"How reliable is the 2004 Mazda Mazda3?"

"Based on 185 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Mazda Mazda3 has a median complaint mileage of 55650 miles. The most common issue is STEERING."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Mazda Mazda3?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Mazda Mazda3 is STEERING, accounting for a significant portion of the 185 total complaints filed."

2004 Mazda Mazda3: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 185 complaints

185

Total Complaints

55,650mi

Median Mileage

STEERING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

13,800 25th Percentile

55,650 Median Mileage

96,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING

AIR BAGS

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:PADS

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

POWER TRAIN

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING THE (CRS) LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD AND REMAINED ON. THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC REPLACED AN AIR BAG SENSOR. *NM ONE MONTH LATER THE SENSOR FAILED AGAIN WHICH CAUSED THE CRS LIGHT TO ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER REPLACED..."

"1)4 DAYS AFTER BUYING THE CAR MY FRONT BRAKE ROTORS HAD 3 LARGE (1M WIDE MORE THAN .5MM DEEP) GROOVES AND THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS WERE STARTING TO DEVELOP THE SAME PROBLEM. THE PADS MUST HAVE SOME TYPE OF HARD METALIC PIECES IN THEM THAT GRADUALLY DESTROYS THE BRAKE ROTORS. 2)IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF T..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28