Mazda MX-5 vs Acura Legend

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Mazda MX-5	Acura Legend
Complaints on file	202	505
Model years covered	2006–2026	1986–1995
Worst model year	2006	1993
Best model year	2008	1995
Crashes reported	20	73
Fires reported	0	17
Injuries reported	15	43
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Equipment & Accessories
Share of complaints involving harm	17.3%	26.3%

Mazda MX-5 by year

36 23 11 4 5 1 6 2 8 2 42 13 5 15 3 1 6 8 7 3 1

06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 31 15.3%

Airbags 25 12.4%

Electrical System 20 9.9%

Body & Structure 20 9.9%

Other & Unspecified 17 8.4%

Steering 10 5.0%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 10 5.0%

Brakes 9 4.5%

Acura Legend by year

17 9 42 47 45 158 111 30 26 20

86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Equipment & Accessories 109 21.6%

Brakes 70 13.9%

Airbags 52 10.3%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 41 8.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 39 7.7%

Engine & Cooling 30 5.9%

Electrical System 24 4.8%

Seat Belts 23 4.6%