NHTSA has received 8 owner complaints about the 2025 Mazda Mazda3, or 4.5 per year on the road — far fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.11, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 86 model-year 2025 vehicles we track, it ranks #8 of 86 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Mazda models its rate is 61% lower; against other Compact cars it is 79% lower.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Limited data: fewer than 30 complaints, so shares and indexes are unstable.
Complaints filed between 2025-01-31 and 2026-09-28. Median delay from incident to filing: 42 days.
8Complaints
4.5Complaints per year on the road
0.11Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
1Recalls
25.0%Share involving a crash or fire
4Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2024) drew 4.3 complaints per year, about the same. The following model year (2026) drew 1.0 per year, fewer than this one.
The most common problem area is Airbags & seat belts (25.0% of complaints), followed by Driver-assist systems (25.0%) and Unspecified or other (25.0%). Airbags & seat belts complaints are 6.6 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 2 reports (25.0%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 1 injury and 0 deaths.
The vehicle was involved in a rear and side impact collision and the car was totaled on 5/14/2026. The air bags did not deploy.
Unspecified or other · 2026-05-23 · ODI 11739690 · Crash
Car was turning left in front of me. I was going about 30 mph. I started to steer to the right of the car into a passing lane. The AEB stopped me and the guy behind me rear-ended me.
Driver-assist systems · 2025-02-04 · ODI 11640657 · Crash
My car started displaying a telematic malfunction. The service paperwork also says U0198:00-03 CMU Communication error with emergency call unit. The Mazda dealerships maintenance department says this is currently unrepairable.
Unspecified or other · 2026-09-28 · ODI 11767456
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.
Other · 2026-05-31 · ODI 11741126
I am reporting a catastrophic failure of the rear seatbelt restraint system in my 2025 Mazda 3. The rear seatbelt guide geometry is badly designed, allowing the webbing to bunch and jam during normal operation.
Airbags & seat belts · 2026-05-05 · ODI 11735932
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE Campaign 25V357000 · 2025-05-29
Summary: Mazda North American Operations is recalling certain 2024-2025 Mazda3 and CX30 vehicles. The Sophisticated Air Bag Sensor (SAS) units may set an error code and deactivate the air bags, due to a low battery condition.
Risk: Air bags that do not deploy in the event of a crash increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the SAS unit with improved software or replace the unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2025. Mazda's number for this recall is 7525E.
