2016 Mazda MX-5 problems

STEERING

2016 Mazda MX5 club: In warmer weather(70 degree F or higher) and after driving for 5+ miles, the steering becomes less sensitive and gets “stuck/sticky” and requires more force to turn. When applied more force the car over corrects and you swerve cause the amount of force you needed to apply. Seems like something in the steering rack expands with heat which then creates friction which you have to overcome to continue driving. Seems like it’s becoming more of a issues the more people drive

NHTSA complaint #11734925 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

AIR BAGS

Contacted Rohrich Mazda 2690 W Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh Pa 412.344.3600 regarding the airbag recall today. They have no knowledge of this recall and therefore I am unable to have it corrected. Is my car safe to drive? When will I be able to get it fixed? Thanks, Bill

NHTSA complaint #11624787 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

AIR BAGS

The contact owns a 2016 Mazda MX-5. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA complaint #11616237 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

6 speed manual transmission failure at 59,000 miles Started not shifting into 3rd, then shortly after, the transmission locked up in a intersection. Which stalled the vehicle out. Was able to move the vehicle by hand, out of heavy traffic. Since this effects all ND1, ND2 and ND3 manual transmissions. I dropped and changed it for a used one. While I rebuild the original. As I am also outside of warranty.

NHTSA complaint #11595214 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

On December 7, 2023 at approximately 10:30pm, I was traveling west bound on [XXX] . Suddenly, there was a loud thumping noise from under the passenger seat. After about 10 seconds, it escalated to an extremely loud banging and the smell of oil. Not a single warning light appeared on my dashboard. I immediately attempted to pull off the road. This area is in the middle of a mesa with no streetlights and a speed of a 65mph road. I immediately put on my hazard lights and was stranded. The dangerousness of this situation was insurmountable. I was in a 2 seated convertible, partially on the road with no streetlights as cars and trucks flew by me at speeds above 65mph. Had I been hit from behind; I would have been killed instantaneously. I contacted AAA for emergency towing. The tow truck was deployed. In the meantime, I sat there helplessly. A passerby stopped to try to help but was unable to get the car to roll to a safe area off the road. Time passed. About an hour later, I called AAA again stating the dire need for assistance and the call was elevated to emergency. At this time a police officer drove by. I explained the situation and he parked behind me with lights on, potentially stopping a fatal situation. The tow truck finally arrived, and my car was towed to the address on my warranty above. I contacted Southern Automotive in Rio Rancho and was placed on a wait list for the car to be seen. I contacted CareGuard and they stated I could take the car to any automotive place for repair that was qualified to work on a Mazda. I confirmed this with Southern Automotive. They are AAA qualified, and service qualified for Mazda. They were not able to get the car in until 12/18/23. The car sat in my garage. On 12/18/23, Southern Automotive sent a tow truck to pick up the car. On Tuesday, 12/19/23, I received a call from Cody at Southern Automotive. The car had had a “catastrophic event in the rear differential” INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552

NHTSA complaint #11563848 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I recently bought a used 2016 Mazda Miata convertible, and when the convertible top is up, the inner liner droops down and obscures about 1/4 to 1/3 of the rear window. I looked online for this problem and found that there are lots of 2016 Mazda Convertible Owners with the same problem. There are some fixes posted online about the problem, but many of the folks doing the fixes report that the problem reoccurs after the fix. Is there a NTSB bulleting about this problem? The rear window in a 2016 Mazda convertible is small enough to start with, let alone having a goodly portion of it obscured by the drooping headliner.

NHTSA complaint #11533115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

STEERING

Steering: At 55+ MPH I feel a slight bind when I make a steering change. It then releases only after I've put in too much steering correction. This occurs when in a steady direction, or whether I'm in a steady, high speed turn. It feels like a snapping rubber band. You can read about other Miata drivers who have the same issue at: miata.net in the forum. The link: https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=714849&highlight=steering+stick

NHTSA complaint #11516406 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

STRUCTURE:BODY

The top windshield trim piece popped off while on the highway. The windshield has never been replaced and this trim piece has never been removed. All but one of the clips failed.

NHTSA complaint #11478826 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Since 2019 there have been several instances with my vehicle where someone has been able to knock the power offline thereby disabling it. It happened in five locations - a storage location in Olive BranchN MS, a former address in Memphis, TN (4330 Angarath Dr), a restaurant (Sonic) in Greenville, MS and twice in Greenville, MS both at a local park (Hardee Park). I never received any recall notices during this time regarding my vehicle ref a problem with the internal lighting for the odometer / gas meter, for the alarm system, for the battery, chasis - the frame shakes - I even reported feeling something when I first bought it back in Nov of 2015, and the door locks on the driver side stated losing the notification of being locked so I have to walk back to check and have found out that some additional delay is happening causing it not to lock properly so I open and close it to get it to lock. I have received any notifications for issues with locks, power, or the suspension (chasis). My car has been stole from the dealership in Memphis near the Germantown TN area, from storage and then from the parking lot of my current address in Greenville MS. I reported all of this to local management and I told the prior people that had the dealership that something had happened to my car and they joked around trying to make a joke out of it. I called the prior service manager and a Mazda dealer in Atlanta when it was knocked offline in 2019 and was told it was an issue they could not resolve over the phone but told me to try a couple of things to see it would start. I finally heard back from the one in Memphis who agreed and I got it to start after sitting in that park almost stranded. They did it again yesterday but it would not start even after I know I spent almost $200 on a new battery after it shutdown at a local restaurant and it would not start after an electrical spark hut the car and shocked my leg. The car is only 5 years old; it shouldn't have these problems.

NHTSA complaint #11443205 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Since 2019 there have been several instances with my vehicle where someone has been able to knock the power offline thereby disabling it. It happened in five locations - a storage location in Olive BranchN MS, a former address in Memphis, TN (4330 Angarath Dr), a restaurant (Sonic) in Greenville, MS and twice in Greenville, MS both at a local park (Hardee Park). I never received any recall notices during this time regarding my vehicle ref a problem with the internal lighting for the odometer / gas meter, for the alarm system, for the battery, chasis - the frame shakes - I even reported feeling something when I first bought it back in Nov of 2015, and the door locks on the driver side stated losing the notification of being locked so I have to walk back to check and have found out that some additional delay is happening causing it not to lock properly so I open and close it to get it to lock. I have received any notifications for issues with locks, power, or the suspension (chasis). My car has been stole from the dealership in Memphis near the Germantown TN area, from storage and then from the parking lot of my current address in Greenville MS. I reported all of this to local management and I told the prior people that had the dealership that something had happened to my car and they joked around trying to make a joke out of it. I called the prior service manager and a Mazda dealer in Atlanta when it was knocked offline in 2019 and was told it was an issue they could not resolve over the phone but told me to try a couple of things to see it would start. I finally heard back from the one in Memphis who agreed and I got it to start after sitting in that park almost stranded. They did it again yesterday but it would not start even after I know I spent almost $200 on a new battery after it shutdown at a local restaurant and it would not start after an electrical spark hut the car and shocked my leg. The car is only 5 years old; it shouldn't have these problems.

NHTSA complaint #11443205 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Since 2019 there have been several instances with my vehicle where someone has been able to knock the power offline thereby disabling it. It happened in five locations - a storage location in Olive BranchN MS, a former address in Memphis, TN (4330 Angarath Dr), a restaurant (Sonic) in Greenville, MS and twice in Greenville, MS both at a local park (Hardee Park). I never received any recall notices during this time regarding my vehicle ref a problem with the internal lighting for the odometer / gas meter, for the alarm system, for the battery, chasis - the frame shakes - I even reported feeling something when I first bought it back in Nov of 2015, and the door locks on the driver side stated losing the notification of being locked so I have to walk back to check and have found out that some additional delay is happening causing it not to lock properly so I open and close it to get it to lock. I have received any notifications for issues with locks, power, or the suspension (chasis). My car has been stole from the dealership in Memphis near the Germantown TN area, from storage and then from the parking lot of my current address in Greenville MS. I reported all of this to local management and I told the prior people that had the dealership that something had happened to my car and they joked around trying to make a joke out of it. I called the prior service manager and a Mazda dealer in Atlanta when it was knocked offline in 2019 and was told it was an issue they could not resolve over the phone but told me to try a couple of things to see it would start. I finally heard back from the one in Memphis who agreed and I got it to start after sitting in that park almost stranded. They did it again yesterday but it would not start even after I know I spent almost $200 on a new battery after it shutdown at a local restaurant and it would not start after an electrical spark hut the car and shocked my leg. The car is only 5 years old; it shouldn't have these problems.

NHTSA complaint #11443205 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

STRUCTURE:BODY

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND I HEARD A LOUD CRACKING NOISE. I STOPPED AT A GAS STATION TO CHECK AND SAW THAT THE UPPER MOLDING PART OF THE CAR HAD BROKEN OFF.

NHTSA complaint #11416144 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

SPIDER CRACKING ON CENTER DISPLAY MAZDA SERVICE BULLETIN R018/18. SINCE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY WILL NOT REPAIR EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A NOTED MFG DEFECT. SHOULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE AS SCREEN WILL BECOME ON READABLE AND SAFETY IS A 5 YR WARRANTY ADV NO. MAZDA SHOULD OF NOTIFIED OWNERS OF THIS ISSUE DID NOT.

NHTSA complaint #11386764 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

AIR CONDITIONER STOPPED WORKING. AC COMPRESSOR HOSE CRACKED. SHOP SAID THIS IS HAPPENING SO MUCH, TO THIS YEAR/ MODEL, THAT THEY KEEP THE PART IN STOCK.

NHTSA complaint #11366246 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

WHEN DRIVING, MOST OF THE TIME THE BLIND SPOT SENSOR DOES NOT TURN ON (SOUND AND LIGHT). IT CAN GO DAYS WITHOUT TURNING ON AT ALL THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WORKS 1 OR 2 TIMES.

NHTSA complaint #11366245 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

SUN VISORS ON FIRST GENERATION ND MX-5 SUBJECT TO CATASTROPHIC FAILURE, LEADING TO DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. I WAS AT HIGHWAY SPEED WHEN THE DRIVER'S SIDE VISOR FAILED ON MY CAR. THE VISOR WOULD NO LONGER STAY IN POSITION. IT JUST HUNG AT THE BOTTOMMOST POSITION. AS A TALL DRIVER I FIRST SCRUNCHED DOWN IN THE SEAT IN ORDER TO SEE PROPERLY OUT THE WINDSHIELD. EVENTUALLY I HELD THE SAGGING VISOR UP WITH MY LEFT HAND AND STEERED/SHIFTED WITH MY RIGHT HAND. NOT IDEAL AND DEFINITELY NOT PERFECTLY SAFE. ONLINE FORUMS INDICATE THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM WITH FIRST GENERATION NDS.THOUGH THE SUN VISORS IN MY 2016 ND HAVE BEEN USED SPARINGLY, BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE VISORS HAVE FAILED IN THE SAME PLACE: AT THE HINGE NEAR THE DOME LIGHT. THE REPLACEMENT PART IS NEARLY $300, NOT INCLUDING INSTALLATION. THE PART WAS QUICKLY REDESIGNED BY MAZDA BUT OWNERS OF EARLY VINS ARE OUT OF LUCK.

NHTSA complaint #11365631 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION, VEHICLE STATIONARY AND DOESN'T WANT TO GO INTO 1ST GEAR AND YOU SOMETIMES MUST SHOVE IT IN, INTERMITTENT ISSUE. ALSO A TON OF GEAR WHINE UNDER MODERATE THROTTLE IN 3RD AND 4TH GEAR. FAILURE MILEAGE IS 41,118 MILES. FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION IN GEAR AT SPEED COULD RESULT IN A CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT DUE TO LOSS OF FORWARD PROPULSION. MAZDA HAS RELEASED A TSB ON THIS REF IS R083/16B AND 05-007/16 YET ARE BASICALLY TELLING ME IT'S UP TO THE NHTSA TO RECALL IT OR THERE'S NOTHING THEY WILL DO UNTIL IT COMPLETELY GRENADES AND POTENTIALLY CAUSES AN ACCIDENT. THIS IS NOT A SMALL ISSUE AFFECTING A SMALL BATCH OF CARS, THIS IS A FAIRLY WIDESPREAD ISSUE AFFECTING A LARGE SPAN IN PRODUCTION. FROM INTERNAL SOURCES I'VE LEARNED MAZDA IS ON THE FOURTH SEPARATE REVISION OF THE 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION IN THE 4TH GENERATION MX-5 AND EVEN SOME 3RD REVISION TRANSMISSIONS HAVE SHOWN WEAKNESS. IN SHORT, THE 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR THE 2.0L ENGINE IN THE U.S MODEL, INSTEAD WAS ONLY INTENDED TO BE USED WITH THE LESS TORQUEY 1.5L IN THE EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE MODEL. MAZDA USA PUSHED FOR THE 2.0L LAST MINUTE IN PRODUCTION FOR MORE POWER IN THE U.S MARKET DESPITE NOT HAVING A SUITABLE MANUAL TRANSMISSION AVAILABLE. THE DIFFERENCE IN MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES HAS LED TO SEVERAL INSTANCES OF COMPLETE GEAR FAILURE IN STOCK COMPLETELY UNMODIFIED CARS AND IS AN ACCEPTED DESIGN FLAW BY MAZDA AND WHY THEY HAVE HAD SO MANY COMPLETE TRANSMISSION OVERHAULS IN A SHORT SPAN. IN SHORT EVERY MANUAL MX-5 THAT WAS PRODUCED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 6TH 2016 HAS A TRANSMISSION THAT'S A TICKING TIME BOMB. MINE IS SEPTEMBER 2015 PRODUCTION DATE. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS TSB SHOULD BE REFERENCED AND THESE TRANSMISSION RECALLED. A WEIRD COINCIDENCE IS THIS VERY CAR ALSO HAD AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION RECALL. I HAVE ATTACHED THE REFERENCED TSB BELOW. PLEASE RECALL.

NHTSA complaint #11321333 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

THESE TIRES ARE THE ORIGINAL TIRES THAT CAME ON MY CAR WHICH WAS PURCHASED IN SEPTEMBER OF 2016. WHEN I WAS ROTATING THESE TIRES FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 6138 MILES I NOTICED THAT THESE TIRES WERE SPLITTING OPEN IN THE GROOVES THAT RUN AROUND THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE TIRE. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR FOR FEAR OF A BLOWOUT IN ONE OR MORE TIRES. THESE BRIGESTONE POTENZA S001 TIRES SHOULD BE WATCHED CLOSELY IF THEY ARE SPLITTING OPEN WITH ONLY 6138 MILES AND 3 1/2 YEARS OF USE. I FEEL THAT THESE ARE VERY UNSAFE TIRES.

NHTSA complaint #11315608 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

WHILE DRIVING ON A PUBLIC 2-LANE ROAD AND UPSHIFTING INTO 3RD GEAR AT ABOUT 6,500 RPM MY TRANSMISSION FAILED. I IMMEDIATELY SLOWED FROM ABOUT 65 MPH AND COASTED TO A STOP. I WAS LUCKY THAT THERE WAS A JUST ADEQUATE SHOULDER, AND I WAS ABLE TO AVOID BEING REAR-ENDED BY FASTER TRAFFIC. I PULLED AS FAR TO THE RIGHT AS I COULD, STILL WITHING 4 FEET OF THE PAVEMENT. I DETERMINED THAT I COULD STILL DRIVE IN 1ST GEAR AND, DRIVING ONLY ON THE SHOULDER, DROVE THE CAR TO A WIDER, SAFER SPOT. A FRIEND CAME BY LATER WITH HIS TRUCK AND TRAILER TO TAKE MY CAR TO MY HOME. I THEREUPON HAD IT TOWED TO A MAZDA DEALER THE NEXT DAY. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED A MANUAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE, 3RD GEAR SPECIFICALLY, AND TOLD ME I WAS LUCKY THE GEARBOX DIDN'T SIEZE AND CAUSE A LACK OF CONTROL. THEY REPLACED THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION AT NO COST TO ME.

NHTSA complaint #11287640 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

I OWN THE 2016 MX-5 ND GT WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND IT HAS ABOUT 35,000 ISH MILES ON IT, BUT IT'S STARTING TO HAVE TRANSMISSION AND GEAR SHIFT PROBLEMS. 1) THE CAR HAS ISSUES WITH ACCELERATION DELAY FROM GEAR 1 & 2, THE TORQUE, HP, NONE OF IT FEEL THE SAME AS WHEN I BOUGHT IT. 2) THE CAR WILL START HAVING RATTLING NOISE ISSUES COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, I SUSPECT FROM THE HEAT SHIELD WHICH IS MADE FROM THIN ALUMINUM MATERIAL. ALSO RATTLING FROM INSIDE, ALL THE PLASTIC PARTS FROM WITHIN THE CABIN, SEAT, DASHBOARD, ETC 3) THE GEAR BOX IS NOT SMOOTH AND SOMETIMES WOULD HAVE HARD TIME SHIFTING. IN MY CASE, I HAVE ISSUES FROM 5 TO 6. I LITERALLY HAVE TO GIVE IT 1 OR 2 SEC DELAY AFTER SHIFTING HALF WAY SO THAT IT WILL EASE ITSELF IN. ALSO SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR, THE TRANSMISSION JERKS 4.) WHEN MOVING OR TURNING FROM STATIONARY, THE CAR MAKES GRINDING NOISE FROM UNDER THE CAR

NHTSA complaint #11210051 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

I OWN THE 2016 MX-5 ND GT WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND IT HAS ABOUT 35,000 ISH MILES ON IT, BUT IT'S STARTING TO HAVE TRANSMISSION AND GEAR SHIFT PROBLEMS. 1) THE CAR HAS ISSUES WITH ACCELERATION DELAY FROM GEAR 1 & 2, THE TORQUE, HP, NONE OF IT FEEL THE SAME AS WHEN I BOUGHT IT. 2) THE CAR WILL START HAVING RATTLING NOISE ISSUES COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, I SUSPECT FROM THE HEAT SHIELD WHICH IS MADE FROM THIN ALUMINUM MATERIAL. ALSO RATTLING FROM INSIDE, ALL THE PLASTIC PARTS FROM WITHIN THE CABIN, SEAT, DASHBOARD, ETC 3) THE GEAR BOX IS NOT SMOOTH AND SOMETIMES WOULD HAVE HARD TIME SHIFTING. IN MY CASE, I HAVE ISSUES FROM 5 TO 6. I LITERALLY HAVE TO GIVE IT 1 OR 2 SEC DELAY AFTER SHIFTING HALF WAY SO THAT IT WILL EASE ITSELF IN. ALSO SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR, THE TRANSMISSION JERKS 4.) WHEN MOVING OR TURNING FROM STATIONARY, THE CAR MAKES GRINDING NOISE FROM UNDER THE CAR

NHTSA complaint #11210051 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I OWN THE 2016 MX-5 ND GT WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND IT HAS ABOUT 35,000 ISH MILES ON IT, BUT IT'S STARTING TO HAVE TRANSMISSION AND GEAR SHIFT PROBLEMS. 1) THE CAR HAS ISSUES WITH ACCELERATION DELAY FROM GEAR 1 & 2, THE TORQUE, HP, NONE OF IT FEEL THE SAME AS WHEN I BOUGHT IT. 2) THE CAR WILL START HAVING RATTLING NOISE ISSUES COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, I SUSPECT FROM THE HEAT SHIELD WHICH IS MADE FROM THIN ALUMINUM MATERIAL. ALSO RATTLING FROM INSIDE, ALL THE PLASTIC PARTS FROM WITHIN THE CABIN, SEAT, DASHBOARD, ETC 3) THE GEAR BOX IS NOT SMOOTH AND SOMETIMES WOULD HAVE HARD TIME SHIFTING. IN MY CASE, I HAVE ISSUES FROM 5 TO 6. I LITERALLY HAVE TO GIVE IT 1 OR 2 SEC DELAY AFTER SHIFTING HALF WAY SO THAT IT WILL EASE ITSELF IN. ALSO SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR, THE TRANSMISSION JERKS 4.) WHEN MOVING OR TURNING FROM STATIONARY, THE CAR MAKES GRINDING NOISE FROM UNDER THE CAR

NHTSA complaint #11210051 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.