Transmission can be Shifted into Gear without Pressing Brake Pedal

Affected vehicles (1)

Component / system

Defect

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2025 CX-50 Hybrid vehicles. The transmission gear shifter can be moved from Neutral to Drive without pressing the brake pedal.

Risk / consequence

Shifting into gear without the brake pedal depressed can result in unexpected vehicle movement, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the Engine Control Module (ECM) and reprogram the Hybrid Control Unit (HCU) and Power Control Unit (PCU), free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed August 15, 2025. A second notice will be sent once the remedy becomes available, anticipated late summer 2025. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 6. The manufacturer's number for this recall is 7725F.

Chronology of events

1. Feb 26, 2025

   February 26, 2025: Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) notified Mazda about a potential configuration issue with the Sophisticated Air bag Sensor (SAS) unit. February 27~ 28, 2025: Mazda issued a stop shipment for all vehicles at the manufacturing facility as a preliminary containment action. This action was taken after it was discovered that, during the SAS unit write procedure at MTM, incorrect air bag configuration data that was intended for use starting March 3rd, was mistakenly applied. This error was subsequently detected during end-of-line (EOL) testing due to a mismatch between the actual and planned configuration data.

2. Mar 3, 2025

   March 3, 2025: Mazda issued a stop movement for all in-transit vehicles that may be impacted with this SAS unit concern and confirmed that no units have been delivered to the dealers. March 3 ~ May 30, 2025: Mazda initiated an investigation to assess the potential safety impact of the concern and to evaluate the possibility of non-compliance. Since the combination of this particular hardware and software configuration of the SAS unit had not been previously considered, Mazda engaged the SAS unit supplier to understand the potential overall impact on the vehicle performance and operability. At the same time, Mazda continued to study the affected vehicle scope based on production data. During Mazda and MTM’s investigation, multiple procedural and data errors were identified in the SAS unit repair process of suspected units at MTM, requiring further analysis and a thorough understanding of the issues based on the production data records.

3. Mar 10, 2025

   March 10, 2025: Repairs of plant inventory vehicles were initiated to address incorrect configuration data in the SAS unit. These repairs involved both programming and reprocessing, during which factory mode is activated during SAS unit reprogramming and is intended to be deactivated during reprocessing. For these repairs, plant operators determined that using check sheets to record repair progress, as typically required by repair protocols, was not necessary. As a result, although reprogramming and reprocessing were performed, the completion status of each repair could not be reliably verified. Consequently, some vehicles with incomplete repairs, those that missed the reprocessing step, were mistakenly released with factory mode still active. All units for the initial repair of the SAS unit have been completed correctly after verification of the production records. April 11 ~ 29, 2025: One vehicle with factory mode was identified at a dealer. Based on the condition of this vehicle, Mazda reported this event to MTM and it was discovered that the vehicles may have been shipped with factory mode still active. As soon as this information was received, the plant processes were reviewed and corrected to ensure proper repair procedures were followed. April 30 ~ May 30, 2025: Mazda started an investigation to assess the potential safety impact and range of vehicles of the concern. Because factory mode involves a unique system specific to Toyota hybrid system, thorough verification was necessary for Mazda to fully understand the issue. At the same time, Mazda continued studying the scope of affected vehicles against production records. During the joint investigation with MTM, multiple errors were identified in the repair process of suspected units, requiring further analysis and a deeper understanding of the issues.

4. Jun 5, 2025

   June 5, 2025: Mazda learned that factory mode affects the Neutral shift interlock feature, allowing the shifter to be moved from Neutral to Drive without pressing the brake pedal. This issue has been escalated for evaluation as a potential safety/emissions concern.

5. Jun 13, 2025

   June 13, 2025: Mazda held a Quality Audit Committee meeting and approved a field action for the U.S. and U.S. Territories. As of June 13, 2025, Mazda is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to this concern.

Notification schedule

Dealer notification

Jun 23, 2025 - Jun 23, 2025 No Dealers

Owner notification

Aug 17, 2025 - Aug 17, 2025 Phased Recall