"How reliable is the 2020 Mazda Mazda3?"

"Based on 50 NHTSA complaints, the 2020 Mazda Mazda3 has a median complaint mileage of 5500 miles. The most common issue is FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING."

"What are common problems with the 2020 Mazda Mazda3?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2020 Mazda Mazda3 is FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, accounting for a significant portion of the 50 total complaints filed."

2020 Mazda Mazda3: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 50 complaints

Total Complaints

5,500mi

Median Mileage

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

1,900 25th Percentile

5,500 Median Mileage

9,706 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

STEERING

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

SERVICE BRAKES

LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

SUSPENSION

STRUCTURE:BODY

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MY NEW 2020 MAZDA 3 PREMIUM WITH 1,177 MILES SUDDENLY TOOK COMPLETE CONTROL OF STEERING MY CAR. DRIVING 65-70 MPH ON A 3 LANE STRAIGHT HIGHWAY ON A CLEAR DAY, WITH LIGHT TRAFFIC, I MOVED ONE LANE TO MY LEFT, AND THE CAR TOOK OVER THE STEERING, PULLING MY CAR OUT OF THE LEFT LANE NEARLY MISSING THE C..."

"WATER COMING INTO CABIN FROM DRIVER DOOR WINDOW. BROUGHT IT TO MAZDA SERVICE CENTER THREE TIMES AND THEY CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHERE WATER IS COMING FROM. WATER POOLS IN THE DOOR WHEN IT RAINS AND SEEPS INTO THE CABIN."

"MY VEHICLE IS LESS THEN A YEAR OLD AND HAS LESS THAN 10000 MILES ON IT. THE PAINT IS CHIPPING EXTREMELY EASILY. WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH I HAD 3 CHIPS IN THE PAINT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BARE METAL ON THE DOORS. I BOUGHT A PAINT TOUCH UP PEN FROM MAZDA AND FILLED THEN IN. NOW, A FEW MONTHS LATER I FILLED..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 10 CA: 8 AZ: 5 VA: 5 NV: 5 CO: 3 TX: 3 ID: 2 PA: 2 NJ: 1

Mazda Mazda3 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2004	185	55,650	STEERING	25
2005	127	67,295	AIR BAGS	25
2006	224	71,290	STEERING	29
2007	301	77,000	STEERING	36
2008	387	45,350	STEERING	41
2009	140	36,105	STEERING	13
2010	919	59,286	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	26
2011	179	44,850	AIR BAGS	18
2012	328	37,000	POWER TRAIN	12
2013	176	40,660	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	7
2014	178	30,100	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	16
2015	153	25,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	13
2016	136	35,056	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	12
2017	104	28,692	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	11
2018	138	19,185	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	9
2019	116	5,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	7
2021	66	-	ENGINE	4
2022	31	-	AIR BAGS	2
2023	20	-	POWER TRAIN	8
2024	20	-	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	6

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