CarComplaints.com Notes: Except for a minor issue with cracked motor mounts, the 2008 MAZDA3 is a fantastic vehicle with a great reputation.

If you need to replace the motor mounts, first ask your dealer if they'll cover it -- the motor mounts were dealt with in a TSB & were recalled for some model years. Otherwise buy aftermarket motor mounts -- owners report this solves the problem. If you use the same OEM parts, they may just crack again.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
43,529 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.

2008 Mazda MAZDA3 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2008 Mazda MAZDA3 Owner Comments

problem #11

Jul 152020

MAZDA3

  • 176 miles

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

My Mazda3 dies while I am driving without any indication of what is going on (no check engine light). When it does, I wait for a while and it will start back up again! my shop and I have tried everything we can, but we can't figure out why it is doing that! I called the manufacture and they said it was recalled for power steering assist failure and fixed in 2010 but to us it sounds it is that issue causing it to stop while in motion! this car is unsafe!! no car should stop in motion from nowhere! the manufacture should be responsible for that!

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #10

Jan 012020

MAZDA3

  • 117,000 miles
While driving my car I completely lost my power steering going about 55 mph, we live in a very rural curvey area. At other times I have been going in reverse or driving and my car would shake and just shut off! this.would happen would turning onto.the road or going down the road. It happened at different speeds. Sometimes the car would instantly start back up or I would have to push the car in a safe area (if possible) and wait. I have a 5 month old and 8 year old son having a reliable car is extreme priority for us, I'm so scared of my car. We do normal maintenance and I took it in to be looked at when it shut off and the mechanic couldnt find anything noticeable. He said I would basically have to just start replacing parts and see which part fixes the problem.

- Seaman, OH, USA

problem #9

Aug 252008

MAZDA3

  • 25 miles
Takata inflators air condition never worked well. Replaced all parts of air, each year air stops blowing cool or cold air. Spent thousands of dollars.

- Oak Forest, IL, USA

problem #8

Jun 012017

MAZDA3

  • 79,000 miles

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

At light and check engine light come on. While driving on freeway hard shifts automatically from 5th gear down to a harsh 3rd gear. Cannot get at light to shut off, replaced solinoids, tcm, PCM and still cannot locate the issue. Car will not go past 3rd gear. Car is still under 80K miles.

- Orange, CA, USA

problem #7

Mar 242017

MAZDA3

  • 88,560 miles
I was driving on the tollway to work yesterday morning, 3/24/2017, I lightly tapped my breaks, and my Mazda 3 jumped, hard breaking sensation, and made me swerve due to the car malfunctioning. The automatic transmission light illuminated and went off. Yesterday evening, I started my Mazda 3 to reverse out of a parking lot and both the check engine light and the automatic transmission light immediately illuminated and never went off. The gear lights would not illuminate on my panel. My Mazda 3 would reverse, but it took a few minutes to get the car to go into drive. I took my car to a mechanic first thing this morning, 3/25/2017, and the transmission needs to be replaced. With no warning and no previous transmission problems, all the electrical components of the transmission are gone and the transmission has failed. Additionally, I took my car to the dealership on 3/14/2017, and no one in the service department said my transmission was in bad shape or about to completely fail. I am not the only Mazda owner with this problem, it seems to be a very common theme with Mazda. My car has 88,578 miles on it.

- Dallas, TX, USA

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problem #6

Nov 102016

MAZDA3

  • miles
Neutral safety switch gone bad and rusty and Mazda refuses to help. Did research online and found over 500 consumers with the same exact issue!

- Brussels, WI, USA

problem #5

Mar 022016

MAZDA3

  • 83,000 miles

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

A collision accident

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

problem #4

Feb 162016

MAZDA3

  • 40,000 miles
Car accident going around 60mph on a highway, hit guardrail head on due to black ice and rain, spinning twice hitting guardrails again front and back multiple times, not a single airbag deployed. Thank goodness for the seatbelt as I'm sure death would have occurred if that failed too. Going through the insurance process now and will have more pictures and police report in hand shortly. I thought my wife and kids were in a safe car... I guess not.

- Apalachin, NY, USA

problem #3

May 302015

MAZDA3

  • miles
When I attempted to remove valve stem cover the valve stem cracked and came apart. I had to have the complete TPMS valve replaced. I then noticed that the other valve stems looked in the same condition. The Mazda dealer said that this was just aging and that the rest were O.K. I am not sure if they are. I said that the stems should not crack just by removing the cover.

- Kingsville, OH, USA

problem #2

Aug 202008

MAZDA3

  • miles
Ever since I brought this car im having issues with my headlamps. I had replaced headlight bulbs atleast 15 times. Lamps will last roughly 3 to 6 months and then burnout. I complained many times to the dealership and they have no answer to the root cause other than simply changing the bulbs. I suspect there might be an issue in wiring. Many 2008 Mazda 3 owners are complaining similar issues on-line and websites.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #1

Jun 132011

MAZDA3

  • 71,056 miles
At 71, xxx miles 2 out of 4 the tire pressure monitor sensor valve stems have failed. The valve stem caps were oem gray plastic caps. All parts of this system on this car are oem. The valve stems corrode below where the schrader valve seal so the tires goes flat in just a few seconds.

- Ofallon, MO, USA

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