service technician look at it he confirmed it needed to be repaired. For a whole replacement seat was estimated around $4,000.00. I was fortunate at the time to where my bumper to bumper warranty helped cover some of the cost, Mazda agreed to pay for the "parts" to fix the issue and I paid for the labor, only because I was slightly over the 36,000 mile warranty that comes with Mazda. Since the repair I was told it wasnt going to be 100% and I would still have some rocking but it wasnt as bad, that occurred around the year 2022. Now, when I have a passenger the same thing occurs. Unfortunately, I'm no longer in my bumper to bumper warranty and quite frankly this seems like a safety risk that Mazda is aware of.
The infotainment screen kept moving on its own disconnecting my map while driving. I took it to Mazda and they updated the software but the infotainment continued to malfunction . The same issue happened with Mazda CX vehicles in 2016 and 2017 and they issued a recall for those cars. My 2020 CX-5 is experiencing the same “Ghost Touch Screen” but Mazda had not issued a recall. I ended up having to replace the infotainment screen, paid $ 912.67 for a manufacturer issue that was not created by the wear and tear of the car. Maybe other consumers are having the same issue.
The radio change by itself like there is a ghost changing the channel
Defective transmission causes metal fragments to break off and over time damage transmission
The infotainment system has a known "ghost touch" issue. This issue caused a recall in prior models but that recall was not extended to current models. This is an extremely dangerous issue. The screen will turn on loud blasting music, randomly call people, turn off GPS, etc. at any given time. This has happened while I am driving at high speeds on the highway and has nearly gotten me into accidents. This is very concerning. I have reached out to Mazda and they acknowledge it is a known issue but claim it is not a safety issue. I have read multiple forums about this issue and the dangers it poses as it is well documented that distracted driving is incredibly dangerous. This has put multiple people at risk. Imagine accidentally calling your boss when you are driving, realizing the car is doing that when you are driving on an unknown route at high speeds. It is incredibly distracting and dangerous in the moment. Likewise, I have been on a call and the call is repeatedly put on hold or the screen has changed and it is incredibly distracting. Mazda claims this is not a safety issue however, the research is clear that distracted driving is a danger to the driver, passengers, and others on the road. Please conduct an inquiry into this issue. I am happy to provide my car for inspection or to share further information. The issue has been diagnosed and it is known, however the company refuses to issue a recall or pay for repairs.
Ghost touch issue with touchscreen. It causes calls to go on hold, navigation to stop in unknown areas, sometimes in areas without service, and other distracting issues such as skipping songs. I’m fixing it, but it appears to be a common problem and it costs over $600 to fix.
The car's screen/touch screen has a "ghost touch" issue. It automatically changes car settings while I am in the middle of driving which is causing driving safety issues. It will change radio stations, mess with navigation, screen brightness, clock, etc.
When driving the infotainment system will switch to sound settings by itself and play the navigation volume to full capacity and says something like "navigation will play at this volume". If I try to stop it or turn it down, it just turns the volume back up again & says the same message. This is dangerous while driving due to the fact it startles you and causes a major distraction. I have not had it looked at by the dealership yet. I have seen online where this seems to be a common problem among Mazda infotainment systems with a touch screen.
Low oil level indicator came on at roughly 55,000 miles only about 3000 miles after last oil change. Car was immediately stopped and towed to the nearest Mazda dealer. Dealership confirmed oil level was low. Car appears to me consuming excess oil. Oil consumption test pending.
My Mazda 2020 CX-5 has the “ghost touch” issue with the screen, buttons on screen are automatically being pressed constantly, super laggy, buttons not functioning properly, making random phone calls etc. There are also incidences that the screen became totally black.
Emergency braking brought car to a complete stop while traveling around at approx. 35 MPH with no car or anything else in front of the car on a wide and clear town street. Car would then not go into park and only after a couple of mins did it go into park and car was able to be driven.
While backing the vehicle the rear camera sometimes goes off because the screen in the car keeps switching itself to night mode, radio channel, Bluetooth, clock setting and sometimes the screen freezes which is very dangerous while reversing. The car is a CX5 Mazda Touring 2020. I called Mazda dealer today he told me it will cost me $300 to $400. There are no sign of malfunction on the dashboard so far but the radio screen keeps malfunctioning all the time especially when driving and reversing, it been happening for the last 5 days.
When I would stop my car while driving (at a light, a stop sign, traffic, temporary stops for yielding, etc.), the infotainment system would start randomly selecting things on the screen. This would include adjusting volume settings, randomly dialing people from my contacts, canceling navigation systems, etc. This created distractions while trying to drive my vehicle after stopping, including noise issues and inability to navigate places safely. This issue was ongoing for nearly a full year after purchasing my car. Once I finally had the change to take it to the dealership, they reproduced the issue and confirmed it is a common problem. After telling us it was not covered by warranty and my wife applying pressure on them, they replaced it saying they would submit a warranty appeal to Mazda. There were no warning lights or messages, it just began happening not too long after buying the vehicle. The contact stated in August of 2019, NHTSA announced Mazda was conducting a Special Service Program to fix the same issue happening as the contact reported in the 2014-2016 Mazda3. Hopefully this will add to the need for a recall or requiring Mazda to do a similar type of program for 2017-2020 CX-5s.
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 [XXX] and [XXX] ) that many people have encountered this exact behavior (su
Sporatically and randomly, the user instrument panel will make changes and adjustments automatically. For instance, it will switch to nativgation at full volume and state that "the navigation will be at this volume" (at max volume) when previously muted. It's alarming. It will also randomly call the last person dialed over the car speakers. It switches settings on its own and beeps during that process for each change, which when it's not driver initiated, catches the driver by surprise. An employee confirmed that "ghosting" is an issue that they are seeing quite a bit. On a new vehicle, this is an unfortunate extra $200.00 out of pocket as warranty deductible that seems more of a recallable factory defect.
The display screen just starts adjusting the navigation volume on it’s on while I’m driving. Or it will change the radio station, change to the Bluetooth on my phone or change to a different screen all by itself.This started not long after purchasing the vehicle. August 2021.
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.
Automatic Emergency Braking (Mazda's Smart City Braking Feature) will randomly trigger even when there is no vehicle/person/object/obstruction present in the road infront of you. It has occurred going over railroad tracks and made by car go from 30 mph to 0 in a second. It has occurred switching lanes into an empty lane and triggered it. It has also picked up the center medians as an object it should hit the emergency brake for. This is insanely problematic when a vehicle is following behind you and this system is essentially brake checking them out of nowhere. In the past, dealers have said to just turn the sensitivity down. This does not fix it. In addition, I have gotten "BRAKE" warnings from the car on the highway (does not engage because I am at a speed faster than the emergency braking allows) but this is quite unnerving when you are on an open highway going 75 mph and your car is wanting you to brake.
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.
When driving at highway speeds, when there are strong crosswinds, as there are prone to be in my area, depending on which way the wind is coming from both doors will make a screeching/howling noise. This noise is very loud and extremely distracting. When it first happens it is very jarring, and depending on the wind conditions can go on for miles, making it very hard to hear anything else. I have taken the car to two dealers who refuse to fix it because they state they cannot reproduce it but it is not something that can be reproduced without specific conditions, but they are aware it exists as they have a TSB indicating how to fix it.
The rear camera and warning system has failed numerous times. On one occasion I hit a vehicle because of the failure. Also, the windshield has a leak that sometimes is like a waterfall causing serious visibility problems.
I was traveling behind a propane truck, that was going to make a right turn. I disengaged the adaptive cruise control by tapping on the break. I began coasting to a stop, suddenly the car began accelerating again with no warning. I was forced to make the turn with the propane truck and side swiped the truck in the process.
The infotainment system experiences a "ghost touch" at random times. Usually it is when it is warm out or in direct sunlight. This has caused some of the safety features of the car to be randomly turned off. The system becomes unresponsive to manual controls while the ghost touch is occurring. This is frequent and dangerous. It is shut off lane control warnings, lighting, dimmed the entire system, etc. This has been a known issue on past models and the dealer is telling me they are aware of this but it is not covered under the warranty on my model. The first time this occurred was around 35,000 miles but I didn't realize what was happening. When I asked the dealer about it, they couldn't repeat it and ignored my concerns. It didn't start regularlly occurring until after my 36,000 mile warranty was up.
The engine of this vehicle has been leaking from different areas consistently. The first leak was the timing cover gasket not properly sealing from manufacture. The dealership covered this under warranty without push back. I then identified a weep from the oil pan gasket during a normal oil change interval. This gasket leak was again from manufacture. I had watched this leak and it seemed to be getting worse over changes and evolved beyond a weep. I also found oil leaking onto one of the spark plugs when changed around 56K miles. I brought it to the dealership and received much push back, conducted oil consumption test for a visible leak, and then placed dye in the oil. It was identified as the oil pan gasket leaking. After much hesitation I eventually was able to get this "repaired" by the dealership at 57K miles. We are now nearly crossing 65K miles and a new leak has presented, enough to cause the low oil light to illuminate and pooling of oil on the access cover. I have yet to identify the source but I am again bringing this to the dealer. Safety concern is that my wife and toddler were an hour away from home on the side of the highway when this light illuminated and had to stop on the side of the road in the cold weather and turn the car off. They could be pulled over in unsafe areas or even be stranded in the cold - or risk seizing the engine to stay warm.
Faulty engine coolant thermostat causing cooler than normal range engine. Engine light code P0126
2020 MAZDA CX-5. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO THE EMERGENCY BRAKING FEATURE ON VEHICLE.
Airbags did not deploy when I crashed into a guard rail dragging for 40-50 feet.
The contact owns a 2020 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while the brake pedal was depressed stopped at a light, he noticed that the vehicle moved forward and the RPM was fluctuating from 600-1,000. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was duplicated; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.
For some reason this vehicle will make a whoop sound after driving it for a little then idle, either at a stop light or sitting in a parking lot. The first time we heard it we thought that there was a police vehicle in the area. We took it to Mazda dealership, and they didn't what why it was making that sound. The vehicle has less than 25K miles. We are not sure if it could be a big safety issue or not but would like Mazda to look into this. There are no warning lights or signs to know when it's coming. The Mazda dealership in our area has no clue and it is annoying hearing this whoop sound.
At mileage of 24,993 and on April 24, 2022 my oil light came on, creating a very unsafe situation for myself and my young son, nearly stranding us on a very isolated road after dark. My vehicle has regular maintenance at the dealer and was not due for an oil change until 25,378 miles or June 13, 2022. About 30 miles prior to the engine oil light coming on, my car indicated that an Oil Change was due (prematurely). I added oil to be able to drive it to the dealer who has not verified any issues.
High pitch noise coming from upper side of vehicle while driving on a freeway with strong side winds (35-40mph wind gusts).
1st issue - System monitor restarts without warning. Just driving along with only one iPhone plugged in the monitor shows a spinning "wheel" saying restarting while driving, 2nd issue - with two iPhones plugged in it starts having more issues. Stops charging second iPhone connects then reconnects constantly. Then stops (see picture) 3rd issue - With only one iPhone plugged in and running navigation from iPhone, the system disconnects from iPhone but no voice unless we disconnect, 4th issue - While driving in adaptive cruise control and braking for people stopping the cruise control will not re-start. It shows on- keep pressing resume - but will not engage (above 40 mph) then after a few minutes it does respond to the resume command
Currently own a 2020 Mazda CX 5 Touring, after coming from work I parked in my driveway and proceeded to turn off the car. When i was walking away i could hear the engine still Running. I went back and turned on the car and turned it back off, again i could still hear the engine still running. I went back and got inside and took the car for a 5 minute drive, then came back to my drive way and placed the car on park and then proceeded to turn off the car. I got out and went to the front of the vehicle to see if the engine was running, this time the engine did turn off.
The contact owns a 2020 Mazda CX-5. The contact noticed that while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the passenger blind spot monitoring light and sound failed to operate. The contact mentioned that the vehicle failed to let her know when a vehicle was nearby her. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they reset the monitor however, the failure recurred days later. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred several times. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.
THE RED PAINT IS CHIPPING PRETTY BAD. THIS CAR IS ONLY ABOUT 1 YEAR OLD. THE CHIPPING IS MOSTLY ON THE HOOD OF THE CAR.
MY 2020 MAZDA CX-5 SUNROOF GLASS SUDDENLY EXPLODED FOR NO KNOWN REASON AS I WAS DRIVING 45 MPH ON HIGHWAY 97 IN OREGON. THE SUNROOF WAS CLOSED AND IT JUST SUDDENLY BURST. ALL THE GLASS BROKE AND THERE WAS A HOLE WHERE IT BLEW OUT. IT WAS A SUNNY DAY. THE TEMPERATURE WAS ABOUT 55 DEGREES.
I WAS PARKED AT A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT THAT HAD AN OUTDOOR KIOSK FOR PAYMENT. I GOT OUT OF MY CAR TO PAY AND GOT BACK IN. AFTER ABOUT A MINUTE OR TWO MY CAR ACCELERATED FORWARD, GOING OVER A SLOPED CURB AND DOWN A SHORT LOW GRADE HILL, HITTING A POLE. I WAS CONFUSED TO HOW THE CAR WOULD GO FORWARD BECAUSE I WAS IN PARK THE WHOLE TIME.
VEHICLE WAS ON A CITY STREET TRAVELING AT 35-40 MPH WHEN THE FRONT LEFT WHEEL (YOKOHAMA GEOLANDAR G91) SPONTANEOUSLY BLEW OUT DESPITE NOT COLLIDING WITH ANY OBJECTS OR ROAD HAZARDS. AS A RESULT, DRIVER SIDE CURTAIN AND SEAT AIRBAGS ERRONEOUSLY DEPLOYED AND THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY SHUTOFF, CAUSING DISORIENTATION AND TEMPORARY LOSS OF HEARING IN ONE EAR.
I HAVE BEEN WARNED BY OTHER DRIVERS AT NIGHT THAT MY TAIL LIGHTS WERE OUT. MY CLOCK AND RADIO BOTH ARE MALFUNCTIONING. I JUST TOOK THE CAR FOR THE YEARLY INSPECTION AND THERE IS A MAJOR OIL LEAK FROM A GASKET. THE CAR ONLY HAS 16,000 MILES ON IT!
MASSIVE OIL LEAK NEAR THE ENGINE AND THE CYLINDER HEAD NEEDS TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT IS DEFECTIVE. THIS IS A 2020 VEHICLE. THE GASKET KIT AND THE ENGINE ARE ON BACKORDER SO MY CAR IS AT THE SHOP FOR AN UNDETERMINED AMOUNT OF TIME ON THE ORDER OF POTENTIALLY SEVERAL MONTHS!
WINDSHIELD GLASS SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED FROM BOTTOM WHERE DEFROSTING VENT IS LOCATED, ARCING UPWARD ACROSS DRIIVERS FIELD OF VIEW OCCUPYING 3/4 OF WINDSHIELD HEIGHT- DRIVEN TO WORK WITH NO PROBLEM AND CRACK WAS PRESENT AT END OF WORK SHIFT NO IMPACTS OCCURED NO OTHER DAMAGE -PARKED IN MONITORED HOSPITAL PARKING GARAGE
MPG IS NOT AS HIGH AS LISTED. WITH ONE PASSENGER, NO CARGO AVG CITY MPG 22. AVG HWY 26 COMBINED 24. 7 MONTHS OWNING CAR. TIRES INFLATED TO PROPER SETTING. MAINTAINED DONE AT REGULAR SCHEDULED INTERVALS.
TRY TO PART WHEN I STEP ON THE. BREAK, DID NOT STOP KEEPING RIGHT ON GOING.
MY 2020 MAZDA CX-5 WAS 2 DAYS OLD AND THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DRAINED AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. I PICKED IT UP AND THEY DID NOTHING TO THE BATTERY. THEY TOLD ME NOTHING WAS WRONG AND THEY REPLACED THE KEY FOB BATTERY. TWO MORE DAYS AFTER THAT I PARKED IT IN MY GARAGE AND PUSHED THE BUTTON TO TURN IT OFF. APPARENTLY IT DID NOT TURN OFF AND COME MORNING, I HAD SIGNIFICANT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING AND WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR 4 NIGHTS. MY CAR WOULD NOT START AGAIN AND THE ODD THING WAS THAT THE BATTERY WAS DRAINED AGAIN AND THERE WAS STILL GAS IN IT. MY LOCAL MAZDA DEALER REFUSES TO HELP ME AND I AM TRYING TO CONTACT MAZDA'S MAIN NUMBER.
DASHBOARD LIGHTS HAVE GONE OFF THEN BACK ON WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY & LOCAL ROADS SEVERAL TIMES. ALSO CONCERNED AS TO WHAT ELSE THIS ISSUE AFFECTS & NOT SURE IF DAYLIGHT RUNNING LIGHTS ARE ON OR OFF AT THIS TIME OR OTHER ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS. NOT SURE THE CAUSE OF THIS POSSIBLE SHORT IN THE SYSTEM IN ADDITION TO A BATTERY REPLACEMENT (ORIG. BATTERY & THEN 2 OTHERS SINCE 7/4/20)
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 MAZDA CX-5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY OF HER RESIDENCE, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. THE CONTACT CONTACTED AN INDEPENDENT MECHAINC WHO ARRIVED AT THE RESIDENCE AND JUMP STARTED THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MAXON MAZDA (2329 RTE 22 W, UNION, NJ 07083) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE OR RETRIEVE A FAULT CODE. THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THE BATTERY WAS DEFECTIVE. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED THREE TIMES BETWEEN JULY 2020 AND OCT 2020. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 2,741.
THE AUTO LIFT GATE OPENS ON ITS OWN. WE JUST BOUGHT THIS IN JULY AND HAVE FOUND IT OPENED ON AT LEAST 4 OCCASIONS. ONCE OUTSIDE AND THE OTHER TIMES IN THE GARAGE. IT OPENED IN THE GARAGE AND DID NOT REALIZE IT WHEN I PUSHED THE GARAGE DOOR OPENER. IT WAS ABUTTED AGAINST THE DOOR AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE LIFT GATE. IT IS NOT THE FOB, BECAUSE WE TRIED IT INSIDE WITH THE DOOR SHUT AND THE LIFT GATE DOES NOT OPEN.
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2020 Mazda CX-5 → · Every CX-5 year → · How the figures are calculated →