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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 · Jan 14, 2023
Engine

Low engine oil light appeared despite standard maintenance service and oil change at Mazda dealer the prior month. Service technician confirmed oil was low by 1 and 3/4 quarts and added oil. Mazda dealership advised there is a service bulletin for my vehicle with this problem dating back to 2021, and that the problem is likely…

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Low engine oil light appeared despite standard maintenance service and oil change at Mazda dealer the prior month. Service technician confirmed oil was low by 1 and 3/4 quarts and added oil. Mazda dealership advised there is a service bulletin for my vehicle with this problem dating back to 2021, and that the problem is likely due to a faulty valve, but that they have no planned fix available. I am concerned about the long-term damage of engine oil continually leaking into the combustion chamber. Mazda should be asked to fix this for car owners, not simply top off our oil each time that it leaks.

NHTSA ODI #11501770

Mileage unknown · Jan 14, 2023
Power Train

It appears that my car has the check oil level light coming on at approximately 3000 to 4000 miles after an oil change. This seems like a safety issue to me because a brand new car should not be burning a quart of oil at this interval.

NHTSA ODI #11501756

Mileage unknown · Jan 3, 2023
Engine

oil consumption on a 2021 Turbo CX-5. problem has been reproduced and confirmed by dealer. warning lights twice. first time told it was normal. happened twice. only on my third maintenance oil change was it acknowledged. had to do a lot of research on my own. caused enormous stress to existing mental health issues. would…

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oil consumption on a 2021 Turbo CX-5. problem has been reproduced and confirmed by dealer. warning lights twice. first time told it was normal. happened twice. only on my third maintenance oil change was it acknowledged. had to do a lot of research on my own. caused enormous stress to existing mental health issues. would not have even been addressed had i not stated the issue.

NHTSA ODI #11500032

Mileage unknown · Dec 26, 2022
Engine

Engine is either burning or leaking oil. The low oil light flashed after a 2hr highway trip (traveling to my parent's house for Christmas with my wife), low oil was confirmed the following day via dipstick. Oil was changed at the dealership about 4 months ago, mileage is under 24k miles. Looks to be related to this service bul…

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Engine is either burning or leaking oil. The low oil light flashed after a 2hr highway trip (traveling to my parent's house for Christmas with my wife), low oil was confirmed the following day via dipstick. Oil was changed at the dealership about 4 months ago, mileage is under 24k miles. Looks to be related to this service bulletin, which still does not appear to have a fix or recall associated with it. Mazda Oil Consumption TSB Turbo Engines Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, TIRES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM NHTSA ID Number: 10202685 Manufacturer Communication Number: 01-012-21-3832 5 Affected Products Vehicles MAKE MODEL YEAR MAZDA CX-30 2021 MAZDA CX-5 2021 MAZDA CX-9 2021 MAZDA MAZDA3 2021 MAZDA MAZDA6 2021 Summary Some vehicles may have a LOW ENGINE OIL LEVEL warning message and a CHECK ENGINE light illuminated in the instrument cluster, along with DTC P250F:00 stored in memory. DTC P250F:00 - Engine oil level signal: engine oil level low. Upon inspecting the engine oil level, the level is found to be low and there doesn't appear to be any trace of oil leakage in the engine compartment. This concern usually occurs when the mileage reaches approximately 3,100 - 4,700 miles (5,000 - 7,500km) and may also occur again after replacing or topping off the engine oil. The root cause of this concern has not been identified yet, therefore a repair procedure will be announced at a later date. Since this issue has been reported after a valve stem seal modification, it is very likely that valve stem seal damage is causing oil to leak into the combustion chamber.

NHTSA ODI #11498888

Mileage unknown · Dec 18, 2022
Unknown Or Other

The car has a key fob which is supposed to automatically lock the car when you walk away (and unlock when you press a button on the door handle when the fob is in close proximity). My car sometimes does not lock when I walk away. They encourage relying on this method, and so sometimes I return to my car, and it is unlocked. I co…

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The car has a key fob which is supposed to automatically lock the car when you walk away (and unlock when you press a button on the door handle when the fob is in close proximity). My car sometimes does not lock when I walk away. They encourage relying on this method, and so sometimes I return to my car, and it is unlocked. I consider this a safety issue both from a personal safety standpoint and from a car theft/ interior item theft standpoint. I have tried discussing this with the dealership repair department, but they mansplain to me that you have to walk FAR away for the lock to activate (which is actually directly contrary to the owner's manual for this model, as well as my personal experience).

NHTSA ODI #11497926

Mileage unknown · Dec 12, 2022
EnginePower Train

When I reached 7000 miles on my car the low oil light came one. I immediately drove it to the dealership - ending a vacation early as I thought something was seriously wrong with the car. I got to dealership and they blamed me for getting an oil change at a competitor and not putting in enough oil. They then changed the oi…

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When I reached 7000 miles on my car the low oil light came one. I immediately drove it to the dealership - ending a vacation early as I thought something was seriously wrong with the car. I got to dealership and they blamed me for getting an oil change at a competitor and not putting in enough oil. They then changed the oil and again at 12000 the low oil light came on. There seems to be an oil consumption issue that Mazda is NOT admitting to or fixing. Every time I drive more than 4500 miles the car is 1/2 a quart low and it warns me. Now the dealership wants me to spend HUNDREDS of dollars on a vehicle in warranty for oil consumption testing....though there is no leak and no soot in the tail pipe.

NHTSA ODI #11497124

Mileage unknown · Dec 1, 2022
Power Train

Low oil level between oil change cycles with over 1,000 miles remaining before oil change is required. This has happened between both oil changes so far and I have to add oil myself to ensure oil level isn’t low. The oil consumption seems extremely high and is concerning that at only 12,000 miles I’ve had this problem happen twi…

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Low oil level between oil change cycles with over 1,000 miles remaining before oil change is required. This has happened between both oil changes so far and I have to add oil myself to ensure oil level isn’t low. The oil consumption seems extremely high and is concerning that at only 12,000 miles I’ve had this problem happen twice.

NHTSA ODI #11495577

Mileage unknown · Nov 18, 2022
Engine

New vehicle at approximately 5,500 miles turned on low oil light dashboard. Added one quart oil each time to restore oil level. Vehicle currently has approximately 7,000 miles. McDonald Mazda West slow to respond to performing warranty service related to TSB 01-012/21. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI #11494068

Mileage unknown · Nov 18, 2022
Engine

New vehicle at approximately 6,000 miles and again at 9,500 turned on low oil light dashboard. Added one quart oil each time (twice) to restore oil level. Vehicle currently has approximately 10,500 miles. McDonald Mazda West slow to respond to performing warranty service related to TSB 01-012/21. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI #11494067

Mileage unknown · Nov 1, 2022
Forward Collision AvoidanceUnknown Or Other

Feb 2,2022 received Critical Vehicle Malfunction Warning, all vehicle systems affected told to call roadside assistance and not to drive vehicle. Received same warning again February 11,2022 after vehicle had been inspected by dealer service again had vehicle towed to dealer. April 14, 2022 Critical vehicle malfunction again. Oc…

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Feb 2,2022 received Critical Vehicle Malfunction Warning, all vehicle systems affected told to call roadside assistance and not to drive vehicle. Received same warning again February 11,2022 after vehicle had been inspected by dealer service again had vehicle towed to dealer. April 14, 2022 Critical vehicle malfunction again. October 30, 2022, again Critical vehicle malfunction warning. All vehicle systems affected.

NHTSA ODI #11491757

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.

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