2018 MAZDA CX-5 Complaints

The info-tainment system (Android Auto/Apple Car Play) is unstable and will come on at any time and change/delete settings and make calls, texts, etc. without any input. It is distracting as the screen shows what it it doing and the driver will need to make it stop. It could cause an accident. It has at times: Changed radio stations Deleted presets and other settings Deleted contacts from my phone Made phone calls and sent texts Deleted and reset the navigation to a destination not selected by the user. I understand this is called ghost touch and requires the touch screen to be fixed although I have never used the touch screen. I understand they recalled and fixed the 2016 to 2017 cars, but I have to pay to get the 2018 fixed out of pocket. This has been happening and getting worse for the past 6-8 months. Also, the forward collision has alarmed when there was nothing in front of me.

I noticed a burning smell while driving. Smoke started coming through the air vents and made me light-headed. I asked my son to take a look, and he said that oil was dripping onto the exhaust and smoking, and it could have caught on fire. There were no warning lamps or any other indicators besides the smell and smoke. I could have passed out from inhaling the smoke and died, or my car could have caught on fire. I took my car to the Mazda dealer. They confirmed that my car was affected by the well-known 2018-2021 CX-5 cylinder head crack. They quoted me $4848 to fix it. When I asked if they could help me with the price, they offered me 10% off. I told them that’s unacceptable. After much back and forth with the dealer and Mazda Corporate, they dropped the total to $1470.60.

The car (2018 Mazda CX-5) exhibited a strong burning smell coming from either the engine or exhaust which you could smell in the cabin. No warning lamps turned on in the dash indicating any problem. Problem was recreated by Mazda dealership service center and diagnosis is that cylinder head is cracked and is leaking oil into the exhaust manifold. Suggested repair was a replacement of the cylinder head. Was told this is out of the 5 year/60K warranty. Had car for 5 year 11 months and only driven 45K miles. Car has not been inspected by anyone other than Empire Mazda of Huntington.

Mazda vehicles currently have an infotainment system that that is touch screen when the vehicle is stopped or below 10 MPH. Above 10 MPH, the touch screen disables and can only be used with the control console. Mazda infotainment systems have a "ghost touch" issue where when stopped, will behave abnormally and select random menus, options etc. Today while stopped at a red light, this ghost touch issued caused the infotainment system to TURN OFF blind spot monitoring and smart city brake support (automatic braking.) Due to the ghost touch, the control console wheel does not over ride the ghost touch issue. I could not turn these safety features back on until I started moving the car (accelerating ABOVE 10 mph) while driving at which point the touch screen "disables" and only allows the input of the manual control wheel. Mazda is aware this is an issues and refused to recall/fix these defective units outside of warranty without charging $500 - $1000 per customer.

Mazda has a safety problem with the infotainment system in their CX-5 models 2014 - 2020 and refuses to recall or do anything about it. The infotainment system has a ghost in the machine that changes settings while driving and literally screams at you through the stereo system. The ghost turns the volume all the way up and shouts, "navigation will be at this volume" over and over again (10+ times in a row). I try turning down the volume, but the ghost continually changes the volume back to max and continues shouting. Most often, this occurs when facing the sun. The ghost also changes all sorts of system settings, some relating to safety features such as lane departure, and blind spot warnings. When this occurs, it is incredibly distracting, and many times I have had to pull off the side of the road, until the issue subsides, just to get back on the road and have the issue continue to persist. This safety issue surfaced shortly after my warranty expired. In having the vehicle serviced, I was told it was either the control knob or infotainment screen. In 2023, I opted to have the control knob replaced out of pocket as that was the less expensive option ($600+). The screen replacement was quoted at $1200+. Since that time, the issue has persisted and worsened. In doing my own research online, thousands of Mazda customers have this exact same issue in models spanning from 2014 - 2020. The ghost is attributed to the touch screen function and a faulty wire mechanism. Many consumers have taken apart their dashboards (a huge undertaking) to disconnect the touchscreen wire and resolved the ghost problem, leaving the touchscreen non-functional. I have tried contacting Mazda corporate to explain this is a major safety concern and that I am a person who has auditory/sensory sensitivities. They refuse to make this right and I refuse to spend more money to fix a known issue that spans over 7 years.

My 2018 Mazda CX-5 has been having issues in which the infotainment system randomly starts scrolling across the screen and changing channels, hanging up on my phone calls, muting me during phone calls, changing my navigation screens, etc. while driving. This is a serious safety concern as the only way to make it stop happening is to park the vehicle, turn the vehicle off, and then turn it back on. It is quite alarming when driving to have your navigation change on you without warning or to mute a call when Ohio is a hands free state by law now. This started randomly a couple of months ago and is now happening daily. I contacted Mazda customer service to see if any recalls, none have been issued for the CX5 yet, although the same problem had recalls for the Mazda 3 back in 2019. There are numerous reports all over about this same issue for CX5's all over the web. I do have an appointment with the dealership to have the car serviced, but ridiculous a known issue is not under a recall and charging owners to fix a known problem; especially considering the safety concerns.

2018 mazda started smoking from under hood and noticed a burning oil smell. Took to mechanic and was told engine head gasket has a huge Crack. Car only has 22k on it and never been in any accident. All appropriate preventative services are up to date. There was no indication light no warning light nothing to identify why the car was leaking oil and smoking until it was looked at. This has multiple.complaints in regards to this specific year and model and needs to be addresses before someone's car catches fire or stalls in the middle of highway

Oil smell in cabin. Diagnosed by independent repair shop as hairline crack in back of cylinder head. Cylinder head replaced at 91000 miles.

The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX5. The contact stated that after cold starts, the vehicle hesitated and jerked upon depression of the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer on numerous occasions. The contact was repeatedly informed that no fault was found with the vehicle. The dealer later performed a software update on the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V875000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) which was linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified about the recall, but the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

Constant ticking sound coming from engine, most apparent while idling but continues even after oil change and engine warm up. Goes away for short periods of time. Always comes back and is very loud. Sometimes engine block shakes and can be felt through the steering wheel.