Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold
The short answer
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Mazda CX-5 drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 161 per 100,000 against 237 for the Honda CR-V, or 32% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2016 and 2021 for the CR-V and 2020 and 2022 for the CX-5.
Honda CR-V
Mazda CX-5
By age group
| Model years | CR-V | CX-5 | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | 162 | 243 | CR-V |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 390 | 201 | CX-5 |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 180 | 97 | CX-5 |
Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.
Year by year
| Year | CR-V | CX-5 |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 143 | n/a |
| 2013 | 126 | 244 |
| 2014 | 176 | 380 |
| 2015 | 195 | 119 |
| 2016 | 111 | 456 |
| 2017 | 471 | 118 |
| 2018 | 571 | 82 |
| 2019 | 288 | 177 |
| 2020 | 138 | 75 |
| 2021 | 124 | 91 |
| 2022 | 147 | 43 |
| 2023 | Too new | Too new |
| 2024 | Too new | Too new |
Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.
Most reported problems
Questions
Is the CR-V or CX-5 more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Mazda CX-5 drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 161 per 100,000 against 237 for the Honda CR-V, or 32% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2016 and 2021 for the CR-V and 2020 and 2022 for the CX-5.
Which CR-V and CX-5 years should I avoid?
For the CR-V: 2017, 2018. For the CX-5: 2014, 2016.