RoadVitals

2015 Mazda CX-5 Driver assistance Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Driver assistance reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
14
Latest Sep 10, 2025
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
11%
of 133 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
1
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2015 Mazda CX-5 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 14 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming driver-assistance

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Driver assistanceElectrical
Filed Sep 10, 2025

With a heavy downpour of rain the bsm flashes off, then after sitting for a few hours the car battery dies and the key fob is not recognized in the vehicle. Took it to a dealership and it stopped doing it. Code that are thrown have to do with some computer communication failing. I have had the car die on me 4 times in the last year that I’ve had it.

NHTSA ID
11686403
Incident
Nov 16, 2024
Driver assistanceEnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Sep 8, 2022

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.

NHTSA ID
11483555
Incident
Sep 5, 2022
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 28, 2021

My vehicle detects other vehicles and/or objects on the left side periodically when there is nothing there.

NHTSA ID
11434724
Incident
Jul 16, 2021
Driver assistanceElectrical
Filed May 31, 2019

DRIVING NORMALLY, SUDDENLY AT AN ON-RAMP, CAR WOULD NO LONGER ACCELERATE. I HIT THE GAS A COUPLE TIMES AND ENGINE JUST REVVED, AND THE CAR WAS JERKY AS IF STRUGGLING TO CHANGE GEAR. ANYTHING OVER 3,000 RPM IT WOULD NOT DRIVE. I ALSO NOTICED ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WITH RADIO AND LIGHTS AT THE SAME TIME. THANKFULLY, I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO PULL OVER. TURNED OFF CAR AND RE-STARTED. TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AROUND THE AREA AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN AT OVER 3,000 RPM. LUCKILY THIS DIDN'T CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ID
11217081
Incident
Apr 26, 2019
Mileage
46,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Apr 5, 2018

REDUCES SPEED WHILE DRIVING, UNEXPECTEDLY. CAUSING THE CAR TO STOP IMMEDIATELY WHILE BEING DRIVEN. IT'S BEEN HAPPENING CONSTANTLY FOR MONTHS AND I HAVE SEEN MYSELF IN SERIOUS TROUBLE SITUATIONS

NHTSA ID
11083393
Incident
Dec 11, 2017
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Feb 13, 2018
Crash reported

MY FOOT WAS SOLELY ON THE BRAKE AS MY CAR WAS COMING TO A STOP IN A PARKING SPACE. THEN SUDDENLY WITH NO REASON, THE CAR ACCELERATED, JUMPING THE CEMENT TIRE STOPPER, HIT AGAINST THE CONCRETE PARKING COLUMN, WENT DOWN A SLIGHT HILL AND HIT ANOTHER CONCRETE PARKING COLUMN BEFORE STOPPING. THE WHOLE RIGHT SIDE (PASSENGER SIDE) WAS COMPLETELY TOTALED. FORTUNATELY I ONLY HAD BRUISES AND NO OTHER CARS WERE DAMAGED. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.

NHTSA ID
11072788
Incident
Feb 3, 2018
Mileage
55,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Aug 7, 2017

THE CAR ACCELERATES TO HIGH RPM'S WITHOUT TOUCHING THE GAS PEDAL. AS SOON AS CAR WAS STARTED ENGINE ROARED AND COULD NOT BE CONTAINED WHEN IN GEAR. WHEN PUT IN DRIVE THE CAR REACHED OVER 50 MPH WITHOUT MY FOOT TOUCHING GAS PEDAL. WHEN PUT IN NEUTRAL THE RPM'S WERE REVVING EXCESSIVE NEAR THE TOP OF THE DIAL. THE ONLY THING TO GET THE ENGINE TO STOP REVVING WAS TO TURN THE CAR OFF. I HAD A HARD TIME GETTING THE CAR TO STOP. PROBLEM HAPPENED BOTH IN THE CITY AND ON THE FREEWAY. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED IT WAS A HOT DAY (100 DEGREES OUTSIDE). CAR HAD BEEN DRIVEN FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS AND THEN SAT FOR ABOUT 1.5 HOURS AND THEN PROBLEM HAPPENED. PROBLEM HAPPENED ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES BEFORE BEING TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP. I HAD NOT USED THE CRUISE CONTROL THAT DAY AND DO NOT REGULARLY USE THE CRUISE CONTROL. MAZDA SAYS IT'S A BATTERY ISSUE AND THAT I NEED A NEW BATTERY. THERE IS NO WAY THAT IS THE PROBLEM. I'VE NEVER EVEN HAD TO USE JUMPER CABLES ON THE CAR. I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW AND HAVE ONLY HAD IT FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS. I'M THE PRIMARY DRIVER. CAR HAS 43,000 MILES. I'M DEMANDING THAT MAZDA REPLACE THE CAR WITH A SIMILAR AGE CAR/SIMILAR MILEAGE AND THEY ARE FIGHTING IT. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THAT CAR. I WORRY THAT I WILL BE KILLED WHEN I CAN'T STOP THE CAR OR THAT I WILL HIT A PEDESTRIAN OR OTHER CAR AND KILL SOMEONE.

NHTSA ID
11013466
Incident
Aug 2, 2017
Mileage
43,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Jul 7, 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 MAZDA CX-5. WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT THE CONTACT DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE CONTACT TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT CALLED LYNCHBURG MAZDA WHO STATED THAT THEY WERE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT ALSO CONTACTED THE FIRST TEAM AUTO MALL DEALER WHO STATED THAT THEY WERE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE FAILURE AS WELL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,000.

NHTSA ID
11003696
Incident
Jul 7, 2017
Mileage
27,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistancePowertrain (other)
Filed Dec 22, 2016

WHILE DRIVING THROUGH STOP AND GO TRAFFIC NEAR A TRAFFIC LIGHT ON A DOWNWARD SLOPE (MAYBE 10-15 DEGREES), I ATTEMPTED TO APPLY THE BRAKES IN ORDER TO COME TO A STOP. WHEN DOING SO, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS BEING APPLIED NORMALLY BUT THE VEHICLE WASN'T SLOWING DOWN LIKE IT NORMALLY DOES. AS A RESULT, I PUSHED DOWN ON THE BRAKES AS HARD AS POSSIBLE AND WHILE THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN MORE THAN IT PREVIOUSLY WAS, IT ATTEMPTED TO LURCH FORWARD MORE AND MORE. I NOTICED THAT THE RPMS WERE SLOWLY GETTING HIGHER WHILE I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF APPLYING THE BRAKE PEDAL AS HARD AS POSSIBLE, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS COMING INCREASINGLY CLOSE TO MAKING CONTACT WITH THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. DUE TO THE VEHICLE BEING CLOSE TO BEING PHYSICALLY STOPPED ALREADY, I PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND THE RPMS FOR THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY CLIMBED ALL THE WAY TO THE RED-LINE (I BELIEVE 6,500 RPMS) AND THEN RETURNED TO NORMAL. THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIP (ANOTHER 5-10 MILES), THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED NO NOTICEABLE ISSUES. I CALLED THE LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP TO SEE IF ANY PROBLEMS REGARDING THE TRANSMISSION WERE CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT NO RECALLS WERE CURRENTLY OPEN FOR A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID
10937131
Incident
Dec 22, 2016
Mileage
51,100 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Oct 12, 2016

I HAVE EXPERIENCED INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS WITH THE STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO THE CRUISE CONTROL (CC). SOMETIMES, THE BUTTONS APPEAR TO CHANGE FUNCTIONS WITH EACH OTHER. HERE IS AN EXAMPLE: 1.I AM DRIVING ALONG ON THE HIGHWAY, AND I TURN ON CC ' THE DASH INDICATOR APPEARS IN YELLOW. 2.I SET THE CC TO MY CURRENT SPEED, THE DASH INDICATOR CHANGES TO GREEN, AND MY SPEED IS REGULATED. 3.I DECIDE TO REDUCE SPEED, SO I PRESS THE MINUS (-) BUTTON ONCE. 4.MY SPEED INCREASES BY ABOUT ONE MILE PER HOUR. 5.I PRESS MINUS (-) AGAIN, AND I SPEED UP ANOTHER MILE PER HOUR. 6.I PRESS PLUS (+), AND I SLOW DOWN ONE MILE PER HOUR. 7.I PRESS CANCEL, AND NOTHING HAPPENS ' THE CC INDICATOR ON THE DASH STAYS GREEN, AND MY SPEED HOLDS AT THE CURRENT VALUE. 'IT IS POSSIBLE THAT CANCEL REDUCES MY SPEED BY ONE MILE PER HOUR, BUT I USUALLY DON'T WAIT LONG ENOUGH TO FIND OUT, BECAUSE I AM TRYING TO CANCEL! 8.I PRESS OFF, AND THE CC CANCELS. IT IS STILL ON, BUT THE DASH INDICATOR TURNS YELLOW, AND MY SPEED IS NO LONGER REGULATED (I AM COASTING). 9.I PRESS OFF SEVERAL TIMES, AND NOTHING CHANGES ' THE DASH INDICATOR IS YELLOW. 10.NO MATTER WHICH BUTTON I PRESS, I CANNOT SHUT OF CC. 'THE DASH INDICATOR WILL CHANGE FROM GREEN TO YELLOW AND BACK, BUT CC NEVER SHUTS OFF. 11.SOMETIMES, I CAN RUN MY THUMB AROUND THE BUTTONS IN A CIRCLE, AND CC STARTS WORKING AGAIN, BUT THIS DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK. 12.IF I SHUT OFF THE CAR, CC WILL WORK FOR A WHILE. 13.IF CC STOPS WORKING AS DESCRIBED, AND I AM ON A LONG TRIP, IT WILL SOMETIMES START WORKING PROPERLY AGAIN AFTER SOME LONG PERIOD OF TIME (30 MINUTES OR SO). I HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE RADIO CONTROLS. I OCCASIONALLY PRESS THE VOLUME CONTROL AND THE STATION CHANGES. TYPICALLY, THIS ONLY HAPPENS ONCE, AND WHEN I CHANGE THE STATION BACK TO WHERE IT WAS, I AM ABLE TO ADJUST THE VOLUME AGAIN.

NHTSA ID
10915562
Incident
Oct 9, 2016
Mileage
28,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Apr 10, 2015

LEAVING AN ABOVE-GROUND PARKING GARAGE, THE CITY BRAKE ASSIST FEATURE ENGAGED TWICE, WITHOUT WARNING. THE CAR CAME TO A SUDDEN AND COMPLETE STOP AND THE WHEELS LOCKED UP. THERE WERE NO CARS OR OTHER OBSTACLES IN THE VICINITY THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED THE CITY BRAKE ASSIST FEATURE TO ENGAGE. WHEN THE FEATURE ENGAGED, THE CAR WAS GOING ABOUT 5 MPH, ON A SLIGHT DOWNHILL (THE DECLINE WAS SIMPLY FROM THE PARKING GARAGE), AND IT OCCURRED DURING A STRAIGHTAWAY SECTION OF THE GARAGE (E.G., NOT WHILE GOING AROUND A BEND). *TR

NHTSA ID
10704995
Incident
Mar 20, 2015
Mileage
331 mi
Driver assistancePowertrain (other)
Filed Feb 21, 2015

I JUST PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN SEPTEMBER 2014. WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 15 AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH ALL A SUDDEN I HAD NO MORE POWER I COULD NOT ACCELERATE, WHEN I PUSHED THE GAS PEDAL NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN. I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND STOPPED PUT IT IN PARK AND PUT IT BACK IN DRIVE AND IT WENT. SO I CONTINUED ON MY TRIP HOWEVER, ABOUT 50 MINUTES INTO MY TRIP NOW ON INTERSTATE 215 THAT SAME THING HAPPENED THIS TIME WHEN I PULLED OVER JUST PUTTING IT I PARK AND BACK IN DRIVE IT DIDN'T WORK I HAD TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF START IT AND THEN IT WORKED. I HAD TO TURN AROUND AND CANCEL THE TRIP AS I DIDN'T WANT TO BE STRANDED. I'M NOT SURE IF ITS THE TRANSMISSION OR WHAT. *TR

NHTSA ID
10689777
Incident
Feb 21, 2015
Mileage
6,500 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Feb 4, 2015

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 MAZDA CX-5. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE'S SPEED SUDDENLY DECREASED TO 40 MPH WITHOUT ANY WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000.

NHTSA ID
10681223
Incident
Jan 16, 2015
Mileage
12,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Nov 12, 2014

OUR VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH THE "SMART CITY BRAKING" FEATURE THAT AUTOMATICALLY PREVENTS COLLISIONS AT LOW SPEED. THIS SYSTEM TRIGGERS THE BRAKES AND BRINGS THE VEHICLE TO A STOP WHEN AN OBJECT IS DETECTED IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THIS SYSTEM HAS BEEN TRIGGERED BY STEAM CLOUDS COMING OUT OF SEWER GRATES AND HAS BROUGHT THE CAR TO A COMPLETE AND VERY UNEXPECTED STOP SEVERAL TIMES. NO REAL "OBJECT" WAS BEHIND THE STEAM CLOUD / YET BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE SYSTEM IS IMPLEMENTED IT DETECTED AN OBJECT AND ACTIVATED THE BRAKES. THIS UNEXPECTED BRAKING CAN QUICKLY BRING THE CAR TO A COMPLETE STOP AND COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS PROPERTY DAMAGE OR INJURY. WE PASS BY AN AREA WITH MULTIPLE SEWAGE GRATES RELEASING STEAM AND THIS SYSTEM IS BECOMING A SAFETY HAZARD. WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH NOT TO HAVE SOMEONE BEHIND US WHEN THE SYSTEM IS TRIGGERED - BUT IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE BRAKING TRIGGERS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. *TR

NHTSA ID
10654312
Incident
Nov 12, 2014
Mileage
10,000 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

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Data on this page last refreshed .