2018 CX-5 GT Front Camera Sensor Malfunction

Happened to me for the first time yesterday. I was driving into the sun, but at a slight angle. Went under an overpass, and when I emerged and the sun hit the car, I got the message. There is no doubt that it was the quick transition from shade to sun that set it off.

But unlike the rest of the reports around here, mine turned off by itself within seconds. And even stranger, MRCC continued to hold my speed throughout the episode. I was set at 74, MRCC limiting me to 72 for the car ahead. It was a momentary shutdown that reset itself.

It just kept working. I'm not complaining.
 
Interesting.

Mine has not come back on since. Did not clean windshield or anything. We'll see...
 
Tech told me it was the emblem. Not the windshield sensor. Anyway, as another update, error hasn't come up again yet... ~1 month and 1250 miles later. Tho I do drive the CX-5 a lot less these days... as I had to get a Mazda 3 hatch as well :D
 
Happens when I start car after cold night or sitting a few days

I've found that if the sun is directly into the camera you will get this warning and it will clear after time. On/Off of engine doesn't seem to reset. It actually took hours after I had parked facing the sun one day. (Note: This has only happened twice this year.) Service tech told me if in sun, just to drive a while.

However the other issue I have is when I start the engine after sitting for more than 24 hours and overnight temp 50 degs or colder is I will get three warnings, camera, smart brake and cruise under XX mph doesn't work. Stopping the engine and waiting a few seconds and then restarting clears the problem. To me it seems the electronics are not booting correctly due to a lower battery voltage. But the dealership has tested and says battery is good. This started after the first 6 months of ownership and first caused my dash cam to go crazy (at that time the cars electronics was fine). I fixed that issue by getting a 10 second delay turn on module that plugs in to the cig lighter and dash cam into it. The 10 second delay allows the battery voltage to stabilize after starting and I never had another issue with it.

My self diag is - while the battery checks good, at times during start, the voltage drop causes the CX-5 electronics to not turn on correctly as a restart corrects the issue. The next time it is cold (25 degs tonight) I plan to press the start without my foot on the brake (turn on accessory), then after a couple seconds, push the brake and start button to see if that has a different result. So far it's been foot on brake and push start...

-cheers
 
Happens when I start car after cold night or sitting a few days

I've found that if the sun is directly into the camera you will get this warning and it will clear after time. On/Off of engine doesn't seem to reset. It actually took hours after I had parked facing the sun one day. (Note: This has only happened twice this year.) Service tech told me if in sun, just to drive a while.

However the other issue I have is when I start the engine after sitting for more than 24 hours and overnight temp 50 degs or colder is I will get three warnings, camera, smart brake and cruise under XX mph doesn't work. Stopping the engine and waiting a few seconds and then restarting clears the problem. To me it seems the electronics are not booting correctly due to a lower battery voltage. But the dealership has tested and says battery is good. This started after the first 6 months of ownership and first caused my dash cam to go crazy (at that time the cars electronics was fine). I fixed that issue by getting a 10 second delay turn on module that plugs in to the cig lighter and dash cam into it. The 10 second delay allows the battery voltage to stabilize after starting and I never had another issue with it.

My self diag is - while the battery checks good, at times during start, the voltage drop causes the CX-5 electronics to not turn on correctly as a restart corrects the issue. The next time it is cold (25 degs tonight) I plan to press the start without my foot on the brake (turn on accessory), then after a couple seconds, push the brake and start button to see if that has a different result. So far it's been foot on brake and push start...

-cheers
I faced the same camera failure on my CX-9 (along with smart city break failure, driver attention alert failure). The Mazda dealer in Saudi Arabia changed the battery. While he did not explain why a two years old battery that could supply 600 amps to start the car was not good enough for the camera. I now understand and agree with the analysis by Chess that during startup, the voltage might drop below a certain value leading to a camera bootup failure. The camera failure would appear twice a month. During the last one year, the center console (navigation screen) also did not turn on couple of times. I had started thinking along the lines of the startup initialization logic presented by Chess.
 
I just got this error and "Forward Smart City Brake Support Malfunction" on my 2018 CX-5 for the first time today. I know its 4 years later but would great if someone could post an update about their issue.
 
Facing sun my problem can still happen. Average of 2 to 3 times a year and always during hot summer weather. OK after car cools down. I think electronics get too hot if the sun angle is straight into the lens. 2017 CX-5 Never happens under covered parking.

Issue #2 - After replacing battery (once it was 4 yrs old) the odd startup issues I mentioned above don't happen, even when left at airport for two weeks.

I had notice before battery change that other electronics in the car (like my dash-cam) would sometimes lock up if car left a couple of days in cold weather. (The battery is not that high of a capacity.) I fixed that issue by adding a 10 second delay on the power feeding those electronics so the car alternator has the battery back up to 12V before they turn on. Amazon - NE555 DC 12V Delay Timer Switch Adjustable Module 0 to 10 Second
 
I had the same issue in the past, started happening intermittently every 1-2 weeks, always on the first start in the morning.
As Chess concluded in his case, it was caused by a dying battery. There were no other symptoms besides that, car cranked OK and all was good
.
Then battery suddenly gave up after 2 months since 1st incident.
After replacing the battery no single occurrence in last half year.
 
I had the same issue in the past, started happening intermittently every 1-2 weeks, always on the first start in the morning.
As Chess concluded in his case, it was caused by a dying battery. There were no other symptoms besides that, car cranked OK and all was good
.
Then battery suddenly gave up after 2 months since 1st incident.
After replacing the battery no single occurrence in last half year.
Same here. This issue/solution is coming together!
 
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