What 377 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Mazda Cx-50

The car's electrical system doesn't fully turn off after being put in park and turning the ignition off. The electrical system stays on, despite the engine and ignition turned off. It's a BIG problem that I've seen a lot of other people report. And yet Mazda refuses to address the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11704343

I was driving down the road and my right side curtain airbag deployed. I did let my insurance company know but was told that they couldn’t do anything for me since it was not an accident. I called the local Mazda dealership and they told me that they could inspect the vehicle but it would not be on them. That it could have been a rat that chewed on something to cause it to deploy because I was not the first owner of the vehicle. There was no other damage other than the airbag and where it came through on the side.

NHTSA ODI 11670101

The contact owns a 2014 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at a slow speed and attempting to parallel park, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine before the steering wheel seized. No warning light was illuminated. The contact's husband exited the vehicle to inspect the vehicle, and another person stopped to assist and became aware that the ball joint had detached. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering knuckle had separated from the strut assembly, causing the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V203000 (STEERING); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

NHTSA ODI 11662815

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2014 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 86,000, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 190,000.

NHTSA ODI 11660608

CAR ACCESSORIES WILL NOT SHUT OFF WHEN I PUT VEHICLE IN PARK. THIS IS DANGEROUS DUE TO CAUSING THE BATTERY TO COMPLETELY DRAIN LEAVING ME STRANDED.

NHTSA ODI 11633341

Auxiliary power will not turn off when vehicle is turned off. Radio , lights interior power , etc….. car turns off when button is pressed but interior power does not .

NHTSA ODI 11595830

I was waiting at a traffic signal to make a left turn, with my foot on the brake. The car accelerated aggressively, with no warning, like the pedal was pushed to the floor. I stood on the brake and shoved the shifter into park - coming to a stop in the middle of the intersection, Fortunately my wheels were pointed straight and the car did not race into oncoming traffic. My [XXX] father was in the car with me. Thankfully, my grandchildren were NOT in the car. You could smell the gas and brakes. It was NOT driver foot placement, nor was it floor mats. Vehicle has ~ 75K miles, and I am terrified of this happening again. I had driven this car regularly in rush hour stop & go traffic for years with no event like this ever before. Apparently sudden unintended vehicle acceleration is a recognized problem. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11594255

Car fails to shut off completely. The motor stops, but the electronics (dash, radio, etc.) and things like the A/C still are on. Searching forums shows it is a faulty gear shift sensor that detects that the car is in park.

NHTSA ODI 11593296

There is a pressure crack that goes almost all the way across my front windshield, there are no chips or dings in the glass. Second you can smell gas fumes near the back of the car but no gas is leaking

NHTSA ODI 11583118

The contact owns a 2014 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to shutoff. The screen and vehicle remained powered on. The battery was drained, and the contact replaced the battery. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

NHTSA ODI 11578236

The contact owns a 2014 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the heater core. The contact was informed that the heater core needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,311.

NHTSA ODI 11558841

In the past year the car has consistently given a “Set to P” message when parked and already shifted to Park, and doesn’t completely turn off (though the engine does). We have to turn the car back on, jam the car to P and try again. Internet tells me this was recalled for 2013-2014 cx-5s just before vehicles starting with the same VIN info as mine.

NHTSA ODI 11537371

We have had numerous times that the vehicle ignition system will not turn off after pushing the stop button. The motor will stop but the ignition and radio system stay on. The car must be restarted(sometimes numerous times) and shut down before the ignition system shuts down. I have seen many other owner's complaints about this same problem on (carcomplaints .com).

NHTSA ODI 11537070

The contact owns a 2014 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that when he turned off the vehicle, the radio remained operational. The contact disconnected and reconnected the battery. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 191,493.

NHTSA ODI 11536857

UNKNOWN - A few months ago, I started to have an issue when turning off the vehicle. After putting the vehicle in park and pressed to turn off the vehicle, the radio/GPS screen would stay on and a warning message stating the car must be in ‘P’ark. I would restart the car, put it in neutral, turned it off, but the same message kept popping up and would beep at me when trying to close the door. I jiggle the stick multiple times and tried different ways to turn off the car, now taking as many as 10 times before the radio/GPS screen turns off and the message goes away. I made an appt with the closest dealer, but I have to wait for 4 weeks for the car to be inspected & corrected. This seem like a safety hazard not knowing if the car is actually in park and turned off so the battery doesn’t drain. There should be a recall issued by Mazda to correct this issue as many people have posted the same problem over many years.

NHTSA ODI 11532877

When the vehicle is put in park and the button is pressed to turn off the vehicle, the radio display screen stays on. I have to recrank the car, put it in a different gear, and then back into park and try again. Sometimes I do this process up to 10 times in order for the display screen to turn off. When the display screen stays on, the battery is drained within hours.

NHTSA ODI 11525487

A couple of months ago we started to have an issue when trying to turn off our vehicle. A warning message stating the car must be be in 'P' to turn off keeps popping up even though the shift stick is in the correct position. We have to jiggle the stick multiple times before the car turns off. This can be a safety hazard if the car is in fact not safely in the park position after being able to turn off the car. The vehicle was recently serviced for an oil change and we were reminded of the issue and were told this is a known issue. They recommended to change the shift switch to resolve it.

NHTSA ODI 11523862

The contact owns a 2014 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to immediately turn off. After several attempts, the contact was able to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11516704

2014 Mazda CX5 will not turn off, keeps telling me to put it in park - then it tells me key fob battery low, which it is not. I have to turn the car on/off, on/off, on/off to get it to shut off.

NHTSA ODI 11515241

Vehicle was at highway speed when the warning light for high engine coolant temperature came on with a warning message to stop the vehicle in a safe place. The engine stopped and I was almost hit by a semi-truck as I was struggling to move over a lane to stop on the side of the highway. Vehicle was towed to the auto shop and diagnosed with a crack in the cylinder head. There was no problems prior to this. My research has shown that this has become a common problem with this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11514509

The engine will not turn off when pressing the start/stop button while the transmission shifter is in park.

NHTSA ODI 11506172

The electrical component of the car does not turn off when the vehicle is in park and the push button disengaged. Drains battery and leaves me stranded. Can’t lock doors to prevent unwanted entry once this happens as everything is battery powered.

NHTSA ODI 11505886

Car was inspected in April of 2021. The front of car started making knocking or clunking sounds on the right side. 2 weeks later, while making a U-turn instead of getting on the interstate, there was a loud crunch/crash sound. It sounded like a garbage can went under the vehicle. Upon further investigation, realized that the right ball joint somehow dropped out of the knuckle. This forced the axle to pop out and further damaged the rest of the suspension components. Thank god this didn’t happen on the highway with my wife and 2 toddlers in the car- that would have been horrific.

NHTSA ODI 11501752

The contact owns a 2014 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated while driving over a speed bump the front-end of the vehicle collapsed to the ground. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, and the front strut assembly was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic and the front strut assembly was replaced again. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under warranty. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 146,000.

NHTSA ODI 11498389

The car wouldn’t fully turn off once it parks. Have to keep playing turn on/off game until it fully turn off. And apparently Mazda know about the issue but refuse to do anything. Other people are saying it’s a engine sensor issue.

NHTSA ODI 11497651