Model-year matrix

Mazda CX-5
which year?

Compare every Mazda CX-5 model year the EPA recorded, 2013 to 2026. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Mazda CX-5 year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Mazda CX-5?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Mazda CX-5 years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2016

510 indexed complaint reports; exterior lighting is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2016 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2014

377 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2014 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2018

348 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2018 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Mazda CX-5 model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2025 Mazda CX-5

NHTSA complaint allegations: 25
Combined EPA economy: 24–28 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 3
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,200–2,550
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsforward collision avoidance 8service brakes 8unknown or other 7

Open the 2025 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2026 Mazda CX-5

NHTSA complaint allegations: 13
Combined EPA economy: 26 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 1
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,350
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelselectrical system 5unknown or other 5visibility/wiper 3

Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2026 has 12 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2025.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Mazda CX-5 by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Mazda CX-5 model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2026	13	electrical system 5unknown or other 5visibility/wiper 3	26	1	$2,350	Dossier →
2025	25	forward collision avoidance 8service brakes 8unknown or other 7	24–28	3	$2,200–2,550	Dossier →
2024	41	unknown or other 9engine 7service brakes 7	24–28	3	$2,200–2,550	Dossier →
2023	60	unknown or other 10electrical system 9engine 9	24–26	2	$2,350–2,550	Dossier →
2022	62	exterior lighting 23engine 13unknown or other 9	24–26	2	$2,350–2,550	Dossier →
2021	143	engine 77forward collision avoidance 16power train 16	24–28	4	$2,200–2,550	Dossier →
2020	106	electrical system 30unknown or other 25engine 17	24–28	3	$2,200–2,550	Dossier →
2019	265	engine 129unknown or other 49electrical system 46	24–29	6	$2,200–2,850	Dossier →
2018	348	engine 177unknown or other 58power train 41	26–29	4	$2,200–2,850	Dossier →
2017	148	electrical system 44unknown or other 35engine 15	26–27	2	$2,300–2,350	Dossier →
2016	510	exterior lighting 161electrical system 71service brakes 66	26–29	3	$2,100–2,350	Dossier →
2015	133	structure 27power train 19unknown or other 16	26–29	5	$2,100–2,350	Dossier →
2014	377	electrical system 132visibility/wiper 61unknown or other 58	26–29	5	$2,100–2,350	Dossier →
2013	194	electrical system 58engine 42power train 38	27–29	3	$2,100–2,300	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.