Home · 2011 Mazda Cx-70 Mhev · Complaints

What 152 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Mazda Cx-70 Mhev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (152)Crash / fire / injury (8)Suspension (51)Airbags (42)Lights (37)Steering (16)Transmission & drivetrain (7)Electrical system (6)Visibility & wipers (6)Brakes (5)Engine (5)Body & structure (3)

6 of 152 complaints match · Visibility & wipers · clear filters

Feb 13, 2024LightsVisibility & wipers

During a rainy evening I could not see with the wipers on max speed and the headlights on low beam. I couldn't see the road unless a car was in front of me or I turn on my high beams. My son was in the car with me and several times I had to go at a crawling speed and still barely stayed on the road because of low visibilty. This has happened more than once and I feel unsafe driving now because I feel like I'm driving with no lights on at all these days without rain and rain makes it 10x worse.

NHTSA ODI 11571776

Feb 16, 2023LightsVisibility & wipers

Low beam headlights are so poor that they barely illuminate the roadway when driving at night. I've replaced them with Sylvania Silverstar Max bulbs as well as tried LED bulbs and neither help. Makes the car almost worthless to drive at night due to the limited visibility. It has slowly gotten worse since my purchase of the vehicle in 2016.

NHTSA ODI 11507587

Feb 26, 2018LightsVisibility & wipers

CAR WAS PURCHASED MAY 2011. I CANNOT REMEMBER WHEN IT ALL STARTED. ALL REPAIRS WERE MADE AT JIM ELLIS MAZDA, COBB PKWY, MARIETTA, GA FROM PURCHASE UNTIL SEPT. 2017 WHEN I BECAME FED UP. MY HEADLAMPS FOGGED UP AFTER A YEAR OR SO, THEY SAID IT WAS NORMAL. MY HEADLAMP BULBS HAD TO BE REPLACED EVERY 3 TO 6 MONTHS AND, NOW THEY ARE REPLACED EVERY 2-3 MONTHS. ALL BULBS WERE PURCHASED FROM MAZDA YET ALL BULBS DIED OUT WITHIN 3-6 MONTHS. IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS, HEADLAMP BULBS WERE REPLACED FOUR TIMES. 4 NIGHTS AGO, I WAS STOPPED BY THE POLICE DUE TO NO HEADLIGHTS. THE POLICE WATCHED WHILE I CHECKED DAY TIME RUNNING LIGHTS, HIGH BEAMS, LOW BEAMS AND, AT 9 P.M. LATE EVENING GEORGIA/EST, I HAD NO RUNNING LIGHTS. I TOOK THE CAR TO MAZDA ROSWELL THE NEXT MORNING. WHEN I DESCRIBED THE PROBLEM, STEPHANIE JOHNSON, SERVICE ADVISOR MANAGER IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED THE PROBLEM BY INQUIRING HOW OFTEN I HAD TO CHANGE MY BULBS IN THE CAR. NO SERVICE ADVISOR HAD PREVIOUSLY ASKED THAT QUESTION AT THE MARIETTA SERVICE DEPARTMENT & NOONE HAS EVER ADVISED TO USE ONLY MAZDA PARTS. UNFORTUNATELY, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM MAZDA 3 DAYS LATER ALLEGING THAT MY HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WAS FRIED BECAUSE I DID NOT USE MAZDA MANUFACTURED BULBS. MAZDA IS BILLING ME $130 FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC THOUGH THEY KNEW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE CAR, & IS CHARGING ME $313 TO REPLACE AND REPAIR THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WHEN MY HEADLIGHTS HAVE HAD A SHORTAGE FOR 6 OF THE 7 YEARS THAT I OWNED THE CAR. I STOPPED USING MAZDA SERVICE AFTER 6 YEARS BECAUSE NOT ONLY COULD THEY NOT FIND OR FIX THE CONSISTENT HEADLAMP PROBLEM BUT MAZDA SERVICE WOULD FIND A REPAIR THAT I HAD NOT COMPLAINED OF. IN FACT, I ONCE TOOK THE CAR IN & BROUGHT MY OWN HIGHER QUALITY HEADLAMPS & MAZDA RETURNED MY CAR W/O REPLACING THE BURNED OUT BULBS. THIS CAR WAS DEFECTIVE WHEN SOLD BUT NOT RISING TO THE LEVEL OF LEMON LAW COMPLAINTS.

NHTSA ODI 11075141

Feb 25, 2014Visibility & wipers

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING TO WORK YESTERDAY MORNING WHEN SHE HEARD A LOUD NOISE THAT SOUNDED LIKE A GUNSHOT. SHE IMMEDIATELY NOTICED GLASS FLYING OFF OF THE TOP OF THE CAR. APPARENTLY THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS AROUND MY WIFE AT THE TIME SO IT DID NOT GET HIT BY A ROCK OR ANY OTHER DEBRIS FROM THE ROAD. THE GOOD THING IS THAT WHILE MY WIFE WAS SHAKEN UP OVER THE INCIDENT, SHE DID NOT WRECK THE CAR AND THE INNER SHADE WAS SHUT SO THERE WAS NO GLASS IN THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR. I TOOK PHOTOS OF THE SUNROOF AND THE REMAINING GLASS IS PUSHED UP AS IF SOMEONE KICKED IT FROM THE INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE.I CAN EMAIL THE PHOTOS IF THEY ARE NEEDED. I SEARCHED THE INTERNET FOR ANY COMPLAINTS OF SUNROOFS EXPLODING ON MAZDA VEHICLES AND TO MY SURPRISE THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. I THINK THAT THIS IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE. I HAVE CONTACTED MAZDA ABOUT THE INCIDENT AND AM WAITING FOR A RESPONSE BUT WHEN I SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR, SHE STATED THAT SHE HAD NEVER HEARD OF ANYTHING LIKE MY WIFE EXPERIENCED. ALL OF THE OTHER COMPLAINTS THAT I FOUND ON THE INTERNET STATED THAT THEY CONTACTED MAZDA AND THAT NOTHING WAS EVER DONE TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10565756

Sep 30, 2013Visibility & wipers

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MAZDA CX7. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD BECAME CRACKED WITHOUT WARRANT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 18,000.

NHTSA ODI 10546234

Dec 19, 2011Visibility & wipers

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MAZDA CX7. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AT ENGINE STARTUP, A CRACKING NOISE EMITTED FROM THE WINDSHIELD. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 300 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 2600. WHEN THE CAR HAS BEEN SITTING OR NOW ON THESE COLD DAY THE WINDSHIELDS MAKES A CRACKING SOUND AS THE CAR WARMS UP. THIS HAPPENS ALMOST DAILY. AM AFRAID IT MAY SHATTER. UPDATED 1/20/2012 *BF

NHTSA ODI 10440383

Working with the data? Download all 152 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 20, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Mazda Cx-70 Mhev verdict →