2018 Mazda CX-5
This year drew an ordinary 116 complaints for a Mazda CX-5 — the model's median is 133. What they were about is the unusual part: 69.8% of them mention cylinder head, against 1.7% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 2 of the Mazda CX-5, which began in 2017. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 116 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 133 |
| Involving a crash | 1 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 4/5 |
| EPA combined | 28 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- cylinder head — 69.8% of this year's complaints, against 1.7% across the other years of this generation (41.2×).
- cracked — 56.9% of this year's complaints, against 1.7% across the other years of this generation (33.6×).
- oil — 75% of this year's complaints, against 8.1% across the other years of this generation (9.3×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
Cracked cylinder head leaks oil directly onto hot exhaust, causing smoke, fumes in cabin and a fire risk.
Defective Engine. Cracked Cylinder Head. Engine oil leaked overnight because of known Mazda 2.5 liter Skyactive engine defect.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 18V426000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 19V497000 ENGINE Fixed free of charge.
- 21V875000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Mazda CX-5 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2018 Mazda CX-5? What happened to yours?
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