2019 Mazda CX-5 Driver assistance Problems

The infotainment system is experiencing the "ghost touch" problem already identified by Mazda and there has already been a class action lawsuit won regarding this problem. I was not aware of this class action lawsuit or I would have participated to have my system repaired. My infotainment system is completely unusable and I have been told it is over $500 to repair/replace. I am the original owner of this vehicle. The system continuously beeps and changes all settings while I am driving. If I am using navigation, the screen switches to something else so that I can't see where I'm supposed to be going, causing undue slowing and or braking in city traffic. This is a safety problem. My infotainment system continuously goes into the settings and changes the navigation guidance volume and the car yells at me that, "NAVIGATION WILL BE AT THIS VOLUME." This has startled me and caused me to either swerve or brake abruptly due to being yelled at with out warning while alone in the vehicle. This is a safety issue. As a female who drives by alone 99% of the time, I have my doors set to lock and unlock in a specific manner to keep me safe. The system randomly resets all of these settings while I'm driving so I have no idea if the doors will be locked or unlocked and whether I will be safe when stopping in city traffic. This is a personal safety issue and causes undue stress. The system calls and hangs up on my family repeatedly, making them think that I am in danger or hurt. They try to call by and get hung up on. This is a safety issue because it causes distracted driving because I am focused on that problem instead of the road. All in all, the whole system is a safety problem and needs attention, especially since Mazda has already admitted to the problem.

NHTSA ID

11746531

Incident

Jun 2, 2025

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!

NHTSA ID

11732869

Incident

Feb 1, 2026

I purchased a 2019 Mazda CX-5 (As is) on July 20, 2015. On September 11, 2025, as I was traveling on a three lane highway. I attempted to pass another vehicle. As I was attempting to go around the vehicle, my Mazda suddenly began braking and quickly losing acceleration. The speed limit on the highway was 70 mph. I estimated my speed at the time was between 70 and 75 mph as I attempted to pass. Pressing on the accelerator pedal did nothing. I had to try and very carefully steer the car to the right hand side of the road while trying to avoid oncoming traffic approaching from behind. When I finally got the car off the road, this is when I noticed that the car had stalled. The car started right back up and I continued to my appointment. The "radar cruise control" was activated at the time of the incident. On September 15, 2025, I contacted the dealer where the car was purchased and explained what happened. I was asked to bring the car in that same day. The car was supposedly looked over and connected to the Service Dept.'s computer to see if any error sign appeared. Nothing showed up. I service technician was then asked to ride with me to see if the car would replicated the same stalling as it has previously done. We could not get the car to stall as it had previously done. Before leaving, a salesman asked me if I wanted him to explain the "radar cruise control" to me some more. I agreed. The salesman then proceeded to tell me that "the car did not stall, it was simply braking from the activation of the radar cruise control". Being an experienced driver, I told the salesman that the car had stalled as evidenced by the fact that I had to restart it. The situation was not resolved to my satisfaction, but no other offers were made by the dealer. I requested additional diagnostic work to be done, but the dealer refused to cooperate. I did take the car to another Mazda dealer, but could get no offer but to connect the car to their computer.

NHTSA ID

11721085

Incident

Sep 11, 2025

When accelerating, the transmission feels jerky/stutters. The check engine light and traction control light are illuminated and on the instrument cluster the messages: "Forward Smart City Brake Support Malfunction", "Smart Brake System Malfunction" and "Front Radar Sensor System Malfunction" appear. The vehicle acts like it doesn't know which gear it should be in, it'll buck pretty hard and then it refuses to accelerate...it feels like it's in a "limp mode". A previous driver of the vehicle complained and said that it actually stalled in traffic on the highway and was of course difficult to steer due to loss of power. I took it to a dealership and they came up with a laundry list of things to fix...most of which wouldn't have any bearing on this issue. I did have the serpentine belt replaced and the belt tensioner replaced due to wear on the belt and loose tension. On 7/16/25, I scanned the vehicle with a code reader, the codes P0301 and P0506 appeared. P0301 is a generic "Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected" message and P0506 is a generic "IAC system RPM Lower Than Expected. The vehicle was taken to a shop where the spark plugs and the cylinder 1 coil was replaces and the IAC cleaned. On 7/24/25 the same vehicle behaviors were observed and the same warning lights and messages were activated. I scanned the vehicle and got "p0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected and P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire detected. There was a recall on this particular vehicle make, model and year and my vehicle was out of the VIN# range. I firmly believe that the recall needs to be expanded to include a larger number of vehicles...you can google about this vehicle and see many others with similar issues. Usually, the cure is a PCM reflashing/software update that seems to take care of the issue. Please expand the recall before someone dies in an accident because of this problem.

NHTSA ID

11675874

Incident

Jul 24, 2025

For the 3rd or 4th time since I have own this car I experienced a loss of acceleration when attempting to make quick acceleration while attempting to merge with traffic. Acceleration is fine around town where quick acceleration is not appropriate. But the first attempt to merge with flowing traffic the car will slowly accelerates to about 30 mph and no more regardless as to position of accelerator pedal. On all occasion this bad behavior has this first drive of the day - going to work in the a.m. There is often a warning message indicating the safety radar is not working due to limited visibility which is a very common warning in the a.m.

NHTSA ID

11673265

Incident

Jul 14, 2025

Car will slam on brakes even if car is in opposite lane farther away. We have received sooo many chips amd cracks on windshield with 2 weeks. We purchased used and was informed windshield was replaced once already.

NHTSA ID

11636988

Incident

Dec 27, 2024

Good afternoon. I am reporting an incident that occurred on December 29, 2024. I was driving my 2019 Mazda Cx-5 and I was about to make a left turn. However, as I was making the left turn, I received a notification on my dashboard about a "Forward Smart City Brake Support Malfunction" (a photo of the notification will be included). My car instantly lost control and it did not stop until it collided with the street curb of the road I was attempting to turn on. Fortunately for those around me, my car did not collide with any other vehicles on the road. However, this collision caused damage to the right side of the vehicle, as the right airbag of the vehicle had deployed. I believe that this is a very significant problem that should be looked into as soon as possible. If my car were to hit other drivers on the road, it could have led to a very tragic incident. As far as repairs go, I wanted to wait and see how this complaint would carry out. I do not believe that it would be fair for me to pay repairs for an event that was out of my control. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11635658

Incident

Dec 29, 2024

Back up camera display does not always immediately come on when placing car in reverse. It can sometimes be 10 -15 seconds before an image appears. I wait in the garage, driveway, or parking spot before backing but this potentially puts pedestrians behind the vehicle at risk. Per FMVSS 111 guidelines. S5.5.3 regarding response time: The rearview image "shall be displayed within 2.0 seconds of the start of a backing event." Problem has been intermittent but frequency seems to be increasing. I took the car to Headquarter Mazda in Clermont Florida. I was advised a software fix is available for the cameras but the cost would be $220 even though I have Mazda Extended Confidence warranty in effect.

NHTSA ID

11597483

Incident

Jun 27, 2024

Went to drive home from work one night, car had been normal until this event. Car suddenly began to state that it was overheating and throttled my speed down to 20 MPH. I was in the middle of traffic going 40-50 at this time. Turns out there is a VSB regarding a coolant leak that can occur and break. Nothing about how you are suddenly governed to 20 MPH

NHTSA ID

11593770

Incident

Jun 1, 2024

The side mirrors fold in and out automatically. Sometimes they will not open to driving position, leaving the driver without the ability to check them for lane changes. This is a common problem with the automatic mirrors on Mazda vehicles. I have had them repaired once under warranty, but the issue persists. The second issue is the automatic emergency braking. It has activated a few times without need or warning. I have come close to being rear-ended because of this and received negative feedback from other drivers that were following me (use your imagination).

NHTSA ID

11572641

Incident

Feb 9, 2024

Automatic braking system has almost caused multiple rear end accidents as it still detects cars that have left the lane after they turn. The infotainment system has dangerous ghost touches that glitch every time the car stops which has been reported for Mazdas for the past 7 years with no recall.

NHTSA ID

11572016

Incident

Feb 14, 2024

When the system thinks there might be a collision it initiates a hard braking even when there is enough space to avoid a collision. Multiple times, the car behind me had to do a hard break as well not to hit me from behind. A google search revealed multiple people complaining of similar issue. The system brakes too extremely aggressively (drops speed from 30 MPH to 5 or less MPH almost instantly stopping/causing skidding) even at its lowest setting. When I address with Mazda Service Manager he advised "it's supposed to do that" and if I choose to I can manually disable the feature each time I enter the vehicle. Note, I am currently driving a loaner car 2023 Mazda CX-5 and have not experienced the same issue, so it does not seem "it's supposed to do that". I have been driving the loaner for 4 weeks and not once have I experience this issue - the system has never engaged except for once where only the Warning light appeared on the display but the braking did not engage. Whereas my vehicle engages this anti collision braking nearly every day I drive it. This system has almost caused more accidents than it protected me from them.

NHTSA ID

11552985

Incident

Nov 1, 2023

While driving down the road my Mazda CX-5 continues to just stall and the engine light turns on and the safety features turn off. I was driving down a road in town and the engine started stalling as I came to a red light and slowed the engine shut off and I was almost hit from behind. It took several attempts at starting before the car would start. This has now happened for the past 3 days and is happening more and more frequently. I do not have any other means of transportation and after attempting to get the dealership to check due to the recalls on the Mazda CX-5 for fuel pump failure and the mechanic saying it appears the fuel pump is bad the dealership refuses to attempt any repair because the VIN is not listed in the recall at this time. This is a severe safety problem because if it stalls in traffic I will be in an accident as I have no ability to maneuver the vehicle when it stalls to get out of the way of vehicles approaching. If this issue isn't resolved it is going to cause injury to myself or others. People have had to swerve into the path of other vehicles to keep from hitting me when it stalls, which is eventually going to result in harm to others and/or myself and family.

NHTSA ID

11536875

Incident

Aug 6, 2023

The 2019 Mazda CX-5 has a design and manufacturing issue with its infotainment system. The screen activates functions without pressing the screen or activating the joystick. It changes the station, calls by phone and changes important security parameters such as braking assistance. Reflecting a notice on the main board. There are thousands of cases of affected vehicles. This problem is a serious situation that Mazda must correct immediately, because it distracts the driver and changes extremely important safety parameters. The infotainment system is not just for listening to music or making calls. This system manages many aspects of vehicle safety. Mazda replaced the part with a new part number for obvious reasons. All vehicles that have the affected part must be replaced with the new part number to avoid possible accidents. The defective part is K123-61-J0A. The replacement is K123-61-1J0C. Thank and best regards.

NHTSA ID

11527169

Incident

Jun 15, 2023

My 2019 Mazda CX-5 automatically applied the brakes while the car was on cruise control traveling at 65 mph on a highway, and there wasn't a car or any object in front of me or to either side of my car. The car applied the brakes firmly and brought the speed down quickly and dangerously. I quickly depressed the accelerator to get the car back to highway speed to avoid a rear-end collision. This issue has happened 3 times in the past 2 weeks, all while traveling at highway speeds on cruise control for an extended period of time (hours). I believe this is the same issue with the Mazda Smart City Brake Support system that led to a recall of 2019-2020 Mazda-3 vehicles. My Mazda CX-5 is out of warranty and the dealer stated it is not covered by the recall.

NHTSA ID

11500061

Incident

Dec 30, 2022

After purchasing this vehicle I started noticing that as I accelerated from a stop the transmission would shift hard into 1st gear and 3rd gear. This is also occurring during deceleration as if the car brakes I'm stages due to the downshifting hard. The dealership has refused to look into the issue. They have refused to add the notes to my vehicle records in effort to avoid accountability.

NHTSA ID

11494072

Incident

Sep 28, 2022

heading south doing 70 mph on 95 in the far left lane on a rainy day ....came over a hill and started to hydraplayne.....seems like the automatic pilot took the car over ,,,,,i lost the fight with the steering wheel and did two 360s all away across 4 lanes of traffic to the grass inbankment on the other side,,,,,lucky to be alive ......very lucky

NHTSA ID

11469696

Incident

Mar 30, 2021

Tuesday, 5/3, I was parking my car in the New Leaf Grocery parking lot in Aptos, CA. I pulled into the lot and made slow right into an available space. I had my foot on the accelerator, tapped down on it gently to ease into the space. My car lurched forward at such high speed that I was unable to remove my foot from the accelerator. I swerved to the right as the car went over a partition and hit another parked car on the other side of the partition. My airbag did not activate. I've replayed the experience in my mind and tried convincing myself that this could have been a matter of human error on my part. I am beyond convinced that what I experienced yesterday was a case of sudden unintended acceleration. I am concerned and afraid to drive my car now. Had circumstances been different, someone could have been killed. Had I not swerved right, I was headed to crash into a building. I called 911 and since no one was hurt there was no Police report. To address questions set-out above: Speed control (sudden unintended acceleration) and air bag failed My safety and the safety of others was put at risk As of yet the problem has not been reproduced however there are a great number of reports related to unintended acceleration (however not acknowledged as a problem by Mazda) I plan to have my Mazda inspected by a local dealership service center There were no warning messages or symptoms in advance of the incident occurring I've owned my Mazda for 3 years and never experienced anything like this. I have never had a car accident to date.

NHTSA ID

11463372

Incident

May 3, 2022

On interstate 90 while driving at 75 mph under cruise control I passed an 18 wheel truck on a curve. With no cars in front and two following, the car without warning braked heavily and control screen flashed warning BRAKE. The car immediately behind braked and veered on the bearm to avoid me. I stepped on gas to override the brakes and avoid an accident.

NHTSA ID

11451778

Incident

Feb 12, 2022

At about noon on 12/19/21 I was approaching the Tappan Zee (Mario Cuomo) Bridge in New York State going west. My car briefly stopped accelerating when I put my foot on the gas pedal but then continued on as normal. No warning lights or other signs of trouble appeared, and I continued onto the bridge and was in the center lane. There was moderate traffic on the bridge. Suddenly, my car started shaking and slowing as if the brakes were being pumped (although I did not put my foot on the brake), and the messages "Front Radar Sensor System Malfunction" "Forward Smart City Brake Malfunction" and "Smart Brake System Malfunction" all flashed on the dashboard screen. My husband turned on the emergency flashers and took a photo of the screen. The car continued slowing down and shaking no matter how hard I pressed the gas pedal. This created an incredibly dangerous situation; I had to get over to the right lane as we continued losing speed, and find somewhere safe to pull over once we got off the bridge. A car or truck going at a normal speed could have easily hit us and caused a catastrophic crash on the bridge. If I could not get out of the center lane quickly, at the rate the car was slowing down, it would have come to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway. I was able to merge right, get across the bridge and get to an exit, all as the car continued lurching and slowing down. At the bottom of the exit, there was a red light; I stopped and turned the car off and back on again. When I tried to accelerate out of the stop, smoke began pouring off the wheels. The car moved across the intersection at a few miles per hour and I was able to pull over safely on the right shoulder on the other side of the intersection. I had only bought the car the previous day, less than 16 hours before the incident. I called Mazda Roadside Assistance and the dealership; the dealership told me to have the car towed to their service department, so I did.

NHTSA ID

11444468

Incident

Dec 19, 2021

There was a warning "chime" and then this message appeared on the instrument panel. "Front Radar Malfunction". The car was in the left lane on the PA turnpike going approximately 73 miles per hour. The car immediately began a rapid deceleration after the warning "chime". Automatic braking activated. The driver could not accelerate. Traffic was heavy with a trailer truck to the right and cars behind. There were no vehicles in front of the decelerating car. The vehicles behind were able to slow and avoided collision. We were forced to pull over in a very narrow center medium next to a large concrete divider. It was a very dangerous place to stop. The engine was turned off for approximately a minute. When it was started there were no messages and the driver had full control of the car. The car is available for inspection. The dealer will be contacted tomorrow. The car has been in service for 23 months and has been driven 12,200 miles. The road surface was wet from recent rain and the car had been driven through a downpour with water pooling on the road approximately 15 minutes before this incident.

NHTSA ID

11437063

Incident

Oct 16, 2021

The contact owns a 2019 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed and shifting from second to third gear, the engine revved up, hesitated, and lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that the low-beam headlights were inoperable. There was a clunking noise detected while making a three-point turn. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the mechanic diagnosed that there was an electrical failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign number 19V497000 (Engine, Power Train). The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

NHTSA ID

11433186

Incident

Aug 1, 2019

Mileage

1,000 mi

The contact owns a 2019 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that on five separate occasions, intermittently there was an abnormal grinding noise detected underneath the hood. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 20 mph. Additionally, while accelerating the vehicle slowed down without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where no codes had been detected. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where they were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. Additionally, the vehicle was towed to Sport Mazda North (400 N US Hwy 17 92, Longwood, FL 32750, (407) 339-4777) where they were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.

NHTSA ID

11426088

Incident

Jul 18, 2021

Mileage

17,000 mi

When the system think there might be a collision and initiates a hard braking even when there might be enough space in front of you. Multiple times, the car behind me had to do a hard break as well not to hit me from behind. This also happens when switching lanes. As you are in the middle of switching, if sometimes thinks you are getting to close to the car in the original lane and it starts a hard break. Since I’m in between lanes, it causes the car on the other lane to do a hard break also, almost causing a chain accident. A google search revealed multiple people complaining of that. The system is too aggressive even at it’s lowest setting. Mazda informed me I can only turn it off one drive cycle at a time. This system has almost caused more accidents than it protected me from them.

NHTSA ID

11423005

Incident

Jun 26, 2021

VEHICLE DISPLAY ON DASHBOARD, STEERING WHEEL, SHIFT CONSOLE, AUDIO CONTROLS, SEATS ADJUSTMENTS ARE NOT ILLUMINATED. THE LETTERS AND NUMBERS ARE NOT LIGHTED. UNABLE TO KNOW WHICH BUTTONS TO PUSH BECAUSE PRINTING IS SO SMALL AND MANY CONTROLS ARE GROUPED TOO CLOSE TOGETHER. MAZDA CX5 OWNER'S MANUAL IS FOR ALL MAZDA MODELS. THERE IS NO INDICATION AS TO WHAT FEATURE IS INCLUDED ON MY CAR. THIS CAR LACKS LIGHTED DISPLAY AND CONTAINS SMALL LETTERS/NUMERALS WHILEPARKED, MOVING OR DRIVING IN DAY OR NIGHT; MAZDA DEALERS IN TWO DIFFERENT TOWNS REPORT UNABLE TO IMPROVE SITUATION "THAT'S HOW IT IS" .

NHTSA ID

11375629

Incident

Apr 19, 2019

Mileage

15 mi