THE INFORMANT CONTROLS ARE NOT SAFE TO USE WHILE DRIVING. WAY TO MANY SUB GROUPS TO SCROLL THROUGH JUST TO GET THE RADIO TO WORK. VERY CONFUSING AND DISTRACTING.
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.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all CX-5 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
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.
What owners actually said
144 reportsTHE PAINT ON THIS CAR IS NOTORIOUSLY POOR AND MAZDA IS AWARE. WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE ON 16 FEBRUARY 2021, DROVE IT HOME AND LEFT IT IN THE DRIVEWAY DUE TO SNOW/ICE. ON THURSDAY, 18 FEBRUARY INSTEAD OF BRUSHING OR SCRAPING OFF THE ICE WE LEFT IT TO MELT. UNFORTUNATELY, THE ICE MELT LEFT HUGE SCRATCHES ON THE HOOD. THERE IS…
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THE PAINT ON THIS CAR IS NOTORIOUSLY POOR AND MAZDA IS AWARE. WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE ON 16 FEBRUARY 2021, DROVE IT HOME AND LEFT IT IN THE DRIVEWAY DUE TO SNOW/ICE. ON THURSDAY, 18 FEBRUARY INSTEAD OF BRUSHING OR SCRAPING OFF THE ICE WE LEFT IT TO MELT. UNFORTUNATELY, THE ICE MELT LEFT HUGE SCRATCHES ON THE HOOD. THERE IS NO REASON FOR ICE/SNOW TO CAUSE THIS MUCH DAMAGE. WE REVIEWED A NUMBER OF WEBSITES AND IT APPEARS THAT MAZDA IS AWARE OF THIS INFERIOR PAINT AND HAS DONE NOTHING TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM. BUT THEY DO CHARGE $595 MORE FOR IT. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY CALL BACKS FROM MAZDA CORPORATION. BROWNS CHANTILLY DID ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE BUT ALL THAT DID WAS MASK IT SLIGHTLY. THE DAMAGE IS STILL VERY VISIBLE. THIS CAR HAS 12 MILES ON IT AND MOST OF THOSE ARE FROM THE DEALER. I AM UNABLE TO UPLOAD MORE THAN ONE PHOTO. THE PHOTO SHOWS THE LARGEST SCRATCH BUT T HERE ARE MANY MORE ON THE CAR.
WE BOUGHT THE CAR NEW OFF THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP LOT YESTERDAY WITH 5 MILES ON THE ODO. AS MY HUSBAND PULLED OFF THE LOT HE SMELLED A BURNING SMELL AND THE BRAKES FELT LIKE THEY'D SEIZED UP A BIT. HE PULLED OVER AND THOUGHT ABOUT TURNING BACK ONTO THE LOT, BUT THEN THOUGHT IT MAY BE JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE NEW BRAKES AND CONTINUED ON…
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WE BOUGHT THE CAR NEW OFF THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP LOT YESTERDAY WITH 5 MILES ON THE ODO. AS MY HUSBAND PULLED OFF THE LOT HE SMELLED A BURNING SMELL AND THE BRAKES FELT LIKE THEY'D SEIZED UP A BIT. HE PULLED OVER AND THOUGHT ABOUT TURNING BACK ONTO THE LOT, BUT THEN THOUGHT IT MAY BE JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE NEW BRAKES AND CONTINUED ON AND DROVE HOME. THIS MORNING WE REMOTELY STARTED THE VEHICLE AND THE MAZDA APP SENT US AN ALERT THAT THERE IS A CRITICAL VEHICLE MALFUNCTION HAVING TO DO WITH THE ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM. THE DEALERS ARE CLOSED, SO I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE INFO YET. I JUST SIGNED BACK ON TO THE APP AND THERE'S A SECOND MALFUNCTION ALERT NOW WITH THE EMERGENCY LAND KEEPING. THERE ARE NOW CURRENTLY 65 MILES ON THE ODO. WE HAVE ONLY DRIVEN THE VEHICLE FROM THE DEALERSHIP HOME AND PARKED IT OUTSIDE OVER NIGHT.
RED SOUL ON THE CX5 HAVING EXCESSIVE PAINT CHIPPING. LESS THAN 5K MILES ON THE CAR AND HAVE ONLY HAD FOR 3 MONTHS AND THERE'S ALREADY 9 TO 10 CHIPS ON THE HOOD AND DRIVER DOOR.
Official recalls
0No 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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