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Vehicle speed controlPart report

2021 Mazda CX-5 Vehicle speed control Problems

Complaints
8about this part
Share
5%of 148 total for the year
Median mileage
—not reported
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the vehicle speed control of the 2021 Mazda CX-5, 5% of the 148 complaints for this model year. 5 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.

“Upon exiting my local car wash, I drove my car around to the area used for vacuuming. I pulled into the parking space and when I applied the brake pedal to stop, the car suddenly accelerated and crashed into the wall of the building. I have the Car Wash Security Camera footage of this incident. It shows my brake light is ON at the car's point of acceleration and my brake light is ON at point of impact with the wall. If you need to review it, I can email it to you.”

NHTSA complaint #11487669, filed 2022-10

“2021 Mazda CX5 AWD- Non Turbo Engine. Sunny Day, Dry. My Car was clean. No Precipitation. Some shadows of the interstate light poles across the road 200-300 feet in front of me, but they were thin shadows. Sun Was to my Left. I was driving South on May 01 2026 about 10am on the Interstate going Highway Speeds, with adaptive cruise control on , in the 2nd lane of a 4 lane interstate. Thankfully no other traffic ahead or behind me. Car slammed on the brakes suddenly, pretty hard. I counteracted and added more gas pedal to keep in going. I turned off the Cruise Control. …”

NHTSA complaint #11735370, filed 2026-05

“I bought a 2021 Mazda CX-5 from Ramsey Mazda of Des Moines, IA. It offered comparable comfort & features. A selling point was the safety features touted by the salesman. Odd things occurred during the first few months but I attributed it to a learning curve. I saw some odd messages but I really did not think it was relevant until June 28, 2022. I was backing out from a parking space. The Blind Spot Monitoring failed to indicate a car approaching from the right that then stopped in my blind spot. I hit the car behind me. …”

NHTSA complaint #11481503, filed 2022-08

“Will driving on the interstate, using the adaptive cruise control feature, vehicles were slowing down to a stop ahead and my car accelerated instead of slowing down. I then pressed the brake and simultaneously, the car breaks locked down (automatic braking). Unfortunately I wasn’t able to avoid an accident as I rear ended the vehicle in front of me. My vehicle has been turned over to the insurance company to assess damage. I’m sure it can be inspected by nhtsa. Mine and others safety were at risk due to the malfunction of the cruise control accelerating instead of stopping. …”

NHTSA complaint #11610548, filed 2024-08

“I experienced a sudden unintended acceleration incident. I pulled into my driveway and stopped the vehicle with my foot firmly on the brake since my driveway is sloped. I pushed the garage door opener remote when suddenly the vehicle accelerated and shot forward hitting the garage door. There was no brake action and all backup systems failed. There was no Automatic Emergency Braking or Forward Collision Warning. There were no warning lights displayed. No airbags were deployed. If the garage door had been open, the vehicle would have hit a concrete wall in the garage. …”

NHTSA complaint #11502968, filed 2023-01

Vehicle speed control: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2025517%
2024511%
202346%
202223%
202185%
202066%
2019124%
2018134%
201775%
2016133%
2015129%
201492%
20132211%

Other parts of the 2021 Mazda CX-5

Engine
80 complaints
Other or unknown
18 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
17 complaints
Electrical system
12 complaints
Brakes
11 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
11 complaints
Fuel system
8 complaints
Lane departure
7 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
7 complaints
Air bags
5 complaints
Tires
3 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2021 Mazda CX-5

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 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