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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Mazda Mazda3 — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 117 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

117

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

2020 Mazda Mazda3

32 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Exterior Lighting 36 reports

Electrical System 32 reports

Power Train 18 reports

Service Brakes 15 reports

Structure 11 reports

Engine 11 reports

Unknown Or Other 10 reports

Steering 9 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 11164134 12/30/2018

HEADLIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS FLICKER WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED. MY WIFE WAS STOPPED BY A POLICE MAN TO INFORM HER OF THESE CONDITIONS.

Electrical System ODI 10938400 12/29/2016

WHENEVER I'M DRIVING AND USING MY HEADLIGHTS AND THEN I STEP ON MY BRAKES MY HEADLIGHTS FLICKER AS IF I WERE FLASHING SOMEBODY AND I HAVE HAD MY BATTERY TESTED AND ALTERNATOR AND CHANGED MY HEADLIGHTS BUT THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURS I HAVE ALSO LOOKED ON YOUTUBE TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE WAS HAVING PROBLEMS LIKE THIS AND THEY WERE THE ONLY THING I HAVEN'T TRIED WAS CONTACTING THE DEA…

Air Bags ODI 10937856 12/28/2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 MAZDA 3. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A BROKEN NOSE, WHICH REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

Electrical System ODI 10816571 12/28/2015

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR ENGINE SUDDENLY TURNS OFF. RADIO AND HEADLIGHTS REMAIN ON, BUT POWER STEERING STOPS FUNCTIONING. THIS HAS HAPPENED 5 TIMES, 4 TIMES ON SURFACE STREETS AND ONCE MERGING ONTO THE HIGHWAY. LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG THE TWO TIMES I HAVE TAKEN IT IN. THERE IS NO CODE BEING DISPLAYED.

Electrical System ODI 10667536 12/21/2014

WHEN I STARTED DRIVING AND PUT ON MY HEADLIGHTS. EVERYTIME I PUT ON THE BRAKES THE HEADLIGHTS DIM AS THE BRAKE LIGHT IS PUSHED. *TR

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 Mazda Mazda3, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

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 2013 Mazda Mazda3 reliable?

Owners have filed 117 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 Mazda Mazda3, most often about exterior lighting. 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.