To start, I've already figured out the problem and solution to this issue. My post is to inform others of the solution to the problem and to hopefully save you all some cash.

So my wife and I recently started experiencing an issue where when we put our CX-5 into park and hit the push button start to shut the car down, the engine turns off but all of the dash lights and radio will stay on. Essentially the car isn't recognizing that it's in park. To remedy this, we have to start the car back up, reverse the car a foot or so, then put the car back in park and hope that it fully shuts down. This method has worked just about every time we've experienced this problem.

I thought for a while it was something we were doing wrong but come to find out (after some online research) it wasn't something we were doing wrong but rather a problem due to a faulty switch that is attached to the bottom of the shifter. This switch is what tells the car that you are in park and for some reason (mainly a shitty design), the switch wears out and stops recognizing that the car is in park. I read numerous posts where it was so bad for some people that it would take over 10 times of starting the car and turning it off for the car to recognize it was in park.

Another remedy I've read is to forcefully put the car in park in order to force the switch to make contact. This method has seemed to work for a lot of people but it still doesn't take away from the fact that the part needs to be replaced and IMO, you are asking for other problems to arise by constantly slamming your shifter into park. Not to mention, it's only a matter of time before that method stops working as well.

So the part in question costs around $55 and it's fairly easy to install. The part number is KDY0-46-040 and a quick google search of this part number will take you to numerous sites that sell it.

Second, here is a pretty solid video I found of the process it takes in order to replace the part.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WeiN0pi_5Q&t=26s

Another reason I'm posting this is because it seems that the dealerships are all over the board as far as pricing when it comes to replacing this part. I've seen quotes of around $300 and upwards of almost $600. For a long time, Mazda wasn't recognizing the issue but finally released a TSB about it.

It's a fairly simple fix and no one should have to pay $300 to $600 to have this part replaced by the dealership. The issue seems to be relegated to 2013 and 2014 CX-5 models so most likely, you're out of warranty. It's a shitty design and I'd hate to see anyone have to drop significant money on something like this.

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