2022 Mazda CX-5 Complaints

Insert, Padding — Filed 07/31/2026

Uppababy markets their removable padding and fabric as washing machine friendly. Fabric was washed one time in the washer and the sharp Velcro stuck to the back of the fabric, ripping it. Brand new aria v2 car seat!

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 03/01/2026

Humming sound coming from driver’s side headlight as soon as unlock bottom pressed in key fob. This sound comes from a faulty cooling fan inside the headlight and is a known defect. Humming sound progressed to very slow pitch indicating that fan function is diminishing over time. Mazda will replace the headlight but required me to pay $200 toward it. This should be a recall with replacement at no cost to the consumer as they are aware of the defect.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 03/27/2026

The mechanical motor assembly inside the adaptive front-lighting headlamp unit has failed on my 2022 Mazda CX-5. This mechanical malfunction severely compromises nighttime driving illumination, creating a direct road hazard by reducing forward visibility during essential evening commutes. An initial repair and parts request was submitted to Mazda several months ago, but no corporate response or resolution was ever received. The vehicle and component are currently available for inspection at Yark Mazda in Toledo, OH, where technicians have confirmed the headlight motor failure. Because the prior request went unanswered, the dealership has advised me to contact Mazda corporate directly to follow up. No dashboard warning lights appeared prior to the component failure.

ENGINE — Filed 05/11/2026

Timing chain cover ended up leaking oil everywhere. Was told this was a known issue with Mazda CX-5 and there was even a service bulletin out.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 04/15/2026

My 2022 Mazda CX-5 Signature began producing a loud whirring/rattling noise from the driver-side front headlight assembly. After investigation, the noise was identified as coming from the internal cooling fan located inside the LED headlight unit. The cooling fan, which is integrated into the bi-LED headlamp assembly, appears to be failing prematurely due to bearing wear. This is a known widespread defect on 2019–2023 Mazda CX-5 models. Mazda has already issued Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 09-015-23, which acknowledges the noise issue and instructs dealers to replace the entire front combination light assembly under warranty. However, no formal recall has been issued. The root cause appears to be Mazda’s design decision to use the full LED headlight beam as the Daytime Running Light (DRL), which keeps the headlight cooling fans running continuously whenever the vehicle is in operation — even in daylight. This accelerates fan bearing wear far beyond normal expectations. The headlight assembly costs $1,200–$1,700 per side to replace out of warranty. Owners whose warranty has expired are facing repair bills of $2,400–$3,400 for both sides. This constitutes a significant safety risk as headlight failure reduces nighttime visibility. I have scheduled a warranty repair at an authorized Mazda dealer under TSB 09-015-23.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 04/05/2026

The contact owns a 2022 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving at nighttime at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the headlights. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with an unknown headlight fan bearing failure. The vehicle was not repaired because the warranty had expired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 04/24/2026

Sunroof explosion while driving on the interstate and glass shards shot down on us. Sounded like a gunshot by head and it exploded.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 04/14/2026

Both LED headlights died within two months of each other on this relatively new vehicle. Outside the three year warranty, but only 27,000 miles (well within the 36,000 warranty period). As it's outside of the three years, the warranty already expired regardless of mileage. One headlight was grinding (fan) while the other's low beam simply died. Each headlight cost $2800 to replace. You can't simply replace a burned out bulb with this headlight design. The entire unit must be replaced at a cost of almost $3000 depending on your dealer. This is a major safety issue when headlights die while driving at night. This is not a user maintenance issue. It is not normal wear and tear. Almost $6000 dollars to replace poorly designed headlights within two months of each other on a new-ish vehicle while being a safety concern constitutes reason enough to issue a recall, and to reimburse owners for previous replacements.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 04/10/2026

RH LED headlight cooling fan failure. Diagnosed by Mazda dealer and quoted $2450 cost. Vehicle is just outside warranty coverage by 2900 miles. This is a very well known and documented problem that Mazda is not standing behind. Owners are removing the relay for their daytime running lights, rendering them inoperable in order to save wear and tear on the headlight cooling fans. This is a safety hazard.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 01/01/2026

Headlight cooling fan is faulty and causing headlight outage prematurely.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 04/07/2026

My driver side front headlight fan is malfunctioning. It stays on and makes a loud noise when the car is parked and off and the lights are still on. This is a known defect and my dealership is asking for 2k to pay for it. I am concerned the light will go out causing safety concerns. (TSB) SA01323 and 09-015/23. This should be recalled as is it not a general wear and tear issue, it is a manufacturing issue. My car is out of warranty but this should still be covered.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 01/10/2026

I have a failed leveling motor on my led headlight assembly causing a constant noise as it is attempting to level. This is apparently a known problem and has had a TSA technical service bulletin of 09-015/23. My car is past the 3 yr warranty but under the 36,000 mile warranty period with only 33,000 miles. Mazda refuses to cover it since it has not had a recall yet even though it is a common and known problem. They are quoting a 1200 repair cost. Can you please help in any way and address this? Thank you

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 03/04/2026

Both front headlights are making an abnormal loud whining noise which started intermittently about 6 months ago and became continuous January 2026. Took vehicle to dealership where the dealership reported that the noise may be due to contamination by a foreign matter during the manufacturing process getting inside the adaptive headlight system causing the fan motor bearings inside the headlight to wear out. MAZDA dealership in Bridgeport WV stated the fix is to replace both front headlights at a significant cost to the owner if the vehicle is outside the warranty. The only indication that there is a problem is the loud noise coming from the headlights, there has been no warning messages. MAZDA is not willing to fix the issue unless the vehicle is within warranty. My vehicle is not within the known Vins listed below having this issue and is outside of the warranty. I reached out to Mazda Corp with case # [XXX] and MAZDA Corp denied financial assistance, but stated I could work with the dealership to trade my vehicle instead of fixing the issue. MAZDA knows the issue is on these vehicles per the TSB report given to me when I took my vehicle to the dealership. Previous TSBs per the report (SA-013/23 & 09-015/23) 2020-2025 CX 30 (Mexico built) Vins lower 3MV DM **** ** 794028 (Produced before Dec., 2020) 2022-2025 CX-5 Vins lower than JM3 KF **** ** 57088 (Produced before Sep., 2024) 2025 CX-70 Vins lower than JM3 KJ**** ** 118240 (Produced before Sep., 2024) 2024-2025 CX-90 Vins lower than JM3 KK**** ** 204555 (Produced before Sep., 2024) 2022-2024 MX-30 Vins lower than JM1 DR**** ** 200939 (Produced before Apr., 2024) 2016-2024 MX-5 Vins lower than JM1 ND**** ** 610111 (Produced before Oct., 2024) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 01/30/2026

Over the past several weeks, we began hearing a pronounced noise coming from the front of the vehicle, which the dealership diagnosed as a failing motor within the driver-side headlight unit. Given that this is a critical safety component, and part of the upgraded package purchased when the vehicle was new — we were surprised to encounter this issue on a vehicle of 4 years and 41,540 miles. Mazda Customer Care told me to pound salt

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 10/05/2025

The right headlight is very noisy. Like it is going to fail very soon. People say it's the problem with the cooling fan inside. A lot people have the same issues， Mazda should recall it ASAP

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 01/23/2026

The LED Headline Assembly in the 2022+ CX-5 frequently malfunctions by itself causing the headlight to burn out and fail on a frequent basis. This is an unacceptable issue that is causing new car owners in lost time and money to get this poor headlight design repaired on a frequent basis. This is a known issue for this vehicle and has been frequently reported online that it really needs a recall for Mazda to change the headlight design to ensure the entire lighting system does not fail on a frequent basis. This has happened to both headlights.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 11/07/2025

Headlight motor created a loud noise while it's on distracting driving and indicating an impending failure .This happened when the vehicle just got out of warranty (38000 miles approximately). Mazda refused to replace the headlight assembly for free. They charged for replacing it.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING — Filed 12/30/2025

Drivers side LED headlight cooling fan is making a loud buzzing noise 100% of the time when the headlight is turned on which indicates that the fan is failing. If fan fails, it will lead to overheating and failure of the headlight. Vehicle was inspected by Mazda to confirm the issue. Mazda issues Service Alert SA-013/23 and Technical Service Bulletin 09-015/23 have been issued for this problem. TSB states: Some customers may notice an abnormal noise (i.e. whine, groan, rattle or squeak) coming from the front combination lights when turning them on, or a few minutes after turning them off. The noise may be due to contamination by foreign matter during the manufacturing process. The fan motor bearing may become worn out during use. To eliminate the noise, the production process at the supplier and the material has been modified.

AIR BAGS,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 12/04/2024

I was driving to Home Depot after work around 6PM PST on [XXX] and must have fallen asleep at the wheel about a.1/4 of a mile from my house and left the road way after a turn. I hit my head so hard I had to be treated for a head injury and the car dialed 911 for me to report a crash. The airbags nor any other safety system triggered besides detecting a crash and dialing 911. My car was deemed totalled by insurance and had to go to the hospital. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 04/04/2024

Was driving down a road at around 40 MPH and a vehicle ran the light and took a turn in front of me. I applied brakes but car didn't try to apply them harder from the start and no warnings ever came up. Wasn't able to avoid collision and airbags deployed (only steering wheel airbag)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 12/05/2023

The vehicle unexpectedly caught fire and the results could have been catastrophic. Almost new car under warranty. All details are in the uploaded PDF letter and photos. I have contacted Mazda and they claim they do not investigate, only insurance company will investigate. My insurance company will pay me for the total loss but does not plan to investigate. I think this is dangerous and unconscionable. Thank you for any help or guidance.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 10/31/2023

Heating element on front windscreen burning and smoking causing windscreen to crack and is very obviously defective.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 07/22/2022

On July 22, my sister and I were traveling on I-95 going south. We stopped at the Maryland House near Aberdeen, MD. I was looking for a parking place and was driving very slowly. I slowed further to turn into a place on the right, near the south end of the parking lot and was attempting to put the car in park when the car accelerated abruptly, lurched forward, crossed over the concrete curb at the end of the parking space, and was heading right for I-95 which was straight ahead. I had never taken my foot off the brake. I tried to brake harder but that did not stop the car. I therefore turned right onto a service road to avoid crashing onto I-95. I then noticed a car coming toward me and swerved to the right back toward the parking lot, crossing over the curb at that parking spot, and slamming into a parked car and side swiping a truck. I only took my foot off the brake when the car stopped. The airbags did not deploy. After the car stopped, I was unable to turn the engine off. When I returned home, I looked on line to see if anyone else had reported a similar experience. Apparently there have been a number of similar occurrences with Mazda CX-5s (see https://www.carproblemzoo.com/mazda/cx-5/car-accelerates-on-its-own-problems.php) including a description of almost the same event with a car that also had low mileage. In several of the cases listed, the airbags likewise did not deploy. Note also that the police report may not include the origin of the incident but only the crash into the other car. I was in shock and was not able to give full information. I have asked for the complete information to be added to the report. Also of note, and possibly related: Earlier in July, an alert ‘brake, brake, brake’ sounded and there was a flashing on the dashboard that said ’’brake’. I took the car to Mazda, who could not find a problem and told me to return if it happened again.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 07/07/2022

I was driving in slow moving traffic with vehicles ahead and behind. The vehicle ahead of me slowed, so I applied brakes and began to slow as well. While I was on the brakes slowing at a normal rate with plenty of distance to the vehicle ahead, my vehicle unexpectedly activated automatic emergency braking. It abruptly applied full brakes and came to a complete stop, even though traffic ahead was still rolling. There was zero chance of collision, with ample following distance, minimal speed differential, and brakes already applied. The audible alert triggered at the same time as the emergency braking, providing no advance warning. The vehicle following me was unable to stop in time and caused a rear-end collision with my vehicle. My vehicle had moderate damage, and the following vehicle had more significant damage with airbag deployment. Collision speed was approximately 5-10mph. There were no injuries.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 04/10/2022

The contact owns a 2022 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph when another vehicle abruptly stopped causing the contact to need to suddenly stop however, the brake pedal failed. The contact stated that the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard then the emergency braking system began chiming. The vehicle failed to stop causing the contact the crash into the vehicle in front. The air bags did not deploy. There was no police report. There were no injuries reported. The contact had contacted the dealer however the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,546.