2019 Mazda CX-5
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 270 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 3rd highest complaint count among 14 CX-5 model years with reports.
Of the 2019 reports, 7 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 5 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpNov 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.
Fuel pump failure may cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 21V875000 on NHTSA.gov
EngineJun 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.
An unexpected stall increases the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 19V497000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
270 reports, newest first.
Engine, Jan 9, 2025
Car was purchased in June 2019. Car started smelling like burning oil and started finding oil pooling under the car around November 2024. At time the incident was discovered, car only had 38k miles. There was no warning lights or indication there was an issue other than the smell and small pool of oil under car. The Mazda service manager immediately knew what the issue was and told me they were going to confirm with a full inspection and diagnosis. I was told that I have a cracked cylinder head and I will need to have it replaced. Warranty ended few months prior so they will not cover. I was told it would cost $4589.76. The Mazda service department told me that this is a common issue and to hold off on repair and contact Mazda corporate since warranty just ended. They topped off my oil and told me to keep an eye on the oil level and to wait to hear back from Mazda corporate.I submitted a case with Mazda and the customer care specialist told me that they cannot guarantee they will cover this. Within a week, the temperatures got colder and issue got worse. Low oil light came on, topped off with oil. Lost 4 quarts in one day. Called Mazda service and they told me to top off oil and come drop car off immediately. Upon researching this issue, the cracking of cylinder heads in Mazda CX-5 vehicles, particularly those with the 2.5-liter (NA) engine were widespread and discussed in online forum. The contributing factors of the issue point to a design flaw of the cylinder head due to the cylinder deactivation technology and a manufacturing defect due to the cylinder head casting process based on reports and discussions within the automotive community. A TSB (SA-013/22) has been released for the affected cylinder head with a modified replacement. This seems to be a significant and widespread issue that can cause entire engine to fail and require full replacement. Oil leaking on to the hot exhaust near other engine parts could ignite and put myself or others at risk.
Engine, Jan 8, 2025
Engine block cracked, passenger cabin filled with noxious odder. Vehicle was suddenly leaking oil at high rate.
Engine, Jan 3, 2025
My 2019 Mazda CX-5 suddenly developed a major oil leak within the last 7 days. My car has only 44,350 miles and I have had all scheduled and required maintenance completed timely, including oil/filter changes, coolant level checking and maintenance, etc. I took the car to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the problem as a cracked cylinder head. I then took the car to a local Mazda dealer who confirmed the diagnosis and informed me that there would be no warranty coverage as my 60,000 mile/60 month powertrain warranty had expired 60 days earlier. Some two years earlier my car's check engine light came on and overheated. I took it to the same local dealer, who replaced the coolant control valve & related components. In November 2024 I received a "Warranty Extension Program" letter from Mazda about the same fail-safe thermostat problem. I believe this is relevant and related to the cracked cylinder head since almost all instances of a cracked cylinder head are due to engine overheating. This issue put me at risk as I was close to driving the car with no oil and oil leaking heavily onto very hot engine components that could have resulted in a fire. I am now facing repairs to this car between $4,800 and $6,000 and given the faulty/defective cylinder head from Mazda, I could face this safety issue again, as it will be replaced with a similar cylinder head from Mazda!
Other or unspecified, Engine, Dec 29, 2024
I started to smell a burning smell while I was driving and noticed smoke coming from under the hood along with the burning smell. When I parked the car I noticed a bunch of oil leaking from under the car. I took the car to get checked out and there was oil all under the bottom of the car and it was confirmed that there was a very bad oil leak which occurred due to a crack in the cylinder head. No check engine lights or any indication of this issue aside from discovering the burning smell, smoke from under the hood, and a significant amount of oil underneath the car. The car hasn’t been driven in a month because of this issue. When you turn the car on you can hear a ticking sound coming from under the hood. The bad part is there was no indication. A 2019 with 50,000 ish miles shouldn’t have this problem and I confirmed that with mechanics and Mazda. This is a safety risk as you can’t safely drive the car without being concerned about the lack of oil in the car due to the leak as well as the smoke coming from under the hood, not being able to drive the car thus resulting in needing the car towed in order for the car to be serviced for this problem. I was told that if the oil continues to leak and if I was to drive it the engine could start to have issues and possibly turn off due to the leakage. This leak had oil all over the exhaust system as well.
Engine, Dec 28, 2024
This car has less than 37,000 miles on it it has significant oil leaks from the valve cover gasket, it’s timing cover gasket and now it had been determined it has a cracked cylinder head. This was covered by 3 Service alerts with the cracked cylinder head being SA-031/21. None of the dealers notified us of the issue when serviced Galpin Mazda and New Century Mazda. But Big O Tires did. The two oil leak gasket repairs cost over $1600. The car is 8 months past warranty. The car is burning oil when driven. Due to the leak and the smoke particles and smell enter the cabin. The engine smokes when shut down instill it cold down. The smoke particles in the cabin are dangerous. The engine oil light appeared in late November (my daughter’s car, she is away at college). We found out the depth of the oil leak issues the second and fourth week of December. The fact that the dealers did not notice us or do preemptive repairs is a major failure by the Mazda organization.
Other or unspecified, Dec 28, 2024
We were locked out of the car on a road trip due to a dead battery. We needed to open the car door to pop the hood in this emergency situation. With the Battery down, we had to use the physical keys provided by Mazda to unlock the door. Both Mazda's original keys did not open the driver-side door. We were stranded and had to call emergency key services to open the door. The purpose of physical keys is to open the car in case of emergency but in Mazda CX5 case they were useless. We have also reported the issue to Mazda and are awaiting a response.
Power train, Dec 27, 2024
I have a 2019 Mazda cx 5 with only 67,000 miles on it and the cylinder head is cracked and leaking oil everywhere. I have noticed TSBs released for this issue, but it seems to be a very common issue with most people not being covered for a very major repair. Mazda refuses to fix the issue created by the improper build of this component and may lock people's engines if not caught soon enough
Engine, Dec 19, 2024
Brought 2019 Cx-5 to local dealer with complaint of strong smell and smoke coming from hood. Cracked cylinder head at only 21k miles. Known flaw for this particular make and model. Only 6 months out of warranty. Mazda refuses to make it right and only extended warranty for turbo engines. Mazda needs to make this right for ALL engines with this issue.
Engine, Dec 19, 2024
The 2019 has a creaked cylinder with 40000 miles on it. This is a problem with that has been happening. We are 4 months out of the warranty with May 2024.
Engine, Dec 17, 2024
My Mazda CX-5 was found to have a cracked cylinder in the engine and was profusely leaking oil. When I spoke to the dealership they denied seeing this regularly, however, upon doing research on reddit, it is found to be more pronounced than indicated. There was no known cause indicated, however, on reddit it appears that the original casting done in Mexico maybe the culprit because it is so thin and causes it to crack between 40-50k miles. There is no other sign or warnings, besides an obscene amount of oil leaking. The failure of this could cause the engine to fail while driving. This is a significant risk.
Engine, Dec 5, 2024
Vehicle has 40k after a oil change noticed oil spots on pavement took it back to the garage that did the task, was told that the leak was near cylinder #2. Called Mazda customer service and was informed that my warranty expired in May of 2024. my mechanic called Mazda parts to get the price of cylinder head and was told that they had a run on cylinder heads due to defective heads coming from the Factory, SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THE MAZDA.
Steering, Electrical system, Service brakes, Nov 17, 2024
The steering and braking systems on my vehicle malfunctioned after jumping my vehicle when the battery drained too far to start, or even power my cars baseline electrical systems. After jumping my car, I started backing out of my parking spot and when I turned the wheel it very violently jerked in a manner that could have hurt me if I'd been holding onto the wheel tighter. Around this same time I believe I recall the brakes automatically applying and halting the vehicle. I was too far out of my parking spot when this began occurring and had to try to maneuver into a different one, during this attempt both of the conditions described above reoccured several times. I eventually noticed that it only seemed to trigger when the wheel was at more extreme steering angles, by keeping the steering angle lower I was eventually able to maneuver into another spot without triggering the issues. After parking and letting the car run for a bit to recharge the battery I no longer experienced these issues. There were several warning lights related to roll stability control, lane departure monitoring before pulling out. The following warnings were present, but I'm unable to recall whether they displayed before I first hit the issues: Smart Braking Malfunction, Power Steering Malfunction, Transmission Malfunction, Check Engine Light. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by anyone, however I was able to find evidence of other people complaining about what sounds to be the same issue going back several years online. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Oct 30, 2024
The head gasket cover is leaking leading to a great deal of smoke. The car should not be driven per my mechanic due to risk of fire
Other or unspecified, Oct 29, 2024
Mazdas infotainment system was issued defective. The system is plagued with issues in which a “ghost” touch on the screen makes changes to the system. It is a very distracting issue and poses a safety concern as it distracts the driver from the road as the ghost touch can make changes on the infotainment system moving between settings, changing music, making random calls, and randomly triggering voice assistant if an Apple car play is connected. This is a known issue for which Mazda has a fix but has never issued a recall. If you search online you will find hundreds of examples of the ghost touch affecting Mazda vehicles.
Engine, Oct 25, 2024
I have 115k miles on my 2019 CX5. Never has any issues. Now all of a sudden I have a cracked cylinder head leaking oil. I was smelling smoke but mot seeing it. I took into dealership they noticed oil dripping thus why smell. Its a $4500-5000 job. I cannot afford this. This should not happen at this kind of mileage. My warranty just expired too. Mazda needs to cover these type of repairs
Power train, Electrical system, Oct 15, 2024
Car failed while on highway driving 60 mph with the engine and power steering turning off instantly. A day prior the dash was blinking warnings. Mazda of Lodi replaced the entire transmission plus other parts. Just made it under warrantee. Would have cost 5k once expired.was told half the fleet of 2019 were recalled but not the second half of production for some reason even though they both experience the same failure.. also had 22,000 miles at end of the. Something smells in Denmark
Power train, Engine, Oct 15, 2024
The vehicle starting stalling, check engine light would come on, and the vehicle would slipped into “limp mode” while traveling on the freeway. I was amount in two auto collisions because of the vehicle slowing down in the middle of the highway. The problem started in August 2023 and was towed to the dealer on one occasions and towed to my home on another occasion. The dealer ran a diagnostic and said it was the brand new battery I had installed and then the catalytic converter. After repairing both; the vehicle proceeded to not drive over 30 miles per hour. The dealer said it was the engine and then said it was something else. I’ve expressed that the symptoms are those more aligned to the PCM issue recalled on 2019. A actual diagnostic report from Auto Zone supports this. The vehicle has also been inspected by another Mazda dealer and a stand alone mechanic.
Engine, Oct 13, 2024
At 49k miles and 4 months out of warranty, the car began leaking oil and smelling like smoke. The dealer diagnosed with a cracked cylinder head and repaired it.
Electrical system, Oct 11, 2024
Infotainment screen malfunctions, pressing buttons by itself.
Engine, Oct 10, 2024
CX5 Cylinder head cracked at 53,500 miles. Was driving when received engine overheating and pull over immediately warning. The car smelled like maple syrup as it was engine coolant burning. Took it to the dealership and they informed me of the cylinder failure. It is currently awaiting parts and its not under warranty.
Engine, Oct 7, 2024
Cracked cylinder head requiring replacement at 62,000 miles.
Engine, Oct 2, 2024
While driving, I received a warning that the engine in my car was overheating. Upon arriving home and parking, I noticed pooling under the car. My car was due for an oil change so the next day I dropped off the car for the oil change and mentioned the overheating message and leak to the technician thinking the fix would be routine. To my surprise, I was told my vehicle had a serious coolant leak related to a cracked cylinder. I was advised to take the vehicle to a Mazda dealer. Morrie's Mazda in Minnetonka, MN confirmed the cracked cylinder head which required a full engine replacement despite the car being only ~5 years old and having ~63,000 miles. Mazda had issued a technical service bulletin on this issue but had not issued a recall. As a result, I was left with a large repair bill to replace the engine in a relatively new car. This is a serious issue and I feel Mazda put my life and others in jeopardy by not recalling vehicles and letting customers drive with the risk of the engine overheating.
Other or unspecified, Sep 25, 2024
The infotainment system ghost touches on its own. It changes all car settings by itself. Active driving display, safety features like distance recognition, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, etc. Every setting available in the infotainment system gets changed or reset on it own. Even when you turn it off. It turns back on. GPS routes, dials people, hangs up, mutes on its own, etc. Mazda dealership says it’s out of warranty and I would have to pay out of pocket to fix it. However it is an ongoing issue where now there is a class action lawsuit.
Engine, Sep 24, 2024
Coolant leaks at cylinder head on 2019 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring Reserve. Mazda North American Operations released a technical service bulletin (01-013/21) regarding 2016-2020 Mazda CX-5, CX-9, and Mazda6 with SKYACTIV-G 2.5T engines. This issue can cause the engine to leak coolant, overheat, and stall, potentially leaving the driver and passengers stranded in an unsafe location. Mazda is aware of this manufacturing defect but has not recalled these engines to be repaired or replaced if they are outside of their manufacturers warranty period and placing costly repairs and potentially life-threatening situations as the responsibility to their customers. The diagnosis to repair this issue is a replacement of the cylinder head/sleeve or replacement of the engine block, which has since been modified by Mazda to resolve this issue. This is a costly repair for diagnostics, labor hours, and parts and Mazda is refusing to be held responsible for these defects outside of the power train warranty period. Mazda customer support advised this will only be potentially covered if diagnostics are completed at a Mazda dealership and does not provide any assistance if the customer uses a non-Mazda affiliated repair shop. Messaging on the dash console advised excessive heat and thermostat was nearing 260°F
Engine, Sep 23, 2024
Started smelling smoke randomly and discovered an apparent oil leak in the engine. Mechanic inspected and noted that it appears to be an issue relating to the cylinder head/head gasket, which is in line with a technical services bulletin put out by Mazda several years ago for this make/model/year for a known design flaw that can result in catastrophic engine failure. I am just outside the five year warranty but well under the 60,000 miles, so expecting them to tell me they won't cover the repair even though this should have been a recall due to the potential outcome. I cannot drive the vehicle until this is repaired because it can cause engine fires (or worse).