2020 Mazda CX-5
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 107 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 9th highest complaint count among 14 CX-5 model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 10 involved a crash. 6 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
No safety recalls on file.
Representative owner complaints
107 reports, newest first.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 11, 2024
The rear windshield wiper stops working while driving in a rainstorm. This has happened twice. The wiper works for 30-60 minutes and then stops. Was inoperable for the remaining 4 hours of the trip. When we took the car in for troubleshooting the 1st time, they could not reproduce the problem. After the second time the dealer was able to reproduce the problem. It appears to be related to the operating time and not the rain. Searching online discovered numerous Mazda CX5 owners reported the same issue. Our safety was at risk since we could not see out the rear windshield. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms that warned us the wiper had stopped working. We noticed it had stopped by looking out the rear view mirror.
Other or unspecified, Aug 29, 2024
The infotainment screen is malfunctioning and making selections on it's own without me, the driver, pushing any buttons or the screen. This is troublesome while driving as I then have to end calls or turn things down, etc. out of nowhere. This also means I am unable to take any calls while driving, which is also a driving hazard and not safe if an urgent call comes through to my phone. It is not usable at this point due to this malfunction. This has been an issue in previous years' models as well, and there have been recalls on this same issue. Not sure why or how this has not been resolved for future models, and is still being sold with this huge malfunction. This is a new vehicle with just under 30,000 miles and should not have this big of a malfunction this early on. There are tons of other owners that report this issue all over online as well. It is a known issue, but yet nothing has been done about it.
Seats, Aug 27, 2024
The front seats, both electric and manual powered are rocking back and forth. Upon acceleration both seats will slightly rock backwards and then upon applying the brakes they will rock forward. It's almost like whatever is holding the seats still has a defected part or a defect somewhere else. This concerns me as a safety issue, if something were to happen and if I got into an accident, aren't the seats supposed to be secured and not have any slack or rocking in them? This has happened before on my driver side seat when I had a mazda service technician look at it he confirmed it needed to be repaired. For a whole replacement seat was estimated around $4,000.00. I was fortunate at the time to where my bumper to bumper warranty helped cover some of the cost, Mazda agreed to pay for the "parts" to fix the issue and I paid for the labor, only because I was slightly over the 36,000 mile warranty that comes with Mazda. Since the repair I was told it wasnt going to be 100% and I would still have some rocking but it wasnt as bad, that occurred around the year 2022. Now, when I have a passenger the same thing occurs. Unfortunately, I'm no longer in my bumper to bumper warranty and quite frankly this seems like a safety risk that Mazda is aware of.
Electrical system, Aug 13, 2024
The infotainment screen kept moving on its own disconnecting my map while driving. I took it to Mazda and they updated the software but the infotainment continued to malfunction . The same issue happened with Mazda CX vehicles in 2016 and 2017 and they issued a recall for those cars. My 2020 CX-5 is experiencing the same “Ghost Touch Screen” but Mazda had not issued a recall. I ended up having to replace the infotainment screen, paid $ 912.67 for a manufacturer issue that was not created by the wear and tear of the car. Maybe other consumers are having the same issue.
Other or unspecified, Jul 27, 2024
The radio change by itself like there is a ghost changing the channel
Power train, Jun 13, 2024
Defective transmission causes metal fragments to break off and over time damage transmission
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Jun 10, 2024
The infotainment system has a known "ghost touch" issue. This issue caused a recall in prior models but that recall was not extended to current models. This is an extremely dangerous issue. The screen will turn on loud blasting music, randomly call people, turn off GPS, etc. at any given time. This has happened while I am driving at high speeds on the highway and has nearly gotten me into accidents. This is very concerning. I have reached out to Mazda and they acknowledge it is a known issue but claim it is not a safety issue. I have read multiple forums about this issue and the dangers it poses as it is well documented that distracted driving is incredibly dangerous. This has put multiple people at risk. Imagine accidentally calling your boss when you are driving, realizing the car is doing that when you are driving on an unknown route at high speeds. It is incredibly distracting and dangerous in the moment. Likewise, I have been on a call and the call is repeatedly put on hold or the screen has changed and it is incredibly distracting. Mazda claims this is not a safety issue however, the research is clear that distracted driving is a danger to the driver, passengers, and others on the road. Please conduct an inquiry into this issue. I am happy to provide my car for inspection or to share further information. The issue has been diagnosed and it is known, however the company refuses to issue a recall or pay for repairs.
Other or unspecified, Jun 1, 2024
Ghost touch issue with touchscreen. It causes calls to go on hold, navigation to stop in unknown areas, sometimes in areas without service, and other distracting issues such as skipping songs. I’m fixing it, but it appears to be a common problem and it costs over $600 to fix.
Other or unspecified, May 24, 2024
The car's screen/touch screen has a "ghost touch" issue. It automatically changes car settings while I am in the middle of driving which is causing driving safety issues. It will change radio stations, mess with navigation, screen brightness, clock, etc.
Electrical system, May 18, 2024
When driving the infotainment system will switch to sound settings by itself and play the navigation volume to full capacity and says something like "navigation will play at this volume". If I try to stop it or turn it down, it just turns the volume back up again & says the same message. This is dangerous while driving due to the fact it startles you and causes a major distraction. I have not had it looked at by the dealership yet. I have seen online where this seems to be a common problem among Mazda infotainment systems with a touch screen.
Power train, Engine, Feb 27, 2024
Low oil level indicator came on at roughly 55,000 miles only about 3000 miles after last oil change. Car was immediately stopped and towed to the nearest Mazda dealer. Dealership confirmed oil level was low. Car appears to me consuming excess oil. Oil consumption test pending.
Electrical system, Feb 23, 2024
My Mazda 2020 CX-5 has the “ghost touch” issue with the screen, buttons on screen are automatically being pressed constantly, super laggy, buttons not functioning properly, making random phone calls etc. There are also incidences that the screen became totally black.
Forward collision avoidance, Feb 22, 2024
Emergency braking brought car to a complete stop while traveling around at approx. 35 MPH with no car or anything else in front of the car on a wide and clear town street. Car would then not go into park and only after a couple of mins did it go into park and car was able to be driven.
Other or unspecified, Feb 15, 2024
While backing the vehicle the rear camera sometimes goes off because the screen in the car keeps switching itself to night mode, radio channel, Bluetooth, clock setting and sometimes the screen freezes which is very dangerous while reversing. The car is a CX5 Mazda Touring 2020. I called Mazda dealer today he told me it will cost me $300 to $400. There are no sign of malfunction on the dashboard so far but the radio screen keeps malfunctioning all the time especially when driving and reversing, it been happening for the last 5 days.
Other or unspecified, Dec 13, 2023
When I would stop my car while driving (at a light, a stop sign, traffic, temporary stops for yielding, etc.), the infotainment system would start randomly selecting things on the screen. This would include adjusting volume settings, randomly dialing people from my contacts, canceling navigation systems, etc. This created distractions while trying to drive my vehicle after stopping, including noise issues and inability to navigate places safely. This issue was ongoing for nearly a full year after purchasing my car. Once I finally had the change to take it to the dealership, they reproduced the issue and confirmed it is a common problem. After telling us it was not covered by warranty and my wife applying pressure on them, they replaced it saying they would submit a warranty appeal to Mazda. There were no warning lights or messages, it just began happening not too long after buying the vehicle. The contact stated in August of 2019, NHTSA announced Mazda was conducting a Special Service Program to fix the same issue happening as the contact reported in the 2014-2016 Mazda3. Hopefully this will add to the need for a recall or requiring Mazda to do a similar type of program for 2017-2020 CX-5s.
Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 10, 2023
While driving forward in a straight line during broad daylight at approximately 40mph, the car in front of me slowed and turned right onto a side street. I applied brakes to slow myself (to ~25mph I estimate) until the car in front of me was fully out of my lane. Once the car in front of me was out of my lane, I released the brake in order to accelerate back up to the speed limit, but before I could press the gas pedal the car suddenly slammed on the brakes, beeped warning beeps, and displayed BRAKE on the dash. It did this for less than a second before deactivating. It did not fully stop the car. It just caused a sudden, severe braking event and then the car returned to normal operations. This exact road scenario (car in front turning right onto a side street while traveling at city speeds of ~30-40 mph during daylight) has caused the sudden temporary automatic braking twice, and two other times in this same scenario the BRAKE warning displayed and sounds activated but without automatic braking. These four events occurred within the less than one year that I have owned the car. One of the automatic braking incidents happened in cold temperatures on snowy/icy road conditions. The other occurred in traffic with vehicles following behind my car close enough to risk a rear-end collision. I have reached out to a dealership to request the safety sensors be inspected, but I have seen on internet communities [XXX] and [XXX] ) that many people have encountered this exact behavior (sudden unexpected braking) in the exact same scenarios (car ahead turning right). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Electrical system, Oct 25, 2023
Sporatically and randomly, the user instrument panel will make changes and adjustments automatically. For instance, it will switch to nativgation at full volume and state that "the navigation will be at this volume" (at max volume) when previously muted. It's alarming. It will also randomly call the last person dialed over the car speakers. It switches settings on its own and beeps during that process for each change, which when it's not driver initiated, catches the driver by surprise. An employee confirmed that "ghosting" is an issue that they are seeing quite a bit. On a new vehicle, this is an unfortunate extra $200.00 out of pocket as warranty deductible that seems more of a recallable factory defect.
Electrical system, Oct 1, 2023
The display screen just starts adjusting the navigation volume on it’s on while I’m driving. Or it will change the radio station, change to the Bluetooth on my phone or change to a different screen all by itself.This started not long after purchasing the vehicle. August 2021.
Service brakes, Sep 26, 2023
On Septmber 2, 2023 the car had been on a 4 hour road trip. I came into the driveway, left the car running in Park with the brakes on (listening to music while I cleaned the car out) it was idylling for about 5 minutes. I went to the drivers side door, which was open and reached in to turn the car off using the start/stop button. Before I could turn the car off, it started backing up and the door ran over me. The car was definitely in Park and the Brake was on. There was no reason for the parking brake to disengage.
Forward collision avoidance, Sep 13, 2023
Automatic Emergency Braking (Mazda's Smart City Braking Feature) will randomly trigger even when there is no vehicle/person/object/obstruction present in the road infront of you. It has occurred going over railroad tracks and made by car go from 30 mph to 0 in a second. It has occurred switching lanes into an empty lane and triggered it. It has also picked up the center medians as an object it should hit the emergency brake for. This is insanely problematic when a vehicle is following behind you and this system is essentially brake checking them out of nowhere. In the past, dealers have said to just turn the sensitivity down. This does not fix it. In addition, I have gotten "BRAKE" warnings from the car on the highway (does not engage because I am at a speed faster than the emergency braking allows) but this is quite unnerving when you are on an open highway going 75 mph and your car is wanting you to brake.
Service brakes, Aug 7, 2023
My car only has 32000 miles on it and I was told that I need new brakes and calipers. My car is making grinding and creaking noises when I back up, stop or get into it. Because of these brake issues it feels like the car is taking longer to stop. I have never had a car that needed this extensive of a brake job at 32000 miles. This seems excessive.
Structure, Jul 21, 2023
When driving at highway speeds, when there are strong crosswinds, as there are prone to be in my area, depending on which way the wind is coming from both doors will make a screeching/howling noise. This noise is very loud and extremely distracting. When it first happens it is very jarring, and depending on the wind conditions can go on for miles, making it very hard to hear anything else. I have taken the car to two dealers who refuse to fix it because they state they cannot reproduce it but it is not something that can be reproduced without specific conditions, but they are aware it exists as they have a TSB indicating how to fix it.
Structure, Back over prevention, Jul 11, 2023, crash
The rear camera and warning system has failed numerous times. On one occasion I hit a vehicle because of the failure. Also, the windshield has a leak that sometimes is like a waterfall causing serious visibility problems.
Forward collision avoidance, May 18, 2023, crash
I was traveling behind a propane truck, that was going to make a right turn. I disengaged the adaptive cruise control by tapping on the break. I began coasting to a stop, suddenly the car began accelerating again with no warning. I was forced to make the turn with the propane truck and side swiped the truck in the process.
Other or unspecified, Lane departure, Apr 12, 2023
The infotainment system experiences a "ghost touch" at random times. Usually it is when it is warm out or in direct sunlight. This has caused some of the safety features of the car to be randomly turned off. The system becomes unresponsive to manual controls while the ghost touch is occurring. This is frequent and dangerous. It is shut off lane control warnings, lighting, dimmed the entire system, etc. This has been a known issue on past models and the dealer is telling me they are aware of this but it is not covered under the warranty on my model. The first time this occurred was around 35,000 miles but I didn't realize what was happening. When I asked the dealer about it, they couldn't repeat it and ignored my concerns. It didn't start regularlly occurring until after my 36,000 mile warranty was up.