Complaint volume
136 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Mazda CX-5 Complaints
136 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Mazda CX-5, grouped by component category.
136 Total complaints
8 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
5 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, unknown or other, power train,engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 8 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 5 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 16 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 24,119 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, unknown or other, power train,engine?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Mazda CX-5?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Mazda CX-5
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Mazda CX-5 complaints?
8 Crash
0 Fire
5 Injury
0 Fatality
8 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Mazda CX-5 complaint categories?
ENGINE 56
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5
POWER TRAIN 5
SERVICE BRAKES 5
VISIBILITY/WIPER 4
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3
TIRES 3
VISIBILITY 3
136 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 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 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 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 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). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 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 twice. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While Driving the car in highway and you turn signals to change lanes and that moment you start changing the automatic brake system activated and car suddenly brake almost making me get in to a rear collision this happens twice in highway, it also happens twice in city driving while cruising street and theres is nothing in front of you the emergency brake light shows brake as emergency and car suddenly brake without having anything on front | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE | At 16,550 miles (5675 miles since the last oil change), my oil pressure light came on. Per owner's manual, I turned the car off & let the oil drain into the pan for 5 minutes. I checked the oil but due to it being so hot it was hard to get an accurate reading. I turned the car back on & the oil light was off. I proceeded to drive into town and 25 miles later the light came on again. I checked the oil & it appeared to be very low. I added a quart of oil and the light went off. I checked the oil level later when the car was cool & the oil level on the dipstick was now halfway between the 2 dots on the dipstick. I drove about 300 miles home from our trip and the light never came back on. I took it to the dealership the next day & the technician said no codes showed that my oil level was low and they said my oil level was now 2 Qts too high. I only added 1 and they changed it last. Even though I was told there was a known issue involving a valve stem seal, they told me Mazda will not authorize the repair unless the engine code error is present (P205F?) & the low oil light is on. They were unable to explain why my low oil light came on. I was told that I need to change my oil every 5k miles even though the owner's manual says I can go up 7500 miles. They also told me that I should wait 10-15 minutes to let the oil drain after shutting the car off and not the 5 minutes that it states in my owner's manual. They told me if this issue happens again, to have my car towed to the nearest Mazda dealership. However, again the repair would only be done if both conditions were present. A bulletin had been produced on this issue but not provided to the owners of the vehicles. This is a safety risk since I was on a trip and would never imagine having this issue with a new car 1year old. Had I known this was an issue, I could have been more prepared. Potentially letting oil continue to seep into the combustion chamber of my engine is not ok. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE | Car is consuming oil since new and requiring additional oil to be added before oil changes. There was a TSB created by Mazda a year ago (TSB # 01-012/21) however there is no fix. I am concerned with the potential for damage to other engine systems aside from the reported issue with the valve stem seals resulting in undrivability and premature engine problems due to oil leaking past the valve stem seals. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE | Excessive oil consumption. Confirmed by the dealer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE | My car appears to consuming oil excessively. I bought this car new in March of 2021 at I have had to top off my oil between oil changes at almost every single oil change since I have owned it. The car only has 33900 miles on it and usually about two months in from my oil change the check oil light comes on and the dipstick shows the oil at the lower end of the dipstick. I have purchased oil on my own and have had to have the dealer top it off. After topped off it will usually make it fine until my next oil change but a brand new car should not be burning oil like this and I was told they have known about a valve stem defect since September of 2021 but still have not done a recall or have a fix for it. | Crash: No Fire: No | 33,900 |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I am having 2021 cx5 signature turbo 3400 mile and the engine light can me on upon checking the oil level was to low mark burnt out . I am concern that Mazda have not came up. With a recall yet. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE | At approximately 5,612 miles, the low oil pressure light came on. After changing the oil, it happened again at 7,760 miles. Both times the light came on, the oil level was low. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE | Car has 13000 miles and is consuming oil | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | Upon exiting my local car wash, I drove my car around to the area used for vacuuming. I pulled into the parking space and when I applied the brake pedal to stop, the car suddenly accelerated and crashed into the wall of the building. I have the Car Wash Security Camera footage of this incident. It shows my brake light is ON at the car's point of acceleration and my brake light is ON at point of impact with the wall. If you need to review it, I can email it to you. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Detected slight odor of burning oil while highway driving, mileage approximately 8,650. Three days later “low oil level” warning light lit up, mileage 8928. Allowed car to rest and checked oil level manually. Oil level was slightly above the minimum required. No signs of oil on garage floor. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | ENGINE | Low oil light came on 4500 miles after oil change. Engine used nearly 2 quarts of oil quarl in that distance. Engine burning excessive amount of oil. No oil leaks. Burning oil internally. Reported to dealer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle has had excessive oil consumption. Engine consumes approximately one quart of oil every 4k miles or so with normal driving not spirited. Vehicle has no visible signs of outward leaks. First oil change was at 5030 miles with approximately 5.2 quarts of Castrol edge full synthetic oil and a Purolator boss oil filter PLB14612. Vehicle currently has 9352 miles. I have not let it get to a point where oil light comes on, but it has been to the quart low dot on the stick twice so far. This should not be normal. This has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center as I maintain the oil checks and oil changes myself. Tailpipes do have black soot inside but is not greasy or oily. I haven't noticed a lot of smoke from tailpipes just a small bit of whitish vapor that quickly dissipates when my wife pulls it out of the driveway and starts off down the road that I contribute to normal condensation, but I nor she can see tailpipes when we are driving a longer distance of course. I haven't smelled oil burn or seen any leaks on driveway, but the oil is going somewhere. I have seen a TSB from Mazda about possible valve stem seal problems with my VIN number. I hope Mazda will resolve this within my warranty as oil consumption can cause other major engine component damage down the road i.e., catalytic convertor, oxygen sensors, carbon deposits, etc. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE | Engine oil light indicated low oil level at 6000 miles. Dealer states there is a TSB on this issue but no repair process is available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE | Engine oil consumption - around 2000 miles after oil change. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE | Car purchased new in 2021. Uses 1quart oil every 3,000 miles. Checked at dealer and assured of no leaks. Service bulletin issued by Mazda acknowledges problem probably due to faulty valve stem seals, but no resolution offerree for clients except “stop by for a quart of oil whenever light comes on!” | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE | Motor using excessive amount of oil. Vehicle has just turned 20,000 miles. Uses a quart of oil ever 1500 miles or so. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,LANE DEPARTURE | I bought a 2021 Mazda CX-5 from Ramsey Mazda of Des Moines, IA. It offered comparable comfort & features. A selling point was the safety features touted by the salesman. Odd things occurred during the first few months but I attributed it to a learning curve. I saw some odd messages but I really did not think it was relevant until June 28, 2022. I was backing out from a parking space. The Blind Spot Monitoring failed to indicate a car approaching from the right that then stopped in my blind spot. I hit the car behind me. Despite the fact, I understand personal responsibility, I never would have had the BSM worked correctly. I dropped the car off on July 15, 2022 to the Ramsey Mazda Service Center after the BSM failure and a Check Engine Light appeared. I already had the Ramsey Mazda Collision Center look at the car and told them of the of the BSM failure. That man doing the estimate said he had heard of those failures before. On July 15, I dropped the car off at the Ramsey Mazda Service Center to look at the BSM, a Check Engine light, the door locks and the hatch opening on its own. I tried to tell the Service Center that there was something severely wrong with the electrical system in this vehicle. I have a witness to its erratic behavior, but I was continually dismissed. There is more wrong now with my car than when I left it with the dealership. They kept my car for 19 days. During the 19 days, I continually had to call and check on the status of my vehicle. Ramsey Mazda was not and is still not initiating conversation with me or responding to voicemails. The manager of the Ramsey Mazda Dealership on Hickman in Des Moines, IA (JD) is supposed to be handling this issue personally with Mazda Corporate because it now “appears” to be affecting multiple systems in his words. Multiple issues include but are not limited to the BSM, Seat Belt notifications, power driver’s seat, camera system, cruise control system, entertainment system, & hands free communications. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE | Low oil light keeps coming on before it’s due. Went to dealer and they gave me a notice of a bulletin. 01-012/21. It states there is an issue where the engine leaks oil faster and could eventually cause engineer damage. They are asking us to come in more frequently for oil changes or to top off. Unknown what the fix is and it’s been on multiple new Mazda vehicle types. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |