Model Reports 3 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Mazda CX-5 2022: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 90 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2022 Mazda CX-5 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Headlight aim.

Summary

The 2022 Mazda CX-5 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 6,902 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
90 in every 100
Did not pass first time
10 in every 100665 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
3 yearsabout 24,350 miles
First tests counted
6,902

What failed most often

  1. Headlight aim23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)15 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2022 Mazda CX-5 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake pads (front), 4.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 665 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Brake pads (front)

Failed on 117 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 79 first tests, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

One wear pattern: headlight aim, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Headlight aim

Failed on 150 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Beam aim too high, too low or off to either side is Major. Where a driver's beam aim control is fitted, the aim is tested without altering the setting, and rechecked at the highest setting only if it would fail for being too low. Masks or converter kits on right hand dip headlamps are acceptable.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
90in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
6in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 90.4% of 6,902 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 94.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 6 not fixed make the 10 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol6,02523,900 miles9090
Diesel87628,081 miles9091

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020152022Older cars
4060801002022Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201262 in every 1001,273
201365 in every 1004,592
201468 in every 1006,228
201571 in every 1006,495
201674 in every 1006,669
201781 in every 1006,942
201885 in every 1009,730
201987 in every 1009,793
202088 in every 1005,511
202188 in every 1005,319
2022 This car90 in every 1006,902

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2022 Mazda CX-5.

Of 2022 Mazda CX-5 vehicles with under 16,000 miles, 94 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 35,000 miles or more, 87 in every 100 did.

Under 16,0001,323 tests
94
16,000–22,0001,505 tests
91
22,000–27,000 Typical car1,261 tests
91
27,000–35,0001,399 tests
88
35,000 and over1,414 tests
87

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 16,00022,000–27,00035,000 and over
Headlight aim1.41.32.6
Brake pads (front)0.62.51.7
Tyre condition (rear)0.61.22.2

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

67in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

10in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

3in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2022 Mazda CX-5 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Headlight aim, about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 90.4% of 6,902 first MOTs on the 2022 Mazda CX-5 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 94.1%. Among 665 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), we highlight MOT failure patterns that show up more often than on cars of a similar age and mileage when the sample is large enough to trust. There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2022 Mazda CX-5 at the first attempt were Headlight aim (22.6%), Brake pads (front) (17.6%) and Tyre condition (rear) (14.7%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2022 Mazda CX-5 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

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

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