MAZDA Complaints

The vehicle exhibits dangerous electronic malfunctions. A licensed technician (MV-113255) has confirmed a sporadic unintended acceleration defect where the cruise control 'decrease' button causes the vehicle to increase speed. Additionally, the vehicle repeatedly enters 'Limp Mode' in active traffic, causing a violent jerk and a total loss of acceleration while displaying a 'Smart City Brake Support' (SCBS) failure on the dashboard. An independent inspection also documented gross mechanical neglect, including loose battery terminals and a loose transmission bellhousing bolt, which may contribute to these intermittent electrical/safety failures.

My wife's vehicle has a "Infotainment screen" (dashboard touch screen). There is a class action suit (CSP13d dealer letter) for issues regarding the screen performing tasks (Ghost screening touch) on its own. In lieu of a Mazda vehicle mass recall, they agreed to "FIX" the issue with a software update and replace the CMU Module of the vehicle to rectify this issue. I am here to report / advise you that MANY Mazda owners are NOT happy and have taken it upon themselves to disconnect these screens and do other "work around self repairs (removing/ disabling the unit) in order to fix the issues that occur. I have directly contacted Mazda in regards to my issues and they stat they can ONLY do what was advised on the court ordered settlement and NOTHING more to fix the issue. I want to advise you first hand, their FIX for this issue does NOT fix the problems. In fact, it is making it much worse! NOW my wife's vehicle is operating this screen by itself, WHILE driving, creating a MAJOR distraction. This "Ghost Touching" is actually going into the braking system settings and trying to change/ alter them AS she is driving! A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. She has had to, on several occasions, pull over /off the road, shut down the vehicle and try to "reset" what has occurred and check her system for ANY altered setting..if possible. As a retired Police Officer, I can tell you first had that if we ever encountered such thing/ safety issues reported by drivers, we would NOT allow them to travel any further with the vehicle and have it safely towed to a dealer or mechanic for repair. For their safety as well as the rest of the publics safety!! Mazda has refused to fully fix this issue and you can even see on numerous social media posts of MANY others reporting similar issues, disabling their devices on their own and doing other work arounds to mute or disable their devices totally. I Implore you to do a FULL RECALL of ALL affected vehicles to fix the problem ASAP!

Upon acceleration it’s not shifting gears properly. The rpm’s rev but the vehicle doesn’t go faster. Traffic behind me continued to accelerate to where i was concerned about being rear ended. I Have not taken it to anyone yet..it has done this a couple of times. Even though it’s a 2018 it only has 25000 miles on it. The dealer is an hour away and i”m afraid to drive it there because i don’t want to cause more problems. No warnings lights or messages.

The infotainment/CMU system in my 2025 Mazda CX-5 Carbon Edition has repeated failures that affect safe driving. Wireless Apple CarPlay frequently disconnects, freezes, or causes the screen and controls to stop responding. Navigation and audio alerts lag or fail, and the entire system has gone black once, requiring a hard reset. After one incident where all audio stopped working, I returned immediately to the dealership, and a Mazda service advisor personally witnessed the failure and confirmed no audio output. These unpredictable failures create distraction and uncertainty. As senior drivers, my wife and I rely heavily on stable navigation, audio cues, and hands-free communication for safe operation. Mazda and Panasonic reviewed the issue but denied CMU replacement, leaving the wireless system unreliable.

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.

In the past month or two the steering has become sticky, stiff or notchy initially occurring while completing turns on sweeping highway entrance ramps. This exact issue has now progressed to all driving conditions even when making minor steering adjustments on straight roads. I have not yet contacted the dealer or manufacturer with this concerning safety problem.

The vehicle exhibits unintended acceleration behavior when the brake pedal is applied. Instead of slowing down, the engine revs and the vehicle does not decelerate as expected. On March 16, 2026, while merging onto a highway and applying the brakes, the engine suddenly revved to approximately 3,500 RPMs while the vehicle failed to slow down. There have been previous issues with the vehicle not slowing when breaks are being applied, nut this is the first instance when it was noticed that the RPMs increased while breaking. This issue has also been reported to the dealership, with service documentation noting that when applying the brakes, the engine revs and the vehicle does not slow or accelerate properly. This creates a dangerous condition where braking input does not result in expected deceleration and may instead cause acceleration-related behavior. The issue has not been resolved. This issue significantly increases the risk of collision and loss of vehicle control.

While driving at various speeds, including highway speeds, the vehicle intermittently fails to slow down when the brake pedal is applied. On multiple occasions, the brake pedal was pressed but the vehicle did not respond appropriately and continued moving forward. On December 1, 2025, while traveling at approximately 65 mph on the interstate in rainy conditions, the vehicle began making a grinding sound and started sliding instead of slowing down. The vehicle briefly lost the ability to decelerate, creating a near-collision with a semi-truck. On December 22, 2025, the issue occurred twice in one day. While attempting to brake at a stop sign and in traffic, the vehicle did not slow down, nearly causing collisions with vehicles in front and adjacent lanes. In the instance where approaching the stop sign where a vehicle was stopped, the dashboard flashed “break” while I was breaking as hard as I could. Warning lights and sensor-related alerts have appeared intermittently prior to and during some incidents. The issue has continued intermittently, including additional incidents where the brakes were either unresponsive or overly sensitive. They do not respond in a consistent or predictable manner, making safe driving nearly impossible. This problem places myself and others at significant risk of collision due to loss of braking control. The vehicle has been taken to multiple dealerships for inspection. The problem has not been successfully replicated, and no repairs have been performed to resolve the issue. Dealership documentation includes customer reports of “NOT BRAKING” and brake malfunction concerns.

While driving on February 12, 2026, the steering system failed, resulting in the steering wheel locking and becoming impossible to turn. While making a right-hand turn, the steering wheel suddenly locked. I had to forcefully jerk the wheel to regain control and avoid colliding with a concrete barrier on the right shoulder. After several seconds, the steering function returned to normal. This failure occurred without warning and created an immediate safety hazard due to loss of steering control. The vehicle has been inspected by a dealership, but the issue could not be replicated and no repairs were performed. This condition presents a serious safety risk as it can occur during normal driving maneuvers and may lead to loss of control and collision.

Was involved in an auto accident where the person t-boned my car on the passenger side. Airbags on the left side of the car including driver and steering wheel airbags did not deploy on impact.