10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
33,205 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.

1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata engine problems

engine problem

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1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata Owner Comments

problem #4

Nov 072010

MX-5 Miata 4-cyl

  • 52,819 miles

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

11/7/2010; accelerator pedal stuck in carpet at low RPM in 2nd gear. I pushed in the clutch, and turned off the ignition. I found the lower edge of the accelerator pedal stuck in the carpet. I glued a metal plate to the carpet to prevent the pedal from sticking again. 3/6/2011; accelerator pedal stuck in carpet at high RPM in first gear. The metal plate I glued to the carpet had come loose. I had the wheels turned and the brakes fully engaged. The front wheels were locked as they skidded across a parking lot. I hit a curb and a set of concrete stairs. The car stopped accelerating on impact. The shock of the impact, flex of the chassis, or possibly my foot thrown forward by the impact popped the pedal out of the carpet. An ambulance was called, there is an accident report with photos, and eye witness testimony. The passenger sustained facial abrasions from the airbag, had neck and back pain, lost vision in the left eye totally for three days, vision returned although the prescription has changed. Driver had airbag scrapes, and burns, and neck pain. If one of these cars is in an accident that kills the driver, and the pedal popped out of the carpet on impact like mine did, then no one will ever know the true cause of the accident. A google search will turn up a dozen stuck throttle reports for this car, mostly from miata.net. The reports are spread out over a long period of time and continue to be posted. They discuss the best ways to fix the problem. Unfortunately those reports are not on this site where they would benefit the greatest number of people. The car has not been repaired. It was put on a trailer, and has not been driven since the incident. Would there be a way to have a qualified accident investigator document what happened to this car? I made the car available to Mazda but they had no interest. The car is available for you to inspect. I can deliver.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #3

Mar 232008

MX-5 Miata 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 80,000 miles
Cruise control when set, rapidly accelerates and when switched to "coast" continues to accelerate. Only being able to cancel by braking or completed switching off. Sometimes it seems to set at first and then continues to accelerate. Started intermittently, developing into a constant issue.

- Hopewell, NJ, USA

problem #2

Mar 252000

MX-5 Miata

  • miles
While passing another car on a two lane road, the accelerator cable and the cable adjuster assembly disengaged from the horseshoe bracket that holds the cable. My gas pedal fell to the floor and the engine went to idle speed. I couldn't accelerate as the pedal was lying flat on the floor. There are two rubber grommets that hold the cable to the horseshoe bracket on the passenger side of the engine manifold. They slipped out of the slot and the resulting slack in the cable dropped the gas pedal to the floor and the accelerator went to idle. Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic and I was able to get back into the right lane without being hit by the cars I had just passed. I coasted tot he side of the road and stopped. I was able to reinsert the accelerator cable back into the bracket and drive until I went to the dealership for repairs. They adjusted the cable and retightened the nuts. I'm not comfortable that the cable won't slip out of the horseshoe bracket again!!!

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #1

Nov 151998

MX-5 Miata

  • miles
Loud noise from transmission in 4th gear from 3500 - 4000 RPM at full throttle. Mazda claims this is normal and after driving 10 seperate 99 miata's this noise is not normal. The noise is present on all 99 miata's but the loudness varies. On my miata the noise is 2 -3 times as loud as all other 99 miata's I have driven.

- Houston, TX, USA

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