2016 Mazda Mazda3
This year drew an ordinary 102 complaints for a Mazda Mazda3 — the model's median is 107. What they were about is the unusual part: 10.8% of them mention ended, against 2.7% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 3 of the Mazda Mazda3, which began in 2014 and ran to 2018. 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 | 102 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 107 |
| Involving a crash | 7 |
| Involving a fire | 1 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 32 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- ended — 10.8% of this year's complaints, against 2.7% across the other years of this generation (4×). Owners wrote it as: ended, affect, progressive, driver seat.
- care — 7.8% of this year's complaints, against 1.3% across the other years of this generation (6×). Owners wrote it as: care, child, strap, base.
- software — 6.9% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the other years of this generation (3×). Owners wrote it as: software, replace battery, got car.
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
WHILE STOPPED, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE FRONT DRIVER'S SEAT FRACTURED AND COLLAPSED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED WHIPLASH AND INJURIES TO THE NECK AND LOWER BACK. THE DRIVER OF THE OTHER VEHICLE WAS TAKEN AWAY BY AMBULANCE. MEDICA…
THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 MAZDA 3. THE CONTACT WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED. THE CONTACT WAS INJURED AND REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILAB…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V272000 VISIBILITY Fixed free of charge.
- 16V684000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 16V685000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 17V393000 PARKING BRAKE Fixed free of charge.
- 15V621000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 23V487000 BACK OVER PREVENTION Fixed free of charge.
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 2016 Mazda Mazda3? What happened to yours?
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