RoadVitals

2011 Mazda MX-5 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints 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.
1
Latest Jul 12, 2011
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 12, 2011

What this page shows

Our database holds 1 NHTSA owner-reported complaint for the 2011 Mazda MX-5. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

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

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–1 of 1

Exterior lighting
Filed Jul 12, 2011

TOOK POSSESSION OF NEW CAR 3/31/2001. DROVE IT THAT NIGHT AND SUCCEEDING NIGHTS ON THE TWO LANE ROAD AROUND THE AREA WHERE I LIVE. I ENCOUNTERED NUMEROUS INCIDENTS WHERE THE ONCOMING AUTO WOULD FLASH THEIR BRIGHT LIGHTS AT ME, BUT MY LIGHTS WERE ALREADY IN THE DIM MODE. I CAME TO FIND OUT THAT THERE IS NO WAY TO ADJUST THE HEADLIGHT BEAM LOWER. I CONTACTED MAZDA USA THREE TIMES WITH NO RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM. I TOOK THE CAT TO THE DEALER WHERE I TOLD THEM THAT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. THE LIGHT BEAM IS SET AT THE FACTORY. ON A SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO CARLSBAD, NM WE DECIDED TO TAKE A COUNT OF THE NUMBER OF ONCOMING CARS PASSING US, AND THE NUMBER OF TIMES THEY FLASHED THEIR BRIGHT AT US (OUR LIGHTS WERE ON DIM). WE MET A TOTAL OF 1,232 VEHICLE. OF THOSE, 471 FLASHED THEIR HIGH BEAMS AT US; THAT'S 38&. I KEEP BEING TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT MY LIGHTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BRIGHT. I AGREE, BUT THE SHOULD NOT BLIND THE DRIVER IN THE ONCOMING VEHICLE. I HAVE TO APPLY TAPE OVER THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT TO "FIX" THE PROBLEM AND NOW I GET ZERO BRIGHT BEAM FLASHES FROM ONCOMING CARS. OTHER AUTO MANUFACTURERS OFFER THE SAME TYPE OF LIGHTING FOR THEIR PRODUCE, BUT THEY ALSO INSTALL A DIAL THAT IS USED TO ADJUST THE LIGHT BEAMS UP AND DOWN. THIS CAR DOES NOT HAVE SUCH A DEVICE. AFFIXING AN UGLY PIECE OF TAPE TO MY CAT IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED WHEN I PAID $ 34,000 FOR THIS AUTOMOBILE , AND I CANNOT GET ANYONE WHO IS WILLING TO HELP ME FIND A REASONABLE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM AND HONOR THE 3-YEAR WARRANTY FOR THIS VEHICLE. THE SITUATION CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS, AND IT TENDS TOWARD INVITING A HEAD-ON-COLLISION; A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY THAT IS JUST WAITING TO HAPPEN. IT IS EITHER TAPE, OR I AM LIMITED TO NO DRIVING THIS CAR AT NIGHT, BOTH ARE WHICH NOT ACCEPTABLE. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS ASK THEMSELVES, "WOULD I WANT TO BE DRIVING THIS CAR AT NIGHT LIKE IT IS? UPDATED 07/28/11*BF

NHTSA ID
10415919
Incident
Mar 31, 2011
Mileage
7 mi

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .