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2019 Mazda CX-5

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most CX-5 years

Owner complaints for the 2019 Mazda CX-5 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 133.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 43 of 270 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 131 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

7 crash reports2 fire reports4 injury reports

Engine complaints

131 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jul 1, 2024
Engine

engine head crack causing antifreeze leak. caught problem at 65980 miles. Defect confirmed by dealer. I had no indication of problem, only a terrible smell/odor. Dealer indicated a $6000+ cost of repair.(out of warranty). Thank goodness for extended warranty I purchased. I feel Mazda should be held accountable.

NHTSA ODI #11598090

Mileage unknown · Jun 11, 2024
EngineVehicle Speed Control

Went to drive home from work one night, car had been normal until this event. Car suddenly began to state that it was overheating and throttled my speed down to 20 MPH. I was in the middle of traffic going 40-50 at this time. Turns out there is a VSB regarding a coolant leak that can occur and break. Nothing about how you are su…

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Went to drive home from work one night, car had been normal until this event. Car suddenly began to state that it was overheating and throttled my speed down to 20 MPH. I was in the middle of traffic going 40-50 at this time. Turns out there is a VSB regarding a coolant leak that can occur and break. Nothing about how you are suddenly governed to 20 MPH

NHTSA ODI #11593770

Mileage unknown · Jun 10, 2024
EnginePower Train

I had just had my car serviced for 30k services and about 2 months later smoke was coming out of my engine after driving. Took it in and it turned out to be a cracked cylinder head. None of my lights were on indicating there was an issue either. I was told this is a known issue with Mazda and should be a recall but there still i…

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I had just had my car serviced for 30k services and about 2 months later smoke was coming out of my engine after driving. Took it in and it turned out to be a cracked cylinder head. None of my lights were on indicating there was an issue either. I was told this is a known issue with Mazda and should be a recall but there still isn’t one. TSB#SA-031-21

NHTSA ODI #11593337

Mileage unknown · May 21, 2024
Engine

Crack head leaking oil

NHTSA ODI #11590013

Mileage unknown · Apr 23, 2024
Engine

The Cylinder head cracked and caused oil to spill out. This was inspected at Towne Mazda in Orchard Park, NY. I was driving ~50 miles when the issue occurred, and had driven approximately 40 of the 50 miles when me and my sister pulled over and noticed my engine smoking and the burning smell to be pungent. Had I not pulled over,…

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The Cylinder head cracked and caused oil to spill out. This was inspected at Towne Mazda in Orchard Park, NY. I was driving ~50 miles when the issue occurred, and had driven approximately 40 of the 50 miles when me and my sister pulled over and noticed my engine smoking and the burning smell to be pungent. Had I not pulled over, It could have led to engine misfire and damage to other parts of my vehicle. The Dealer confirmed the need for a new cylinder head and parts, and is currently repairing the vehicle. The Component was not recently inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance. During the course of driving, after about ~35 miles, the oil pressure light turned on. I drove roughly 5 more miles before I pulled the car over to have it towed to my Mazda dealership.

NHTSA ODI #11584772

Mileage unknown · Apr 15, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineSteering

As I was driving home one day in February 2024, my car felt like a strong gust of wind was getting up underneath the hood of my car, causing it to pull left and right slightly. When checking the weather, wind gusts were at 5 MPH and you could barely see trees/leaf movement. I pulled off the side of the road, checked underneath t…

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As I was driving home one day in February 2024, my car felt like a strong gust of wind was getting up underneath the hood of my car, causing it to pull left and right slightly. When checking the weather, wind gusts were at 5 MPH and you could barely see trees/leaf movement. I pulled off the side of the road, checked underneath the car to see if anything was dragging/missing and all was fine. As I started driving again, I then noticed my RPM's vs MPH was very strange. When accelerating, the car randomly increased up to 4,500 RPM when trying to go 45 MPH, then shifted down to 2,000 RPM's once I reached 45 MPH. But, no matter if I left my foot on the gas pedal, lifted my foot off of the gas pedal or hit the breaks, the car would not move off of 2,000 RPM's until I pressed my foot on the break all the way down to the floorboard. No lights came on at all. I took it to the dealership that I purchased it from, expressing the scary feeling of the driving the car and showing video proof of what the car was doing in RPM's vs MPH. After further conclusion, they determined that a "sensor" had gone bad. The thought that a plastic, electronic sensor going back caused my car to feel that way and put my life at risk while driving is a scary thought. Fast-forward to April of 2024, similar symptoms have come back again. Wind feeling like it's getting under my hood, causing the car to pull left and right, RPM's not matching up and now a hot engine with no warning light coming on, is questioning if it's this particular sensor again. Not to mention, I had it inspected by the dealership two weeks ago and had an oil change done to it and the dealership said "everything looks great". You should have zero thought or worry when operating your personal vehicle, but in the past three months, I have taken my car to the dealership and or a mechanic 7 times with thoughts/worries about my car. This car has now turned into a "lemon" as one would call it and I'm terrified to even start the car.

NHTSA ODI #11583156

Mileage unknown · Mar 23, 2024
Engine

Engine is ticking and shaking at idle more than normal Rest unknown

NHTSA ODI #11579048

Mileage unknown · Mar 20, 2024
Engine

Had a constant Valve tick on cold starts and sometimes while running long periods. Oil level top offs and changes did not remedy the issue. Mechanic says it's a bad valve lash adjuster.

NHTSA ODI #11578393

Mileage unknown · Feb 20, 2024
Engine

I developed a cracked cylinder head in my 2019 Mazda CX-5 that only had 33,000 miles on it. I lost approximately 50% of my oil in a 4 mile drive. I believed I had been leaking oil, checked the dipstick, drove 4 miles (max speed of 35 mph), smelled the burning oil, pulled over, saw smoke coming from the hood and checked the dipst…

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I developed a cracked cylinder head in my 2019 Mazda CX-5 that only had 33,000 miles on it. I lost approximately 50% of my oil in a 4 mile drive. I believed I had been leaking oil, checked the dipstick, drove 4 miles (max speed of 35 mph), smelled the burning oil, pulled over, saw smoke coming from the hood and checked the dipstick again. Losing this much oil is a safety risk with the possibility of a fire especially if driving at a faster speed and inability to have a safe place to pull over along with smoke from the burning oil causing visibility issues which at higher speeds such as on an interstate can cause a safety concern. No indicator lights/messages appeared, this was determined from seeing what I thought was oil on the ground and then checking the dipstick. Mazda is well aware of the issue. When picking up the car for the dealership after being fixed, I asked what kind of parts were used to ensure this does it happen again. The shop employee said they were “revamped” parts due to the known issue with this model and pointed out 4 other Mazda cx5s currently in the shop with the same issue getting repaired.

NHTSA ODI #11572881

Mileage unknown · Feb 1, 2024
EnginePower Train

Had the sudden onset of strong exhaust fumes in the cabin as others have described - especially when idling at a light. Returned to dealer after having it up on a rack to find oil dripping everywhere (shield underneath prevents from seeing drops when parked) - got word today it is indeed the cylinder head assembly. How is oil ru…

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Had the sudden onset of strong exhaust fumes in the cabin as others have described - especially when idling at a light. Returned to dealer after having it up on a rack to find oil dripping everywhere (shield underneath prevents from seeing drops when parked) - got word today it is indeed the cylinder head assembly. How is oil running on hot exhaust not a fire concern? I had to roll my windows down for fresh air in zero degree weather the fumes were so strong inside the vehicle. On top of that the P0126 (thermostat stuck open) diagnostic code is back for the second year in a row after having the “fix” installed under warranty last year.

NHTSA ODI #11569398

Official recalls

2

21V875000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Nov 12, 2021

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018 Mazda3, Mazda6, 2019 CX-3, 2018-2019 MX-5, CX-5, CX-9, and 2019-2020 Mazda2 vehicles. The impeller inside the low-pressure fuel pump may crack and deform, potentially causing the fuel pump to fail.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Fuel pump failure may cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pumps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 18, 2022. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 5321K.

19V497000 · Engine; Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Jun 27, 2019

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018-2019 CX-5, Mazda6, and 2019 Mazda3 vehicles. A software error in the powertrain control module (PCM) may cause the engine to stall.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An unexpected stall increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the PCM software, free of charge. The recall began August 20, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3719F.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Engine

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018-2019 CX-5, Mazda6, and 2019 Mazda3 vehicles. A software error in the powertrain control module (PCM) may cause the engine to stall.

Consequence: An unexpected stall increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the PCM software, free of charge. The recall began August 20, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3719F.

Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018-2019 CX-5, Mazda6, and 2019 Mazda3 vehicles. A software error in the powertrain control module (PCM) may cause the engine to stall.

Consequence: An unexpected stall increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the PCM software, free of charge. The recall began August 20, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3719F.

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