Complaint volume
56 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
2023 Mazda CX-5 Complaints
56 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Mazda CX-5, grouped by component category.
56 Total complaints
8 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
4 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 exterior lighting, unknown or other, 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, 4 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 2 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 10,064 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to exterior lighting, unknown or other, 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 2023 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.
2023 Mazda CX-5
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2023 Mazda CX-5 complaints?
8 Crash
0 Fire
4 Injury
0 Fatality
7 Towed
2 Medical attention
What are the most common 2023 Mazda CX-5 complaint categories?
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8
ENGINE 4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2
LANE DEPARTURE 2
SERVICE BRAKES 2
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2
STEERING 2
VISIBILITY 2
VISIBILITY/WIPER 2
56 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2025 | STEERING | Extremely heavy steering causing excessive driver fatigue making it difficult to maintain control of the vehicle at highway speeds (up to 70mph). Dealers unable to reproduce, likely due to it being cold outside when I had time to go. The hotter and dryer the roads gets, the better grip the tires have and the worse the heavy steering gets. It is significantly heavier than my old car at higher speeds and that car has no power steering. My arms are very sore after 30min - 1 hour. Mazda refuses to admit this is a significant safety issue. It gets worse when the LKAS activates at least once (too heavy I am veering around in my lane) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I motor fan is constantly on when driving. It is 32F to 40F here in Hampton Roads. There is no reason the fan should be on. I have video of the fan running at 29 degrees F. I reported it to my local mazda 3 times. A person I know in another area reported the same problem and her local mazda dealer fixed it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | See attached document for complaint. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS | Small amount of weight such as keys or phone is triggering the Occupant sensor in the front passenger seat. This issue just started and I am finding a lot of complaints regarding this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ENGINE | Engine light came on. Immediately brought to dealer. Always serviced at dealership. One previous occurance of illuminated light reading major engine malfunction. Pulled car to side of road, called dealership who advised turn off and back on. Didn't tell me about ALL the problems that Mazda was aware of. Now I'm told my new car with 22k miles has a blown engine. No notification from Mazda about a known problem. Asked when buying the car if there were any major problems with this car. Mazda apparently lies. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2023 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while the temperature was 45 degrees or lower, the vehicle failed to start properly, and the engine failed to warm up properly. The coolant light was illuminated, and the engine temperature gauge failed to rise above COLD. The vehicle occasionally failed to start or while started and driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled while and engine temperature failed to reach the normal operating temperature. The check engine light was illuminated. The contact would shift to SPORT Mode to prevent the cylinder activation from occurring and causing the vehicle to stall. The contact stated that the failure persisted, and the vehicle was hesitating while driving in temperatures of 50 degrees or less. Additionally, the key fob intermittently failed to unlock the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and had to be towed. The contact stated that during the recent failure, the battery was disconnected, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact stated that the key fob battery had been replaced 6 times; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired for the engine failure. The contact called another dealer, J. Allen Mazda (15150 Airport Rd, Gulfport, MS 39503); however, only an appointment to inspect the vehicle was made but the vehicle was not yet inspected. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 4,000 |
| Jan 2025 | ENGINE | The Low Oil Warning Light comes on between oil changes. I think this is the 3-4th time. I will have to add 1 quart of oil to the car after 3000-4000 miles. I only have about 33,000 miles on this vehichle and do the oil changes myself. I checked for leaks at the oil filter and oil drain plug. No indication of oil leaking or I would see it on the floor of my garage. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Engine using excessive amounts of oil. It could be available for inspection How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I plan to take it into the dealer for next oil change and report it. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? The Low Oil warning comes on | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | The vehicle continues to have safety features malfunctions with its sensors. The forward facing camera sensor and the Blind Spot Monitoring Sensor continues to malfunctions when driving in clear visibility with light to heavy traffic at random times during a day. These features assist the driver to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles while driving. My vehicle has almost crashed several times due to the failures of the features such as the stop and go traffic and forward facing crash detection not working properly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Headlight of the motor keeps rumbling in about 25000 miles of usage. Expense of fixing such a motor is estimated between 2500-2800$. Further, it is unknown how safe it would be for someone to keep driving such a car with a rumbling motor if they dont fix it. This sound and vibration of the motor can be felt even in a standing car when lights are on. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | LANE DEPARTURE | Blind spot sensors blocked error messages. This will happen at least a few times a year. Usually on long freeway drives, using cruise control, at night, and when cooler out (less than 60f). Restarting the vehicle makes the error codes go away and the system functions normally afterwards. Seems like either a software glitch or the system detects a guard rail for a while and gets confused and throws a Error message. This shouldn't be happening on a newer vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | STEERING | Was driving up [XXX] when simultaneously my dash board lit up with errors and malfunctions, my interior lights started flickering and my steering wheel and brakes locked. Unable to control the vehicle I gripped the wheel for dear life praying as it veered left. The 2023 CX 5 with only 18K struck the guard rail and went black on the inside and out. Only then was I able to counter the ricochet of the impact by redirecting the vehicle back on the grass to avoid getting smacked by 2 tractor trailers. SMH, I really almost died and now have to fight with my insurance to prove to them this is a real issue with these vehicle malfunctioning. I hope this helps someone and possibly save a life(s) - toyota_would_never, Greensboro, US INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | When the vehicle light position is on Off at night the daytime running lights on the front of the vehicle come on which appear to be the same as the normal headlights, but the back lights are completely out. The brake lights work, but the back tail lights and licence plate light are out. The car's light switch is on the turn signal arm and can be moved inadvertently when using the turn signal. At this point you assume you have all around vehicle lights because the front headlights are on which are really the Day TIme Running Lights (DTRL). The DTRL are as bright as the normal headlights at night. This gives you the false impression that all of the outside vehicle lights are on. When this happens you are driving with no back vehicle lights which is a major saftey issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,VISIBILITY | The driver's side mirror tends to vibrate or shake more than the passenger side mirror, especially at speeds above 50-60 mph or in windy conditions. It has been a common complaint among Mazda owners for quite a while, and it seems to be a design flaw that Mazda has not yet addressed with a permanent solution. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | I love this car, but it has a bad habit, the vehicle accelerates on its own. If you take your foot off the gas, the car will intermittently lurch, almost jump forward. I’ve learned to deal with this by simply keeping a strong push on the break, but it is definitely is an issue. Another issue I’m having is the back lift gate. I’ve been told that the sensors are on each side of the gate and perhaps when drying the vehicle, I touch them they run along each side of the liftgate fully visible. I have 17,000 miles on my car right now and when the lift gate opens closes it stops halfway and it beeps. I then have to push it down to close. I took it to the dealer and they say it will cost me if they have to check the sensors. This is extremely annoying to have an automatic lift gate, and I have to push it down myself. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2023 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, she entered the vehicle and noticed that the sunroof glass had exploded. The contact stated that she inspected the vehicle but could not determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the shade guard was closed at the time of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be serviced because a rock had probably struck the sunroof. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was awaiting an email from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 16,127. | Crash: No Fire: No | 16,127 |
| Apr 2024 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,BACK OVER PREVENTION | Slowly and cautiously entered parking lot of a small strip mall. Proceeded to a parking space located in between two parked vehicles.Maneuvering into parking space I removed foot from gas pedal toward the break pedal; before foot made contact with break pedal the vehicle accelerated on its own surging over the cement parking bumper, over bushes, through the grass, down the curb and into the street. I jammed on the breaks. Lifting foot from break pedal I did not touch the gas pedal in fear the surge might happened again. Instead I allowed the vehicle to coast as I guided vehicle to the curb. In all the commotion, while trying to control vehicle safely I noticed the dashboard transmission indicator lights flash from park to drive to neutral. Safety issues for me and family at risk because we had no control over the acceleration of the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | TIRES | I purchased a brand new 2023 Mazda Cx-5 on December 2022 from Daytona Mazda. The car has been great up until 34,310 miles when I noticed vibration in the steering wheel. I take the car to Sport Mazda North in Longwood Fl. They checked the brakes and rotors and tires. My brakes and rotors are fine. They stated my tires have cupping. They suggested a wheel balance to slow down the cupping process and they suggested and alignment as well. But that I would need to replace the tires if I wanted that cupping to be gone. I buy new tires and have them installed by Pep Boys because I was tired it the vibration. I have them check the alignment while I was there and the alignment came out great with all the numbers in the green. The tires still had 7/32nd left on the tires so that’s about 70% of tread left. The dealership downer warranty the tires and Yokohama won’t warranty them. They stated i needed to send the tires back. I let the rep know that ok so you wanted me to risk my safety to send those tires back to you to examine them. I let the rep know that I don’t have those tires as I had new tires put on on [XXX]. I am trying to get compensated for the new tires I had to buy because of a premature issue with the OEM tires. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | STRUCTURE | While I was driving I heard an extremely loud noise (like fireworks). I slightly opened the sun roof cover and saw shards of glass. I pulled over to inspect further and realized that my sun roof glass had exploded! I saw no signs of anything (particularly rocks) that may have caused it. I called the dealer, and they had me bring it in. They have ordered a new sunroof, and gave me a loaner car. Luckily I did not have the inside cover open, or the glass would have shattered all over the inside of my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | New 2023 Mazda CX5. We have experienced 2 Unintended Sudden Acceleration episodes. The most recent one was while backing down our driveway, the car suddenly accelerated when the brake was applied causing considerable damage to the car and house. Our front porch camera caught the entire episode showing that the brake lights were in fact on. Mazda needs to take responsibility and recall these vehicles to find out what is going on, as there are numerous other similar complaints for this car on this site and others. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I bought a new Premium Plus CX-5 in April of this year. Since I bought the car, occasionally I hear a sharp click or snap from the dashboard, particularly when it's warm outside and I have the AC on. I have video footage of the sound multiple times, but Mazda says they cannot replicate it. It sounds like a rock hitting the windshield type sound, but it's electronic and inside the car. Multiple Mazda dealerships in So Cal confirmed the noise. It is because the vents are chrome, aka plastic wrapped in thin metal. When the car cools, these will snap but not break / do any damage. This has been confirmed by at least 5 others on the internet. Please see this thread: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The sunroof spontaneously exploded outward while my wife was driving on the interstate. She was not near other vehicles or under an overpass for flying debris. We have had the vehicle for only 9 months and she works from home so it is kept in a garage for the majority of its life. It has not encountered any hail damage either. The sun shade was closed thankfully so my wife was fine but the anxiety it has caused her is immeasurable. This is a common occurrence as can be seen by any Google search indicating many people experiencing this issue. Most auto makers are not accepting responsibility for defects in manufacturing. The NHTSA has a duty to keep people safe and hold auto makers accountable for problems they are manufacturing. Exploding sunroofs are not safe and it is a major problem in the industry. There are countless testimonials and legal action being taken about this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | At 2:00 on a clear afternoon I was slowly coasting into a right hand turn into a parking space, and lightly tapping the brake to finalize the stop, when the car accelerated HARD forward over a curb and a sidewalk into the brick wall of a building. Airbag was deployed. My injuries were a nasty wrist contusion and bloody gashes where the airbag "door" deployed and I also had complete seatbelt brusing on my throat, chest and across my abdomen. This after traveling a mere 7-8 feet. At the time I was very shaken up and incredulous that such a thing could have happened logically, and conceded that perhaps I had made a mistake somehow. As I settled down later I became dubious, especially when I got behind the wheel of my rental car and 100% when I sat in my actual car at the wrecking yard. I am crystal clear I was depressing just the brake. Even if I had accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake (I did not) it would not have accelerated to the degree that it did. I am now scared of my car and am just hoping it is declared totaled by my insurance so I don't have to drive it again - any car but that one. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ENGINE | Mazda CX-5 Premium Between May and September this year, the MyMazda app has alerted me two times that the oil level was low. I manually checked and it was indeed low. The first time I brought it to a Firestone service center to have it checked and they verified that the level was down considerably to the bottom dot on the stick. They said to bring it to the dealer. I brought it to the dealer and they said they could not find any leaks and to come back in 1000 miles. I did that and they only checked the dipstick to make sure the level was fine and sent me on my way. The same exact thing happened again a week ago and I topped off the oil then made an appointment. The dealer said that I should not have done that and now they could not verify for themselves that the oil was in fact low. They disregarded the message that the MyMazda app sent me and did not care that I documented and took photos of the dipstick. They had to see it for themselves. They said to come back 1000 miles and not add oil if it is low. I said to the representative at the dealer that I had seen mentions about high oil consumption online and they stated it was only turbo models. I bought my car October 2022 and it has had this oil issue twice in 20,000 miles. That is scary and unacceptable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | Brand new 2023 Mazda CX-5 with 150 miles on it experienced unintended acceleration while braking. Pulled into a parking spot with my foot on the brakes but the car didn't stop & even accelerated over a sidewalk and into a building. I experienced a bruise from the seatbelt. Airbags did not deploy. Someone could have been killed if they had been on the sidewalk. Car is currently at an auto body shop to fix the cosmetic damages, and once released, will have the car towed to our local Mazda dealership/service center to get the car inspected. In doing research on NHTSA's website, at least 4 vehicles (2-2023 Mazda CX-5s and 2-2023 Mazda CX-30s) have experienced this issue. Mazda needs to recall these vehicles and investigate. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2023 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, he observed a crack from the middle of the windshield to the bottom corner of the driver's side windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to assist with the repair. The failure mileage was 2,802. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |