2021 Mazda CX-5
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 147 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 6th highest complaint count among 14 CX-5 model years with reports.
Of the 2021 reports, 9 involved a crash. 7 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
No safety recalls on file.
Representative owner complaints
147 reports, newest first.
Tires, Nov 13, 2025
We took our car to the Mazda dealership for routine maintenance. The technician found circumferential cracking along the sidewall/tread junction of all 4 tires. We were told that this suggests tread separation and that we should not continue to drive on the tires. We replaced all 4. I have pictures of all 4 tires.
Steering, Service brakes, Engine, Oct 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that the Front Brake System Malfunction, Forward Brake Malfunction, and Check Engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started jerking and hesitating as if the wheels would lock up. The steering wheel vibrated while turning to the left or the right. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to retrieve a diagnostic code; however, the DTC number was unknown. The dealer was unable to identify the exact cause of the code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.
Visibility, Oct 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the rear back glass fractured without impact. The contact stated that the vehicle had just been parked for several minutes prior to the failure when the contact returned from a doctor's appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that the failure had occurred four times since June 2023. In addition, the contact stated that the rear seat was covered with shattered glass. The contact was instructed by the insurance company to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tires, Sep 4, 2025
The tires have lost tire pressure very often. The tires have gotten completely flat 2 times already and I’ve had to call my insurance. The tires are only 6 months old and have been flat 2nd already. 225/55R19 99V BSW ALL-SEASON TIRE
Air bags, Aug 21, 2025
I was driving as normal and the passenger side airbags deployed with a cause. I was driving about 25mph. I didn’t hit anything; no event occurred that would have caused the air bag to deploy. I took the car to a dealer and they recorded the event log which showed a crash but the car clearly did not get into an accident.
Visibility, Aug 19, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH in an intense rainstorm, the windshield became foggy. The contact activated the HVAC system to clear the windshield, but only hot air was coming from the vents. The contact stated that the hot air made the foggy windshield worse. The contact used a towel to wipe the inside of the windshield. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure occurred during intense rainfall. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
Suspension, Power train, Other or unspecified, Jul 31, 2025
the “trailing link shaft” broke/split/tore apart at the right rear wheel. my car only has 16,500 miles. the vehicle was inspected by auto manufacturing dealer (mazda). mazda refused to admit it’s realting to manufacturing defect(s). i did not report it to police or my auto insurance carrier at that moment because i did not know what the issues were not until i dropped it off to my local dealer
Electrical system, Structure, Engine, Jul 28, 2025, crash
..... ON AT LEAST 5 SEPERATE OCCASIONS OUR 2021 MAZDA CX5 SUV ACCELERATED TO A HIGH RATE OF SPEED (ON IT'S OWN). IT HAS DONE IT TO MY WIFE AND I BOTH. I CONTACTED TWO DIFFERENT MAZDA SERVICE CENTERS AND WAS ADVISED THEY HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS AND THAT THERE ARE NO OPEN RECALLS OR TSB's AND AS INTERMITTENT AS IT IS IT WOULD BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DUPLICATE. ON JULY 18TH THE CAR ACCELERATED (ON ITS OWN) AGAIN BUT THIS TIME IT DROVE MY WIFE INTO A TREE AT APROX. 35/40 MPH BREAKING HER RIBS. THE BODY SHOP INFORMED ME THIS MORNING THAT THE CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS. MAZDA NEEDS TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS AND RESOLVE THIS ISSUE ASAP. THIS TIME IT WAS A TREE, THE NEXT TIME IT MAY BE AT A CROSSWALK OR AT AN INTERSECTION. IT'S JUST A MATER OF TIME UNTIL SOMEONE IS KILLED OR AT THE VERY LEAST BADLY HURT. I DON'T KNOW HOW MAZDA CAN BE UNAWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, IT'S ALL OVER THE INTERNET. OUR BODY SHOP PULLED IT UP ON LINE AND WAS SHOCKED AT THE AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS/ CONCERNS THAT EXISTED RELATED TO THIS PROBLEM. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS BECAUSE THE NEXT PERSON MAY NOT BE AS FORTUNATE. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.
Chest clip, Buckle, Harness, Jul 28, 2025
The carseat straps loosen on their own when in use. I buckle my son in correctly, chest clip correct, tightness of straps correct and throughout the drive the straps loosen until they are falling off his shoulders. His safety is at risk because if I drive with him and got into an accident he would potentially fly out due to the straps doing this. It has not been inspected but its available to be. I am not able to keep tightening the straps while driving. I have had to have a second passenger who can tighten them throughout the ride. I just purchased the seat a few weeks ago. I am not comfortable to use it at this time. When I noticed this was a repetitive issue I decided to message the company. When I upload documents this form wont send so I can send them via a different way of communication (email etc)
Electrical system, Jun 22, 2025
Infotainment system went dark and I cannot get it to come back on. I’ve read that this has been an ongoing issue and is covered in Mazda cx5 models up to 2020 thru a class action lawsuit, but my one is a 2021 (manufactured we’ll before 2021 though) with a virtually identical system.
Visibility/wiper, Jun 12, 2025
Monday I walked outside and my vehicles back windshield was broken. Oddly enough, there was a big hole on both ends, but the middle began to disintegrate. I got a new glass installed on Wednesday and Thursday morning. I went to get in my car and the new glass was broken. The tech told me that Honda had a recall for the defroster wires Having the same issue, causing the back windshield to break. Although I had not been running my defroster for several months, he said the wires were getting hot even though they were turned off and shattering the windows. Since this is the second windshield that has busted in a week, I assume that Mazda is having the same issue however they have not yet issued a recall.
Engine, Apr 8, 2025
No codes, dealer unable to duplicate. I have been hearing a lifter tick come and go for months (since February ) with my oil level up to par. The ticking gets louder and then quieter.
Steering, Engine, Jan 7, 2025
Car engine shut down and slowly came to a full stop on the highway on 1/4/25, putting myself and my daughter of being rear ended at full speed on a highway where the speed limit is 65mph. The steering wheel locked and I was unable to move the car to any shoulder. I put the car in park and pressed the start ignition button to start the car and was able to drive again. An appointment is scheduled for 1/17/25 for diagnostics at a Mazda dealership. There were no warning messages prior to this event.. My battery was replaced 2 weeks prior to this incident.
Engine, Dec 1, 2024
Check engine oil light came on after only 2K miles from last oil change. Upon inspection there was practically no oil in my engine!!! I see there is an ongoing issue since 10/21 with 2021 Mazda CX-5 turbo engines. Despite Mazda’s awareness of the problem, they have yet to issue a recall to fix this issue!!!
Power train, Engine, Nov 27, 2024
Engine developed a major oil leak at 70,000 miles, with multiple seals leaking. This appears to be a known defect with these vehicles and owners should not be bearing the cost for repairs.
Other or unspecified, Nov 11, 2024
I have a 2021 Mazda CX-5 touring with just a little under 26,000 miles. A couple of weeks ago, I started hearing an indescribable, quiet but noticeable sound on the passenger side of the vehicle that started at 15 mph. While attempting to get an appointment at two different booked up Mazda dealerships I noticed the sound getting worse and louder. I was able to get the vehicle into a local shop (not a dealership) close to my home. The technician there stated that my rear differential was leaking and needed to be replaced. He advised me not to drive the car because he said that I could lose total control of the vehicle. I was surprised to hear this as I was planning on picking up my son from school but also because my car has low miles on it. Luckily the repair was covered under my powertrain warranty but I felt the need to share with others. To me, this is a safety issue that Mazda owners should be aware of.
Engine, Nov 11, 2024
The vehicle is low mileage (11,500 miles) and is burning an excessive amount of oil (up to a quart every 1,000 miles) The dealership is aware of this and just keeps saying to add oil.
Visibility, Oct 28, 2024
The outside mirrors failed to rotate open, and you could not see behind the vehicle. The mirrors rotate inward when the doors are locked and are supposed to open fully when the doors are unlocked. These outside mirrors can freeze when rotated in during freezing temperatures. When the vehicle is unlocked, the mirrors if frozen, can be kept from rotating out to the locked position. This condition causes the mirror motor assembly to fail and that prevents the mirrors from rotating to the outboard and locked position. Latter year models have an added option to turn the rotating feature off but no retrofit option was added to earlier model yesrs.
Electrical system, Oct 9, 2024
Just got a oil change. Told my battery is almost dead. Upon looking up information I found a letter for recall for 2021 Mazda Cx5 for Dealer Rework 41 telematics communication unit concern. I called the Dealership and they are refusing to fix the problem. Looks like its just a software update is needed. My car only has 24,666 miles and according to the letter should be fixed. [XXX] I bought the car used in April and did a search for recalls prior to buying the car. There is non on Mazda website or vin search. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Other or unspecified, Forward collision avoidance, Sep 3, 2024, crash
2021 Mazda CX-5. On 8/6/24, I turned right into a parking space between 2 parked vehicles at the DMV parking lot. I turned right and eased into the parking space facing a large Ford F 150 white pickup truck. I was approximately 1-1.5 feet from the front of the white truck. I had my foot on the brake, suddenly the vehicle accelerated by itself and I heard the car revving at a very high rpm and the car took off. My sister was a passenger and she heard it as well. None of the collision or brake notification avoidance features came on the screen or were implemented as a safety measure or accident prevention. I had my foot on the brake and I had no control over the vehicle. The car lurched forward hitting the right side near the headlight of the car on my left and the pickup that was in front of me. My car hit the white pickup so hard that it pushed it out of the parking space in front of me and perpendicular to the parked cars in the row. We both were injured, my sister in ICU and had to have emergency cervical surgery for fractures impinging her cervical spinal cord. The Mazda was totaled. It is impossible for a Mazda to push the Ford F 150 pickup truck, that was facing me , out of the parking space and perpendicular to the row of parked cars with just 12- 14 inches between the pickup truck and my vehicle unless it was revved up to a very high rpm. The police report has some inaccuracies, it states I was turning left into the space but was actually turning right and says I possibly passed out but that is not true. I was in shock when the police questioned me. I have also relived every second of this accident in slow motion many times since. I am a 5 foot women and would have had to floor the gas peddle and even then would not be able to push a large pickup truck out of the space in front of me, and continue out of the parking space landing sideways in a 12-14 inch space between the front of the 2 vehicles.
Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Aug 23, 2024, crash
Will driving on the interstate, using the adaptive cruise control feature, vehicles were slowing down to a stop ahead and my car accelerated instead of slowing down. I then pressed the brake and simultaneously, the car breaks locked down (automatic braking). Unfortunately I wasn’t able to avoid an accident as I rear ended the vehicle in front of me. My vehicle has been turned over to the insurance company to assess damage. I’m sure it can be inspected by nhtsa. Mine and others safety were at risk due to the malfunction of the cruise control accelerating instead of stopping. It caused an accident. Luckily no one was extremely injured. I have neck and back pain from the collision that will hopefully heal in a few days. Time will tell. But this could have been much worse had I not reacted as quickly as I did. This could cause a fatal accident. The care isn’t drivable so it has not been reproduced by anyone. I have notified the insurance company about the issue and It is my hope that they will inspect this. There were no warning lights or messages displayed prior to the incident.
Power train, Engine, Aug 23, 2024
Oil has been leaking multiple times, with warranty repair for a faulty timing cover and gasket. This is now leaking again after being repaired twice already. This most recent time causing error messages regarding oil while driving. Significant burning smell coming from engine area.
Engine, Aug 1, 2024
For the third time in 3 years we have had to had the timing cover and gasket replaced due to major oil leakage. This appears to be a very common issue with this car, and even after getting it “fixed” the first time it is leaking again.
Engine, Jun 29, 2024
Low engine oil light 3600 miles before next oil change
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jun 4, 2024
Excessive combustible gasoline vapors in engine compartment and in passenger compartment. Engine, available for inspection. Risk of fire/explosion because of high concentration of combustible vapors/gasoline. Yes -- confirmed by dealer (Safford Brown Mazda of Fairfax (Virginia)). No -- Notwithstanding being apprised of the problem Manufacturer has not inspected No warning signs. Manufacturer has acknowledge gasoline leaking into engine oil. Vapors were exacerbated because of a failed oil enging filler cap (probably cracked), and replacement of the same.