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2021 Mazda Mazda3 Engine Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Engine reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
18
Latest Apr 23, 2025
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
37%
of 49 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2021 Mazda Mazda3 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 18 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming engine

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Engine
Filed Apr 23, 2025

Spontaneous loss of power while driving on highway. Check engine light came on. Speed limited by car. Continues to vibrate especially at idle from cold start. Code P0304 intermittently popping up.

NHTSA ID
11656416
Incident
Apr 21, 2025
Engine
Filed Feb 21, 2025

The thermostat malfunctioned on this vehicle, resulting in the thermostat remaining open and providing excess coolant to the engine, which in turn damaged internal components of the engine (compromises safety), decreased fuel economy, increased emissions (compromised safety), and decreased the life of the engine within the vehicle. It is available for inspection upon request. The vehicle has been inspected by an independent mechanic and will be inspected by the Mazda dealership in 7 days. There were no prior warnings until the engine malfunction notice appeared, the vehicle began to make jolts and stuttering sounds, and the temperature gauge within the vehicle failed to rise to optimal range. As this occurred while the vehicle was in use (safety concern), though I was pushing the gas there would be delayed response due to improper temperature, which increased the risk for an accident to occur.

NHTSA ID
11644041
Incident
Feb 14, 2025
Engine
Filed Dec 16, 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Mazda Mazda3. The contact received notification of an unknown Class Action Lawsuit Number however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID
11631026
Incident
Dec 16, 2024
Engine
Filed Sep 21, 2024

Low oil light - car is burning oil and only has 11,400 miles. Approx 3/4 to 1 quart missing...

NHTSA ID
11615747
Incident
Sep 20, 2024
Engine
Filed Jun 19, 2024

Driving on a remote highway in northern WI and low oil light illuminated, 1000 miles before oil change was due with less than 10k miles on the vehicle. Made it to a gas station and oil was a quart low. Vehicle burns over a quart every oil change interval, since this has been occurring since day 1 it is likely going to cause premature engine failure which would be a safety issue.

NHTSA ID
11595336
Incident
Jun 15, 2022
Engine
Filed Apr 6, 2023

Received Low Oil Level warning ... checked engine oil and it is under the minimum level on the dip stick. Car has only 11,725 miles

NHTSA ID
11515727
Incident
Apr 5, 2023
Engine
Filed Apr 2, 2023

Experiencing a known excessive oil consumption issue. Low engine oil warning light came on and upon checking, oil was low. This occured at 4000 to 4200 miles. It occured again about 4000 miles later and again at a similar interval. I notified the dealer and scheduled a repair date but I am concerned of other possible damage that may have already occured due to this issue. An oxygen sensor needs to be replaced and is most likely due to the engine malfunction. The cause of the consumption is said to be damage to the valve seals on the exhaust side.

NHTSA ID
11515069
Incident
Jan 7, 2022
Body & structureEngineFuel system
Filed Jan 2, 2023

Car emits a very audible squeak when shifting right above 30mph and 40mph, car surges at lower and constant speeds, tach will slowly drop when applying throttle, surge slightly, then function as normal again

NHTSA ID
11499817
Incident
Jan 2, 2023
Engine
Filed Nov 13, 2022

Purchased car in January 2020 and within a month/few thousand miles the low engine oil light came on. Almost two years later car continues to burn excessive oil triggering low engine oil light. Dealer doesn’t acknowledge an issue, Mazda still doesn’t have a repair. Owners required to pay for excess servicing until a repair is issued. This is a widespread problem impacting the engine.

NHTSA ID
11493335
Incident
Feb 29, 2020
Engine
Filed Nov 5, 2022

Turbo using/burning oil- Consumption issue.

NHTSA ID
11492425
Incident
Nov 5, 2022
Engine
Filed Oct 11, 2022

Oil light has come one twice within 17,000 miles of owner ship. The first time at 4,800 miles and the second at 17,529 miles, the most recent was only 3,500 miles since the last oil change.

NHTSA ID
11488875
Incident
Oct 2, 2022
Engine
Filed Sep 19, 2022

After roughly 2,000 miles of driving, the low oil light comes on. The engine is burning oil. Mazda has issued a TSB on it, but they have taken no action to fix the issue. Right now they just top off the oil.

NHTSA ID
11485224
Incident
Jun 17, 2021
Engine
Filed Aug 22, 2022

The engine is burning oil. Oil and filter were changed at 5000 miles. At about 9000 miles, the engine oil level light came on. Topped off with oil and took to dealer, they confirmed no oil leaks and changed the oil.

NHTSA ID
11480568
Incident
Jul 1, 2022
Engine
Filed Aug 2, 2022

At around 3600 Miles my Mazda which I had for only a couple of months displayed a low engine oil light which required a visit to the dealership.This was under normal driving conditions.

NHTSA ID
11477241
Incident
Mar 11, 2022
Engine
Filed Jul 1, 2022

My Mazda 3 2.5T has been burning oil in excess. The car has a total of 24,000 miles and has been serviced 3 times. I have had to add oil in between every service. The oil has been completely burned off by 4,000-5,000 miles. I have noticed that other people have been posting about the same issues online. When talking to the dealership they state that they have noticed this issue with the 2.5T’s but offer no fix and seem to overfill the engine oil to try and compensate.

NHTSA ID
11472002
Incident
Jun 14, 2022
Engine
Filed Jun 29, 2022

Excess oil consumption in engine. Low light came on around 5,000 miles and dipstick showed engine oil was at the minimum mark.

NHTSA ID
11471507
Incident
Jun 27, 2022
Engine
Filed Jun 27, 2022

Engine is consuming excessive oil. Dealership states there is a TSB out but the fix is to keep topping the oil off. I would like an investigation to determine the root cause of the oil consumption on a new engine.

NHTSA ID
11471263
Incident
Jun 27, 2022
Engine
Filed May 29, 2022

Low engine oil warning between oil changes. Burned 3+ quarts between 5000 mile and 10,000 mile service.

NHTSA ID
11466576
Incident
Apr 3, 2022

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .