231 of the
2,937 complaints filed about the Mazda MAZDA6
are about the electrical system —
8% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2014.
The infotainment touchscreen display in my 2017 Mazda 6 is experiencing a "ghost touch" defect, where the screen registers inputs without being touched. The defective touchscreen is available for inspection upon request. While driving, the system randomly changes settings, switches menus, activates functions, and changes audio or navigation screens without driver input. This creates a safety hazard because it distracts the driver and requires attention to be diverted from the road to address the unexpected screen activity. The issue occurs repeatedly and can happen at any time while the vehicle is in motion. The condition has been reported numerous times to an authorized Mazda dealership, Puyallup Mazda 608 River Road, Puyallup, WA 98371, 253-845-1766. The dealership acknowledged the complaint but stated the ghost touch condition is not covered under Mazda's extended warranty program for infotainment system defects and declined to replace the screen. My vehicle is included in the Mazda Connect Infotainment Class Action Settlement and extended warranty program, which addresses infotainment system malfunctions. Despite exhibiting the widely reported 'ghost touch' defect, the dealership refused to repair the condition under the extended warranty, leaving a known driver-distraction hazard uncorrected. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership, but no repair has been performed. The defective infotainment screen remains installed and available for inspection. Prior to the defect becoming severe, the touchscreen occasionally registered unintended inputs. The condition progressively worsened and now frequently activates functions without any user interaction. No warning lights, diagnostic messages, or other vehicle alerts appeared before or during the malfunction. This unresolved defect poses an ongoing driver-distraction risk and could increase the likelihood of a crash.
NHTSA complaint #11753322 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The center mounted Mazda Connect infotainment system in my 2017 Mazda 6 Touring sedan is defective. The screen randomly & intermittently changes display modes while the vehicle is on (driving or parked). It began about 2024 & getting worse. One second it will be on navigation then it arbitrarily switchs to phone settings or set a random destination in the navigation screen or change radio channels. the routine is entirely random and is never the same results. There are no dash warning lights, no EWL, no indications of any kind before, during or after. Resetting the infotainment system does not resolve the issue. road conditions or speed do not change the issue. outside temperature seems to affect the unit more because the hotter the ambient temp, the worse the issue seems to be. likewise, high humidity & high temperature causes more issues. The vehicle is garaged in South Florida. removing the SD card from the center console (the navigation maps from Mazda) does not affect the issue. replacing the Mazda navigation SD card does not make any change in the frequency, duration or intensity of the issue. moving the jog dial on the center console will allow interfacing the infotainment system, however, not touching the jog dial still has an issue. The issue is becoming a hazard while driving because the turn-by-turn navigation randomly routes to random destinations and when cancelled, it randomly picks another point of interest and starts all over again. The radio cannot stay on a single frequency, it scans through presets. The issues are distracting and the vehicle is out of factory warranty. The dealership cannot reproduce the issue after 3 separate visits for regular maintenance. The reverse camera (also using the screen) works normal most of the time. I had a single issue where the camera would not turn on while in reverse. disconnecting the main 12v battery reset the camera and it has been working since that isolated issue. (Case No. [XXX] (W.D. Ky) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI
NHTSA complaint #11745149 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Ghost touch concern on infotainment touchscreen, similar/same as SSPB6 which was issued for earlier Mazda3 models and extended to other Mazda models. When car is on and touchscreen is not disabled, it exhibits phantom touches, making it unsafe and unusable as it acts like it is being tapped all across the screen. this is especially dangerous when using the navigation which was nearly a $1000 added cost, as it stops the map from being centered on the car location and moves the viewport around as the phantom touches occur.
NHTSA complaint #11718687 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that after her husband had driven for approximately 2 hours with the seat heater activated, the passenger’s side seat overheated, and the seat started smoking. The driver stated that the seat heating element overheated and burned a hole in the seat, damaging the air bag located near the seat heater sensor. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,500.
NHTSA complaint #11694675 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
PCM ISSUE, passenger air bag issue, OCS wiring issue. infotainment system, transmission, and engine. Key fobs not able to be reprogrammed due to PCM issue
NHTSA complaint #11667949 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The park position sensor doesn't work. The car doesn't recognize that the car is in park and will not turn off. This is a known issue with the mazda 6 2014 and I do not know why there hasn't been a recall. I shouldn't have to pay to have this fixed. Started in 2019. Sometimes it takes 20 or more times to get the car to turn off by shifting in gear and back into park or starting and turning off the car. If you can't get the car turned off you cannot lock the doors and it will run the battery down. I just want this to be recalled so the dealership will repair. Thank you, this is a very frustrating situation. Literally my arm gets tired from slamming the gear shifter into park trying to get the car turned off.
NHTSA complaint #11640547 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Infotainment system continually has ghost touches and opens apps, changes radio stations glitches on the screen while the car is driving making it extremely dangerous to drive as it affects volume also. Sometimes it will just start blaring at full volume. Happens everytime I drive
NHTSA complaint #11634413 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The sensors on my alarm system will randomly activate, with alarm going off at 30 second intervals. The problem began approximately 6 months ago. I took the initiative to replace my cars battery, along with the battery in my fab. I really thought that solved my problem, as a first step fix. I began once again to identify the sound of my car alarm in multiple parking lots throughout time. I have been investigating this problem, and have read that this alarm problem has been sited by many Mazda 6 owners. I am the original owner of the 2009 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, and have 67,000 miles driven. I called the Repair Department at my dealership, and was told that it cost $185.00 for just the diagnosis. My auto insurance company policy price is based on using a secured vehicle. Right now I only can leave it unlocked in my garage, otherwise, my vehicle is at risk of being stolen.
NHTSA complaint #11611849 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The infotainment system randomly changes screens, places calls, alters routes while vehicle is in use. It makes for a dangerous distraction while driving.
NHTSA complaint #11595855 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The issue I'm experiencing seems to be common, and is called the "infotainment ghost touch screen issue" The electric screen that shows maps, radio stations, chapters in books I'm listening to, driving directions, etc. starts fluctuating wildly whenever I'm approaching traffic lights. This causes a series of loud beeps and screen fluctuations that are not only distracting but startling --especially if I'm not listening to the radio and the car is quiet. The warranty on the electronic screen has expired but the car is in perfect shape other than this issue (which Mazda knows about). The screen is very expensive to fix or replace. Recently, when the infotainment screen fluctuates the mileage and other dashboard screens start fluctuating as well; they're in my line of vision and are distracting and therefore dangerous, especially on Miami's already dangerous highways. I'd like to bring the car to the Mazda dealership and have this issue fixed without incurring a cost.
NHTSA complaint #11593467 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When pressing the start stop button, the ignition may not turn off the accessories, even with the shifter in park position, and the vehicle engine shuts off normally the ignition stays on in accessory mode. This can cause battery drain/dead, possibly leaving me stranded in the dangerous situation. This has been unknown problem that is been refused by Mazda to create a recall. Right now it’s the car not acknowledging it’s in park because of a faulty switch, that Mazda clearly knows about and has had tons of complaints about and is well documented with NHTSA. How bad does this need to get before Mazda puts out a recall for all vehicles affected. Eventually, it will never be able to go to park and I may get in my car to drive it and it starts off in the wrong shift the wrong and I end up in a car accident. I’m sure Mazda wouldn’t want any crashes, fires, injuries or deaths on their hands do this well established faulty switch that they refused to recall.
NHTSA complaint #11586176 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The infotainment system on my car randomly repeatedly and frequently registers inputs when I am not making any. This has happened more times than I can count over the past several years. It will call people in my contacts, change settings on my car including safety settings, it will blast the volume, turn the volume all the way down, etc. This causes me to repeatedly take my eyes off the road to undo all of the unwarranted inputs which is a safety concern and has almost caused an accident at least once. There is an open recall for model years 2014 to 2016 for this exact issue. I am not sure why there is no 2017 recall since this is the exact same problem of "ghost touch" in previous model years.
NHTSA complaint #11584920 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Shifter Park Switch failed, causing the vehicle to say on when turning the vehicle off. This causes the battery to drain and created a bad cell battery. This caused the vehicle to turn off while in motion driving multiple times putting the driver and surrounding vehicles at risk. This vehicle has been inspected by the Mazda dealership/manufacturer.
NHTSA complaint #11580088 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2017 Mazda 6 with the dreaded "ghost touch" on the infotainment system. Driving along, the screen freaks out, volume goes up, station changes, screen goes almost black, bass goes up, fader goes to back... Very disappointing that Mazda knows about the problem and continues to build cars with this issue. Why only recall 2014-2016 Mazda 3's when it's happening across all models and into the 2020 models? Won't buy a Mazda again.
NHTSA complaint #11572109 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Touch screen on vehicle making random selections on its own, causing potentially dangerous distractions to myself while driving. There are also dead spots on screen where touch does not work. Reads error code "B108E04 Display-System Internal Failure"
NHTSA complaint #11568352 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Was at a drive in window and car turned off and couldn't restart. Windows and lights would work but car wouldn't restart. Could of been driving and would of crashed. Had 3 people family in car. It was 9 pm had to have towed to nearest auto mechanic place 150.00. They are diagnosing and that is 186.00. This is a scary thing and going to BBB and filing a complaint I'm mad as he'll. Have had inspection done on this car 2 months ago and all required services to this car. This was without warning which is horrifying.
NHTSA complaint #11560045 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When I put the car in park and push the push start/stop button, the car shuts off but the accessories and middle console display stay on. I have to keep shifting the car between the park position and the drive position before I put it back to the park position for the car to completely shut-off. This car is available for inspection. As far as safety is concerned, the only thing I can think of is that if the car does not completely shut off the battery would drain and not be able to start the car. I took the car to my mechanic and he said that I need to take it to the dealer. The dealer was informed and the dealer said that it was not a recall. The car was only inspected by my mechanic. There were no warning lights or messages in the car or symptoms prior to this happening.
NHTSA complaint #11557125 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The infotainment system will have repeated ghost touches rendering the screen virtually useless. This is a known issue that mazda is not repairing and they are making the car owner responsible on paying for the fix of their broken product.
NHTSA complaint #11555607 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2014 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that the vehicle was recently repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V393000) (Parking Brake). The contact stated that after the recall repair was completed and she arrived at her destination and attempted to shut off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to shut off. The contact disconnected the battery to shut off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
NHTSA complaint #11537241 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I’ve had my 2017 Mazda6 for 2 years and first had an issue when the vehicle could not detect the key fob was near. A Mazda dealership at that time could not resolve the issue. Now at times the vehicle won’t start unless i physically hover the key fob over the push to start button. I continued with the purchase and now 2 years in I’ve had so many issues with the infotainment screen acting insane, known as “ghost touching”. When coming to a stop the screen will start clicking around to different screen settings on the monitor. It’s incredibly frustrating and unsafe trying to resolve this issue in the middle of Dallas traffic. Earlier this year I had to make 6 hour trip up north and cruise control caused an issue the entire ride there. When cruise control was turned on the vehicle would start to accelerate on its own. I’m familiar with cruise control and how to use it. No button to increase speed or gas were used to increase the speed at that time, and when I tried to decrease speed from the steering wheel, the button would not work, only working when the break was pressed. Last I checked, cruise control is no longer working in the vehicle. I am terrified to learn of the other issues that could come of the electrical issue I’m having with the car. The electrical issues reported from myself and others need to be a cause for a concern and a recall NEEDS to happen!! I have also noticed the collision avoidance light will turn on and off, I’m not sure if this is related to the above issues but am certain that the key fob light that stays on, never shutting off is related. Please help!!
NHTSA complaint #11534184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.