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.
Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 11, 2023
Low oil light appears at least twice between oil changes.
Engine, Apr 5, 2023
The low oil light has come on a total of 3 times already for me and I'm only at 18k miles. I have gotten 4 oil changes already. The 2021 models burn oil like crazy and Mazda has not put out an official recall yet. There's a TSB (01-012/21) and a class action lawsuit (8:22-cv-01055 )
Engine, Mar 31, 2023
I have only 20k miles on my car and my engine's oil consumption has suddenly jumped. Despite checking my oil frequently, my oil becomes low and the oil warning light comes on. The oil warning light last came on while I was traveling on a snowy 2 lane canyon road while leaving a ski resort in Utah. I had to immediately stop my car on a busy, icy road to add more oil. I almost got hit by a sliding car and killed. I went to the dealer with this problem and they told me they could not help me unless my oil light was on. Driving with a oil light on in the winter is dangerous. The engine could seize and leave me stranded on the side of the road. The dealership said to run the car low on oil with the oil light on and them come in.
Engine, Mar 8, 2023
The engine low oil light comes on every ~3000 miles when Mazda recommends an oil change at every 7,500 miles. For some reason this engine eats oil and has consistently reproduced the check engine light every 3k miles. Mazda hasn't issued an official recall but has published a technical service bulletin.
Engine, Mar 3, 2023
Engine burns excess oil and must be topped off before service is due. The dealership acknowledges this is a problem on all 2021 Mazda turbo engines. Mazda has no fix. The first time occurred when I was driving in the country in July 2022 and the check oil light came on. Today, March 3, my check oil light lit up. I am not due for service for another 1800 miles. I have read it is a valve stem problem which causes oil to leak into the engine which can cause the car to stall among other issues such as unnecessary wear and tear. A class action suit has been filed in California (Heinz vs Mazda) November 15, 2022.
Service brakes, Engine, Feb 25, 2023
The car is consuming excessive engine oil. Between 3000-4000 miles the low engine oil light comes on. I was on the highway and had to pull over. I was told we don’t need oil change until 5000 miles. Not feeling safe to drive long distance. Dealership acknowledged seal is causing the leaks, but said Mazda won’t cover the cost unless check engine light is on. Also the break pads are moving slightly when breaking, dealership said it’s normal due to break pads are moving back and forth when breaking. However, I can hear the breaks clicking.
Power train, Engine, Feb 8, 2023
My car is a 2021 CX-5, Turboed AWD vehicle. It keeps consuming oil. I took it to the dealership, Sandy Sansing Mazda in Pensacola, where I purchased the car. The technicians informed me that these models are known to consume oil. They did not tell me that when I bought it in September of 2022! They had a technical service bulletin, which works as a policy for the company, with a range of VIN numbers that indicated the vehicles with those VIN numbers are likely to have a manufacturing defect that allows oil to leak into the combustion chamber. My car's VIN number falls within that range. While I purchased this vehicle to drive long distances, including to see and care for my mother in NC, who was recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and to Alaska from FL, my newish (pre-certified) car runs out of oil quickly. It must be causing internal damage (plugs, wires, exhaust, and the cylinders). When I asked the Mazda techs to fix the issue, they informed me they would not uphold the warranty, because I put oil in the vehicle. I was 400 miles away from home on a trip, on a Sunday, when a light in my car came on that indicated the car was low on oil. Why wouldn't I put oil in it? It is not safe to drive a vehicle with no oil, as it could cause the engine to stop working. One time, my oil pump went out in a 2002 Tacoma, and my camshaft welded itself together, or to other parts of the engine, at 70 mph down a highway. I lost power steering, power brakes, power in general. The timing belt was instantly shredded. It's not safe to drive cars that consume oil so rapidly between recommended changes. Mazda would not uphold their warranty responsibly, and they have known about the defect for some time, yet they are still selling cars that are unsafe to drive.
Vehicle speed control, Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Jan 21, 2023, crash
I experienced a sudden unintended acceleration incident. I pulled into my driveway and stopped the vehicle with my foot firmly on the brake since my driveway is sloped. I pushed the garage door opener remote when suddenly the vehicle accelerated and shot forward hitting the garage door. There was no brake action and all backup systems failed. There was no Automatic Emergency Braking or Forward Collision Warning. There were no warning lights displayed. No airbags were deployed. If the garage door had been open, the vehicle would have hit a concrete wall in the garage. The vehicle was taken to the Mazda dealership and a full circle inspection and diagnostic check. Mazda found no codes and everything was working as designed in vehicle.
Engine, Jan 14, 2023
Low engine oil light appeared despite standard maintenance service and oil change at Mazda dealer the prior month. Service technician confirmed oil was low by 1 and 3/4 quarts and added oil. Mazda dealership advised there is a service bulletin for my vehicle with this problem dating back to 2021, and that the problem is likely due to a faulty valve, but that they have no planned fix available. I am concerned about the long-term damage of engine oil continually leaking into the combustion chamber. Mazda should be asked to fix this for car owners, not simply top off our oil each time that it leaks.
Power train, Jan 14, 2023
It appears that my car has the check oil level light coming on at approximately 3000 to 4000 miles after an oil change. This seems like a safety issue to me because a brand new car should not be burning a quart of oil at this interval.
Engine, Jan 3, 2023
oil consumption on a 2021 Turbo CX-5. problem has been reproduced and confirmed by dealer. warning lights twice. first time told it was normal. happened twice. only on my third maintenance oil change was it acknowledged. had to do a lot of research on my own. caused enormous stress to existing mental health issues. would not have even been addressed had i not stated the issue.
Engine, Dec 26, 2022
Engine is either burning or leaking oil. The low oil light flashed after a 2hr highway trip (traveling to my parent's house for Christmas with my wife), low oil was confirmed the following day via dipstick. Oil was changed at the dealership about 4 months ago, mileage is under 24k miles. Looks to be related to this service bulletin, which still does not appear to have a fix or recall associated with it. Mazda Oil Consumption TSB Turbo Engines Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, TIRES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM NHTSA ID Number: 10202685 Manufacturer Communication Number: 01-012-21-3832 5 Affected Products Vehicles MAKE MODEL YEAR MAZDA CX-30 2021 MAZDA CX-5 2021 MAZDA CX-9 2021 MAZDA MAZDA3 2021 MAZDA MAZDA6 2021 Summary Some vehicles may have a LOW ENGINE OIL LEVEL warning message and a CHECK ENGINE light illuminated in the instrument cluster, along with DTC P250F:00 stored in memory. DTC P250F:00 - Engine oil level signal: engine oil level low. Upon inspecting the engine oil level, the level is found to be low and there doesn't appear to be any trace of oil leakage in the engine compartment. This concern usually occurs when the mileage reaches approximately 3,100 - 4,700 miles (5,000 - 7,500km) and may also occur again after replacing or topping off the engine oil. The root cause of this concern has not been identified yet, therefore a repair procedure will be announced at a later date. Since this issue has been reported after a valve stem seal modification, it is very likely that valve stem seal damage is causing oil to leak into the combustion chamber.
Other or unspecified, Dec 18, 2022
The car has a key fob which is supposed to automatically lock the car when you walk away (and unlock when you press a button on the door handle when the fob is in close proximity). My car sometimes does not lock when I walk away. They encourage relying on this method, and so sometimes I return to my car, and it is unlocked. I consider this a safety issue both from a personal safety standpoint and from a car theft/ interior item theft standpoint. I have tried discussing this with the dealership repair department, but they mansplain to me that you have to walk FAR away for the lock to activate (which is actually directly contrary to the owner's manual for this model, as well as my personal experience).
Power train, Engine, Dec 12, 2022
When I reached 7000 miles on my car the low oil light came one. I immediately drove it to the dealership - ending a vacation early as I thought something was seriously wrong with the car. I got to dealership and they blamed me for getting an oil change at a competitor and not putting in enough oil. They then changed the oil and again at 12000 the low oil light came on. There seems to be an oil consumption issue that Mazda is NOT admitting to or fixing. Every time I drive more than 4500 miles the car is 1/2 a quart low and it warns me. Now the dealership wants me to spend HUNDREDS of dollars on a vehicle in warranty for oil consumption testing....though there is no leak and no soot in the tail pipe.
Power train, Dec 1, 2022
Low oil level between oil change cycles with over 1,000 miles remaining before oil change is required. This has happened between both oil changes so far and I have to add oil myself to ensure oil level isn’t low. The oil consumption seems extremely high and is concerning that at only 12,000 miles I’ve had this problem happen twice.
Engine, Nov 18, 2022
New vehicle at approximately 5,500 miles turned on low oil light dashboard. Added one quart oil each time to restore oil level. Vehicle currently has approximately 7,000 miles. McDonald Mazda West slow to respond to performing warranty service related to TSB 01-012/21. Thank you.
Engine, Nov 18, 2022
New vehicle at approximately 6,000 miles and again at 9,500 turned on low oil light dashboard. Added one quart oil each time (twice) to restore oil level. Vehicle currently has approximately 10,500 miles. McDonald Mazda West slow to respond to performing warranty service related to TSB 01-012/21. Thank you.
Other or unspecified, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 1, 2022
Feb 2,2022 received Critical Vehicle Malfunction Warning, all vehicle systems affected told to call roadside assistance and not to drive vehicle. Received same warning again February 11,2022 after vehicle had been inspected by dealer service again had vehicle towed to dealer. April 14, 2022 Critical vehicle malfunction again. October 30, 2022, again Critical vehicle malfunction warning. All vehicle systems affected.
Forward collision avoidance, Oct 30, 2022
While Driving the car in highway and you turn signals to change lanes and that moment you start changing the automatic brake system activated and car suddenly brake almost making me get in to a rear collision this happens twice in highway, it also happens twice in city driving while cruising street and theres is nothing in front of you the emergency brake light shows brake as emergency and car suddenly brake without having anything on front
Engine, Oct 26, 2022
At 16,550 miles (5675 miles since the last oil change), my oil pressure light came on. Per owner's manual, I turned the car off & let the oil drain into the pan for 5 minutes. I checked the oil but due to it being so hot it was hard to get an accurate reading. I turned the car back on & the oil light was off. I proceeded to drive into town and 25 miles later the light came on again. I checked the oil & it appeared to be very low. I added a quart of oil and the light went off. I checked the oil level later when the car was cool & the oil level on the dipstick was now halfway between the 2 dots on the dipstick. I drove about 300 miles home from our trip and the light never came back on. I took it to the dealership the next day & the technician said no codes showed that my oil level was low and they said my oil level was now 2 Qts too high. I only added 1 and they changed it last. Even though I was told there was a known issue involving a valve stem seal, they told me Mazda will not authorize the repair unless the engine code error is present (P205F?) & the low oil light is on. They were unable to explain why my low oil light came on. I was told that I need to change my oil every 5k miles even though the owner's manual says I can go up 7500 miles. They also told me that I should wait 10-15 minutes to let the oil drain after shutting the car off and not the 5 minutes that it states in my owner's manual. They told me if this issue happens again, to have my car towed to the nearest Mazda dealership. However, again the repair would only be done if both conditions were present. A bulletin had been produced on this issue but not provided to the owners of the vehicles. This is a safety risk since I was on a trip and would never imagine having this issue with a new car 1year old. Had I known this was an issue, I could have been more prepared. Potentially letting oil continue to seep into the combustion chamber of my engine is not ok.
Engine, Oct 21, 2022
Car is consuming oil since new and requiring additional oil to be added before oil changes. There was a TSB created by Mazda a year ago (TSB # 01-012/21) however there is no fix. I am concerned with the potential for damage to other engine systems aside from the reported issue with the valve stem seals resulting in undrivability and premature engine problems due to oil leaking past the valve stem seals.
Engine, Oct 19, 2022
Excessive oil consumption. Confirmed by the dealer.
Engine, Oct 13, 2022
My car appears to consuming oil excessively. I bought this car new in March of 2021 at I have had to top off my oil between oil changes at almost every single oil change since I have owned it. The car only has 33900 miles on it and usually about two months in from my oil change the check oil light comes on and the dipstick shows the oil at the lower end of the dipstick. I have purchased oil on my own and have had to have the dealer top it off. After topped off it will usually make it fine until my next oil change but a brand new car should not be burning oil like this and I was told they have known about a valve stem defect since September of 2021 but still have not done a recall or have a fix for it.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 11, 2022
I am having 2021 cx5 signature turbo 3400 mile and the engine light can me on upon checking the oil level was to low mark burnt out . I am concern that Mazda have not came up. With a recall yet.
Engine, Oct 7, 2022
At approximately 5,612 miles, the low oil pressure light came on. After changing the oil, it happened again at 7,760 miles. Both times the light came on, the oil level was low.