2019 Mazda CX-5

Mazda ships a defective touchscreen that will degrade and eventually register phantom inputs to the infotainment system. In my vehicle, the screen was able to randomly access my settings, including for safety (blind spot monitoring) and display (driving units, heads up display, etc) and start messing with my settings. When I was using maps, the screen would randomly zoom into different spots, or change my destination, or modify settings. This was an enormous distraction and rendered the screen useless. Also, I was never sure if I stopped the car from changing settings related to vehicle safety because I can't keep my eyes on the screen while I'm driving. It was just registering random inputs all over the screen while the vehicle was in motion.

Car will whine and jerk when accelerating. Car suddenly stopped engaging in gear after it was warm. Dealer states it has internal transmission malfunction at 64k miles. Prior to the car breaking down the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic on 12/27/23 and concerns with the whining and jerking when driving were expressed. Dealer reports that the transmission was “operating as designed”.

There is a known “ghost touch” issue with this vehicle. I did not realize that until recently but the infotainment screen will randomly activate when at low speeds and/or stopped. This has caused distractions while driving as sometimes it will actually initiate phone calls on its own. Mazda has a technical service bulletin on this but has issued no recall

The radio/navigation/entertainment system malfunctions. The issue is known as ghosting and is a well-known issue with selected year Mazda's. Radio stations and apps will randomly skip around or the volume of the system will blare out at the highest volume startling the driver. Which has occurred multiple times in my case. The first time I reported it to the dealer, they told me there was no issue. The second time I was informed I could pay for a repair kit and installation for over $500.

There is a known issue with the infotainment systems of several makes/models within a certain date range of Mazda vehicles called Ghost Touch. It seems to mainly occur in very hot or cold weather. The touch screen will press different buttons on the screen on its own, which can be quite dangerous while driving: maps will start directing you to a different location, if you are on a call, it may put the person on hold or call another party. Music skips and pauses. It can cause extremely distracted driving (ie: trying to hang up on someone it has dialed on its own or switch directions back to the original address). Dealerships know about the issue but require a test to be done at the cost of the owner to prove the issue, and then they may or may not cover the cost of the fix. This should be a recall to fix this, but have not. Here is the service alert: [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My engine suddenly started smelling like burning oil. I was due for an oil change and needed it immediately so I went to a quick oil change shop. They told me oil was sprayed all over the engine and I should take it to the dealer. It's been at Napleton Auto Park in Urbana, Illinois for a week and they finally diagnosed a cracked cylinder head. They said it could take up to 2 months to repair and they're checking to see if it's covered by my warranty.