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What 226 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 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 (226)Crash / fire / injury (10)Transmission & drivetrain (40)Engine (32)Lights (31)Electrical system (25)Fuel system (22)Speed control (20)Airbags (17)Body & structure (17)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (16)Seats (16)

1 of 226 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jul 19, 2023Electrical systemFire

The contact owned a 2012 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact woke up to the fire department extinguishing a fire in the vehicle. The fire department stated that the fire began under the hood and that the fire was due to the electrical system. The vehicle was deemed totaled by the insurance company. A police report and a fire report were filled out. The vehicle has not been towed yet. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

NHTSA ODI 11533271

Working with the data? Download all 226 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 2012 Mazda Mazda3 Sedan verdict →