2018 Mazda CX-5 Body and structure Problems
- Complaints
- 12about this part
- Share
- 3%of 352 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 2,898miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 12 complaints about the body and structure of the 2018 Mazda CX-5, 3% of the 352 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 2,898 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I am experiencing substantial chipping of the paint on my 2018 Mazda CX-5. I have only had the car just under 3 months and under 7000 miles driven. It appears as though the paint is not bonded with the metal underneath the paint. Or that the layers of paint are not bonded. I have heard of many others experiencing same or very issues with the soul crystal red paint Mazda is using. It needs to be classified as faulty paint and handled by Mazda accordingly.”
NHTSA complaint #11343828, filed 2020-08, 5,500 miles“Unintended acceleration. I entered office parking building as usual. Parking spot was on the right. Slowly approaching I started to turn right with foot on brakes. Suddenly car accelerated by itself and hit a concrete wall before I even realized what's happened. Steering wheel airbag deployed, I got secured by the safety belt. Front of my car is damaged. I'm terrified of driving the car due to this unintended acceleration issue.”
NHTSA complaint #11067125, filed 2018-02, 1,200 miles“The car has multiple paint chips on the hood and all the side panels including all four doors with less than 3500 miles on the odometer. It is the soul crystal red color. The small pebbles that hit it were smaller than the eye could see while driving. (tiny gravel at a highway construction site) the body shop that's repairing it said they've never seen that much damage on a car that new. It's costing my insurance company $4000 to repair. I can only speculate that the paint might be extremely thin and not adhering to the metal as it should.”
NHTSA complaint #11230206, filed 2019-07, 2,800 miles“I have the $595 extra red soul crystal metallic paint. There a re many chips forming, mostly on the hood. These are not from rocks, or any other debris. They started forming a couple months after I bought it in june 2018. Looking at the chips in the red paint, it appears that the red paint is very, very thin. Almost like it was one coat. My Mazda dealership did not offer any help other than giving me the red touch-up paint pen, which actually is terrible and the red paint in the touch-up pen does not even match. Faulty paint/painting job? …”
NHTSA complaint #11218477, filed 2019-06, 1,000 miles“My car is 1 year old, soul red crystal metallic paint color. It has a greater than normal amount of paint chipping on the hood and other places. In observing the chipping, the paint layer appears to be very thin. I have not traveled in areas that would merit this amount of chipping. The car is garage kept when I am not driving it.”
NHTSA complaint #11217276, filed 2019-06Related service bulletins
- 11032104Apr 30, 2026DESCRIPTION Some vehicles may require the replacement of a damaged VIN plate or vehicle certification label. To obtain a replacement VIN plate (bulkhead-mounted and visible…
- 11032100Apr 4, 2026This Service Alert supersedes the previously issued SAs and bulletin(s) listed below: The changes are noted below in red. SA-010/23 02/09/23 DESCRIPTION Some customers may…
- 11022742Aug 22, 2025Some vehicles may experience exterior trim heat damage such (melted, separating, etc.) when parked near a glass building or Low-E windows. This may be caused by the sun's…
- 11016214Mar 13, 2025Some CX-5 and CX-30 customers may find that the liftgate does not close when pressing the power liftgate (PLG) rear switch (A) located on the interior liftgate trim. This may be…
- 11007022Aug 15, 2024Some vehicles may experience exterior trim heat damage such (melted, separating, etc.) when parked near a glass building or Low-E windows. This may be caused by the sun's…
- 11007018Aug 13, 2024Interior parts made of resin have antistatic coating to prevent dust from sticking on the surfaces, and depending on the conditions of use, the antistatic components may…
- 11006917Aug 6, 2024Some customers may complain that their liftgate does not open. This can mean a range of things, from the liftgate not unlatching to the power liftgate (PLG) not opening…
- 10251363Feb 2, 2024Some vehicles may exhibit a creaking or clacking noise when operating the power lift gate (PLG). The noise may be caused by the following: Creaking noise: Dust and dirt…
- 10243569Sep 13, 2023Some vehicles may experience exterior trim heat damage when parked near a glass building or Low-E windows. This may be caused by the sun's reflection.
- 10240496Jul 6, 2023Some vehicles may experience exterior trim heat damage when parked near a glass building or Low-E windows. This may be caused by the sun's reflection.
Body and structure: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 3% |
| 2024 | 4 | 9% |
| 2023 | 1 | 1% |
| 2022 | 3 | 5% |
| 2021 | 2 | 1% |
| 2020 | 6 | 6% |
| 2019 | 7 | 3% |
| 2018 | 12 | 3% |
| 2017 | 12 | 8% |
| 2016 | 19 | 4% |
| 2015 | 27 | 20% |
| 2014 | 32 | 8% |
| 2013 | 15 | 8% |
Other parts of the 2018 Mazda CX-5
180 complaintsOther or unknown
59 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
42 complaintsFuel system
39 complaintsBrakes
33 complaintsElectrical system
29 complaintsForward collision avoidance
13 complaintsVehicle speed control
13 complaintsAir bags
9 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
6 complaintsExterior lighting
5 complaintsLane departure
5 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2018 Mazda CX-5
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology