2019 Mazda CX-5 Driver Assist & ADAS Problems

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.