There are 8 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2016 Mazda CX-5in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
11/19/2023 - About 8 pm. on November 17, 2023, I was parking at my condo parking lot and slowly drove the car into the parking space when all of a sudden the car accelerated on its own. I immediately pressed on the brake pedal and it stopped. I felt fortunate that nobody was on the sidewalk. The same thing happened about a month ago but I thought it was just something unusual but now that it happened again I am very concerned and I am going to call the Maxda dealership to see what they say.
I own a 2016 Mazda CX-5 Touring with AWD. I purchased it brand new from a dealer--no miles on it. It's been a great car until this Sudden Unintended Acceleration problem (about 60K miles now). It's happened 5 or 6 times--twice when in a drive thru. It seems that if I am idling (not pressing on gas or brake) the car will sometimes suddenly accelerate. I have used suggestions to brake, then place car in neutral. That seemed to resolve the problem. However, recently I pulled up to my (rural) mailbox and the car tried to accelerate out of control. I had the brake on (was on a downhill) when it happened, so this was scary. I really had to press down more on the brake pedal, then shifted to neutral, then to park. The acceleration finally stopped. I did not observe tachometer readings during this or other events, but will pay more attention if/when this happens in the future. I do not drive with both feet, and as these incidents have occurred I have been able to maintain more composure and analyze what is going on. I am not getting my foot caught in the mat and I'm not mistakenly pressing on the accelerator. I've been to my local Mazda dealer (Sport Durst in Durham) on May 13, 2022 and they were unable to replicate the problem, so could not repair or even troubleshoot it. The car was T-boned about a year ago, with some damage to the passenger front tire. Could that have anything to do with my problems? My partner feels this could be an issue with the Throttle Control Sensor (hardware) or with the software managing throttle control (much more difficult to diagnose, he says). I wanted to ask: for anyone experiencing this problem, did replacing the Throttle Control Sensor or diagnosing software problems resolve the issue? And, do you have any recommendations for me? Since the car is (barely) out of warranty, (just over 6 yrs/60,000 miles) would filing a claim with Mazda be a good approach? Would you suggest I just trade the car in?
I WAS STOPPED BUT DID NOT HAVE THE CAR IN PARK WHEN VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD AT HIGH SPEED. I WAS IN A DRIVEWAY AND HIT SOMEONE'S GARAGE.
I SLOWED DOWN IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, GOING ABOUT 10 MILES AND HOUR, AND WAS COASTING INTO A PARKING SPACE AT ABOUT 5 MPH IN MY HOME NEIGHBORHOOD. IT WAS ABOUT 1:15 PM ON A SUNNY, CLEAR DAY. I WAS APPLYING THE BRAKE TO STOP THE CAR AS I PULLED INTO THE SPOT YET I WAS GOING SLOW AND COASTING STRAIGHT INTO THE SPOT. SUDDENLY, THE CAR SPED UP, THE BRAKES HAD NO RESPONSE, AND THE CAR JUMPED OVER THE CURB AND RAN INTO TWO BUSHES. I DID NOT HAVE MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR, I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE...BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING, I HAD NO CONTROL, IT WAS UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THEN THE CAR STOPPED AFTER I HIT THE BUSHES. I WAS SHAKEN, BUT NO BAGS DEPLOYED. I THEN MOVED THE CAR OFF OF THE GRASS, AND PULLED THE CAR AROUND TO THE SAME PARKING SPACE. THIS TIME THE CAR STOPPED NORMALLY. I HAVE 18,168 MILES ON THIS CAR. I HAVE BEEN THE ONLY OWNER. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR BECAUSE I AM CONCERNED IT WILL DO THIS AGAIN AND I WILL BE IN TRAFFIC OR NEAR PEOPLE AND I COULD HURT OR KILL MYSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE. THERE WAS NO WARNING OF ANY PROBLEM.
SUDDEN ACCELERATION TURNING LEFT PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT. FOOT ON BRAKE/OFF OF ACCELERATOR, CRUISE CONTROL OFF, SLOWLY PULLING IN. ACCELERATED ENOUGH TO JUMP CURB ONTO SIDEWALK. ABLE TO BREAK JUST ABOUT THREE FEET SHORT OF BRICK BUILDING. CAR AT DEALERSHIP FOR SEVERAL DAYS. TECHNICIANS UNABLE TO RECREATE OR DISCOVER PROBLEM.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MAZDA CX-5. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP, THE ENGINE REVVED. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY SURGED FORWARD AND CRASHED INTO THE PRECEDING VEHICLE. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE CONTINUED TO SURGE AND CRASHED INTO A POLE. THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER FRONTAL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURES TO THE CHEST AND ARMS, WHICH REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT BODY GARAGE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 28,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MAZDA CX-5. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND INCREASED RAPIDLY WITHOUT WARNING. ALSO, THE BRAKES FAILED TO WORK. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT DROVE OVER A SMALL TREE AND THEN CRASHED INTO ANOTHER TREE, WHICH HELPED STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MUSCLE, NECK, AND BACK PAIN. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT REQUIRED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,751.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MAZDA CX-5. WHILE PARKING THE VEHICLE WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO A TREE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE NO FAILURES WERE FOUND. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 14,000.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026