2022 Mazda 5 Reliability Report

Transmissions fail in several ways. Automatics refuse to move in gear or rev above 5,000 RPM, and the failures come back after valve body replacements and even a full transmission swap. Manual gearboxes grind on downshifts as the synchronizers wear, with grinding reported around 20,000 miles. Other complaints cover a failed transfer case on an almost-new car, a cracked cylinder head spraying oil, a leaking timing chain cover gasket, and a rear whine at highway speed. Most of these failures come with no warning light.

Cold starts bring a sharp metallic ticking that owners link to the hydraulic valve lash adjusters. A service bulletin covered this problem on earlier model years. Some engines burn enough oil between changes to trigger a low-oil warning, and dealers find no leak. More serious reports describe a cracked cylinder head that leads to overheating, smoke from the engine bay, and a pull-over-immediately alert. Owners also report a coolant control valve stuck open and a warranty extension notice for a thermostat that can fail in the open position.

Automatic emergency braking fires with nothing ahead and brings the car to a full stop. Owners report it on highways, in intersections, and in slow traffic. The alert often sounds at the same moment the brakes slam on, so the driver gets no advance warning. Dealers often cannot reproduce the fault. Two complaints involve crashes. In one, a false stop led to the car being hit from behind. In the other, the system gave no warning and added no braking before impact.

Engine RPM surges while the car is stopped or slowing down, and the car lurches forward against the brake. One report blames this on a large shoe pressing both pedals at once. A separate complaint describes a transmission control unit fault with code P061B that five repair attempts failed to fix. The main risk is the car moving unexpectedly near an intersection or over a curb. No crashes or injuries are recorded in this category.

Rattles from behind the glove box and the head-up display start as early as 2,000 miles. Some cars make a loud, high-pitched reedy noise at highway speed in strong wind. It drowns out music and calls, and Mazda has not addressed it. In one report, a sunroof shattered outward at highway speed with nothing hitting it, throwing glass at the people inside and toward traffic behind. The interior noises are an annoyance. The sunroof failure is an injury risk.

The brake pedal can sink to the floor and fail to stop the car. In one report, that failure caused a low-speed crash on a car with about 1,546 miles. Another report describes all four rotors worn below minimum thickness at 17,000 miles, which meant new rotors and pads all around. With only two complaints there is no clear pattern, but a soft pedal and early rotor wear are worth checking.

A tire sidewall shredded at highway speed, which risks sudden loss of control. Both complaints in this category involve 225/55 R19 tires. The second questions the tread design, arguing that the asymmetrical pattern pushes water toward the center of the tread on tires mounted on the left side of the car. That could hurt grip in rain. Two complaints are not enough to show a pattern, but tire condition is worth checking at purchase.