2020 Mazda CX-5 Reliability & Problems

1. 1Screen or infotainment glitchesMinorAbout 1 in 3 complaints37,500–43,000 mi30%

   Owners describe ghost touches, settings that change by themselves, navigation volume jumping to maximum, random phone calls and a screen that goes black. Most reports say it happens while driving, and a few say it happens at lights, in reverse or at highway speed. No recall is mentioned in these complaints.

   What owners describe

   • Ghost or phantom touches44%
   • Settings change by themselves19%
   • Volume jumps or changes13%
   • Screen goes black or restarts13%

   Fix

   Most common repair owners describe: dealer could not repeat it (1 report).

   Mileage

   40,000 mi

   Middle half 37,500–43,000 mi · 3 reports

   Repair cost

   —

   Fewer than 10 owners report a repair cost

   How common

   30%

   32 of 107 complaints

   Crash, fire or injury

   0%

   of these complaints

   In owners' words

   “While backing the vehicle the rear camera sometimes goes off because the screen in the car keeps switching itself to night mode, radio channel, Bluetooth, clock setting and sometimes the screen freezes which is very dangerous while reversing.”

   “The infotainment system would start randomly selecting things on the screen. This would include adjusting volume settings, randomly dialing people from my contacts, canceling navigation systems, etc.”

   “Buttons on screen are automatically being pressed constantly, super laggy, buttons not functioning properly, making random phone calls etc.”

If the screen changes settings, restarts, goes black or turns off safety features while you drive, have the dealer look at it and note the dates in writing. If the brakes apply with nothing in your path, the parking brake engages on its own or the brake pedal feels wrong, stop driving and get it inspected promptly. This model year has no recalls, so you can confirm that on NHTSA's recall lookup with your VIN.

51 problems found in all 107 complaints. One complaint can describe more than one problem, so counts add up to more than the total. Not counted as a defect: 1 describing no vehicle defect. Typical miles, repair cost and fix rate show only when enough owners report them.

• 2018 Hyundai Kona reliability & problems →
• 2020 Hyundai Kona reliability & problems →
• 2021 Hyundai Kona reliability & problems →
• 2023 Hyundai Kona reliability & problems →
• 2022 Hyundai Palisade reliability & problems →
• 2022 Kia Telluride reliability & problems →
• 2023 Mazda CX-5 reliability & problems →
• 2010 Volkswagen Golf reliability & problems →
• 2016 Volkswagen Golf reliability & problems →

• Complaints. NHTSA's owner complaint file, counted as unique complaint numbers for make MAZDA, model CX-5, model year 2020. Data through Oct 4, 2026.
• Verdict. Judged from this model year's own complaints, not against other models, using shares rather than counts. Serious known problems: one serious problem (transmission, engine or stalling, steering, brakes, airbags, fire, fuel leaks) is in a quarter or more of complaints; or a smaller but clear cluster comes with an unusual share of crash, fire, injury or loss-of-power reports or early failures; or an urgent recall or NHTSA investigation matches a top complaint. Some known problems: one of those signals on its own. No pattern of serious problems: none of them; this doesn't mean the vehicle is trouble-free. Too few complaints to judge: under 50 complaints. Why this verdict: Checked: the largest serious problem class is brake problems (phantom automatic braking, brake failures, the parking brake engaging on its own), 12% of complaints; safety-related complaints are 15% (typical: 17%), and there's no do-not-drive or park-outside recall or open serious NHTSA investigation..
• No grade or class ranking. Raw complaint counts favor models that sell fewer cars, so we don't score or rank this vehicle against other models until we can adjust for sales.
• Trouble spots and history. Complaints grouped by the part owners chose when filing. The history grid counts complaints filed in each model year's first 3 years so older and newer years compare fairly; years with fewer than 3 complete years are marked too new.
• Named problems. Every one of the 107 complaints was researched and classified by its problems, severity, symptoms, repairs and any cost the owner mentions; the counts, costs and fix rates on this page are tallies of those classifications. Quotes are verbatim excerpts, checked against the original text. Engines are decoded from partial VINs with NHTSA's vPIC service.
• Repair costs and fix rates. Shown only when at least 10 owners report a repair cost, or at least 10 complaints describe whether a repair worked.
• Not adjusted for sales. Not affiliated with NHTSA. Page updated Oct 8, 2026.