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2021 Mazda CX-5

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Mazda CX-5 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 133.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 18 of 144 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 77 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports0 fire reports5 injury reports

What owners actually said

144 reports
Mileage unknown · Jun 6, 2022
Engine

Car is burning oil. The low oil level light has come on twice, requiring additional oil be poured into the engine between oil changes. Appears the car is burning oil.

NHTSA ODI #11467878

Mileage unknown · Jun 6, 2022
Engine

Low engine oil level light & status is coming on for our 2021 Mazda CX-5 turbo. It has 9115 miles and still 1300 miles away from needing oil change. I called our dealership today & was informed we were the 2nd to call today with message. They provided no further info. I have since found there are technical bulletins regarding …

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Low engine oil level light & status is coming on for our 2021 Mazda CX-5 turbo. It has 9115 miles and still 1300 miles away from needing oil change. I called our dealership today & was informed we were the 2nd to call today with message. They provided no further info. I have since found there are technical bulletins regarding this issue. Recalls need to be made & Mazda should be covering all repair costs for this.

NHTSA ODI #11467864

Mileage unknown · Apr 27, 2022
Fuel/propulsion SystemService BrakesVehicle Speed ControlCrashInjury

On April 16, 2022, around 6:45PM, I drove my new Mazda CX5 (@ 3500 miles) into our church parking lot and turned right down the first row of cars. It was light out and the weather was pleasant. I turned right into a parking space with my foot on the brake. The car was facing and perpendicular to a sidewalk that was about 10 f…

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On April 16, 2022, around 6:45PM, I drove my new Mazda CX5 (@ 3500 miles) into our church parking lot and turned right down the first row of cars. It was light out and the weather was pleasant. I turned right into a parking space with my foot on the brake. The car was facing and perpendicular to a sidewalk that was about 10 feet away. It was separated by a grassy median. When I depressed the brake further to shift from drive into park, the car surged forward and accelerated. There was a pedestrian on the sidewalk in front of the car. I turned the wheel to the right at a 90 degree angle to avoid hitting her. I kept pressing the brake but the car kept accelerating until it crashed into a large tree. The airbag deployed. Both the pedestrian and I were transported to the hospital. The pedestrian had bruises on her leg and hip, but fortunately was not more seriously injured and was released from the hospital. I was admitted to the hospital for contusions to the heart. The car hood was crushed and the car was totaled. The incident was terrifying. The police estimated the car went from nearly a standstill to about 40mph in about 15-20 feet. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the accident. I checked the NHTSA website after the accident and downloaded 16 similar complaints where low mileage Mazda CX5s accelerated out of control when drivers were attempting to park or stop.

NHTSA ODI #11462431

Mileage unknown · Feb 24, 2022
Lane Departure

BSM Does not see all vehicles in the blind spot. It is very inconsistent. I have taken it to the dealer who told me that they could not repair it because no fault code shows up. Mazda has not been helpful.

NHTSA ODI #11453753

Mileage unknown · Feb 1, 2022
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

When the cylinder deactivation system triggers It causes the engine/car to shake and stutter. Somtimes it's suttle and other times if feels like the car is going to stall out. It's a vibration that makes it feel like your driving over cobblestones. This has been ongoing for a few months now. I'm taking it to the dealer tomorro…

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When the cylinder deactivation system triggers It causes the engine/car to shake and stutter. Somtimes it's suttle and other times if feels like the car is going to stall out. It's a vibration that makes it feel like your driving over cobblestones. This has been ongoing for a few months now. I'm taking it to the dealer tomorrow. It appears to be the same problem as the 2018-2019 Recall.

NHTSA ODI #11449830

Mileage unknown · Jan 27, 2022
Unknown Or OtherCrash

I parked my car in my driveway and accidentally left the gear in park when I turned off the engine with the push button. This is the first time I had driven this car so I didn't know what to do for the warning beep. I exited the car and took the key fob with me. My daughter exited the car just after me and when she closed the…

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I parked my car in my driveway and accidentally left the gear in park when I turned off the engine with the push button. This is the first time I had driven this car so I didn't know what to do for the warning beep. I exited the car and took the key fob with me. My daughter exited the car just after me and when she closed the car door the pressure was enough to start the car rolling backwards. The vehicle rolled down our driveway which has a steep slope, across the street, over our neighbor's yard and crashed against their house. We are lucky that no pedestrians or other vehicles were involved. There is significant structural damage to the neighbor's house. A police report was filed. I believe this is a significant safety hazard that a driver could turn off the engine and leave with the key fob while the car is in drive and there is no braking mechanism to prevent the car from rolling! In addition, the quiet warning beep should be more pronounced such as the horn honking or something more extreme to get the attention of the distracted driver.

NHTSA ODI #11449084

Mileage unknown · Jan 20, 2022
Visibility/wiper

The windshield defrost only works for the center part of the windshield given that there is only a single center defrost vent. Vision is severely impaired during rainy or snowy days (worse during nights) while driving and it makes the driving very dangerous. You can only see what is in front of you, but very limited side views…

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The windshield defrost only works for the center part of the windshield given that there is only a single center defrost vent. Vision is severely impaired during rainy or snowy days (worse during nights) while driving and it makes the driving very dangerous. You can only see what is in front of you, but very limited side views due to the fog on both sides of the windshield. Attached is a pic of the windshield when I came back from a 2 mile errand run while the defrost vent was at full scale constantly.

NHTSA ODI #11448193

Mileage unknown · Jan 10, 2022
Lane Departure

The blind spot monitoring system does not function properly. While on the freeway some vehicles show up and some do not. I took it to the dealer, and they test drove it and said it was working properly and there were no codes. I contacted Mazda and they made a second appointment for me, and I took it back. I told them that it o…

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The blind spot monitoring system does not function properly. While on the freeway some vehicles show up and some do not. I took it to the dealer, and they test drove it and said it was working properly and there were no codes. I contacted Mazda and they made a second appointment for me, and I took it back. I told them that it only does it on the freeway and I sent them a video showing the problem. They said they drove it again (not on the freeway) and told me it worked fine and since there was no code, they could not fix it. I called Mazda again and they told me they could make an appointment at another dealer. The nearest dealer is an hour away and they had my vehicle for 7 days the first time and three days the second time. I don't have the ability to take it an hour away and leave it for days. This is a safety issue and needs to be repaired. I had the same vehicle only it was a 2018 and never had this problem.

NHTSA ODI #11446862

Mileage unknown · Jan 5, 2022
Visibility/wiper

On this model of Mazda, they only manufactured it with 1 small center defrost vent on the windshield, and nothing on the sides. Therefore the windshield only gets defrosted in the center, not in front of the driver. I live in the Pacific Northwest and it rains a lot which results in foggy windows, I feel it is extremely unsafe d…

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On this model of Mazda, they only manufactured it with 1 small center defrost vent on the windshield, and nothing on the sides. Therefore the windshield only gets defrosted in the center, not in front of the driver. I live in the Pacific Northwest and it rains a lot which results in foggy windows, I feel it is extremely unsafe driving a car that doesn’t defrost the full windshield, more importantly in front of the drivers view. I have severely degraded visibility 80% of the time I’m driving because of how poorly designed defrost ducts are

NHTSA ODI #11446370

300 miles · Dec 28, 2021
Engine

The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while stopped at a stop sign, the vehicle failed to accelerate while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact restarted the vehicle and corrected the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer performed a Special Service Program (SSP) Recall #: SSP…

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The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while stopped at a stop sign, the vehicle failed to accelerate while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact restarted the vehicle and corrected the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer performed a Special Service Program (SSP) Recall #: SSPC7 (TCU Connect Concern CV/Battery) where the TCU software was updated; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no additional recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 300.

NHTSA ODI #11445262

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Mazda CX-5 problems