The Mazda CX-5 to buy is the 2.0 petrol, which none of the known engine faults name; the 2.2 SkyActiv-D diesel carries serious camshaft and oil faults on 2012 to 2016 cars, so don't buy any diesel without recall paperwork.
3 known faults, 2 rated high severity in our database; owners report 41.7 mpg, 86% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Check a Mazda CX-5 advert (free) →A 2.0 petrol is the safer buy among the 2012 to 2016 cars, because both of the CX-5's serious known faults sit on the 2.2 SkyActiv-D diesel and neither names the petrol. The one owner report that names the 2.0 is about a blocked filter in the fuel filler's air return, so there's no record of engine failures against it.
The 2.2 SkyActiv-D from 2012 to 2016 is the one to be wary of. Its DPF regenerations can thin the oil with diesel, which wears the camshaft and clogs the oil strainer, and the metal shed by a worn exhaust camshaft then travels round the engine. Both faults show up between 50,000 and 110,000 miles and can end in a failed turbo or a wrecked engine, so don't buy one without proof the recall work's been done.
Cars from 2017 onwards have few reports against them: a windscreen crack at 13,000 miles, a sat nav that wouldn't take full postcodes, and one new diesel automatic that banged heavily at 2,270 miles with no fault found. That's thin evidence either way, and the intake shutter valve recall covers diesels built up to 2018, so check a later diesel's oil level, recall paperwork and service record just as closely.
The 2.0 petrol's the safe pick, since neither of the CX-5's serious known faults covers it and the one owner report naming the petrol is about a blocked filter in the fuel filler's air return. It doesn't carry the diesel's recall list either, which makes it the simpler car to buy.
The 2.2 SkyActiv-D built from 2012 to 2016 is the one to avoid unless the paperwork's spotless. DPF regenerations wash diesel into the sump, the oil level creeps above the X on the dipstick, and the thinned oil wears the camshaft and blocks the oil strainer. It runs a timing chain, but that doesn't protect it: the same oil dilution is what wears this engine's internals early.
Mazda recalled these diesels several times: a modified brake vacuum pump because the original wore early, reprogrammed injector software to stop the engine stalling, a fix for injector mounting nuts that weren't tight enough on 2012 to 2016 cars, and a clean or replacement of the soot-clogged intake shutter valve on cars from 2012 to 2018. If you're set on a diesel, it needs every one of those done.
Neither the manual nor the automatic gearbox has a known fault logged against it, but two diesel manuals have had clutch judder: a 2014 car at 15,000 miles, worst changing from first to second and second to third, and a 2017 car at 6,800 miles whose owner was quoted for a new clutch and dual-mass flywheel. Feel for shudder as you pull away and change up.
Pull the dipstick before anything else on a diesel: oil sitting above the X mark means fuel's been getting into the sump during DPF regenerations, and that's what wears the camshaft. With the engine running, listen for a rattle or tick from the top of the engine and a whistle from the turbo, and watch the exhaust for black or white smoke.
On the drive, press the brake pedal quickly at low revs; if it goes hard or needs a real shove, the vacuum pump's worn or the camshaft fault's reached it. Pull hard in each gear as well: one owner's 2013 diesel was slow in every gear until 3,000 revs, and another stalled and went into limp mode. A low oil pressure warning on the dash is a straight no.
Ask for the recall paperwork on any diesel: the camshaft wear recall on 2012 to 2016 cars, the brake vacuum pump, injector software, injector mounting nuts and intake shutter valve. Check every oil change was on time, too. One owner of a 2016 diesel got no help from Mazda when the oil pump chain snapped at 93,000 miles, as its 12,500 mile service had waited until 23,000 miles.
Look along the windscreen edges at the pillars, where the glass is exposed and a stone chip can grow into a crack right across; several owners have needed new screens, including one 2017 car at 13,000 miles. Make sure the heater blows hot, since early diesels had heater faults, and one 2013 car overheated into limp mode until its cooling system was flushed.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
Buy the 2.0 petrol from these years and leave the 2.2 SkyActiv-D alone unless its history is complete, because both of the CX-5's serious known faults sit on that diesel. The petrol has just one owner complaint against it, a blocked filter in the fuel filler's air return, which is nothing next to what's gone wrong on the diesels.
The diesel trouble shows up between 50,000 and 110,000 miles. Owners have reported turbo failures on 2013, 2015 and 2016 cars, with one 2016 AWD needing two turbos at 50,000 and 90,000 miles. Another owner paid £880 as their half of a new camshaft, turbo and oil flush at 52,000 miles, and the metal debris then went on to damage the crankshaft.
Owners have also reported head gasket failures on 2013 and 2014 cars, including a 2014 diesel whose cylinder head warped at 67,000 miles. A 2012 car broke down with a red oil light a few weeks after a service, its oil strainer choked with carbon, and that owner paid £500 to have it cleaned. One 2013 car's turbo failed the day after a dealer carbon clean at 86,000 miles, and its owner paid £2,000 for a new one.
Away from the engine, early cars have had electrical faults: an i-eloop capacitor replaced at 25,000 miles, an alarm set off by a door sensor, a battery drain blamed on the tailgate lock, and one 2012 AWD that needed seven garage visits in 20,000 miles for warning lights, sensors, a reversing camera and a sticking brake calliper. Try every switch and watch the dash on the drive.
Real-world economy on this generation: Mazda CX-5 41.6 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Mazda CX-5 advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 41.7 mpg across the Mazda CX-5 engines with data, about 86% of the official figure, from 1,201 submissions.
Mazda CX-5 Real MPG by engine →It's a car that drives and tows well: one owner's 2.2 diesel with two-wheel drive had passed 100,000km and they were still pleased they'd picked it. The SkyActiv body and chassis were engineered to keep weight down without giving away safety, and the CX-5 manages to be economical without losing its driving pleasure or its practicality.
One owner found Michelin CrossClimates, fitted at a tyre change, quieter and smoother than the tyres the car came with. Only one warranty claim and one recall had come up by the time that car passed 100,000km, and the owner reckons it was a good choice.
The Mazda CX-5 to buy is the 2.0 petrol, which none of the known engine faults name; the 2.2 SkyActiv-D diesel carries serious camshaft and oil faults on 2012 to 2016 cars, so don't buy any diesel without recall paperwork. Our database holds 3 known Mazda CX-5 faults, 2 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Pull the dipstick before anything else on a diesel: oil sitting above the X mark means fuel's been getting into the sump during DPF regenerations, and that's what wears the camshaft. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Mazda CX-5 fault before you travel.
Owners report 41.7 mpg on average, about 86% of the official figure, from 1,201 submissions. Chain (2.2 SKYACTIV-D, 2.2 DIESEL): no fixed replacement interval, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Mazda CX-5 Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Mazda CX-5 buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 87 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
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The Mazda CX-5 is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
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