10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
7,539 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.

2017 Mazda MAZDA3 brakes problems

brakes problem

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2017 Mazda MAZDA3 Owner Comments

problem #6

Jan 032022

MAZDA3

  • miles

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

Car was parked in a carport on flat ground. Came outside car was gone.. rolled out of the carport down a 500 ft driveway, turned into the driveway across the highway into a vehicle parked there.. electronic braking was applied and still engaged.. parked the car back into the carport and tried pushing it out of the carport and wouldnt budge... my vehicle rolled across a busy highway and if the lady didnt have a vehicle parked there it would have went into the side of her house...

- Corydon, KY, USA

problem #5

Aug 012020

MAZDA3

  • miles
52000 miles and warped brake rotors. Car stops fine. No danger just shimmy in steering wheel when stopping. This has happened way too soon. If it-??s about Zoom Zoom Zoom then Mazda should be using a better quality rotor. I will be attempting to do the brake repair myself.

- Ruston, LA, USA

problem #4

Oct 102019

MAZDA3

  • 18,000 miles
I leased this car brand new in 2016, since then, I have had two incidents which while parked and in gear with the mechanical E-brake set I have walked outside to find my car not where I left it. The first time this happened was in September of 2017 resulting in substantial damage to the passenger side as well as the rear end. I was living on block island and the car let loose out of the parking spot and rolled backwards into a tree doing significant damage to the passenger side and completely taking the mirror off. After hitting the tree the car the redirected towards another group of small tress causing damage to the drivers side where it then stopped in a stone wall damaging the rear bumper. After a battle with both Mazda and the insurance company I was left repairing the car myself. On October 10th of this year I went outside to start my car to find it had yet again released itself and was in a ditch at the end of my driveway. Causing damage to both sides of the vehicle, the rear lights and bumper cover. This time the car went down into a ditch so there is also damage to the undercarriage as well. I have spoken with Mazda and they claim there is nothing wrong with the car. Luckily in both incidents the car was in rural area so it didn't injure anyone and it only took out vegetation and a stone wall. I pay a substantial amount monthly to lease this car and I no longer feel safe driving it, I fear what will be behind it next time the E-brake lets loose. I have been forced to bring a wheel chock with me whenever I go into the city since the incident in 2017. Due to the insurance company delaying any progress on fixing the car I have been forced to rent a car paying out of pocket the expense so that I am safe on the roads. Any help or direction in this matter would be greatly appreciated. I have photos and quotes I can obtain from the garage if necessary.

- West Dover, VT, USA

problem #3

Jul 092019

MAZDA3

  • 17,032 miles

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

Rear brakes severly corroded and near failure between 13000 and 17000 miles despite routine washing. Rear brake noises began early in this mileage range then escalated along with reduced stopping power. Dealer replaced brakes at 17000 miles (cost not covered) and stated rear pads worn to 3/32 and 4/32 and frozen in the calipers along with deep scoring on rotor surfaces. Co worker with the exact same car had the exact same issue/diagnosis/fix/mileage, yet somehow they covered his repalcement...

- Penfield, NY, USA

problem #2

Jul 082018

MAZDA3

  • 10,000 miles
The engine began revving high as I took my foot off the accelerator and apply the brakes as I approached a traffic red light. I put the car in neutral to see if by tapping the gas pedal it would stop revving. It did not. With my foot on the brake pedal to the floor, I put the car in drive and the car sped forward despite my foot on the brake pedal. I went through a red light trying to make a left turn on to a major highway, crossed a median strip, clipped a vehicle in the rear, turned the car trying to avoid collisions with other cars, went off the road hitting utility pole and transformer box on the opposite side of the highway, finally coming to rest with air bags deployed on the driver side. This happened on July 8, 2018, a Sunday afternoon. No one was hurt, but obviously shaken and confused how my brakes could fail on a car recently in for its 10000 mile scheduled maintenance 9 days prior. Researching this on line found similar incidents of this occurring with Mazda 3 vehicles and other manufacturers (I.e. Toyota). Referred to as sudden unintended acceleration (sua). There are many reported cases of sua, some where drivers are at fault. My case was clearly mechanical defect related.

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #1

Aug 092017

MAZDA3

  • 200 miles
We leased this car in July of 2017. A couple weeks later on 8/9/17 my daughter was driving the car. As she approached the exit ramp on a highway near our house she felt what she thought was another car hitting her in the rear. Since no vehicles stopped she drove the car to a corner near our house while hearing a loud grinding sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. What had happened was that the driver side rear brake unit was missing 1 of the 2 bolts that held it in place and the second bolt had dislodged to the point where it was no longer able to hold the brake unit in place. Luckily the unit did not compromise the integrity of the body when it was dislodged at 55 miles per hour and my daughter did not lose control of the vehicle. However, this was a brand-new car that was delivered to our dealer from another dealer and prepared for us by our dealer, huntington Mazda. We asked them to engage Mazda to find out how this could have happened. It appears that no investigation actually took place and the vehicle was fixed and returned to us after about 3 or 4 weeks due to parts availability. I have a great concern that this issue may not be limited to our vehicle and that someone could be in danger. The qa markings appear where the bolts should have been, so this defect occurred either at the dealer or a result of normal operation dislodging the bolts. The attached images show the brakes from the inside and outside. I also created a second copy of each of the picture with the area if interest highlighted.

- Jericho, NY, USA

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