2018 CX-5 GT Front Camera Sensor Malfunction

rcx84

Member
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2018 Mazda CX-5 GT, 2018 Mazda 3 Hatch TR
Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and happy owner of a 2018 CX-5 GT + Premium in Soul Red / Parchment.

I couldn't find a topic that was specifically my "weird" issue with the front camera system. Over the course of my first month of ownership, I've encountered a "Front Camera Sensor System Malfunction" twice. Both times the error did not clear until I let turned the car off, wait about a minute, then turn it on again. It did not clear on its own while driving, nor with the defogger on, etc etc. While the same message appeared both times, different things happened.

First time happened maybe 3 weeks ago on a sunny day, traffic jam going uphill, and it suddenly occurred. I lost city smart brake, lane assist, road sign detection. My HUD blank except for speedometer. I checked out my front windshield and there was a piece of what almost looked like hard glue or sap stuck near (but not in front) of the camera. Cleaned it up.

Second time occurred yesterday. Cloudy day, again with the traffic jam, but on the highway. Maybe a little bit of pollen on the front windshield, but nothing of significance. This time however, I lost ONLY lane assist. City smart brake was still active as was road sign detection. Again, the problem only cleared after I turned the car off, went to get the mail, the turned it back on. It did not clear by itself while driving.

The only thing in common on both drives is that I for sure had RainX on my car (2 layers), so I cleaned that off of the camera section of the windshield.

I also had different dash cams on both occurrences if that makes any difference. First time was just a simple A119 dash cam that was plugged into the front lighter port and hanging off the plastic on the windshield. Second time now I have a more permanent Thinkware front/rear dash cams that is fuse tapped into the front lighter port (accessory) and the center console port (battery). The Thinkware is mounted to the side on the glass.

Anyone got any ideas? I wish the error wasn't so generic. I read that RainX could interfere with the camera, but keep in mind that it had been applied several days before actual error occurred. Dealer says to bring it back if I run into the issue again.

Thanks!
 
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My 18 did it once. It was a sunny day, windshield was clean. I didn't notice all the other stuff like you did but when I stopped the car and got back in a few minutes later it was back to normal. Hasn't done it since.
 
My 18 did it once. It was a sunny day, windshield was clean. I didn't notice all the other stuff like you did but when I stopped the car and got back in a few minutes later it was back to normal. Hasn't done it since.

We've discussed this several times in the forums. It may be related to coming out of a parking garage where there's a difference in temperature and humidity to the outside air. It clears up after the car has been outside for a while. I have a friend with a Subaru who has a similar issue.
 
The exact same thing happened to me yesterday. Was driving out in the sun and encountered the same front camera sensor system malfunction. It did not resolve itself while running. The error vanished only when I kept the car switched off for more than 2 mins.

I don't think it happens because of change in humidity or temperature since I was already driving the car for an hour or so out in the sun before this error/warning occurred.

I have a 2018 CX-5 GT w/ Tech.

Any thoughts??
 
It's never happened to my car, but reading all the reports here , it seems that it might be a factor.
 
As a follow-up I'm currently at the Mazda dealership. The error messages registered three faults with loss of communication to the module and they are on the phone with Mazda trying to diagnose so this is definitely bigger than "glare". Will update later.

Update - Dealer told me to go home. They've had it 5 hours now and said they're still working with Mazda trying to figure out what caused the error. They say they can't replace any parts without replicating the issue first - which is annoying as I have photographic evidence of every single occurrence, not to mention they found the 3 correlating fault codes. Hopefully this gets resolved by tomorrow...
 
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The same thing happened to my 18 GT, and just after close to two weeks of ownership. Lost SCBC, lane assist, road sign detection all three, tried turning the car on and off with no luck. The errors disappeared the second day. I don't believe its triggered by the lighting condition as I've also park above ground at work and the car was not under shade. Not sure if I should take it to the dealership to take a closer look...
 
As a follow-up I'm currently at the Mazda dealership. The error messages registered three faults with loss of communication to the module and they are on the phone with Mazda trying to diagnose so this is definitely bigger than "glare". Will update later.

Update - Dealer told me to go home. They've had it 5 hours now and said they're still working with Mazda trying to figure out what caused the error. They say they can't replace any parts without replicating the issue first - which is annoying as I have photographic evidence of every single occurrence, not to mention they found the 3 correlating fault codes. Hopefully this gets resolved by tomorrow...

Ugh, so sorry this happened to you! Would appreciate you posting an update as we got the exact same error as we parked in our driveway for literally the very first time after picking up our brand new CX-5! Will obviously call the dealership if it continues, but I was hoping for a preview of what the expect based on what you find out. Thanks, and good luck!
 
Ugh, so sorry this happened to you! Would appreciate you posting an update as we got the exact same error as we parked in our driveway for literally the very first time after picking up our brand new CX-5! Will obviously call the dealership if it continues, but I was hoping for a preview of what the expect based on what you find out. Thanks, and good luck!

Finally got car back. Looks like dealership had to call the Mazda hotline in order to troubleshoot the cam.

This is all according to the mechanic so I don't know how precise it is but... they called the hotline, hotline says they need x equipment to recalibrate front sensor (I believe emblem was where they said lane assist was), dealership had to order said part, then recalibrated it the next day. Dashcam did capture them working on it the first day in the morning, again at 4 in the afternoon, then under the hood @ 10AM the next day, followed by a test drive, then a car wash.

Worksheet says "1331 Completed reprogramming of the instrument cluster as tech hotline states." I did notice the huge packet (easily 25 pages) that the mechanic had me sign off on.

Seems odd that the dealership didn't actually have the tool needed on hand (or maybe it's just software?), but I believe the dealership did do due diligence for an issue not really replicable. I'll update again if I see (or don't see) a difference.
 
Finally got car back. Looks like dealership had to call the Mazda hotline in order to troubleshoot the cam.

This is all according to the mechanic so I don't know how precise it is but... they called the hotline, hotline says they need x equipment to recalibrate front sensor (I believe emblem was where they said lane assist was), dealership had to order said part, then recalibrated it the next day. Dashcam did capture them working on it the first day in the morning, again at 4 in the afternoon, then under the hood @ 10AM the next day, followed by a test drive, then a car wash.

Worksheet says "1331 Completed reprogramming of the instrument cluster as tech hotline states." I did notice the huge packet (easily 25 pages) that the mechanic had me sign off on.

Seems odd that the dealership didn't actually have the tool needed on hand (or maybe it's just software?), but I believe the dealership did do due diligence for an issue not really replicable. I'll update again if I see (or don't see) a difference.

Thanks again! Lukcily mine was fine today, so I'm hoping it was a weird one-time thing with glare or something. It it happens again I'm glad to have your story to share with the dealer. I seriously hope they get yours figured out. Good luck!
 
Hi,
I brought Mazda 2017 CX-5 GT Red Parchment in December 2017.
From last 3 days, it is showing below errors on my dashboard.
1)Front Camera Sensor System Malfunction
2)Smart Brake System Malfunction
3)Forward smart city Brake Support Malfunction

I might need to contact dealer according to above posts.
But the problem is i am staying 350 Miles away from My dealer. If i go to nearby dealer does my warranty works.

Thanks in advance for your sugesstions.
 
Let us know if the problem reoccurs. Mine does this at least once a week and usually on longer drives. Same issues as you stated. One of the guys at the dealership said his does the same.
 
Finally got car back. Looks like dealership had to call the Mazda hotline in order to troubleshoot the cam.

This is all according to the mechanic so I don't know how precise it is but... they called the hotline, hotline says they need x equipment to recalibrate front sensor (I believe emblem was where they said lane assist was), dealership had to order said part, then recalibrated it the next day. Dashcam did capture them working on it the first day in the morning, again at 4 in the afternoon, then under the hood @ 10AM the next day, followed by a test drive, then a car wash.

Worksheet says "1331 Completed reprogramming of the instrument cluster as tech hotline states." I did notice the huge packet (easily 25 pages) that the mechanic had me sign off on.

Seems odd that the dealership didn't actually have the tool needed on hand (or maybe it's just software?), but I believe the dealership did do due diligence for an issue not really replicable. I'll update again if I see (or don't see) a difference.

It really is nice to see a dealer that goes the full mile in sorting out an issue of this nature. (yes)(yes)(yes) I presume that the tool required is an order only part only if needed. At least they've now got the part/procedure for the future.
 
As an update, camera has not been acting up (knock on wood). I drove it over 1k miles in the last 2 weeks. My remote did inexplicably run out of battery tho... had to change that.
 
Happened to me twice, once in crappy weather so I put it down to something on the camera, once in perfect weather (no real glare). Will mention the above fix next time I'm at the dealer.
 
Mine gave the "I cannot see! My vision is impaired!" warning yesterday on a rainy day. MRCC continued to work. After a rest and the sun came out, all was good again.

If they are saying calibration is needed, I wonder if the tool is inputting a signal against which they calibrate.
 
This happened to me today. 2018 GT with 3,000 miles. Left the parking garage to get lunch, no error. Left the parking lot from the grocery store and it came on. Turned the car off twice and turned back on, error every time.

About to leave work and see what happens. Next step is wiping off the windshield.. we'll see.
 
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