Mazda 3 Reviews

I'm furious... obviously neither of these minor dings would have caused all of the airbags to deploy on the opposite, drivers side of the vehicle. Nor did any of those dings occur on the day I almost flew off Interstate 95 at over 70mph with my two children in the car. But, nevertheless, Mazda is pushing me back off to the insurance company. I need to know why they spontaneously deployed. Mazda wants $3,200 to fix the problem... Wow!!! I again called Mazda Customer Service to see who I could talk to about the inspection. My attempts were in vain, as again, they stated that they don't get into the technical aspects of the findings, and they don't know who they could put in contact who could, and that I should contact my insurance company.

So much for accepting responsibility for a problem with one of their vehicles that they know was not caused by impact or a collision. I just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else!!! My last two new cars were Mazdas... I guess loyalty isn't a two-way street with Mazda. Airbags should never spontaneously deploy, no matter what the mileage is.

Flash forward to March 2015. My sunroof failed again. I opened it. Couple hours later I tried to shut it and it made a noise and ceased. Took the car to Mazda Dealer. I waited 2 hours and ** came out and told me the roof was covered but I needed 2000$ worth of work. He said my rear brakes were metal to metal, it was leaking oil .... he went on and on then he said "I want to put you in a new car." The car was running great and I never seen a drop of oil on ground the ground so red flags began to pop up. I told ** "I didn't have money for all that right now but let's move forward with the roof." We made appointment for me to get a loaner car the following week and have roof repaired.

I decided to get another opinion on all the other work and come to find out the majority of work ** said I needed done was not needed. My rear brakes were fine, I was told new cars spew out more oil than my car was and basically not much needed to be done. Total came to 296$. Now I know that ** at the Mazda Dealer can not be trusted. I kept this information under my hat.

The day came for me to drop car off and get loaner car. At the end of day ** told me the roof was not covered. When I asked "why?" He said it was caused by debris. I asked to see it and was told they left it in roof. When I took car home there was dust and pollen on roof so I knew it had not been touched. When I called the warranty company to find out why my roof failed in 2011, they said they never paid out for a roof. When I asked Mazda dealer for the cause the roof failed in 2011 they said all their paper work was missing but magically they have the recall info. I feel they never replaced the roof, lied to get 2000$ out of me for an extended warranty, lied about debris being the cause so they can void coverage by the extended warranty.

I spoke to Service Manager, General Manager and they all talk in circles justify all the fabrications and finally told me I am not allowed to go back there anymore. I asked for all the paperwork in the file on my car and ** the General Manager gave me two pieces of paper... from April 29,2015.

I immediately called Mazda only for the representative to tell me that there's no way that I could drive my car for almost a month with those tires loose and maybe someone is tampering with my car in the parking lot. Very unprofessional statement first. Secondly, I informed her that I don't drive my car regularly because I had hand surgery Mar 11 and my car is parked majority of the time in my garage. I am so dissatisfied with her response and with the neglect of the person who performed the service on my car. This is the reason why people are so hesitant to go to the dealership and price increase but I trusted them and this is the thanks I got!

Plus now (Jan 2015), I tried to plug my MOTO G phone for recharging and the USB port doesn't read this phone, even for a simple recharge (Ok for Bluetooth). At Least my iPOD can be recharge in the USB port?? For my point of view, it is a very cheap for a BOSE audio system. Even my friend basic Hyundai ELANTRA system work very well and fast with all my electronic toys.

For the Brakes, it is my second Mazda, (previous was a 2005 Mazda 3 GT, new) and those were very good and long lasting brakes. I change the front brakes once in 287000 km and twice in the rear. On my MAZDA 6 2014, after 44000 km, they look like they won't last long. The dealer told me that we have to get them to dismantle the Caliper, to lubricate and keep them from locking/griping, that on a regular basis?? I will check this summer, when I switch to summer wheels if they are still good. The ABS is very nervous and weird in winter condition??

For now, since I keep my car for a minimum of 7-8 years, and high mileage, I am happy with my MAZDA except for the above . It drive very good, cheap on gas for a big car ( average 7.1 ltr on the computer after a year). The manual transmission is fun, and it is the reason i bought it, over a Mazda 3 GT 2014 (manual not avail on top model).

One last thing, the seats and the interior fit and finish are very good, but my ceiling panel cracks and groan big time in cold Canadian weather, which I didn't have this issue with my Mazda 3, during the 8 years of ownership. If I would buy another one (MAZDA)??, I don't know, if the electronic is the same, it is a big NO (before Mazda I was a VW fanatic, almost bought a GTI ilo the Mazda 6). Overall the 6 looks better and drive as good as my old 3, but my 3 felt like overall more durable on long term.

Long story short, they did not call me but added $90 to this already padded bill to change the thermostat. This was in the state of CT, and have had this issue before, where the shop does not call before adding more labor to the bill. Make sure when in CT that you warn the mechanic not to do this, as the state laws are apparently very soft on this.

Otherwise, the car has been excellent over 12 years and 100,000 miles of service. Unlike the new Mazdas, the windows are large and easy to see out of. And with winter tires, the car is unstoppable here in the Northeast. I highly recommend the Protege as a used car if you can find one with relatively low miles. As for the dealer where we purchased it in 2002, horrible experience and the minute we took delivery they did not want to have anything to do with us. Lucky this Mazda was trouble-free during the warranty period, unlike the many others reporting here on the newer Mazda 3.

A maxi sport is a much faster and performs much better and is a large amount of money cheaper. I have been banned from taking my car back to the dealer who sold me the car for no reason and have also been told that my extended warranty is not valid at any other dealer than the one the car was purchased from. I have tried to call Mazda and get help and they just tell me they have nothing to do with the car and to go to the dealer. All Mazda do is sell the cars to dealers and they hold zero responsibility in regards to problems with their product and offer no help to rectify any issues. I have had the car looked at by a performance shop and they have told me the car is a total lemon and it is not in any way the brochures describe the car and it is a disgrace that I cannot do anything to fix the issues.

I have been having a constant list of problems coming up with the car and it is like extracting teeth to get the warranty issues fixed. Mazda are a disgrace of a company they have no worry about taking advantage of people and there way of dealing with any issues is to ignore it and pass the buck every time. What does a person need to do to get their brand new car looked at and how can a company that manufactures a car claim to have no obligation about their product. And any conduct issues about the product are all the responsibility of the dealer as they are a franchise. This is something that needs to be addressed and if I want something done and want to pay for it, they have all the time in the world need something defective fixed and they will do anything to not need to do it.

Has anyone else been having issues with the 2012 Mazda 3 Skyactiv? If so please comment on it and if have had any luck getting the issue fixed please comment so I math be able to get the issues fixed before I park it through their shop window because it is a worthless bit of car. And I still need to pay the finance on it but I'm still stuck with the lemon. Mazda you are a disgrace and I hope you get what is coming to you, what goes around comes around. And one day you will get what you deserve and I would never recommend that anyone buys a Mazda because they will regret it, I can promise that. The dealer I felt with is Mazda Brookvale 2100 the salesman Tom ** and he will lie and do anything to make the sale though has little to no knowledge about the product he is selling!!!!!!!!!!!!

My car had issue after issue trying to die at stops or in stop and go traffic, getting 22 mpg hwy miles (which I was told was normal), freezing in first gear or not shifting out of first gear, running loud and hot (which I was told was normal), and a slew of defective parts that seem to pop up every few months. Even though I purchased an extended warranty, I was told by Overland Park Mazda that I was no longer allowed to bring the car back for service and because my car had been in the shop so much prior that I was no longer allowed a courtesy car which has been noted in my account so no matter where I take it I get refused. If my car had worked in the first place, I wouldn't have needed a loaner. I paid for my car so I could drive it.

It's been an epic battle with Mazda any time I need service because they refuse to allow techs to even look at it on a Saturday or without discussing the issue with corporate due to the amount of issues I've had already. This combined with the inability to have a courtesy loaner or shuttle means I have to take time off work and borrow a car or get rides every time my car needs maintenance. I just picked it up yesterday from yet another major repair that took me borrowing my dad's car for 4 days and again missing work.

All I wanted was to buy a good reliable car and what I got was the absolute worst nightmare I have ever experienced for the last 2 years. I would gladly trade the car off for a comparable car, but Mazda refuses to accept any responsibility for the bad car and they told me the only thing they'll offer is a discount on a new Mazda if I want to trade out of the car.. I will never own or even suggest anyone else buy a Mazda as long as I live and breathe. DO NOT BUY A MAZDA, EVER!!! They used to be great and now they are just garbage.

They mentioned that I had burned four liters of oil in about 3000 kms and could/would not provide an answer as to the large oil loss. They said it would be okay to drive. Shortly afterwards the ticking became a clanking noise and had to get the vehicle towed to the dealership for another assessment. The service manager assured me that it was just a turned bearing and could be repaired. Apparently not as there was severe damage to the engine and could not repair or rebuild. They suggested a used engine with 80,000 kms as a replacement.

Reading many articles on the web, apparently at 80,000 kms is when many 2.3 owners were having difficulties with their engines. I eventually bought a remanufactured engine and had the local mechanic do the installations. Due to the large number of complaints about this engine and in particular mine and knowing that the car has been serviced by Mazda since day one I will be processing a small claims court action against Mazda. This or similar engine should be quite capable of reaching 250-300,000 kilometers.

I believe that the ZOOM ZOOM company is selling an engine with very little long term advantages. There are many stories on the web to substantiate my claim. Mazda should be ashamed of themselves for selling an inferior product and not standing behind their not so quality engine.

I have visited a service department already 3 times, the first time it was on Wednesday 22nd January 2014 (if I remember well). At that time one of the acceptance person saw the issue with my backup camera, but unfortunately the garage was already closed at 6PM, so he told me to bring back the car any day later. So I did... I brought back the car there the following Saturday 25th. After a wait of about a hour the acceptance person and one of the technicians came to me and they told me that the issue was solved with a software update released by Mazda also aiming to resolve this KNOWN issue. I left the facility very happy...

Few days back I have experienced the same issue. Too bad! So I went back to the service department on Saturday 1st February 2014. After some discussions we have agreed to leave the car there for some tests. Just to let you know, I did not ask, and I did not get offered any car loaner for the inconvenience. Tuesday February 4th 2014, I got a call back from the service manager. He was telling me that I had to pick back my car even though the issue wasn't solved. Seems that they were not being able to reproduce the problem in 3 days, so he asked me to take back the car and take a picture when the problem happened again. Also he told me that this was not a known issue for Mazda. He told me that this was a mandatory step to move forward to Mazda support in order to get some kind of decision on how to proceed or how to fix this issue. So I did, even though I was not very persuaded, initially it was a KNOWN issue later on it wasn't anymore.

On February 5th, 2014, I took a video of the issue and I brought the car back to them as requested. The service manager was very nice with me, he has explained me that now they had all the needed information and evidences to bring this on higher level, but I had to be patient and leave the service department with my car and wait their call back for instructions. So, I did, I was pretty happy about the agreed plan.

Around an hour later I got a call back from Mazda customer service... The person at the phone was telling me that even though I brought the video to the service department this was not enough to provide any solution or to fix the problem, because the issue has to be reproduced by Mazda's technicians, so I told him that the acceptance person has seen the problem and he knows about it... but the person at the phone told me that no one has mentioned that...???

I felt teased, and frustrated... I lost already a lot of my working time behind this issue. So I told him, okay, I'll bring the car back to the service and I will leave it there for the needed time, but I would need a car loaner in the meantime... I cannot stay without the car for such long time... So he told me that this is not possible for some unreasonable reasons! At this point I got seriously disappointed, frustrated and pissed off! I was trying to find a peaceful solution with Mazda, but now he was telling me that, basically, I can keep the car as it is, with this problem!?! I was thinking...Ehi!!! My money were all good, I did not pay with broken bucks! Why should I keep the car with this problem?! Finally Mazda left me with a faulty brand new car!!! Think twice before spend your money towards a Mazda car. Cars are very beautiful, but unfortunately the customer service is very disappointing.

I tried it again on 28.01.2014 and I still feel that there is something wrong. I tried a friend’s Mazda 3 2014 car and I got sure that I had a problem in my brake system. I'm very frustrated and I went Mazda Abu Rawash on 28.01.2014 to check this again, and they spent the whole day to check them and at the end this did something to the back brake. The issue has been enhanced but the problem still existing. Kindly assist as this is not an expected behavior from a Zero car so either to fix it or change the car for me.

So I hope that you take the necessary action to resolve the problem or change the car completely or provide me with a redemptive value of what has been paid in the car, especially as the car is still in warranty and so avoid the risk of surprise, which can lead my life to danger or avoid any problem in the motor. And if I don't receive any reply or the problem will not solved, I will be obligated to report my complaint to the Official/Governmental Egyptian authorities responsible for protecting my rights, or to the media, which will play a very negative role on the company's reputation and the reputation of the car inside Egypt and the Middle East.

The Service Mgr (Rick) phoned me back and said that some of my receipts had no logo and he was sure they were fake. I suggested he could contact the business where they were done and confirm them if he had doubts. He said it wasn't 'his job' to do that and that it was my job to satisfy him. Finally, he admitted he had not even submitted anything to Mazda Canada for consideration and he would not. He did not offer me any suggestions as to what I should do to ameliorate the situation.

I phoned Mazda Canada and they indicated that as long as I had an 'open work order' I would still have warranty coverage even if the mileage surpassed the 100k. (The car still runs with the noise but I was advised it will suddenly die altogether at some point in the very near future.) Mazda Canada customer support person stated they would look into it and call me back in a few days. I finally called the same service rep back to advise him that Mazda Toronto did not have an open work order and they refused to open one. I was told that Mazda Canada could not make a dealer open one and without one, once the 100k is reached, I have no warranty. He suggested I phone the General Mgr of Mazda Toronto and discuss it with him. I said that after all the crap they have given me, I was not confident it would do much good. The Service Rep then stated that he would no longer deal with me because I was using 'foul language and it was too rude' and he was terminating my call. I asked if I could have the name of a Customer Service Supervisor or be put through to one, and he refused.

I phoned back right away and a lady CS Rep spoke to me and said she would take over where the last CR Rep terminated because there was no Supervisor available and I was to call her and let her know how I make out with the alternate dealer. I attended a dealer closer to my current residence and they removed the valve cover and found it had no sludge, so that indicates my oil changes were done as far as they can tell. They have no idea why the motor is failing until the motor is either torn apart etc. This dealer wants receipts from purchase time almost 5 years ago until current. I am now locating the numerous receipts as I remember where I might have gotten them done.

This lack of service is not acceptable. I am a senior widow and this was to be my last vehicle. I hand wash and wax and clean the car regularly, do regular maintenance and keep it in good shape because it was intended to be my last vehicle. Now I just want to get rid of it and get anything as long as it isn't a Mazda. I like the car, but the service from both the dealer and the company is deplorable.

I need a vehicle for numerous medical appointments all over the area so I am still driving the car. I still don't know what will transpire with this alternate dealer where I have taken it. I am not too hopeful that anything will happen at all. They have opened a work order for me so as long as they don't close it, the warranty should be in place. This dealer (service Mgr.) is aware of the problems I have been experiencing and is willing to submit the claim to Mazda Canada when I accumulate the receipts for oil changes that were done out of town, etc., at other than a Mazda Dealer. This clearly stresses to me that I need to keep everything re a vehicle even if it is a simple oil change receipt. I should have some answer within the next weeks as to whether Mazda will replace the motor or not.

The car still wasn't running the way it was when I bought it. I was very disappointed. The clutch and shifting were finicky. At 9,500 miles, as I was driving home through a winding canyon road, I had great difficulty getting the car into first gear. It was not easy to get home. I had to signal cars to pass me while I struggled with the shifting. The car was towed into the dealer. Turns out to be the slave cylinder. They had the car for 3 days and had to flush all of the hydraulic system--clutch and brakes.

I have been completely unhappy with this car. It is not the car that I bought only 1 year ago. Don't buy a Mazda 3 with Sky Active technology. You're buying the financing, not the car.

I rode in the car several times and it was acting up on and off, but was not consistent and was doing all the things we told them was happening. We then took the car back in on February 24th. My daughter told them it was not shifting, smoking, she smelled some kind of fluid leaking, the steering wheel was shaking and it was running hard. They took it out and drove it for miles, called her back, said they found nothing. They could not get it to do what she was claiming to do. I called them back and was told they found nothing wrong, could not get it to do anything but did notice the transmission not shifting right. They said they would take it out again on Monday the 28th. That morning of the 28th, they called my daughter at 9 am, told her the shocks were leaking, the left tire was damaged, the boot on the front axle was cracked, the axle was broken and the shocks were damaged. Hmmm. How come all of a sudden all these issues surfaced? They hooked it up to the computer system both in October and this time, and found nothing wrong. And without taking it out again on the 28th, all these issues surfaced - the same issues that I am sure were there in October.

I was told that the extended warranty would fix the transmission but nothing else and that the axle would not be covered because the cracked boot had dirt in it and was the cause of the axle breaking. After talking to another mechanic about this, I was told that the cracked boot would have not caused the axle to have broken, and if the shocks were leaking fluid, they should have caught that which they did not till this time in February not in October, which we smelled the same fluid in October as we did in February. The co-owner asked me if the shocks were leaking fluid, would that have caused your shocks to be damaged? I said, “Yes it would.” He laughed at me and said, “No it would not,” and I said, “Yes it would.” Then, he asked if I was going to take the car to another mechanic to get the rest of the car fixed, everything outside of the transmission and I said, “Yes, to get it fixed correctly.”

He got upset over that, then he proceeded to go on about how his service shop fixed many axles and disagreed with my answer about the boot not causing the axle to break or the leaking fluid damaging the shocks. He got upset over just fixing the transmission and he got so loud I had to move the phone from my ear and he went on and on about me not allowing anyone to talk because I was interrupting everyone that was talking to me as I sat there on the phone not talking but listening to him raise his voice to me. And basically in a round-about way, he told me to come and get my piece of ** car not in those words but in a round-about way out of his shop. And I said, “Do I need to get a lawyer in order to settle this?” And he said, “Go ahead, if that is what you need to do.” He continued to talk to me in a very loud voice, and several people around me heard him from my phone. I proceeded to hang up the phone. I just want them to fix what they caused more damage to my car because they did not catch the breakdowns of my daughter’s car in October. If the issues were caught, I would not have $1100 worth of repairs.

Problem #2: When my car hit 70,000 miles and was very well-maintained and regularly and faithfully, at every 3500 miles, oil changed, my overheating sensor and my thermostat both went at the exact same time. In seconds, my car shut off without warning. My mechanic was in shock and my engine was killed. I was forced to have another motor put in my 2 1/2 yr. old Mazda at my full expense. Problem #3: My airbag lights are now staying on all the time. Both bags are now off. Yet I see this is another item that many Mazda owners are experiencing and again, no recall. I do not want to be a statistic, but fear in time there will be a bad accident involving a Mazda and then something might be done and these Mazda’s will be recalled and repaired.

I always loved my Mazda and two family members have purchased one through my ravings. Now, I am seeing more and more problems with mine and I just want it fixed so it will be a safe and dependable car to drive. I love the gas mileage, but please issue recalls to protect innocent lives and end these expensive repairs that are not our fault.

When I brought it to the dealer, they told me they are not responsible for the repairs since it's not a default in the paint itself. So Mazda will not stand behind its paint job? I can't wait to see what would happen if I had a bigger issue and how they would get out of fixing that. I currently own two Mazdas, but not for long! I have full intention of trading in both of my Mazdas and get something else after this. I have read of others complaining about the paint/paint job used by Mazda.

I had made several attempts to visit the service center when the vehicle was in warranty. I had spoken to Amos ** who is the assistant service manager which he had stated he could not authorize to write a repair order concerning the peeling on my dash board and that he wasn't able to do anything for me. He had explained to me that I need to talk to Service Director ** at Gunther Mazda 441 location in South Florida where the vehicle was purchased.

So, I called ** explained to him I was there before the warranty expired and was told he wasn't in when I arrived. I did meet with him on Friday, 17th of August. He in fact indicated to me that the Mazda 3 is having a dashboard problem. He had taken a picture of my dashboard to send over to a consulting specialist. He told me it may take a long time to get back with me and Mazda Consulting would make that decision if their willing to goodwill it. He never bothered to do a written repair order. I hope that Mazda will consider and do what’s right and fix the problem at no cost to the customer.

It was with great anticipation that I turned on the air when leaving the dealership only to be blasted with the same smell. Further convinced that it was something inside the car, I began another round of cleaning and deodorizing, and had to replace several purses that became contaminated with the smell, after sitting in the car. I became suspicious that the cabin air filter had actually not been changed and took the car to a local reputable mechanic that I've done business with (successfully) for the last 15 years. Though the car only had 45,000 miles on it (only 10,000 on the "new" cabin filter, I asked the mechanic to replace the filter. I could sense he was "entertaining" my concerns until he pulled out the "new" cabin air filter. He displayed it to me and called over the other employees who were shocked when they were shown the receipt where I paid for it to be changed just 10,000 miles ago. The filters were covered in mold stains and debris, and it was clear they'd either never been changed, or the system is so compromised that it deteriorated the filters in 1/3 the time.

I took the bagged filters directly to the dealer and lodged my complaint (with the new filters in the odor coming from the air and heat was the proverbial "breath of fresh air" that I'd not experienced since the car had 10k miles on it). The car was not inspected, nor was there an offer to do so. The dealer insisted that the filters had been changed yet told me he'd "cut a check" to refund me the cost of the "installation" that was done 10K miles ago (I have not cashed the check). It was only a short reprieve from the odor, as the interior of the vehicle is completely compromised. The odor in the upholstery and carpeting is recirculated through the system and everything that comes in contact with the car still has a musty odor.

Though Mazda has had other models with bacteria problem, their position is "not with this model". I called the dealer and advised him that I intended to call the corporation, and asked if he had any other recommendations. He did not. I buy Mazdas, and have recommended Mazdas (my mother and sister both purchased Mazdas on my glowing reports), as they are usually problem free for many years, and the dealers have been responsive and trustworthy. Apparently times have changed. Because of Mazda's inaction and deceit, I have a car with only 54,000 miles on it, and I can't use for trips and can't sell. Mazda's position? Take it to a different dealer, and "oh, it's out of warranty".