Complaints about the 2015 Mazda CX-5 peaked in 2017, with 30 filed
Owner complaints about this model year, by the year they were filed with NHTSA.
SUV, gasoline, 4WD/4-Wheel Drive/4x4, built in Japan. Owner complaints on file from Jul 15, 2014 to Sep 10, 2025.
Owner complaints about this model year, by the year they were filed with NHTSA.
Owner complaints by component. Hover or focus a bar for the crash, fire, injury or death count.
Check a specific vehicle by VIN on NHTSA's site: a campaign may cover only part of a model year's production.
| Campaign | Filed | Subject | Component | Vehicles | Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16V-644 | Sep 6, 2016 | On the affected vehicles, the lift gate support struts may corrode, possibly causing the struts to break and/or the lift gate to drop unexpectedly | Structure | 580,455 | Part replacement |
| 16V-203 | Apr 11, 2016 | Lower mounting nuts and bolts that attach the front strut assembly to the steering knuckle may loosen, allowing the steering knuckle to separate | Steering | 578 | Part replacement |
| 16V-064 | Feb 3, 2016 | Affected vehicles have a fuel filler pipe that may rupture in the event of a crash | Fuel system | 268,799 | Not stated |
| 16E-002 | Jan 19, 2016 | Affected windshields have a bracket mounted on the inside to hold a laser sensor or LIDAR device for the Smart City Brake Support system | Visibility and wipers | 193 | Part replacement |
The full text of every complaint filed with NHTSA about this model year, newest first. Complaints are filed by owners and are not verified by NHTSA; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
133 complaints on file, page 1 of 7.
With a heavy downpour of rain the bsm flashes off, then after sitting for a few hours the car battery dies and the key fob is not recognized in the vehicle. Took it to a dealership and it stopped doing it. Code that are thrown have to do with some computer communication failing. I have had the car die on me 4 times in the last year that I’ve had it.
NHTSA complaint 11686403I was near a red light and applied the brakes, but the car accelerated and ran into the truck stopped in front of me. This happened around May of 2024. I took the car to the Elk Grove Mazda dealer. They ran diagnostic and road tests but found nothing wrong. The car had the same problem again sometime later inside my garage. The car rammed into the drywall while I tried to stop by pressing the brake pedal. I took the car to the AAA repair shop in August 2024. They spent three days, and they told me they found a problem with the "steering angle sensor." It was 22 degrees off calibration. They reset the sensor, and the car ran better. However, the car acted again after some driving. It tries to accelerate while I apply the brake pedal near a stop. I took the car back to the AAA shop, but they did not find any problems in a whole week. I still drive this(my only) car, but extra careful, keeping a longer distance between cars in front of me and braking ahead few times ahead of any stop.
NHTSA complaint 11674250Air bags came out on own
NHTSA complaint 11637272While driving on the freeway the check engine light came on. I was able to drive the car home the remaining 20 minutes but there was some noticeable difficulty accelerating. When I went to turn on the car later that day the engine would not turn over and there was an audible rattling/chugging sound and the car itself shook. I was unable to get the car to start and the check engine light remained on. I had AAA check the battery the next day and confirm it was not a battery issue and a diagnostic revealed the P0192 code. AAA towed it to their shop where it was confirmed by the manager mechanic that the issue was with the high pressure fuel pump and that it was causing an issue with the low pressure fuel sensor as well. The mechanic was unable to determine what caused the pump to fail and has quoted me nearly $2000 to fix it. After some searching online it has become clear that this is an issue many other Mazda owners have faced and that is even a recall for the pump for years and makes from Mazda due to a known issue with DENSO fuel pumps causing this exact issue. Despite this being known and DENSO having admitted issue with fuel pumps in cars dating back to 2013, Mazda has not recalled the vast majority of the cars that could be affected. From information I've gathered, it is entirely possible that my vehicle could have just stopped running in the middle of the freeway due to this issue which obviously would have put me in great danger of an accident. To summarize: Low pressure fuel sensor and high pressure fuel pump with error code P0192 are cited as the issues. It's possible this issue can cause the car to stop running with no warning, which would be extremely dangerous especially on the freeway. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by a AAA mechanic shop. The vehicle has been inspected by the AAA mechanic but no others. The check engine light came on but was not clear how extreme the circumstance was.
NHTSA complaint 11605868The contact owns a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while pressing the brake pedal the engine had experienced very high revving and the vehicle would lurch forward. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed a PCM and TCM program update and reset the KAM per the manufacturers TSB. The contact indicated that the failure was corrected for a while but recently the failure had reoccurred. The local dealer was contacted and a service appointment was scheduled. No further information was available. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 25,000.
NHTSA complaint 11572876Was involved in accident on 8/12/23 with speed over 30mph at impact and not a single airbag deployed
NHTSA complaint 11570804Right swing arm/ball joint broke off doing a u turn. Vehicle has been maintained and garage kept.
NHTSA complaint 11546690The contact owns a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated the tires deflating abnormally. The contact stated that the tires needed to be inflated on a weekly basis. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rims were improperly fitted to suit multiple tires, causing the tires to deflate. The vehicle had not been repaired. The tires had been replaced by several other brand tires however, the failure persisted. The dealer confirmed that the failure was not a tire failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.
NHTSA complaint 11545786While driving on the interstate, the passenger side front door glass shattered unexpectedly causing an eye injury. There was no noise of a rock hitting the glass or anything. Previous to the incident, the glass had no cracks or chips in it.
NHTSA complaint 11542220Occasionally have sudden unintended acceleration. Went to dealer, no codes shown. Replaced battery and did throttle service. Happens 1 or 2 times a month generally within first 5 minutes of trip when attempting to stop. While braking , rpm's go to 3k and brakes barely hold car stopped, so I throw it in neutral to stop...rpms eventually go down to normal. It's obviously a very dangerous situation. Im going to make another appt with dealer again but not optimistic because no codes show and they will keep the car until it happens but that could take forever. Went to other mechanics for fresh eyes and opinions. Some feel that it could be a software issue controlling the throttle body and said thats an engineering thing and that no technician will be able to figure that out. I had gone on Reddit / Mazda CX5 and found one other person with what looked like the exact same issue.
NHTSA complaint 11539137The contact owned a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V064000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 16V644000 (Structure) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list as she no longer owns the vehicle. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.
NHTSA complaint 11533463I was on my way home going down a windy back road going about 45 mph. there was a jeep in front of me and the mail truck was in front of them. the mail truck went to slow down and take a right onto a different road and as the jeep slowed down i applied my breaks and there was no response. this was not the first time this had happened in this vehicle but this time i panicked and i had to cut my wheel into the persons front yard to the right of us as i was continuously picking my foot up and slamming it down on the break and there was no response my car was just speeding up. i ended up going into the road that the mail truck was taking a right on and i hit the front of his truck and went flying into the woods and the trees were what stopped me. i now live with constant nerve pain everyday from this and suffer with a compressed lower back fracture that limits me daily from many things. before this incident i had issues with the breaks and acceleration twice. i had taken it to mazda and they fixed my “break switch” ? obviously that wasn’t the problem.
NHTSA complaint 11521446The contact owns a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that there was an abnormal fuel odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that fuel was leaking from the vehicle causing the vehicle to need refueling more often. The contact stated the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V064000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) which required that the fuel pump or tank to be replaced. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who informed her that the repair only required a sealant and cover that had since corroded. The certified mechanic replaced the electric intake fuel pump assembly. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.
NHTSA complaint 11512131The contact’s daughter owns a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that the front driver’s side seat was previously moved in a forward position; however, when her son attempted to move the seat backward to drive the vehicle, the seat remained seized in the forward position. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint 11510429On Feb. 9, 2023, I started my vehicle and lots of warning indicators lit up the dash of my well-maintained vehicle. Check Engine, ABS, TPMS, SBCS to name some of the warning lights. When I took my car to the dealer, they told me the left front wheel speed sensor had mechanical failure and would need to be replaced. Said the car's antilock brakes wouldn't work without it being replaced. My car also has the automatic brakes to prevent collision and stability control systems which are dependent on wheel speed sensors' function. My vehicle mileage was 59307 when I took it to the dealer. Over $600 repair bill.
NHTSA complaint 11507686The contact owns a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the horn malfunctioned and there was no sound when the horn pad was pressed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 148,000.
NHTSA complaint 11497526The contact called on behalf of his daughter who owns a 2015 Mazda CX5. The contact stated that while his daughter was loading groceries in the trunk, the liftgate dropped unexpectedly and the corner of the liftgate hit her in the head, causing a laceration. The contact's daughter was taken to urgent care where she was informed that she had sustained a laceration and three staples were put on the laceration. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V644000 (Structure); however, the recall remedy failed to resolve the safety issue. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the recall repair was one-time free of charge and they were not obligated to repair additional failures. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
NHTSA complaint 114967702015 Mazda CX-5 with 91,000 miles on it. Automatic transmission has failed. When I attempted to pull out into traffic the vehicle would not shift into 2nd gear and instead jerked hard and the engine RPMs revved up. I was not able to get the vehicle past 10mph. This failure with the transmission resulted in the oncoming traffic having to swerve and break to avoid a collision with me. The vehicle was taken to a Mazda dealership who did a diagnostic on it and found that the Mazda had an "internal transmission failure" and would require a full replacement. I asked if it would be replaced with the same exact transmission and was told "no, the defect was discovered by Mazda and has been correct for new transmission models." The manufacture knows about this issue. Luckily I escaped serious bodily injury. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer as well as an independent 3rd party transmission repair specialist. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to this incident to give warning.
NHTSA complaint 11483555Rear Shock broke away from vehicle chassis. SAFETY Issue Mazda Technical Service Bulletin 02-016/18 " ....breakage can occur. ......the material and the shape of the bracket has been modified" THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PART $675 to replace two DEFECTIVE shocks
NHTSA complaint 11472849Transmission failed, and vehicle is available for inspection. The incident occurred after exiting a highway and coming to halt at stop light. Vehicle wouldn't exceed above 5 mph after moving forward, it surged, downshifted, and come to a complete stop. This created an incident where other motorist nearly rear ended occupants in subject vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by both dealer as well as independent mechanic and before were able to replicate the issue. No warning lamps or messages appeared. There were no other signs of a potential problem prior to failure. The failure was sudden and unexpected.
NHTSA complaint 11456004Technical service bulletins and other notices the manufacturer sent to dealers. A bulletin is not a recall; the 60 most recent are listed.