What 112 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Mazda CX-5

I am reporting a safety issue involving engine failure and fumes entering the vehicle cabin as well as unintended braking post major engine repair at 75,000 miles on my 2018 Mazda CX5. My vehicle developed engine problems consistent with a cylinder head/coolant defect and began allowing fumes/smoke to enter the cabin while driving. This created a health and safety concern for occupants. I reported this to the dealership and was told the vehicle was safe to drive despite the presence of fumes in the cabin. A major engine repair was later performed. A few days following the repair, additional warning lights and system malfunctions appeared, including brake system warnings, and the vehicle later braked unexpectedly while driving nearly causing me to be rear-ended. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership, but the root cause of the fumes and subsequent safety issues has not been clearly explained. This situation created a safety risk due to exposure to fumes inside the cabin and unexpected vehicle behavior while driving. Smoke/fumes video and any additional documentation can be provided upon request. Attaching the costly invoice as well.

NHTSA ODI 11730227

The infotainment system consistently changes stations and volume on its own. Knob will not allow you to make adjustments . Contacted dealer and infotainment Is not covered under warranty , or extended warranty. Now the collision notification is not working. Warnings from system that it has failed and causes system to not Register any movement . This has been going on recently. Now have to drive it as it doesn’t have the system. And have to use my Apple play for radio as infotainment keeps failing to include radio and navigation Told by dealer that the infotainment system is not Mounted into the dash and sticks up , so the heat from sun and summer has fried th system. Has been ongoing for over a year just found site to report it . Will not buy another vehicle with infotainment system sticking up out of dashboard

NHTSA ODI 11708847

Multiple instances of phantom braking, which resulted in two instances where we were just inches from being rear-ended. The circumstances of the phantom braking are similar, and has occured many times. CIRCUMSTANCES OF PHANTOM BRAKING are as follows: vehicle in front in lane makes right hand turn from lane (with or without turn signal or braking). The vehicle in front typically has exited the lane, and the Mazda emergency brakes hard! Variable vehicle acceleration/deceleration dynamics factors: the Mazda could be coasting, decelerating with brake litely applied, accelerating in lane (because vehicle has fully exited lane), accelerating and exiting lane (go around turning vehicle). Variable turning vehicle rear lights (signals, brake lights) factors: the turning vehicles can be braking or not, turning with or without signaling- it does not matter. The Mazda will brake hard regardless. This may be an extension of the same: when traveling on an Interstate Highway, nominally at the posted speed. When a faster vehicle safely accelerates into the Mazda’s lane, the Mazda will brake hard. The Mazda does not recognize that the vehicle entering the Mazda lane is accelerating, nor does the Mazda seem to understand (anthropomorphism) the context (dynamics) of the situation (accelerating merging traffic). Hard braking in these circumstances has resulted in several near misses being rear-ended. The request for DATE below should be “NA”, because the phantom braking has happened many times.

NHTSA ODI 11584189