Mazda CX-5: which years to avoid

Based on 59,081 real MOT tests from DVSA records. Each year is compared against every other car first registered the same year — otherwise the numbers would only tell you that older cars fail more, which you knew.

The short answer

No model year stands out as one to avoid. Every year sits within 15% of the failure rate for cars of the same age. The 2020 is the strongest, failing 34% less often than average.

Found a Mazda CX-5 you like?

Averages tell you what to expect. Its registration tells you what actually happened — every MOT, every advisory, and whether the mileage adds up.

Every CX-5 model year

Shaded rows are the years that differ most from other cars of the same age — worse, better.

MOT failure rate by registration year for the Mazda CX-5
Registered	MOT tests	Fail rate	vs same-age cars
2012	1,501	27.9%	about average
2013	5,357	27.8%	about average
2014	6,990	21.3%	about average
2015	7,172	18.8%	about average
2016	7,098	16.1%	about average
2017	7,192	12.1%	16% better
2018	10,114	10.4%	about average
2019	10,192	8.3%	19% better
2020	3,465	6.1%	34% better

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a Mazda CX-5, grouped by the year the car was first registered. Retests are excluded, so a car that failed and was fixed still counts as a failure. Each year's rate is then divided by the rate for all cars first registered that year — so 120 means 20% more failures than its contemporaries, not 20% more than a brand new car.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.