2005 Mazda Mazda3
This year drew an ordinary 103 complaints for a Mazda Mazda3 — the model's median is 107. What they were about is the unusual part: 11.7% of them mention involved, against 3.4% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 1 of the Mazda Mazda3, which began in 2004 and ran to 2009. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 103 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 107 |
| Involving a crash | 16 |
| Involving a fire | 3 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 25.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- involved — 11.7% of this year's complaints, against 3.4% across the other years of this generation (3.4×). Owners wrote it as: involved, involved accident, lucky, junction.
- fire — 8.7% of this year's complaints, against 3.5% across the other years of this generation (2.5×). Owners wrote it as: fire, compressor, caught, caught fire.
- injuries — 6.8% of this year's complaints, against 2.1% across the other years of this generation (3.3×). Owners wrote it as: injuries, struck.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
THE HEADLIGHT SOCKET ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE HEADLIGHT SOCKET AND APPROXIMATELY 18 MONTHS LATER THE SOCKET CAUGHT FIRE AGAIN. THE [VIN] WAS NOTIFIED BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000 AN…
WHILE ATTEMPTING TO TURN THE VEHICLE AT 25 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY STIFF AND DIFFICULT TO TURN. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT STRUCK THE PASSENGER SIDE CORNER OF THE VEHICLE ON A GUARD RAIL. A WEEK BEFORE THE FAILURE, HE NOTICED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 21V494000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 09E011000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 04V559000 AIR BAGS
How this was worked out
Every year of the Mazda Mazda3 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2005 Mazda Mazda3? What happened to yours?
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