RoadVitals

1996 Mazda MX3

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
2
Latest Aug 8, 2013
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
0
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
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

Overview

Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1996 Mazda MX3, most frequently naming the exterior lighting and visibility categories. 8 manufacturer communications are on file.

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

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Exterior lighting150.0%
  • Visibility150.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Visibility
Filed Aug 8, 2013

WINDOWS CANNOT OPEN IN HOT WEATHER. DEALER'S SERVICE MECHANICS ALWAYS JUST CLEAN THE RUBBER SEAL TRACT AND LUBRICATE IT, AND SO DO WE. WINDOWS GET STUCK AGAIN AFTER 3 DAYS. IT'S DANGEROUS, BECAUSE IF IN AN ACCIDENT, ONE CANNOT GET OUT THRU THE WINDOW. THERE ARE SO MANY CANALS NEXT TO SOUTH FLORIDA ROADS- AND SO MANY DEATH BY DROWNING IN THE CAR... NOT TALKING ABOUT INCONVENIENCE OF HAVING TO GET OUT FROM THE CAR TO PAY TOLLS AND GET THRU GATED COMMUNITY ENTRANCE. MECHANICS IN THE DEALERSHIP ARE SAYING, THAT THIS MODEL OF MAZDA HAS THIS PROBLEM AND THEY CANNOT DO MORE, BECAUSE EVEN IF THEY WOULD PUT NEW RUBBER SEALS OR DOOR, IT WOULD BE DOING THE SAME. *TR

NHTSA ID
10534358
Incident
Jun 1, 2009
Mileage
40,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Apr 7, 2009

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MAZDA MX-3 (NA). WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS WERE DIMLY LIT. AS A RESULT, VEHICLES IN THE REAR COULD NOT SEE THE LIGHTS UNTIL THEY WERE CLOSE UP ON THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT FEELS THAT THE LIGHTS ARE POORLY ILLUMINATED AND COULD CAUSE A SEVERE CRASH. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED AND HE IS IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND CALLING THE MANUFACTURER. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 300 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1,150.

NHTSA ID
10264362
Incident
Mar 30, 2009
Mileage
300 mi

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

09-003-20-3671

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT

In accordance with Federal regulations, follow the procedure listed below when replacing a speedometer. NOTE: Tampering with a motor vehicle odometer is strictly prohibited by Federal, and State laws. It is the dealer’s responsibility to comply with Federal, State, and local laws concerning odometer and related documentation requirements when providing a repair or replacement.  Mazda vehicles are manufactured with tamper-proof speedometers.  When a speedometer is replaced, the new speedometer will read zero (0) miles.  This procedure is extremely important to accurately represent actual vehicle mileage.  Prior to speedometer removal, complete the information required on the “Speedometer Replacement Label”. Labels can only be ordered through Mazda eStore.  In an effort to achieve a higher level of Customer Experience and retain the value of Mazda’s vehicles, MNAO Warranty Operations is allowing all Mazda dealers to utilize a third party, SPECMO Enterprises, Inc., for Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) odometer setting service. With the use of SPECMO’s services, it is possible that the odometer will be set between 10 to 31 miles over the odometer mileage at the time of replacement for both warranty and customer pay repairs. Please make sure that the customer is aware that there may be a slight variance to the odometer, in which case the customer may have to accept the slightly higher mileage. Since odometer setting service is not part of the warranty repair, it is not warrantable nor required, but optional. However, Mazda Warranty policy provides after- warranty assistance (AWA) or DSA that can be utilized to cover this service expense.

0900716

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER

Speedometer replacement procedure

97102302097

STRUCTURE:BODY:BUMPERS

PRE-PAINTING PREPARATIONS FOR FRONT AND REAR BUMPERS. *YC

004/97B

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE)

PARTIAL ENGINE REPLACEMENT (PCV SYSTEM MODIFICATION). *TW

008/97

EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER

USE OF A/C TRACER DYE. *TW

007/97T

AIR BAGS

PARTS REPLACEMENT AFTER AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. *TW

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Mazda MX3 by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
1999100—
1998000—
1997000—
1996Viewing200—
1995101156.7
1994191361.2
1993543358.8
1992453355.0
1991101—
1990001—

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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.