2013~2016 Transmission shifts to neutral in (D) 1st or 2nd gear when cold. Gear indicator on dash goes blank.

My 2014 CX5 with 99,000 km sometimes will not shift into gear (Drive), or, when accelerating in 1st or 2nd go into neutral, the gear indicator on dash (D) goes blank. I shift into manual gear and back into "D" and it will drive normally. Once warm there are no problems. This is a safety hazard when in traffic, or, pulling out from a intersection.
 
I’d check the level of the transmission fluid. It might be low. Not much else you can do at this point.

id move the airbox out of the way but keep it connected electronically. Start and Run the car until the blue light goes off indicating that warm air would be available to the heater. Remove the transmission cap/dipstick and check the level while running. Top it off with FZ fluid if necessary.
 
My 2014 CX5 with 99,000 km sometimes will not shift into gear (Drive), or, when accelerating in 1st or 2nd go into neutral, the gear indicator on dash (D) goes blank. I shift into manual gear and back into "D" and it will drive normally. Once warm there are no problems. This is a safety hazard when in traffic, or, pulling out from a intersection.

I started having this issue on my 2015. The issue is the gear selector cable that goes from the transmission to the gear selector.

You can remove the bezel around the gear shift and adjust the cable. It’s relatively easy, but can take a few adjustments to get it right.

After adjusting mine, it’s better, but still not perfect. I don’t know if the gear selector assembly is wearing or if the actual cable has stretched or is binding from potential corrosion.
 
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I started having this issue on my 2015. The issue is the gear selector cable that goes from the transmission to the gear selector.

You can remove the bezel around the gear shift and adjust the cable. It’s relatively easy, but can take a few adjustments to get it right.

After adjusting mine, it’s better, but still not perfect. I don’t know if the gear selector assembly is wearing or if the actual cable has stretched.
Thank you, I noticed yesterday that if I held the gearshift back and to the left (light pressure) the transmission shifted normally without any problems.
 
That’s a really good tip. I’ll have to try that if it ever happens to my car.
 
I took a better look at mine today and the issue was actually the shift cable where it connects to a pivot point on the top of the transmission. The lever was corroded which made pivoting difficult.

If you remove two 10mm bolts that holds in the air box and remove the air box assembly you have full access to the area needed. It took some time to get the cable off of the lever, but once I cleaned it up and lubricated it, the car now shifts like it did when new.
 

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Sounds like you saved yourself the cost of a transmission replacement. How often do you hear stories of people fixing their issues by having their mechanic cleaning up a cable? I haven’t heard them yet! Simple stuff like that doesn’t seem to be checked. Nicely done!
 
The transmission itself was fine so I wouldn’t have had to replace it. However, if left in a corroded state, it could have damaged the cable and likely would have prevented the transmission from shifting into gear.

I have not heard of this issue on any CX-5, but Mazda has been using the same design on many of their models for at least the last two decades and there are plenty of documented issues regarding the shifting cable where it meets the transmission when corrosion is present. Some grease goes a long way in preventing the issue altogether.

I live in Windsor, ON which borders Detroit, so yeah, salted roads are part of life during the winter months. That said, I do have my vehicle corrosion ‘proofed’ annually but they probably can’t reach into such a tight area with their wands.

I presume my issue is due to the age of the vehicle and mileage (313,000km/195,000mi). As CX-5s age, I presume others will report similar issues.
 
The transmission itself was fine so I wouldn’t have had to replace it.

Completely agree. I’m just highly skeptical that my local Mazda dealer would have come to that same (and correct) conclusion.
 
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