2020 Mazda MAZDA3

32 complaints on file, page 1 of 2.

1. Filed Jul 2, 2026Failure Jun 28, 2026Argyle, TXFuel/propulsion system

   Low pressure fuel pump failure with 75,575 miles on odometer. Fuel pump completely seized. Car was parked at a retail location and would not start. Upon troubleshooting, mechanic was able to determine the low pressure pump was not delivering fuel. Pump was replaced. Faulty fuel pumps could lead to hazardous conditions as they are mounted within the fuel tank. I feel this is too early in the vehicles life for this component to have completely failed.

   NHTSA complaint 11748076
2. Filed Mar 13, 2026Failure Dec 5, 2025Las Vegas, NVSidewall

   size 21545ZR18 93Y. replaced these oem tires with these from costco on feb 27 2025. in dec 5 2025 the tire developed a large bubble. miles bought was 27790. current miles 31212. per tire center steal belting was broken no signs of road hazard or other damage. the belt broke and rubber was stressed with " maybe a 1000 miles regaining before catastrophic failure." wear instrument showed they were literally showing new tires. states they were the 3rd michellin tires with dude wall bubbling that week. states could have caused severe accident. no warnings damage leaks or idicators. all maintenance and pressure follwed per manufacturing specs. tires are a danger to drivers even low miles to failure to cause accident.

   NHTSA complaint 11724244
3. Filed Feb 19, 2026Failure Sep 1, 2025Fairfax, VAPower train

   My Mazda3 began producing a chirp when shifting from 3rd to 4th gear (automatic transmission). The dealer stated that the car needed a new torque converter. At the time the car only 37,000 miles on it, quite low mileage for a torque converter to fail. Mazda has previously admitted to producing cars with faulty torque converters, as specified in Mazda TXXXXXX] ). While my car fit the description of both the problem and proposed fix, and also fell within the applicable models/VINs listed on the TSB, Mazda corporate HQ stated that my specific VIN was not covered by the TSB, and therefore the repair cost was my responsibility. Since the problem, solution, and general vehicle type are entirely as described in the TSB, it appears possible that the TSB was too narrowly scoped and omitted impacted vehicles, to the detriment of owners. This would also cause potential safety concerns, since an unrepaired torque converter could produce unexpected shifting problems. Therefore I suggest that NHTSA investigate to determine if additional vehicles are impacted by Mazda's faulty torque converters. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

   NHTSA complaint 11719227
4. Filed Nov 18, 2025Failure Oct 8, 2025Exton, PASuspension

   I pulled into the driveway (at about 5 mph) of my passenger's home, when a very loud, metallic pop occurred somewhere inside my vehicle. I could not discern the problem by visually inspecting the car. Upon returning to my home, I arranged for the dealership to inspect the car's suspension. They found that both rear springs had snapped off from their lower vehicle attachment points. At the time of the incident, my car was less than 6 years old and had approximately 62500 total miles. I had the dealership replace both rear springs and associated attachment hardware. Prior to this failure, the dealership had routinely inspected the suspension of my vehicle as part of PA annual inspections. I experienced NO warning symptoms prior to the suspension failure.

   NHTSA complaint 11700190
5. Filed Nov 16, 2025Failure Aug 1, 2024Pflugerville, TXSteering, Suspension

   TSB 02-003/24 Car front suspension bolts corroded and making metal on metal sounds during turning and braking

   NHTSA complaint 11699700
6. Filed Jul 8, 2025Failure Jun 18, 2025Seminole, FLLabels

   See attached document for complaint.

   NHTSA complaint 11671865
7. Filed Jul 17, 2024Failure Jun 1, 2024Mentone, CASeat belts

   Passenger seat belt won’t retract and remains in a locked state.

   NHTSA complaint 11603045
8. Filed Jun 16, 2024Failure Mar 12, 2024Peoria, AZElectrical system, Exterior lighting, Warning

   Google search shows Mazda has common problem with their front sensing camera, people are reporting the issue for different Mazda models across the board for the last few years including newer models as well. My car display shows few malfunction warning messages. Following captured from MyMazda app. 1. Forward sensing camera malfunction. i-ACTIVESENSE advanced safety and driver support systems may not operate correctly. 2. High Beam Control System is disabled. Automatic switching between high and low beams is unavailable.

   NHTSA complaint 11594653
9. Filed Sep 26, 2023Failure Sep 18, 2023Quincy, MAAutomatic emergency braking

   While driving on a residential street the automatic emergency braking system activated and brought the car to a very abrupt stop but there was nothing in the front of the car to activate the system. There were no cars in the on-coming lane and no cars in the lane beside my car. When the car stopped the Brake warning appeared in the windshield and a warning tone sounded. It was in the early evening and it was raining. Fortunately there were no cars behind me so there were no injuries. I took the car to the Mazda dealership and upon inspection they noted that the radar system associated with the automatic emergency braking system was malfunctioning and not correctly calculating the distance between the car and other objects. They are in the process of replacing the radar. If this had happened on the highway at higher speeds or if there had been a car behind me I would have been injured.

   NHTSA complaint 11546515
10. Filed Aug 18, 2023Failure Aug 18, 2023Arvada, COAutomatic emergency braking, Warnings, Service brakes

    My car's automatic emergency brake is deploying without warning, during driving, when there are no other cars in my forward proximity. I took it to the dealership to have it fixed, and on the drive home, it did it again. There is a recall for similar makes and models for this year, but my car has not been included.

    NHTSA complaint 11539401
11. Filed Jul 21, 2023Failure May 8, 2023Las Vegas, NVUnknown or other, Visibility/wiper

    in May 2023 the visors of the vehicle hinge melted causing the visors to hang down to eye level and would not hold up causing visibly issues for driver and passenger. dealer said it is a common issue in heat but it blocks forward visibility and won't hold up and if there were and accident, forward movement of passenger or driver can cause the head to hit the visor causing injury.

    NHTSA complaint 11533720
12. Filed Jul 21, 2023Failure Jul 17, 2023Las Vegas, NVAutomatic emergency braking, Warnings

    on 3 occasions may 2023, June 2023 and July 2023 the forward Collison camera activated. in May and June it showed the vehicle to near stop like radar cruise control in rush hour speed traffic. in July 2023 it sounded the alarm and came to a full stop in heavy traffic. it occurs on bright hot days going straight no turns no oncoming traffic no traffic around and no obstacles hold or dips. this can cause the car to stop immediately and cause an accident. App detects problem with system but dealer cannot find problem and blame camera or GPS or satellite radio factory equipped.

    NHTSA complaint 11533718
13. Filed Jun 12, 2023Failure Apr 1, 2022Woodside, NYAutomatic emergency braking, Warnings, Unknown or other

    I was driving down 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, traffic was crowded but flowing with an estimated speed of 20mph between lights. I believe the distance between my front bumper and the car ahead was only slightly under 2 car lengths in motion. Coming to a stop light, the car in front of me slowed and I followed, applying pressure to the brake gradually. Roughly 2-3 seconds into my braking, the forward collision warning activated (fast beep) followed by a hard brake causing myself and one passenger to lurch forward. The car behind me managed to hard brake before hitting me by a very small margin. As my car came to a near stop the space in front opened to several car lengths, that is a continuous application of gradual braking would have been totally sufficient to stop. Weather conditions were good. A similar situation had occurred to me before on the highway (unnecessary forward collision warning, but thankfully no auto brake) and so after this I decided to check the front for any obstruction of sensors and could not find any. I have heard from at least one other owner of a similar model Mazda that they have experienced the same during city/Manhattan driving.

    NHTSA complaint 11526574
14. Filed Jun 12, 2023Failure Jun 1, 2022Woodside, NYWarning, Assist, Steering

    Lane departure warning activated and attempted to correct during a gentle curve. The location had shifted lanes due to construction, so clear lines were visible but not the actual lane to follow which is a frequent occurrence in New York City. The system came close to steering me into the adjacent lane occupied by another vehicle forcing me to fight the correction. There was a lane departure warning on the dash and I believe the blind spot indicator was on (i.e. the adjacent vehicle was detected in some capacity). I considered this especially dangerous as in this zone also had very tight lanes so my physical correction could have also caused an accident. There was no malfunction of the physical components. No dealer or service center has reproduced the issue however I have discussed with other drivers of the same line (2020-23 Mazdas) who have had similar experiences leading to a decision to disable these "safety" features. Mazda provides a reasonable description of scenarios where lane departure and assistance will disable itself due to poor conditions or low confidence. I would recommend at a minimum requiring the system to detect and potentially differentiate lane widths, as city driving sometimes has extremely tight lanes (for example, the inner roadway of the Williamsburg Bridge where two adjacent lanes are perhaps 8-9ft with less than 2ft on either side to the wall). In these scenarios, any steering correction at all is more dangerous than if it were off.

    NHTSA complaint 11526570
15. Filed Jun 12, 2023Failure Feb 1, 2021Arlington, TXElectrical system

    Automatic safety notification censoring system for the brakes engaged when a stop was not applicable or necessary causing the car to brake on its own in traffic. Luckily no one else was on the road.

    NHTSA complaint 11526537
16. Filed Nov 28, 2022Failure Oct 23, 2022Mechanicville, NYAutomatic emergency braking

    •The first incident I had with the SBS was about a month on the highway, I was approaching a vehicle that was braking due to upcoming traffic. I had plenty of time to stop, upwards of 8-10 car lengths. Yet my SBS kicked in and slammed the brakes, jarring me forward. Luckily no one was directly behind me at that time because I have no doubt it would have caused an accident. At that time, it was the only time it had occurred, so I wrote it off as the sensor being a bit too sensitive. •The second incident I have had was recent, 11/23. I was pulling into a parking spot at work, that has a concrete wall to section off parking spots. I was low speed, turned into the spot and the SBS activated, slamming the brakes, resulting in me being propelled into my steering wheel. I was roughly 5-6 feet away from the wall

    NHTSA complaint 11495146
17. Filed Aug 13, 2022Failure Aug 6, 2022Guyton, GAFuel/propulsion system

    Fuel pump, car dying out, can't turn off brake release from when it dies. Shaking when accelerating. Fuel gas issue.

    NHTSA complaint 11479130
18. Filed May 16, 2022Failure May 12, 2022New Rochelle, NYWarnings

    I was traveling 25mph with no obstruction in front of me, when the collision warning sounded. The braking system did not activate. No collision was imminent.

    NHTSA complaint 11464747
19. Filed May 16, 2022Failure Mar 31, 2022New Rochelle, NYAutomatic emergency braking, Warnings

    I was traveling approximately 5 mph with approximately 15 feet from the car in front of me, maintaining a constant following distance. The collision warning sounded, followed by emergency braking within 1 second. No collision was imminent.

    NHTSA complaint 11464746
20. Filed Apr 12, 2022Failure Mar 31, 2022Strongsville, OHAutomatic emergency braking

    Was letting car slow down for red light. No cars in front of me. Suddenly the car braked and the brake warning came on. I was pretty far back from the light. I took the car to the dealer and he said the occurrence did not show on the computer. There was a recall for this problem but not for my car. If someone had been behind me or if this happens on a busy street, I would be rear ended. There have been other computer problems with this car but they never happen when the dealer checks for them.

    NHTSA complaint 11460550