Problems · NHTSA complaints

2015 Mazda CX-5 problems

Owners filed 133 complaints about the 2015 Mazda CX-5 with NHTSA between Jul 2014 and Sep 2025. The most-cited component is structure (27).

Complaints
133
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
11
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
7
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Structure27
  2. Power train19
  3. Service brakes14
  4. Engine14
  5. Vehicle speed control12
  6. Visibility/wiper10
  7. Electrical system8
  8. Visibility7
  9. Fuel/propulsion system5
  10. Air bags5
  11. Suspension5
  12. Wheels5
  13. Seats5
  14. Exterior lighting3

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
201410
201518
201618
201730
201810
20199
202012
20215
20226
20239
20243
20253

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Structure

27 reports1 crash1 related recall
“The contact owned a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V064000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 16V644000 (Structure) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list as she no longer owns the vehicle. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 20, 2023Fuel system, gasoline, StructureODI 11533463

Power train

19 reports1 crash
“The contact owns a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while pressing the brake pedal the engine had experienced very high revving and the vehicle would lurch forward. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed a PCM and TCM program update and reset the KAM per the manufacturers TSB. The contact indicated that the failure was corrected for a while but recently the failure had reoccurred. The local dealer was contacted and a service appointment was scheduled. No further information was available. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 25,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 20, 2024Power train, EngineODI 11572876

Service brakes

14 reports5 crashes
“I was near a red light and applied the brakes, but the car accelerated and ran into the truck stopped in front of me. This happened around May of 2024. I took the car to the Elk Grove Mazda dealer. They ran diagnostic and road tests but found nothing wrong. The car had the same problem again sometime later inside my garage. The car rammed into the drywall while I tried to stop by pressing the brake pedal. I took the car to the AAA repair shop in August 2024. They spent three days, and they told me they found a problem with the "steering angle sensor." It was 22 degrees off calibration. They reset the sensor, and the car ran better. However, the car acted again after some driving. It tries to accelerate while I apply the brake pedal near a stop. I took the car back to the AAA shop, but they did not find any problems in a whole week. I still drive this(my only) car, but extra careful, keeping a longer distance between cars in front of me and braking ahead few times ahead of any stop.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 17, 2025Unknown or other, Service brakes, Fuel/propulsion systemCrash reportedODI 11674250

Engine

14 reports3 crashes
“While driving on the freeway the check engine light came on. I was able to drive the car home the remaining 20 minutes but there was some noticeable difficulty accelerating. When I went to turn on the car later that day the engine would not turn over and there was an audible rattling/chugging sound and the car itself shook. I was unable to get the car to start and the check engine light remained on. I had AAA check the battery the next day and confirm it was not a battery issue and a diagnostic revealed the P0192 code. AAA towed it to their shop where it was confirmed by the manager mechanic that the issue was with the high pressure fuel pump and that it was causing an issue with the low pressure fuel sensor as well. The mechanic was unable to determine what caused the pump to fail and has quoted me nearly $2000 to fix it. After some searching online it has become clear that this is an issue many other Mazda owners have faced and that is even a recall for the pump for years and makes from Mazda due to a known issue with DENSO fuel pumps causing this exact issue. Despite this being known and DENSO having admitted issue with fuel pumps in cars dating back to…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 1, 2024Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11605868

Vehicle speed control

12 reports1 crash
“2015 Mazda CX-5 with 91,000 miles on it. Automatic transmission has failed. When I attempted to pull out into traffic the vehicle would not shift into 2nd gear and instead jerked hard and the engine RPMs revved up. I was not able to get the vehicle past 10mph. This failure with the transmission resulted in the oncoming traffic having to swerve and break to avoid a collision with me. The vehicle was taken to a Mazda dealership who did a diagnostic on it and found that the Mazda had an "internal transmission failure" and would require a full replacement. I asked if it would be replaced with the same exact transmission and was told "no, the defect was discovered by Mazda and has been correct for new transmission models." The manufacture knows about this issue. Luckily I escaped serious bodily injury. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer as well as an independent 3rd party transmission repair specialist. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to this incident to give warning.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 8, 2022Power train, Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11483555

Visibility/wiper

10 reports
“I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WHEN I HEARD A LOUD SOUND ABOVE ME, FOLLOWED BY SUDDENLY FEELING WIND COMING INTO THE VEHICLE AS WELL AS HEARING GLASS ROLL OFF THE TOP OF THE CAR. WHEN I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OVER I SAW THAT THERE WAS A HUGE HOLE IN THE SUNROOF BUT NO OTHER DAMAGE. THERE WERE NO DENTS OR SCRATCHES ANYWHERE ON THE TOP OF THE CAR WHERE I HEARD THE SOUND COME FROM. THE REMAINING GLASS WAS ANGLED UPWARDS AS IF THE GLASS HAD EXPLODED. LUCKILY I HAD THE SLIDER UNDER THE GLASS CLOSED SO NO GLASS MADE IT INSIDE THE VEHICLE AS I WAS DRIVING. HAD IT NOT BEEN CLOSED IT COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY INJURED MYSELF OR MY TWO CHILDREN OR POTENTIALLY CAUSED A COLLISION.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 17, 2020Visibility/wiperODI 11300200
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.