There are 3 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2019 Mazda CX-5in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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!
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.
TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY ON THE PARKWAY THAT DAY SO THERE WAS A LOT OF STOPPING AND GOING. APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE CAR STARTED TO SLOW DOWN BUT SUDDENLY THERE WAS A JERK AND THE CAR ACCELERATE WHILE THE BRAKES WERE STILL BEING APPLIED. THERE WAS A FRONTAL COLLISION WHICH INDICATES THAT THE SMART BRAKES SYSTEM WAS ALSO NOT WORKING. THE WARNING 'BRAKE SYSTEM MALFUNCTION' APPEARED ON MY DASHBOARD AFTER THE ACCIDENT. MY INSURANCE COMPANY SENT A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR THE EDR TEST AND HAVE AGREED TO PAY THE FEE WITH THE EXPECTATION OF BEING PROVIDED WITH A QUOTE OF THE COST AND THE END RESULTS. MAZDA HAS NOT APPROVED THE REQUEST AND IT HAS BEEN OVER 3 WEEKS. ASKED TO SPEAK TO A SUPERVISOR AND DID NOT GET A RESPONSE.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026