New CX-5, high pitched whine at 80 km/h (50 mph)

I recently bought a 2021.5 CX-5 GS AWD. When driving on secondary highways, I noticed a high pitched whine when the vehicle was going at 80 km/h (50 mph). The sound is distinct but is not particularly loud, i.e. you can't really hear it with the radio on or if the ventilation fan is above the low setting. The noise is dependent on vehicle speed but not engine speed. It is present whether accelerating or decelerating, but may be a bit more pronounced under acceleration. While there is a distinct peak at 80 km/h, there are fainter noises at other speeds, although the pitch varies with speed.

I raised this issue with my dealer. One of the principals drove my vehicle and comfirmed the noise was there at 80 km/h. However, he then drove two 2021 CX-5s (a GS and a Kuro-edition) and said that both of them made the same noise at 80 km/h. As a result, they viewed it as a common characteristic of these vehicles. For what it's worth, the dealership lent me a 2021 GT Turbo for the day and it did not make this noise at 80 km/h.

I'm wondering whether anyone with a 2021 or 2021.5 CX-5 has (or does not have) this same noise. Any responses appreciated.
 
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Do you have a roof rack or roof rails installed on your CX-5?
 
Hmm.. do you have an audio or video recording of the noise it's making? If you do, I'd try reaching out to another dealer or forwarding/escalating the claim (with video evidence) to Mazda Corporate to see if they can assist.
 
I haven't yet tried to record the noise.

I may escalate the issue to Mazda Canada. I thought it would be useful to hear about other owners' experiences before doing so.
 
Oh absolutely. Hopefully others can chime in. Most of the noise issues reported here so far, seem to stem from roof rails or tires. If you could post a video, I'm sure it would help others to understand what's going on.
 
I just got a 21 CE awd turbo and it also makes this noise. I’ve had several turbo vehicles over the years and it’s my opinion that this is not turbo related noise. It’s more of a drivetrain whine, like transmission or awd system. I first noticed it at like 150 miles on the odometer, also with no music or fan going. I’m only at 430 miles now, but it remains consistent during certain speed range. I chalked it up to a normal nvh of this model. I previously owned a 2016.5 CX5 non awd and it didn’t make this noise through the 65k miles I owned it. I’m choosing to ignore this for now unless it gets worse/louder/larger range of speed.
 
It's comforting to see others have this issue. I also don't have roof rails.

I have a '20 Signature CX5 and can confirm it does this high-pitched whine noise around 80 km/hr. I noticed it within days of taking delivery about a year ago. I also had a rental CX5 awd GS for a period of time in the spring and it also did the same thing (1st thing I checked when I left the rental lot). This leads me to believe it is gear whine from the drivetrain/AWD setup.

I am at about 42k now and I notice it occasionally but have pretty much gotten used to it.

Also, I didn't escalate it with my dealer as soon as I heard the rental did it as well...
 
I'd never noticed that high pitched whine until today, prompted by this thread to listen for it. D*mn you people! ;)

There it was, very faint, at 50 mph with the radio off, AC running on low, on a smooth blacktop where tire noise would not disguise it. Unlike the OP, it went away when I let all the way off the gas. It came back upon very mild reacceleration. I could easily see how many drivers would not take note of it--that's how faint I found it to be.

Two things to try:

1) Turn off the AC and see if it goes away. I didn't think about that at the time.

2) It may correlate to cylinder deactivation engaging. That would require a more thorough test with the cylinder deactivation monitor on. It did seem to correlate with the real time mpg monitor bouncing above 50 indicating CD operation. I was only checking this out for about 30 seconds before running out of roadway. Also, if you hear it with your foot all the way off the gas, that would not be my experience nor would it be CD related. Also CD correlation would not pertain to turbos.

Frankly, given how faint it is, I take it to be one of those idiosyncratic noises cars make under normal operating conditions. I may or may not do further testing, but that's two things to check out if interested. If you consider it loud or more than very faint, that's another matter.

50 mph also happens to be where some have reported a mild vibration when CD kicked on. That's another one of those things I had to go looking for on smooth blacktop, concluding it was a nothing burger.

In conclusion, I wish I had never read this thread. 😒
 
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I'd never noticed that high pitched whine until today, prompted by this thread to listen for it. D*mn you people! ;)

There it was, very faint, at 50 mph with the radio off, AC running on low, on a smooth blacktop where tire noise would not disguise it. Unlike the OP, it went away when I let all the way off the gas. It came back upon very mild reacceleration. I could easily see how many drivers would not take note of it--that's how faint I found it to be.

Two things to try:

1) Turn off the AC and see if it goes away. I didn't think about that at the time.

2) It may correlate to cylinder deactivation engaging. That would require a more thorough test with the cylinder deactivation monitor on. It did seem to correlate with the real time mpg monitor bouncing above 50 indicating CD operation. I was only checking this out for about 30 seconds before running out of roadway. Also, if you hear it with your foot all the way off the gas, that would not be my experience nor would it be CD related. Also CD correlation would not pertain to turbos.

Frankly, given how faint it is, I take it to be one of those idiosyncratic noises cars make under normal operating conditions. I may or may not do further testing, but that's two things to check out if interested. If you consider it loud or more than very faint, that's another matter.

50 mph also happens to be where some have reported a mild vibration when CD kicked on. That's another one of those things I had to go looking for on smooth blacktop, concluding it was a nothing burger.

In conclusion, I wish I had never read this thread. 😒

Don’t you just hate it when someone points out a minor annoyance you hadn’t noticed, and then you just can’t unhear it?

I say turn up the tunes and cover it up.
 
Thanks for the responses.

Similar to @itsmike and @GTEyes, I think it likely drivetrain/AWD whine.

On my vehicle, there are pretty faint whines that can be heard at various speeds from about 40 km/h and up, with the pitch increasing with vehicle speed. At 80 km/h, however, the whine can be heard with mid-level AC and quiet music playing. I wouldn't describe it as loud, but it's clearly there, enough to be an annoyance when cruising around 80 km/h on a country road.

The speed profile of the fainter noises seems to be changing as I put on more kilometers and they are mostly only noticeable under acceleration. But the whine at 80 km/h has stayed consistent and, as previously noted, can also be heard on deceleration.
 
Thanks for the responses.

Similar to @itsmike and @GTEyes, I think it likely drivetrain/AWD whine.
That's a good conjecture. It seems to be coming from mid-to-rear of the vehicle, maybe the differential. Again, I have to be listening for it to hear it so the answer for me is don't listen for it. And I still hate you people. ;)
 
Some other threads on this forum indicate that some fluids are low on some new cx5 s.

I wondered whether a fluid change might improve things.

Has anyone experiencing this type of whine tried changing the transfer case fluid (or rear differential fluid, if the noise is from the rear)?
 
I wondered whether a fluid change might improve things.

Has anyone experiencing this type of whine tried changing the transfer case fluid (or rear differential fluid, if the noise is from the rear)?
Hmm that's an interesting idea!
 
I recently bought a 2021.5 CX-5 GS AWD. When driving on secondary highways, I noticed a high pitched whine when the vehicle was going at 80 km/h (50 mph). The sound is distinct but is not particularly loud, i.e. you can't really hear it with the radio on or if the ventilation fan is above the low setting. The noise is dependent on vehicle speed but not engine speed. It is present whether accelerating or decelerating, but may be a bit more pronounced under acceleration. While there is a distinct peak at 80 km/h, there are fainter noises at other speeds, although the pitch varies with speed.

I raised this issue with my dealer. One of the principals drove my vehicle and comfirmed the noise was there at 80 km/h. However, he then drove two 2021 CX-5s (a GS and a Kuro-edition) and said that both of them made the same noise at 80 km/h. As a result, they viewed it as a common characteristic of these vehicles. For what it's worth, the dealership lent me a 2021 GT Turbo for the day and it did not make this noise at 80 km/h.

I'm wondering whether anyone with a 2021 or 2021.5 CX-5 has (or does not have) this same noise. Any responses appreciated.
I have two week old 2021 CX5 Signature and there is definite high pitched whine when the vehicle was going at 50mph, also my 2017 CX5GT did the same thing, checked with dealer many times regarding this issue and dealer answer was that it works as designed. I know it sucks but it seams that all CX5 do that some louder than others.
 
I posted a similar issue in a separate thread. Almost identical issue as described in initial post with one exception and that is that i hear it kick in around 30 MPH. Is this similar to the sound you hear?
 
I had the exact same noise and it only happened a few times, high wind going around 70 mph, thought maybe a door wasn't fully shut, couldn't really repeat it but had to be coming around the door. Took a leaf blower and put it close to the door around the areas mentioned in the above post referring to https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10201775-0001.pdf and noticed a distinct difference in the pitch of the sound (probably should of had someone else do it while I was inside). I grabbed some door window insulation roll at Home Depot which had the sticky tape on one side and stuck it under the door insulation in the areas stated in the above .pdf (just slightly going around the fasteners) that seemed to push the factory seal up for a tighter fit. So far I haven't heard it again but only had a couple times that I was in the high wind areas. I have a lot of the insulation roll left in case I need to adjust it more.
Edit: The noise that I had was like the one in this link it was loud.
 

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