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What 32 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Mazda Mazda3

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 (32)Driver assistance (15)Brakes (3)Electrical system (3)Steering (3)Fuel system (2)Lane Departure (2)Suspension (2)Body & structure (1)Engine (1)Equipment (1)

Newest first · 32 complaints · page 2 of 2

Jun 16, 2021Driver assistance

The front radar sensor failed and doesn’t work anymore rendering the FCW and ACC useless. There is a TSB out about water damage getting into the sensor. There are 2 warning lights on. They first appeared when I turned on my car one day.

NHTSA ODI 11421125

May 31, 2021Driver assistance

I was driving 35MPH on a side street in “sport” mode. Car system beeped, car auto stopped, red circle with explanation mark and the word Break appeared on my center console. My drive shift popped out of Drive. No object was in front of my car, nothing ran out in front of it. Fortunately, there weren’t any other cars behind me or an accident would have followed.

NHTSA ODI 11419118

May 5, 2021Driver assistance

THIS CAR IS ONLY A FEW MONTHS OLD, WITH ONLY 1600 MILES. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROX 30 OR 40 MPH THE SMART BRAKE SYSTEM (SBS) FALSELY DETECTS RANDOMLY AN OBSTACLE WHILE DRIVING, ACTIVATING THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY WARNING LIGHT AND ALARM. THE MAZDA DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE OR REPAIR THE PROBLEM ALTHOUGH THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED NUMEROUS TIMES AND WAS PART OF AN EARLIER RECALL. I.E.MAZDA RECALL NUMBER 4219L

NHTSA ODI 11415327

Mar 13, 2021BrakesDriver assistance

I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE STRAIGHT AHEAD ON A TWO-WAY CITY STREET WITH NO OTHER VEHICLES IN FRONT OR ON MY SIDES. I WAS TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF 40 MPH. THE TWO-WAY STREET IS SEPARATED BY A CONCRETE DIVIDER AND TROLLY TRACKS. A "BRAKE!" ALERT APPEARED ON THE DISPLAY SCREEN FOLLOWED BY BEEPS. SUDDENLY THE BRAKES WERE ENGAGED BRINGING THE VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP CAUSING THE VEHICLE BEHIND TO COME TO A SCREECHING HALT. IN A FEW SECONDS I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11402806

Mar 6, 2021

MY VEHICLE IS LESS THEN A YEAR OLD AND HAS LESS THAN 10000 MILES ON IT. THE PAINT IS CHIPPING EXTREMELY EASILY. WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH I HAD 3 CHIPS IN THE PAINT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BARE METAL ON THE DOORS. I BOUGHT A PAINT TOUCH UP PEN FROM MAZDA AND FILLED THEN IN. NOW, A FEW MONTHS LATER I FILLED IN 17, YES 17 MORE ON MY HOOD. I DIDNT EVEN COUNT THE CHIPS IN THE PAINT ON MY BUMPER. THIS IS ABSURD, MY OTHER VEHILCE THAT IS 17 YEARS ON AND HAS OVER 150K MIELS HAS 2 HOOD CHIPS!! AND IT'S DRIVEN THE SAME AMOUNT.

NHTSA ODI 11399487

Jan 8, 2021Body & structure

WATER COMING INTO CABIN FROM DRIVER DOOR WINDOW. BROUGHT IT TO MAZDA SERVICE CENTER THREE TIMES AND THEY CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHERE WATER IS COMING FROM. WATER POOLS IN THE DOOR WHEN IT RAINS AND SEEPS INTO THE CABIN.

NHTSA ODI 11387164

Sep 29, 2020Steering

MY NEW 2020 MAZDA 3 PREMIUM WITH 1,177 MILES SUDDENLY TOOK COMPLETE CONTROL OF STEERING MY CAR. DRIVING 65-70 MPH ON A 3 LANE STRAIGHT HIGHWAY ON A CLEAR DAY, WITH LIGHT TRAFFIC, I MOVED ONE LANE TO MY LEFT, AND THE CAR TOOK OVER THE STEERING, PULLING MY CAR OUT OF THE LEFT LANE NEARLY MISSING THE CENTER CEMENT DIVIDER, THEN DARTING BACK ACROSS MY LANE AND HALFWAY INTO THE LANE TO MY RIGHT,THEN DASHING BACK TO THE CEMENT MEDIAN. I AM UNAWARE OF HOW MANY TIMES THE BACK AND FORTH OCCURRED, I TRIED TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN TO NO AVAIL. THE CAR WAS MOVING FAST, AND THE PATTERN THE CAR MOVED IN WAS VERY PRECISE, AS IF THE CAR KNEW NOT TO HIT THE MEDIAN AND GO FURTHER INTO THE LANE TO MY RIGHT. FINALLY THE CAR STOPPED STEERING ITSELF, AND I WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE HIGHWAY. MY CAR WAS NOT DAMAGED. I HIT MY HEAD TWICE ON THE DRIVES SIDE DOOR. I DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.

NHTSA ODI 11361790

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Working with the data? Download all 32 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 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 2020 Mazda Mazda3 verdict →