92 of the
4,006 complaints filed about the Mazda MAZDA3
are about the throttle and cruise control —
2% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2012.
92
Complaints
2%
Share of all complaints
19
Crashes
0
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
WHEN TURNING A CORNER IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AS I GOT AROUND THE CORNER (SLOW SPEED (10 MPH?). THE CAR GRADUALLY SPED UP ON IT'S OWN WITHOUT PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL. NO CRUISE ON AND NO FLOOR MAT PROBLEM. WHILE IN CRUISE CONTROL "ON", THE ENGINE "REVED UP. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, THEY COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM.
NHTSA complaint #11741126 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Transmission control unit (TCU) failure with error code P061B in 2022 Mazda 3. Problem began approximately 6 months after purchase (February 2023, mileage 8181). Despite five repair attempts by Russell & Smith Mazda Houston (August 8, 2023; January 22, 2025; April 8, 2025; October 13, 2025; December 23, 2025), dealer has been unable to correct the issue. TCU malfunction substantially impairs vehicle use and creates serious safety hazard.
NHTSA complaint #11706801 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
During the incident, the vehicle exhibited an uncontrollable malfunction—the steering wheel suddenly jerked sharply to the right while accelerating violently, leaving me unable to steer or brake effectively, the car was looking forward. The car ultimately came to a stop upon colliding with a truck parked diagonally in front of me. After impact, I observed that the front tires remained stuck in a turned-right position, with the steering wheel also locked in that position. This was not an isolated event. Multiple reports from Mazda owners describe similar experiences with their vehicles unexpectedly veering to the right and accelerating without driver input. Given these recurring reports and my own experience, I strongly suspect that a manufacturing defect—whether mechanical, electronic, or software-related—may have contributed to this accident.
NHTSA complaint #11645615 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While accelerating onto a highway, my engine overheating light flashed then stayed on and my acceleration suddenly throttled back and my car started slowing down. I was able to pull over on the shoulder, but there was a close call with a semi bearing down. I had my car towed to a repair shop, where they told me the water jacket had cracked and the overheating caused a blown head gasket. This was repaired and tested. A week later, I got the car up to highway speeds and the engine overheating light flashed again. When I stopped and looked at the engine, there was foamy tan coolant all over the place. Towed it back again and was told the weld had failed. But in trying to find a used cylinder to replace mine, the shop told me that all of their sources said they had no used ones available because the same crack happened on those as well.
NHTSA complaint #11583891 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Transmission Control Module (TCM) has gone out on my car, causing it to shift to 2nd gear while doing 75mph with cars around me, and would no longer shift out of 2nd gear, or into reverse. It was an extremely dangerous situation that made me come very close to wrecking into a car, as well as the many cars behind me that had to emergency brake due to my rapid deceleration, especially without and brake lights coming on because it was engine braking. Doing a simple google search show that this is an extremely well-known problem effecting almost every Mazda 3 that used this TCM in 2010-2011. Any mechanic will tell you it's a known problem, and that it was due to where and how Mazda placed the computer, which causes it to overheat and fail without warning. I'm not sure why there has not been a recall on this issue with how prevalent it has been, and how easily recognized it is by mechanics. It is not a cheap fix, and can cause many other major issues leading up to requiring a full new transmission, if the problem did not already cause the car to wreck!
NHTSA complaint #11504977 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Context: ADAS was not on. Lane keep assist is disabled in system settings entirely as it is dangerous. Blinkers were on, I was pulling out from parallel parking into left turn lane onto a straight road with slight incline. Car is of the Turbo trim on stock tires. Upon finishing pulling out of parallel parking spot and gassing the car, torque vectoring or some underlying collision avoidance may have phantom activated. I felt torque shift to the wrong tires, unsettling the car, and the wheel -- with no human input -- jerked to the left to force me into the lane left of intended. I applied throttle and steered right back into the correct lane, but the car was applying torque to the wrong tires and applying a left bias to the steering. Only after I got above 25mph and held straight did the car settle. Almost caused an accident if the lane was not empty due to car unsettling itself into the left lane.
NHTSA complaint #11448467 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
HAS I WAS DRIVING MY CAR HOME FROM WORK. DRIVING ABOUT 35MPH I STARTED TO LOOSE POWER AND THEN THE AT, ENGINE, TCS/DSC LIGHTS ALL CAME ON. WHEN I MADE IT HOME I LET IT SIT. WHILE I LOOKED INTO THE ISSUE ON GOOGLE LATER THAT EVENING I WENT BACK TO SEE IF MY CAR WAS STILL HAVING THE ISSUE. I PLACED THE CAR IN REVERSE AND MY CAR JUMPED/ JERKED REAL HARD. AS I LET GO OF THE BREAK I NOTICED MY CAR DIDN'T SLOWLY MOVE ON ITS OWN LIKE PRIOR. I ACTUALLY HAD TO PRESS THE GAS DOWN QUITE A BIT. MY CAR REVVED UP TO 3 MAKING A LOUD NOISE. THE CAR HAD NO POWER WOULD HARDLY MOVE. AS I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEMS AND LIGHT ISSUES IT WAS KINDA A SURPRISE HOW EASY IT WAS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE ISSUE WAS. SINCE THIS IS A VERY VERY COMMON ISSUE FOUND WITH THE MAZDA CARS. SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS ISSUE THAT WHEN YOU ORDER THE PART AT OVER $600.00 IN THE DIRECTIONS THAT IS SENT THEY ACTUALLY RECOMMEND RELOCATING THE TCM TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION USING ZIPTIES. WENT TO HAVE CAR CODES READ ON MY CAR INFORMED THE GUY WHAT I BELIEVED IT TO BE AND THE MOST LIKELY WILL BE U0101 LOST COMMUNICATION WITH TCM, AND I WAS CORRECT.
NHTSA complaint #11388410 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR BEGAN STALLING AS I DROVE ON THE FREEWAY. IT STALLS AND FEELS LIKE IT WON'T CHANGE GEARS. TOOK IT TO A SHOP AND THEY KEPT TELLING ME THE COMPUTER CODE WAS NOT GIVING THEM ANY INFORMATION AND THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT.
NHTSA complaint #11350321 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
RADAR CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTION AND SAFETY SYSTEMS MALFUNCTION FREQUENTLY. SAFETY SYSTEMS COMPLETELY DISABLE WITHOUT WARNING PERIODICALLY WHILE DRIVING. RADAR CRUISE CONTROL DOESN'T WORK RANDOMLY. MAZDA DEALERSHIP CAN'T REPLICATE THE ISSUE. OTHER 2019 MAZDA 3 OWNERS HAVE THE EXACT ISSUE AND NO RECALL OR FIX HAS BEEN ISSUED.
NHTSA complaint #11326172 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I APPLIED THE BRAKES, AND THE CAR KEPT MOVING FORWARD EVEN THOUGH I WAS PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. I PULLED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP THE CAR FROM MOVING FORWARD AND HITTING THE BACK OF THE TRUCK IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS ON A HIGHWAY.
NHTSA complaint #11309258 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 2018 MAZDA 3 2.5L TOURING HATCHBACK. I HAD ONLY DRIVEN THE VEHICLE AS ITS NEW OWNER ONCE, FROM THE DEALERSHIP BACK TO MY HOME, WHICH WAS LESS THAN 20 MILES, WHEN THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED: I STARTED THE ENGINE FOR MY SECOND TRIP WITH THE VEHICLE, AND NOTICED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED. I DROVE THE VEHICLE AROUND THE BLOCK AND DID NOT EXPERIENCE ANY UNUSUAL DRIVING PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS SO I DROVE TO MY INTENDED DESTINATION WHICH WAS ONLY 7 MILES AWAY. WHEN I STARTED THE ENGINE TO MAKE MY WAY BACK I NOTICED THAT NOW FIVE WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED, WHICH CORRESPONDED TO THE FOLLOWING WARNING GUIDANCES: AN ENGINE SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, A DSC MALFUNCTION, A TPMS SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, ALONG WITH TWO SCBS MALFUNCTION WARNINGS. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE, I FOUND THAT THE ENGINE WAS CLEARLY NOT RUNNING PROPERLY, AS IT JERKED VIOLENTLY, SURGED, HESITATED AND AT TIMES SEEMED POISED TO STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS CLEARLY UNSAFE FOR ME TO PROCEED ON THE ROAD. AS IT WAS SUNDAY, I HAD TO ARRANGE ON THE NEXT DAY FOR A TOW TRUCK TO TRANSPORT THE VEHICLE TO THE NEAREST MAZDA SERVICE CENTER, WHICH WAS NOT THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP I HAD PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM. IT TOOK OVER A WEEK FOR MAZDA SERVICE CENTER TO DETERMINE I HAD A FAULTY THROTTLE BODY, WHICH HAD CAUSED THESE PROBLEMS AND THIS WAS WHAT NEEDED REPLACEMENT. IMPORTANTLY, THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THE WARNING LIGHTS INDICATING PROBLEMS WITH THIS NEW MAZDA WERE KNOWN PREVIOUSLY BY THE ORIGINAL MAZDA DEALER BEFORE THE SALE TRANSACTION WAS COMPLETED: PRIOR TO THE VEHICLE'S ARRIVAL FOR SERVICE AT MAZDA SERVICE CENTER, THE WARNING LIGHTS AND MALFUNCTION CODES WERE PREVIOUSLY CLEARED BY THE MAZDA DEALER, RATHER THAN ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OR RESOLVING IT. THIS IS FRAUD AND CORPORATE MALFEASANCE ON THE PART OF THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP.
NHTSA complaint #11202646 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
WHILE DRIVING THE SPEED GOES UP AND DOWN ON ITS OWN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OF MY 2008 MAZDA 3 SHIFTS DOWN FROM THE 5TH TO THE 3RD GEAR. THIS CAUSES THE CAR TO JERK VIOLENTLY AND THE CONTROLS TO ILLUMINATE INCLUDING CHECK ENGINE, NO TRACTION AND AT. MY MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND A CAUSE OF THIS, AND HE SERVICED THE TRANSMISSION BY CHANGING THE FILTER AND TRANSMISSION FLUID BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. ONE MECHANIC SAID IT IS THE SPEED SENSOR ANOTHER THE TRANSMISSIONS COMPUTER I HAVE SPEND ABOUT 1,800 AND I STILL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS. IT IS VERY SCARY FOR MY KIDS AND MYSELF WHILE DRIVING AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO GET ANOTHER CAR. WHAT IS THE PROBLEMS WITH MAZDA WITH MY CAR? CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP?! ALSO ALL THE ELECTRICAL STOP WORKING ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, ANOTHER THING IS THE STEERING WHEELS PROBLEMS WHEN MAKING A TURN IT REALLY TIME FOREVER AND IT IS REALLY SLOW AND HEAVY.
NHTSA complaint #11197231 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
10+ INCIDENTS OF SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION SINCE AUG 2018. ALWAYS AT FREEWAY SPEED OF TRAFFIC, I.E. 70-75MPH. OCCURS WHEN INTENTIONALLY DECELERATING (EASING OFF THE GAS PEDAL AND INITIATING BRAKING). RPMS JUMP TO 7 OR 8. ACCELERATION IMMEDIATELY DROPS AND STEADS AFTER TAPPING/APPLYING PRESSURE TO BRAKES. HAS BEEN TAKEN RALPH THAYER DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES -- AUG2018, JAN2019, FEB2019. EACH TIME VEHICLE KEPT FOR A WEEK BUT UNABLE TO DUPLICATE ISSUE. DATA RECORDER WAS INSTALLED IN JAN2019. DESPITE A SEVERAL MINUTE LONG EPISODE ON FEB 22, 2019 IN WHICH THE CAR BEHAVED ERRATICALLY (BUCKLING AND JOLTING) AND WOULDN'T ACCELERATE MORE THAN 60 MPH WHILE THE RPMS WERE HIGH (4-5) FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, THIS WAS SOMEHOW NOT SENSED BY THE DATA RECORDER. MY OWN GUESS IS AN ISSUE WITH THE PCM OR THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE. HAVE SUAS AFFECTED TRANSMISSION? SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE YET THE DEALER/MAZDA REACTION IS PERFUNCTORY AT BEST. NO COMMITMENT TO RESOLVE. E.G. BECAUSE MY DRIVING WAS LIMITED WHILE THE RECORDER WAS IN, I REQUESTED THAT IT BE LEFT IN FOR 3 MONTHS. MAZDA REFUSED, STATING THAT IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN (AND IT WILL), THEY'LL REINSTALL THE RECORDER. THAT A COLLISION HASN'T HAPPENED IS JUST LUCK. A SERIOUS ACCIDENT CAUSED BY THIS VEHICLE IS IMMINENT SINCE THESE ISSUES ADVERSELY AFFECT THE ABILITY TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. I ALSO DON'T RELISH BEING MY OWN CRASH TEST DUMMY. THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO BEYOND A SERIES OF EXPENSIVE PARTS REPLACEMENTS BASED ON THEIR GUESSES? I HAVE SOME VIDEO AND PHOTOS PER THEIR REQUEST, BUT NOTE THAT ATTEMPTING TO PHOTOGRAPH OR VIDEO THE DASHBOARD WHILE DRIVING IS AN EXTRA BULLET IN WHAT ALREADY FEELS LIKE RUSSIAN ROULETTE. I'VE ATTACHED A SUMMARY OF EVENTS PROVIDED TO MAZDA IN JANUARY AND THE MOST RECENT MECHANIC'S REPORT. $800 SUGGESTED FOR GUESS-BASED TCM REPLACEMENT, $240 INCONCLUSIVE TESTS, NO LOANER PROVIDED.
NHTSA complaint #11183139 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MAZDA 3. WHILE DRIVING 75 MPH WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL, BUT THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED. UPON DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL FOR THE THIRD TIME, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. WHEN THE VEHICLE RESTARTED, THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR FLASHED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 54,000.
NHTSA complaint #11161973 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SINCE THE COURSE OF ABOUT A YEAR, I HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMATIC MOMENTS WHILE DRIVING MY VEHICLE PERTAINING TO IT'S ELECTRICAL/TRANSMISSION FUNCTIONALITY. WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT NORMAL SPEEDS (EX. 50MPH) THE MAZDA WOULD BUCKLE, REV ABNORMALLY, ALL WHILE MY GEAR INDICATOR WOULD FLICKER. THIS WOULD HAPPEN AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING AND CONTINUE ON FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DRIVE ABOUT EVERY 20 MINUTE INTERVAL. THIS IS QUITE UNSAFE, AND THE REPAIRS THAT MULTIPLE MECHANICS INCLUDING MAZDA THEMSELVES SUGGESTED TO REPAIR THE ISSUE DID NOT ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING UNFORTUNATELY. REPAIRMEN FLUSHED AND REPLACED THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID, REPLACED MY OUTPUT SPEED SENSOR, CHANGED OUT MY SHIFT SOLENOIDS, GEAR SHIFTER, AND EVEN REPLACED MY ENTIRE PCM. I HAVE NOT ONLY TAKEN PICTURES AND VIDEOS OF THESE HORRID INCIDENCES, BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE OTHER INSTANCES OF PEOPLE HAVING THIS IDENTICAL ISSUE WITH THEIR MAZDA'S AS WELL. IF THERE IS A WAY TO SHOW MY VIDEO EXAMPLES FOR STUDY, THEN I WILL GLADLY SEND THEM.
NHTSA complaint #11156027 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE ENGINE BEGAN REVVING HIGH AS I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND APPLY THE BRAKES AS I APPROACHED A TRAFFIC RED LIGHT. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL TO SEE IF BY TAPPING THE GAS PEDAL IT WOULD STOP REVVING. IT DID NOT. WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR, I PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AND THE CAR SPED FORWARD DESPITE MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. I WENT THROUGH A RED LIGHT TRYING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN ON TO A MAJOR HIGHWAY, CROSSED A MEDIAN STRIP, CLIPPED A VEHICLE IN THE REAR, TURNED THE CAR TRYING TO AVOID COLLISIONS WITH OTHER CARS, WENT OFF THE ROAD HITTING UTILITY POLE AND TRANSFORMER BOX ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY, FINALLY COMING TO REST WITH AIR BAGS DEPLOYED ON THE DRIVER SIDE. THIS HAPPENED ON JULY 8, 2018, A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. NO ONE WAS HURT, BUT OBVIOUSLY SHAKEN AND CONFUSED HOW MY BRAKES COULD FAIL ON A CAR RECENTLY IN FOR ITS 10000 MILE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE 9 DAYS PRIOR. RESEARCHING THIS ON LINE FOUND SIMILAR INCIDENTS OF THIS OCCURRING WITH MAZDA 3 VEHICLES AND OTHER MANUFACTURERS (I.E. TOYOTA). REFERRED TO AS SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION (SUA). THERE ARE MANY REPORTED CASES OF SUA, SOME WHERE DRIVERS ARE AT FAULT. MY CASE WAS CLEARLY MECHANICAL DEFECT RELATED.
NHTSA complaint #11115710 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
WHEN I LET OFF OF THE ACCELERATOR IT STILL MAINTAINS THE SPEED IT WAS GOING BEFORE I LET OFF THE ACCELERATOR. THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT'S HOW ITS DESIGN. HE EVEN TOOK IT FOR A RIDE AND SAID SEE IT STILL KEEPS THE SPEED I SAID ITS NOT CRUISE CONTROL. I HAD CONTACTED THE DEALER AND MAZDAUSA. MAZDAUSA IGNORES ME. I JUST NEED TO GET THIS FIXED BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. WHEN I GO TO PASS IT STAYS FOR A WHILE AT THE SPEED I HIT BEFORE I RELEASE THE ACCELERATOR.
NHTSA complaint #11111681 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
WHEN FROM A FULL STOP, THEN WITH WHEN NEEDING TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY, THERE IS A DELAY IN ENGINE RESPONSE. USUALLY HALF A SECOND TO ONE FULL SECOND DELAY IN ENGINE RESPONSE BEFORE IT STARTS TO ACCELERATE. ONE ONE OCCASION, IT DID NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL. I HAD TO THEN LET MY FOOT OFF OF THE GAS PEDAL AND PRESS DOWN ON THE GAS AGAIN FOR IT TO FINALLY ACCELERATE. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS FOR EXAMPLE WHEN I WAS ON THE FREEWAY. MY LANE WAS STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC, BUT THE LANE TO MY RIGHT WAS OPEN, SO I WAITED TILL IT WAS CLEAR THEN TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT AND PRESS THE GAS PEDAL. WELL TO MY SURPRISE IT DID NOT ACCELERATE AND CONSISTENTLY MOVED AROUND 5 MPH, WELL THERE WAS A CAR COMING IN THAT LANE AND MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE SO I LET OFF MY FOOT AND PRESS THE GAS AGAIN AND IT STARTED TO ACCELERATE.
NHTSA complaint #11101965 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I PURCHASED MY 2012 MAZDA 3 ONE YEAR AGO (2017). I FIRST NOTICED THE ISSUE ABOUT A MONTH AFTER OWNING MY CAR. I TURNED ON MY AIR CONDITIONER AT FIRST LOW, THEN ALL THE WAY UP, IT FELT SLIGHTLY COOL, BUT ONLY AS IF MY FANS WERE BLOWING AND NOWHERE NEAR WHAT AN AIR CONDITIONER SHOULD PROPERLY FEEL LIKE. THIS WAS AFTER LETTING THE CAR WARM UP, AND DRIVING ON BACK ROADS OR HIGHWAYS AS WELL AS WHEN PARKED. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK AND THE TECHNICIAN HAD SOME TROUBLE FIGURING OUT HOW TO FIX IT. THE AC COMPRESSOR WAS REPLACED, AND YET I AM STILL NOW DEALING WITH A CAR THAT WILL NOT BLOW COLD AIR! ONLY SEMI COOL ON THE HIGHEST FAN SETTING ! ALSO WHEN ACCELERATING AND HAVING THE AIR CONDITIONER ON MY CAR DOES NOT ACCELERATE AS WELL OR FEEL AS THOUGH IT IS DRIVING AS WELL AS IT DOES WITHOUT NEEDING THE AIR CONDITIONER ON. MY CAR REALLY FEELS LIKE IT IS WORKING EXTRA HARD TO PUT OUT SEMI COOL AIR. I HAVE HAD THE AIR CONDITIONER CHECKED AGAIN AND IT SAYS ITS NOT AS COOL AS IT SHOULD BE. I NEED A RESOLUTION TO THIS PLEASE.
NHTSA complaint #11100181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.