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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Mazda Mazda3 — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 226 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

226

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

Injuries

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Mazda Mazda3 — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Mazda Mazda3 AVOID

686 complaints

2011 Mazda Mazda3

132 complaints

2012 Mazda Mazda3

226 complaints

2013 Mazda Mazda3

117 complaints

2014 Mazda Mazda3

138 complaints

2015 Mazda Mazda3

129 complaints

2016 Mazda Mazda3

103 complaints

2017 Mazda Mazda3

83 complaints

2018 Mazda Mazda3

109 complaints

2019 Mazda Mazda3

74 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Power Train 40 reports

Engine 32 reports

Exterior Lighting 31 reports

Electrical System 25 reports

Vehicle Speed Control 20 reports

Fuel/propulsion System 18 reports

Unknown Or Other 18 reports

Structure 17 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Fuel/propulsion System ODI 11164272 12/31/2018

FUEL FILLER LINE LEAK. WHEN GAS TANK IS FULL FUEL LEAKS FROM SMALL WHOLE IN LINE THAT GOES INTO GAS TANK. MY MECHANIC SAYS IT IS WHERE THE LINE IS WELDED TO GAS TANK HAS BROKEN THE MAZDA SERVICE MANAGER TELLS ME IT'S NOT AN ISSUE THAT MAZDA WILL FIX, EVEN THOUGH IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. MY MECHANIC SAYS THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH THE 2013 MODELS, SO IF THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO …

Exterior Lighting ODI 11385614 12/30/2020

HEADLAMPS PULSE DURING BRAKING WHILE DECELERATION

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 10668639 12/29/2014

DRIVING AT 70MPH, LOST ACCELERATION AND MULTIPLE ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. HAD TO MOVE OVER TO EMERGENCY LANE ON INTERSTATE AND DRIVING TO NEAREST EXIT AT APPROX 40MPH. CAR TOWED TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. *TR

Steering ODI 10668640 12/29/2014

DRIVING AT APPROX 45MPH, CAR LOST ACCELERATION, POWER STEERING, AND MULTIPLE ENGINE LIGHTS ON. CAR MOVED TO SITE OF THE ROAD AND TOWED TO DEALER. *TR

Exterior Lighting ODI 11056756 12/27/2017

WHEN DRIVING WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON, THE HEADLIGHTS APPEAR TO PULSATE, DIMMING AND BRIGHTENING VERY NOTICEABLY. THIS ONLY HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS MOVING. MAZDA HAS IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM, ISSUED A TSB REFERENCE SB-01-019-13. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL SINCE IT'S DISTRACTING AND DANGEROUS TO THE DRIVER AND OTHER MOTORISTS ON THE ROAD. NHTSA HAS AN ID NUMBER 10053740 ASSOCIATED…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Mazda Mazda3, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2012 Mazda Mazda3 reliable?

Owners have filed 226 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Mazda Mazda3, most often about power train. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Mazda Mazda3 years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.