3.3

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,079 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Mazda MAZDA3 transmission problems

transmission problem

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2004 Mazda MAZDA3 Owner Comments

problem #11

Jun 212011

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

1) driving at 60 mph on highway, at 4th gear. 2) transmission failed to put power into the wheels, causing the car to decelerate rapidly even though RPM rises when throttle is pressed. Only 1st and 2nd gears are able to transfer power from engine to wheels. 3) dealer refuse to replace transmission, even though malfunctioning of this particular part are apparent to many of the owners of this vehicle.

- South San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #10

Jan 252011

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • 96,000 miles
2004 Mazda 3 automatic transmission failures. 1st offense, it required a PCM valve/solenoid replaced., 2nd offense: Transmission lost 4th gear and wont shift into 4th gear. Car is in a shop for diagnosis. Only goes up to 35 mph if shift manually and in 3rd gear, otherwise it revs, jerks, stalls, etc.

- Woodstock, GA, USA

problem #9

Aug 112010

MAZDA3

  • 59,500 miles
When driving on the highway, the transmission of my 2004 Mazda 3 with only 84,000km died as it lost the ability to reach 3rd and 4th gear. This incident nearly cost me my life yet Mazda Canada would do nothing about it. What kind of company can not stand behind their product after such a near-fatal incident. Suffice to say that Mazda will never get my business again. $3,200 later, I'm still alive no thanks to Mazda.

- St. Catharines, NY, USA

problem #8

Apr 082010

MAZDA3

  • 59,646 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Transmisin daada.

- Mayaguez, PR, USA

problem #7

May 202010

MAZDA3

  • Automatic transmission
  • 137,671 miles
I have a 04 Mazda 3 w/ automatic trans / driving into parking lot heard a loud noise, car quit moving, driver side axle was hanging / the engine had almost drop to the floor, vehicle was towed to a shop, they found out that the bracket which holds transaxle / engine, on driver side had broken !! it is a aluminum bracket with 3 bolts that carry all the weight of engine / transaxle it damaged both axle shafts, caused about $ $950 on repairs my concern is that it a very bad / poor / weak / design / the good thing it happened at low speed, if it would have broken at freeway speed it would have caused a major damage / accident !!

- Modesto, CA, USA

problem #6

Apr 062009

MAZDA3

  • miles
I have a 2004 madza3 with 73,560 miles on it. The A/T light came on when I started the car. So I turn off the car and restarted. The A/T light didn't come on. I took it to the dealer and the tech found internal failure due to pressure control solenoid and needs rebuilt transmission. ( $3,700 dollars !) the tech told me that 2003-2004 had problems with the transmission. He also said, that he had 3 to 4 per week, with customers coming in for the same problem. So my warranty ran out. But that's not the problem! the manufacturer knew about the problem, (back then) but didn't want to have a recall on the 2003 and 2004 madza3 transmission!! they knew it will cost them alot money!! the manufacturer figures that half of the customers usually only keep their car only 2 to 3 years and trade it in. The other half of the customers usually have extended warranty, so the manufacturer won't have to worry about the recall!! that's bad business!! I also look in the internet and found alot of customers with the same problem!! if this is not the right dept. Then please forward it to the right dept. Thank you

- Riverside, IL, USA

problem #5

Dec 012007

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • 5,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Automatic transmission/manual jerks when going from 1st to 2nd gear and after a period of hard driving the jerking stops. This should not occur in a quality vehicle like this one, however it shouldn't occur at all. Please provide me a solution to this annoying problem. Fyi: I have had the transmission flushed and new fluid added however the problem still remains..help!!!

- Arnold, MO, USA

problem #4

Sep 272005

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 18,150 miles
The car is a Mazda 3 2004 with 18000 miles. I bought my wife this Mazda 3 in may of 2005. With 16000 miles. The car was running great and it is a pleasure to drive. 3 days ago I started to hear a noise when you take your foot off the accelerator pedal. Sound is like a clicking sound that you made when you put your baseball cards on your bicycle tire. To make a long story short, the transmission is being replaced under warranty.

- Norwood, MA, USA

problem #3

Aug 012004

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 12,600 miles
My car has had multiple problems. I have a Mazda 3 which I purchased in December. About a month ago my car began hesitating on occassion when I was stopped at a stop light and then pushing the gas to go. I did notice after the third time the vehicle did this that the D light on the dashboard blinked. I do not know if they are linked but it would be odd if they were not. I brought my car in for the problem and they could not figure it out and had kept it for 4 days.at which this time they found a berring had gone bad my car has 12,600 miles at this point. I recieved my vehicle back and had to bring it back two days later for the berring. The berring was replaced and I was sent home again. Then two weeks ago we were driving the car my husband had it in nettural at a light and placed in manuamatic then directly in drive and the car made a loud sound that made us wonder if the transmission had fell out of the vehicle. Again we brought in to the dealership and again they could not replicate it and decided to replace a drive mechanism that deals with the electronic shifting of the vehicle. At the same time they replaced a recall part the O2 sensor on the car. Then today Sept 1st I recieve a call stating a noise the dealer heard while running my car through the car wash is the front axles going bad. I am at a loss and frustrated and the Mazda headquarters tells me they can't not diagonose the dealership is capable and the dealership tells me Mazda headquarters for repair need to assist them. I have paid a lot of money in insurance for rental cars and I do not feel safe in the vehicle.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #2

Mar 152004

MAZDA3

  • miles
Automatic transmission failed after 1,500 miles. Transmission began to shift very harshly and abruptly from 3rd gear to 4th gear. Eventually, I could not drive above 30 mph for fear of shifting into 4th gear. Dealer was initially unable to fix the problem, but eventually replaced the entire transmission. Car was out of service for a week.

- Glendale Heights, IL, USA

problem #1

May 192004

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,800 miles
Vehicle overview: My 2004 Mazda3 S sedan is not equipped with ABS and has 16" inch factory wheels. The car has an automatic transmission. Problem description: After aproximately 1800 miles of driving (city/highway), I began to notice slight discolored bands on each of the brake rotor discs at all four wheels. After another 600 miles of driving, I began to notice grooving in the places with the discolored bands. At this point, the groove could be felt by a fingertip. The grooves are visible on the outward side of each rotor. I have not inspected the opposite side of each rotor (the side that would be closest to the vechicle chassis) to verify grooving on either side. Efforts to correct: I have requested that my dealership inspect the brakes, and they have also noted the grooving. However, they claim that there is no fix for this other than re-surfacing each rotor. This will prematurely wear my braking components, so I declined this offer. Also, simply resurfacing the brake rotors does not address the issue of what is causing the grooving in the first place. Outcome: Braking power and stability remain unaffected in spite of the grooves. However, the longevity of the brakes is diminished. I am uncertain what the outcome would be with continued grooving. This is a foreshadowing to premature brake component failure.

- Lawrence, KS, USA

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