2019 Mazda CX-5 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2019 Mazda CX-5 SUV FWD has achieved an impressive overall safety rating of 5 stars according to NHTSA. It excels in various crash scenarios including front crash, side crash, and side pole crash with all scoring 5 stars. Additionally, it comes equipped with electronic stability control as a standard feature, which can help prevent loss of control in hazardous driving situations. While the vehicle also offers forward collision warning and lane departure warning as optional safety features, providing drivers with additional assistance in avoiding potential accidents.

However, it is worth noting that there have been 110 complaints reported for this model, and it has been subject to 2 recalls. It is essential for Mazda to address these complaints and recalls promptly to ensure the continued safety and satisfaction of the CX-5 owners.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

110

Recall Count

2

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

5/5

Search Vehicle Details

Advanced Search

The advanced search lets you search by safety ratings and features. This will return a list of vehicles that match your search criteria.

Safety Features

2019 Mazda CX-5 SUV FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2019 Mazda CX-5 SUV FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

Optional
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

Optional

2019 Mazda CX-5 SUV FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2019 Mazda CX-5 SUV FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2013 Score 2019 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating 4 5 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 5 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2013 Score 2019 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear 5 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating 5 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2013 Score 2019 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating 5 5 5

Complaints for the 2019 Mazda CX-5

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"my engine started smoking while i was driving fast got out of car oil leaking everywhere there was a crack in the cylinder head, another few minutes of driving and the car could have burst into flames seems like it’s a common issue with mazda cx5 a quick google search has shown me i’m not the only one with this issue, worst thing about it is mazda refused to fix it."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2024-08-01
Complaint:
"oil coming through cylinder head above exhaust manifold due to being porous, car leaking oil and need to put more oil in every other day. mazda known issue tsb# sa-031/21"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-01-09
Complaint:
"my engine suddenly started smelling like burning oil. i was due for an oil change and needed it immediately so i went to a quick oil change shop. they told me oil was sprayed all over the engine and i should take it to the dealer. it's been at napleton auto park in urbana, illinois for a week and they finally diagnosed a cracked cylinder head. they said it could take up to 2 months to repair and they're checking to see if it's covered by my warranty."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-01-11
Complaint:
"cracked cylinder head which caused engine to leak oil and smoke"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-12-11
Complaint:
"noticed the smell of burning oil in the cab on 30 mile drive. no warning lamps or other symptoms; vehicle continued to operate normally. after parking and inspecting the engine for the burning smell, noticed oil dripping from underneath engine bay and a pool of motor oil was forming on the ground underneath the vehicle. the next day, vehicle was brought to local mazda dealer for inspection. they diagnosed the cause and stated the engine needs a cylinder head replacement. oil leakage was so prolific, if this were to occur during a long distance drive, the engine would have lost all of the oil and stranded motorist - safety concern. cylinder head failure is a known issue (mazda tsb [xxx] ) with this engine. this known safety issue should trigger a recall. at minimum, the repair should covered by manufacturer for life of vehicle. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-02-10
Complaint:
"cracked cylinder head with oil leaking. there were no warning from my car prior to a diagnostic test. the car has a very strong rubber burning smell and white smoke comes out from the engine part before i took my car back to the mazda dealer. from a quick search, the cracked cylinder problem seems widespread with the 2018-2021's mazda cx-5. took the car back to the dealer and dealer replaced the head cylinder and gaskets. there were no warning from the car."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-02-09
Complaint:
"2 weeks ago i noticed an oil leak 2019 cx5 . riley mazda of stamford check and found a cracked on the cylinder head. the cylinder head needs to be replaced cost around $5000. luckily we noticed the leak while car was park. imagine if the car was on the road. dangerous things could have happened. mazda is aware of this situation years ago. a technician service bulletin was released by mazda in 2019/2021 to all dealerships technicians repair guideline and why the cylinder cracks. on the mazda bulletin it clearly explained a design defect resulting cylinder head cracks. also mazda failed to warn cx5 owners about the dangerous situation. on top of everything mazda refuse to pay the defect cracked cylinder head that cost around $5000 . i email mazda numerous times and decline any goodwill repair . reason is out of warranty. most cylinder heads past 200,000 mile mark. not unless your engine overheats but it not. mazda should reimburse us owner who paid the repair cost"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-07-07
Complaint:
"smoke started coming from the front end of the car so i brought my car into the boniface heirs mazda dealership for a diagnostic. i was informed by the mechanic that my car has a factory defect and the head of the engine was welded wrong. apparently this is a known factory defect in the 2018-2019 mazda cx-5s as i have seen other reports for the same issue. i reached out to mazda corporate to see if they could help with “after warranty assistance” since this was a manufacturers issue and i do everything to maintain my car properly. they denied any help and do not plan on recalling the part. i had no warning lights just smoke pouring from the font of my car. i do not understand how this is not considered a safety issue. i’m lucky my car didn’t catch on fire. i now have to decide between spending $5000 to fix the engine head or to sell my car and find a new one."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2022-12-12
Complaint:
"purchase a new 2019 cx5 at riley mazda stamford. after 3 years and with 88t miles ,the head gasket cylinder gasket needs a replacement for $4500. while searching i read the same complaints from 2019 cx5 owners about head gasket blownout. a tsb technician service bulletin was release by mazda in 2019 regarding this issue and another one 2021 with affected vin numbers included , this car is un drivable , oil leaks like water falls and burning smells along w it"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-07-07
Complaint:
"crack in cylinder head at only 67,000 miles, leaking fuel into exhaust system, causing smoke while driving. multiple shops consistently mentioned seeing this problem with this year, make and model. due to 60k powertrain warranty, no fixes are being covered by mazda"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-06-06

Recalls for the 2019 Mazda CX-5

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"mazda north american operations (mazda) is recalling certain 2018-2019 cx-5, mazda6, and 2019 mazda3 vehicles. a software error in the powertrain control module (pcm) may cause the engine to stall."
Consequence:
An unexpected stall increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the PCM software, free of charge. The recall began August 20, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3719F.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2019-06-27

MAZDA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

MAZDA ranks 16 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

Related Vehicles

Why not check out other MAZDA vehicles?

2021 CX-30
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 69
  • Recall Count: 2
View Car
2022 MAZDA3
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 15
  • Recall Count: 0
View Car
2005 MPV
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: Not Rated
  • Complaints Count: 42
  • Recall Count: 3
View Car
2005 B-SERIES
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: Not Rated
  • Complaints Count: 21
  • Recall Count: 3
View Car