Owner-reported complaints naming the powertrain system, filed with NHTSA
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Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 Mazda CX-5 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The vehicle's component that fails seems to be the transmission locking up in first gear after accelerating from a stop. During wet conditions, the car will fish tail and the traction control will kick in.
I am filing a defect complaint regarding a severe drivetrain safety hazard on my 2020 Mazda CX-5 (currently at 62,800 miles). The automatic transmission has begun slipping and hesitating during acceleration, specifically producing a high-pitched chirping/squeaking noise during the 3rd-to-4th gear upshift. This issue is fully documented by the manufacturer under Technical Service Bulletin TSB 05-005/23. Mazda's internal bulletin admits that the root cause is an inherent manufacturing defect where the torque converter lockup clutch friction material degrades prematurely, contaminating the transmission fluid with fine iron powder and causing internal clutches to slip. This transmission slippage causes unpredictable power delivery and hesitation when merging into active traffic, creating an immediate safety hazard. Mazda Corporate (Case File: 00504052) has acknowledged the defect but refuses to cover the repair in full because the vehicle is 2,800 miles past its powertrain warranty, attempting to pass thousands of dollars in repair costs for a known factory defect onto the consumer. The car has already been diagnosed by Mazda Dealership at Walkers Renton Mazda, WA. The NHTSA needs to investigate this widespread Skyactiv transmission defect and force a mandatory safety recall. Please check TSB 05-005/23.
Started smelling burning oil in 2020 Mazda CX-5 non turbo with 34,000 miles. Auto shop states it is a cracked cylinder that will cost over $7,000 to repair. A Google search shows it is a known issue but Mazda has not extended the warranty for non-turbo models.
Vehicle suffering from Mazda TSB 05-005/23 Chirping noise from Transaxle on 3rd to 4th gear upshift. Vehicle diagnosed by dealership as needing new Transaxle on 17OCT25. Diagnosis stated issue started ~32k miles.
The issue is iron is depositing in the transmission due to a bad torque converter, this is a known issue with mazda and it doesn't seem to be something they are willing to cover and many people are experiencing this especially with the cx5 models. It causes jerking and chirping noise, plus will eventually ruin the transmission and will cause serious safety issues. Just look into the reddit threads
Driving about 20 to 35 mph accelerating I would get a distinctive one time chirp noise with a little bit of a stutter It happens every time I go about that speed accelerating. Thankfully my car was under pre-owned warranty but I have to get now. Three transmission flushes I have to pay $400 for and they have to replace a torque converter. I just got the car 10 days ago and only has 61,000 mi on it. Over the long term this could damage the transmission cause more and more issues
The contact owns a 2020 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked abnormally while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure. The manufacturer was notified by the dealer about the failure, and the manufacturer agreed to partially cover the cost of the repair. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.
Defective transmission causes metal fragments to break off and over time damage transmission
Low oil level indicator came on at roughly 55,000 miles only about 3000 miles after last oil change. Car was immediately stopped and towed to the nearest Mazda dealer. Dealership confirmed oil level was low. Car appears to me consuming excess oil. Oil consumption test pending.
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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