I want to buy a 2023 CX-5. What are the top major issues?

[BTR]

I'm looking to buy a 2023 CX-5 Preferred, Premium, or Premium Plus. I'm curious to know what the most significant problems are. For example, transmission failures, major engine problems, major electrical problems, water intrusion, paint flaking off, etc., etc. Please advise. Many thanks.

 

[Chocolate]

Lots of data here:

NHTSA CX-5 Issues List

 

[7eregrine]

There are no "major issues" with the 2023.

 

[Boland01]

None. What I wish it had was wireless android and apple car play. In the past we've had a 2014 Touring. That car got totaled due to someone cutting in front of us. 2016 GT. Sold that to our oldest son. Has 130K miles and still drives great. Only issue was belt tensioner which was a known problem. These have been the most trouble free cars we have owned.

 

[yrwei52]

None. What I wish it had was wireless android and apple car play. In the past we've had a 2014 Touring. That car got totaled due to someone cutting in front of us. 2016 GT. Sold that to our oldest son. Has 130K miles and still drives great. Only issue was belt tensioner which was a known problem. These have been the most trouble free cars we have owned.

Yes, Gen-1 CX-5 with the original SkyActiv-G 2.0L / 2.5L NA engine has been pretty reliable with no “major issues”. We’ve seen some vehicles reaching 300K miles. Personally I feel the last MY 2016.5 CX-1 for gen-1 should be the best overall for the CX-5.

However, I can’t recommend any CX-5’s 2018 and newer. Their 2.5L NA has added cylinder deactivation. The cracked cylinder head and failing switchable hydraulic lash adjusters however rare are my 2 major concerns. The other engine, the 2.5T, has also suffered the cracked cylinder head issue.

Those are the design issue, not a batch of bad production like the failing valve stem seals which caused oil consumption problem on certain MYs of the 2.5T.

Mazda has said nothing about design change on the cylinder head to the 2.5L NA with CD, which makes me wonder why would I want to get such engine in a new CX-5 and worry about potential head problem after the warranty expired? The 2.5T should be a safer bet, but the modified cylinder head and exhaust manifold haven’t been tested for long term. Remember the original head on the 2.5T seemed to be fine for the first 5 years since 2016 then quite a few head started failing which left the owners in the bad situation as many of them don’t have powertrain warranty anymore.

 

[BTR]

Anybody else have any input? Thanks in advance.

 

[7eregrine]

Dude...you are asking if there are MAJOR issues....on the CURRENT model CX5. Cars still fully under warranty. Cars not even on the market for a full year yet. And you want to know of SPECIFIC issues to THIS SPECIFIC year car....
Zero major issues. Zero.
As for the current generation CX5, in general:
transmission failures, no
major engine problems, no
major electrical problems, no
water intrusion, no
paint flaking off, no


There's a good reason these cars are popular right now. Many of the components on the 2023 have been around for years and are proven.
Get one already.

 

[yrwei52]

⋯
As for the current generation CX5, in general:
transmission failures, no
major engine problems, no
major electrical problems, no
water intrusion, no
paint flaking off, no

There's a good reason these cars are popular right now. Many of the components on the 2023 have been around for years and are proven.
Get one already.

Are you serious?

 

[Ole Remus]

Yes, Gen-1 CX-5 with the original SkyActiv-G 2.0L / 2.5L NA engine has been pretty reliable with no “major issues”. We’ve seen some vehicles reaching 300K miles. Personally I feel the last MY 2016.5 CX-1 for gen-1 should be the best overall for the CX-5.

However, I can’t recommend any CX-5’s 2018 and newer. Their 2.5L NA has added cylinder deactivation. The cracked cylinder head and failing switchable hydraulic lash adjusters however rare are my 2 major concerns. The other engine, the 2.5T, has also suffered the cracked cylinder head issue.

Those are the design issue, not a batch of bad production like the failing valve stem seals which caused oil consumption problem on certain MYs of the 2.5T.

Mazda has said nothing about design change on the cylinder head to the 2.5L NA with CD, which makes me wonder why would I want to get such engine in a new CX-5 and worry about potential head problem after the warranty expired? The 2.5T should be a safer bet, but the modified cylinder head and exhaust manifold haven’t been tested for long term. Remember the original head on the 2.5T seemed to be fine for the first 5 years since 2016 then quite a few head started failing which left the owners in the bad situation as many of them don’t have powertrain warranty anymore.

I researched this prior to my purchase 2 weeks ago of a CX-5. My preferred choice was the MX-5 version of the engine - 2.5 NA without Cylinder Deactivation. I ended up going with the turbo model as I simply did not trust the CD technology. I considered the Turbo to be the lesser of 2 evils. We'll see how my gamble pays off.

 

[jadmt]

I have a 2023 cx5 turbo and about 4000 miles and so far no major issues or minor issues for that matter. the paint has chips already tho and I do not tailgate. I think Mazda's paint is very thin. I have the rhodium white. It also is light years behind other manufacturers in the infotainment. hard to believe no wireless car play or no Nav without their $450 sd card. I will say the turbo is a must have from a driving enjoyment stand point, which is really the main reason to buy a Mazda in the first place vs the competition.

 

[Ole Remus]

My 2023 is Mica Blue. About 1500 miles on it. I actually prefer the infotainment center, but I ditched smart phones after I left the tech industry. I did recently pick up a FOSS Linux based privacy oriented smart phone and am exploring the possibilities, but still do not use it on a daily basis.

I load up my music on a 256GB thumb drive and play it from there.

I love tech, but I want total control over it. I own my phone, it does not own me!

 

[cz5gt]

No major issues (yet) with my 2022 except as said above the paint and clear coat is very thin. Chips easily
but that has been since gen2 was released.

 

[gazelle]

Those are the design issue

to me the major design issue is LED DRL on both gen1 and gen2

in 2016 with tech package they were failing big time, about $700 to replace (one unit), I was fortunate to have first one fail within warranty and the second one post-warranty but within half a year after they "serviced" it as part of a recall

in gen2 they use low beam as a DRL, this definitely shortens low beam life span, probably about the same price to replace or more

the headlights and engine together can cost me close to $5k post-warranty and are a major concern when considering whether to keep it or move on after three years of ownership

I'm not sure if other car manufacturers are any better in terms of risks, but at least they have longer warranties

 

[gazelle]

I'm looking to buy a 2023 CX-5 Preferred, Premium, or Premium Plus. I'm curious to know what the most significant problems are. For example, transmission failures, major engine problems, major electrical problems, water intrusion, paint flaking off, etc., etc. Please advise. Many thanks.

I would recommend Turbo if you're looking for driving that brings you pleasure and if you don't have to do long daily commutes
But you're out of luck if you want a combination of a driving pleasure and white interior
(the reason I got one of the last 2021 turbos, but not last enough to be outside of TSB-01-012-21)

 

[Ole Remus]

The first thing I did when I rec'd my 2023 CX-5 Turbo was to remove the DRL relay. I don't particularly like DRLs as I think they needlessly shorten lamp life.

 

[ceric]

To OP:
I would recommend the 2.5T. Have a '22 CX5 Turbo. Love the extra power/torque.
Have a '17 CX5 w/ 2.5NA. Works great after 5-6 yrs. No issue.
My '16 Mazda6 suffered from the belt tensioner failure.
My '14 Mazda3 developed the infamous timing chain cover leak from aged seal. (I won't fix it until I see oil spot on the floor. )

That is a list of all issues I have.
Yes. I have four Mazdas currently.
Used to own a '08 CX9 (why I joined this forum).

 

[jofo67]

I have a 23 Turbo that just hit 8,400 miles and every last inch has been trouble free. It’s a pleasure to drive with zero issues. I don’t care for some of the safety features like shutting off after remote start when you open the door. Despite those quirks, I have no problem recommending this vehicle to anyone.

 

[7eregrine]

Are you serious?

Yea, pretty serious. The C-D issues were long ago cleared up. Please share what other engine issues the current gen CX5 is experiencing?

As for these LED worries...seriously? These LED's will outlast your ownership of the vehicle. There was an issue on some 16's.
16s.
There have been no headlight issues since.

 

[MRM]

Who are the people that are only putting a few thousand miles on them and then trading them? Quite a few out there.

 

[CTt3P5]

We had no issues with our 2020 in 2.5yrs of ownership and only maintenance items were oil changes and tire rotations. It was a lease and we turned it in 6mos early with just under 15K miles for a 2023 CX-50.