"How reliable is the 2005 Mazda Mazda6?"

"Based on 180 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Mazda Mazda6 has a median complaint mileage of 57500 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Mazda Mazda6?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Mazda Mazda6 is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 180 total complaints filed."

2005 Mazda Mazda6: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 180 complaints

180

Total Complaints

57,500mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

19,998 25th Percentile

57,500 Median Mileage

102,555 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

POWER TRAIN

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ENGINE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE WAS IN AN ACCIDENT. OWNER WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH WHILE TURNING AT AN INTERSECTION, THE ONCOMING VEHICLE WAS GOING ABOUT 45 MPH, AND T-BONED THE OWNERS VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT,THE SIDE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY.*AK"

"I PURCHASED WHAT I BELIEVED TO BE A BRAND NEW CAR ON DECEMBER 13, 2004 THE CAR I PURCHASED IS A 2005 MAZDA 6 I DID NOT NO AT THE TIME THAT THE CAR I BELIEVED TO BE NEW HAD 1,610 MILES ON IT, I BELIEVE HE SOLD ME A DEMO WHICH IS ALSO A PART OF MY COMPLAINT, ON 2-4-05 MY BRAND NEW MAZDA BROKE DOWN, AN..."

"DT: CONSUMER SAYS HE IS HAVING PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSION. TRANSMISSION WILL DROP GEARS ON ITS OWN, CONSUMER JUST HAD VEHICLE AT DEALER FOR TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE AND HARSH SHIFTING. CONSUMER SAID THAT DEALER DID A SOFTWARE CALIBRATION ON THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE. CONSUMER SAYS NOW WHEN HE IS ..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

AIR BAGS 73 complaints

25th: 78,188 mi Median: 119,141 mi 75th: 147,500 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 complaints

25th: 28,113 mi Median: 94,000 mi 75th: 102,179 mi

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 11 complaints

25th: 16,491 mi Median: 21,400 mi 75th: 28,950 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 complaints

25th: 32,827 mi Median: 75,200 mi 75th: 121,950 mi

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 6 complaints

25th: 17,291 mi Median: 23,513 mi 75th: 52,106 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 33 NY: 17 MI: 9 MA: 8 NJ: 8 GA: 8 PA: 8 FL: 8 SC: 8 OH: 7

Who Files Complaints?

18.3%

Original Owners

81.7%

Second+ Owners

Mazda Mazda6 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2002	40	49,222	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	2
2003	245	24,981	AIR BAGS	14
2004	196	63,290	AIR BAGS	14
2006	207	75,000	AIR BAGS	19
2007	184	77,500	AIR BAGS	18
2008	121	58,500	AIR BAGS	17
2009	526	91,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	9
2010	317	85,000	AIR BAGS	9
2011	182	89,000	SUSPENSION	13
2012	128	73,250	AIR BAGS	7
2013	34	50,000	SERVICE BRAKES	1
2014	195	40,200	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	23
2015	78	22,000	SERVICE BRAKES	11
2016	107	34,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	19
2017	72	23,400	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	1
2018	70	10,500	ENGINE	1

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