2024 Mazda 5 Reliability Report

A parked car rolls away while switched off and in park, then gets hit in the street. Other reports describe hard automatic braking with no real threat ahead, and a long, soft pedal that went to the floor in an emergency stop after a dealer could not reproduce it. Wear problems include cracked rear rotors and inner pads wearing faster than outer pads at about 2,500 miles. A clicking noise when pulling away or braking at low speed is linked to a Mazda service bulletin.

Hard automatic braking with nothing in the way is the main complaint. In one case the car braked hard enough to squeal the tires while passing a truck at 75 mph and was nearly rear-ended. The opposite failure also appears: one crash where the system did not warn or brake before a rear-end impact that set off the air bags. Turning the feature off takes several menu steps, and the setting resets each time the car starts. Dealers suggested a software update without checking for one.

Windshields crack easily. Small stone chips spread into long cracks within hours, and cracks keep starting from the driver's side A-pillar, which owners read as stress cracks rather than impact damage. One owner was denied warranty coverage based on photos. Side mirror defrosters that do not work let ice build up and block the blind-spot alert. In heavy rain, mirrors and front windows fog over and the defroster does not clear them.

Cars pull to the right or the steering wheel sits off center soon after purchase, and repeated alignments do not fix it. One dealer called it normal suspension settling. More serious reports describe steering that sent the car the wrong way, nearly into a streetlamp, and a steering wheel that came off the column because of a stripped bolt. That failure came back after the bolt was tightened, over seven dealer visits. Dealers often cannot reproduce the problem.

No deployment happens in crashes where owners expected the bags to fire. All 3 reports are crashes, with 5 injuries between them, covering rear-end and front-end impacts with no deployment and no warning light before or after. In one rear-end crash, the driver's seat belt failed, the headrest came off, and the seat back broke, throwing the driver forward. That car was declared a total loss.

Adaptive headlight motors fail and buzz. The noise is easiest to hear when parked with the lights still on. One report puts the noise at about 37,000 to 38,000 miles, and another says the failure came right after the warranty ran out. A repeated "Headlight System Malfunction" warning also appears, and a dealer confirmed it. Owners worry about losing reliable lighting on curves and at night.

Sudden acceleration at low speed is the most serious report: a car surged inside a garage, did not respond to the brake, and crashed into a refrigerator. Another describes engine speed rising sharply in park with no pressure on the accelerator, which went away after shifting gears. Adaptive cruise control also draws complaints for slowing the car, sometimes quickly, without turning on the brake lights, leaving following drivers unaware.