2018 Mazda MAZDA3 problems
Owners have filed 144 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Mazda MAZDA3. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 21% of complaints. After that come backover prevention (11%) and wipers, windshield & visibility (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 144 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 27,000 miles 50 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 24 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 11 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 50 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 27,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 7 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2018 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 19 model years of the Mazda MAZDA3 with enough data (82 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
On 2/14/19 between 2:30 and 3 p.m., my mother (melissa dodson) was involved in a fatal car accident with another vehicle (a 2004 GMC envoy) that resulted in being doa. She was driving a 2018 mazda mazda3 sport four dr and traveling westbound on east hanover rd in graham, nc at the time of the accident. According to the unsubstantiated police report, it stated that my mother's car veered/crossed the double yellow line before impact.
On september 13th, 2018, I was driving out of the state, during a road trip on my way from cannon beach to portland in the state of oregon around 9pm, I was driving my 2018 mazda 3 on north of highway I-5 when rain began during rush traffic. I had the automatic front wipers on and they began performing their function for about 3 minutes when all of a sudden they went off. Rain got heavier and even after trying to actuate the wiper lever to high speed, the front wipers failed to start working again.
Please help me I had purchased a vehicle from ourisman mazda in laurel md. Ever since I purchased it I had an acceleration problem they had told me that as long as the engine light doesn't come on its how it was design. Well it keeps the same speed and RPM when you let off the accelerator. I guess your agency has contacted mazdausa from my last email. This time they told me that I had purchased a 2016 and all about the warranty. I had purchased a 2018 mazda 3 sport sedan. VIN : (xxxx).
The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V487000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the parking brake light illuminated, and the vehicle decelerated and was losing motive power.