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What 131 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Mazda Mazda3 Sedan

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 (131)Crash / fire / injury (16)Airbags (28)Seats (19)Electrical system (15)Body & structure (13)Steering (13)Transmission & drivetrain (12)Lights (10)Visibility & wipers (8)Suspension (7)Tires (7)

1 of 131 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Apr 15, 2019SteeringElectronic Stability Control (esc)BrakesCrash

ON APRIL 8 WHILE PICKING UP MY DAUGHTER FROM SCHOOL ON NAUTILUS STREET IN LA JOLLA, POINTED DOWNHILL ON A STEEP GRADE, MY IDLING VEHICLE LOST POWER WITHOUT WARNING, I LOST CONTROL OF STEERING AND BRAKES HAD TO STOP THE VEHICLE WITH THE HANDBRAKE, THE PASSENGER CAR DOOR WAS OPEN AT THE TIME MY DAUGHTER WAS TRYING TO STEP INTO THE VEHICLE AS THE CAR TOOK OFF, THE DOOR HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME BREAKING HER TAIL LIGHT, IT TOOK ME THREE TRIES TO GET THE ENGINE TO TURN BACK OVER.

NHTSA ODI 11196467

Working with the data? Download all 131 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 18, 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 Mazda3 Sedan verdict →