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NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2004 Mazda Mazda3.
| Overall Rating | Not Rated |
| Frontal Crash | Not Rated |
| Side Crash | Not Rated |
| Rollover | Not Rated |
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2004-2007 Mazda3 vehicles. During air bag deployment, the plastic emblem on the steering wheel air bag module cover may shatter, and project plastic fragments into the vehicle.
Consequence: Plastic fragments can hit occupants during air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the air bag module cover, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed between August 28, 2021 and October 28, 2021. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 4921G.
Component: EQUIPMENT
THULE, INC. IS RECALLING 2,323 OWNER-INSTALLED ROOF-MOUNTED FIT KITS, MODELS 3068 AND 3069, MANUFACTURED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 2008 AND FEBRUARY 28, 2009 THAT ARE USED WITH THULE PODIUM FOOT PACKS, MODELS 460 AND 460R. THESE FIT KITS WERE SOLD AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR USE ON THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE BOLT(S) USED TO SECURE THE FOOT TO THE VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED TO A HARDNESS THAT MAY CAUSE THE BOLT(S) TO BE BRITTLE AND POTENTIALLY BREAK UNDER STRESS.
Consequence: THIS MAY RESULT IN THE BOLT(S) SNAPPING OFF DURING USE OR WITHOUT A LOAD. THE UNSECURED RACK AND LOAD CAN THEN COME LOOSE WHILE DRIVING CREATING A POTENTIAL ROAD HAZARD, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: THULE WILL MAIL A RETRO FIT KIT ALONG WITH REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS TO OWNERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE APRIL 13, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THULE TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-238-2388.
This model car has a fuse box under the glove box known as a "passenger junction box" that has a faulty or defective relay soldered onto the circuit board. The relay is tied to lighting that includes the interior lights, exterior front parking lights, exterior rear tail lights, and the license plate light and is controlled by the left turn signal stalk (rotating switch). Based on my experience and many others (on the Mazda 3 forums), this relay has the tendency to fail and cause all of these lights tied to this relay to intermittently or permanently be disabled. There is no warning for this; the driver will only notice when driving at night that the interior illumination of the dashboard goes completely dark, which could cause disorientation and confusion as to whether or not the car is operable. Subsequently, the problem can be recreated by attempting to turn the lights on and off and there will be no response (and no clicking noise...it is audible when working and it switches on); the relay fails to operate and all the lights will not turn on. Driving at night without tail lights is extremely dangerous and I am surprised this has not caused serious injury from rear-ending incidents in nighttime or inclement weather situations. The serial/model number of junction box on my vehicle is BN8B-66730-C and many others on the forums have had the same issue with the same model, as well as other variations of the box. Some on the forums went as far as replacing the culprit relay (see attachment); however, at the risk of destroying the entire junction box and rendering the vehicle unusable. I finally ended up purchasing a replacement unit on eBay which corrected the issue so far and has made the lights reliable again.
The contact owns a 2004 Mazda 3 equipped with Hankook Tires, Tire Line: Ventus S1 Noble2, Tire Size: 205/50/R17, DOT Number: N/A. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, a loud explosion was heard. The contact's wife alerted him that the rear driver's side tire had blown out. The contact's vehicle was then rear-ended by another vehicle, causing his vehicle to turn 360 degrees. The air bags did not deploy. The contact was not injured, but his wife suffered from neck pain. Medical attention was not received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's workplace and was not deemed totaled by the insurance company. A body shop repaired the vehicle. The tire manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to send in the faulty tire. The tire failure mileage was unknown. The vehicle failure mileage was 150,000.
The 2004 Mazda Mazda3 has 3 NHTSA recalls and 170 consumer complaints on file. It received an overall safety rating of Not Rated out of 5 stars in NHTSA crash testing. The high number of complaints suggests potential reliability concerns — review the complaint details above before purchasing. For the most detailed information about a specific vehicle, decode its VIN using our free decoder above.
Enter a specific VIN to get the full report — specs, recalls, safety ratings, complaints, investigations, and technical service bulletins.
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE-INACTIVE
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, A CRACK IN THE AIR BAG CRASH ZONE SENSOR HOUSING CAN ALLOW WATER TO ENTER THE SENSOR, CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT AND ILLUMINATING THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT.
Consequence: IF THIS PROBLEM EXISTS, THE AIR WILL NOT DEPLOY AS DESIGNED IN CERTAIN TYPES OF FRONTAL CRASHES, INCREASING THE RISK OF DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY TO THE DRIVER AND FRONT SEAT PASSENGER.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE CRASH ZONE SENSOR AND REPLACE IT, IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 28, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT MAZDA AT 1-800-222-5500.
There has been no accident- the vehicle is my mother in laws vehicle- my concern is while at work she has at times loaded our daughter into the vehicle- I inspected the vehicle one day while as an employee of Les Schwab- the driver cvc axle vibrates so bad from the boot being torn and having no lubrication- these axles power the vehicle forward and if not maintained can snap and cause damage- the wipers no longer work correctly- the tires are 2017 and old and weather cracked- potential to separate while driving or blow out on the heated pavement. upon inspection also found that the front shocks are blown out and bouncing in the mounts under the hood- causing the tires to not have the correct contact patch on the road thus decreasing traction and control- on top of all this the vehicle hasn't been registered since 2020 and has no insurance on the vehicle- again there has been no accident...yet- this is my concern- that if this vehicle continues to remain operational and on the road it not only puts the driver and occupants at risk but also other drivers- kids- teens and anyone that may be on the other end o the crash when the vehicle does snap the cvc axle or blow i out a tire
The contact owns a 2004 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle and driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light was illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 04V468000 (Air Bags). The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.
THE CAR RAN GREAT FOR THE END OF 2019. I BOUGHT IT USED AT 145,000 MILES. THEN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLIP. NOW ITS STUCK IN LIMP MODE.
THE TAIL LIGHTS GO OUT INTERMITTENTLY DUE TO A DEFECTIVE PASSENGER JUNCTION BOX (FUSE BOX). TAPPING THE BOX WITH A SCREWDRIVER HANDLE WILL BRING THE TAIL LIGHTS BACK ON FOR A WHILE. THIS HAS BEEN A MAZDA 3 ISSUE OVER THE YEARS. THE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THIS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA 3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT MAIN MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. AN UNKNOWN DEALER WAS CONTACTED, BUT COULD NOT ASSIST. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 128,680.
THE LOCK RELEASE LEVER ON THE STEERING WHEEL GET LOOSE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND DOES NOT LOCKED IN PLACE. THIS CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AND SERIOUS INJURIES. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL TO GET THIS REPAIR.
I WAS REAR ENDED WHILE PREGNANT AND DRIVING MY 2004 MAZDA 3 HATCHBACK. THE AIRBAGS NEVER DEPLOYED BUT I WAS ON MY WAY TO A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT AND WAS ABLE TO HAVE AN ULTRASOUND TO ENSURE MY CHILD WAS SAFE. NO INSURANCE CLAIM WAS FILED BUT I WAS CONCERNED. I WAS AT A STOP SIGN.
NO PROBLEMS FROM CAR NO WARNING LIGHT. BIG BANG THEN ENGINE MAKING VERY LOUD KNOCKING NOISE...ON INTERSTATE... STILL CRANKS BUT NEEDS MOTOR...READ THAT LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEMS
DRIVER SIDE FRONT SEAT WOBBLES-ENTIRE ASSEMBLY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED-DANGEROUS IF WELD HAD BROKEN WHILE ON FREEWAY-WHY ISN'T THIS A SAFETY RECALL-NUMEROUS OTHER COMPLAINTS FOR VARIOUS MODEL YEARS EVEN WHEN NEW-ARE SEATS REMOVED BY L0-JACK TECHS WHEN INSTALLING LO-JACK DEVICES?
POWER STEERING GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY. OFTEN STARTS WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL TO THE LEFT. THE POWER STEERING FAILURE LIGHT , OR SOMETIMES ALL WARNING LIGHTS, COME ON. THE STEERING WHEEL BECOMES EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN IN EITHER DIRECTION AND THE CAR IS DIFFICULT AND HAZARDOUS TO NAVIGATE TO A STOP. ELECTRONICS FLASH ON AND OFF (HEADLIGHTS, RADIO, ETC.). CAR SOMETIMES DIES. IF THE STEERING WHEEL IS NOT PERFECTLY STRAIGHT WHEN THE CAR DIES, IT IS LOCKED AND THE CAR CANNOT BE RESTARTED UNTIL SOMEONE CAN WRENCH THE STEERING WHEEL STRAIGHT AGAIN. THIS HAS HAPPENED OFF AND ON FOR A YEAR. SINCE IT IS INTERMITTENT, MECHANICS ARE UNABLE TO FIND THE PROBLEM.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA 3. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE STEERING WHEEL LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AND WAS HARD TO TURN. THE CONTACT TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON A FEW TIMES AND SHIFTED THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT, BUT THE WHEEL WOULD NOT UNLOCK. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 93,173.
ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITH EVAP LEAK CODE. SMALL LEAK AT FIRST THEN INCLUDED LARGE LEAK CODE LATER. ALSO BEGAN TO NOTICE STRONG GAS SMELL OUTSIDE VEHICLE AFTER FUELING. TURNED OUT THE FUEL PUMP RING THAT HOLDS DOWN AND SEALS FUEL PUMP TO FUEL TANK HAD CRACKED. OVER TIME THE SPLIT BECAME LARGER. WHEN TANK WAS FILLED, RAW FUEL WOULD LEAK OUT AROUND PUMP ON TOP OF TANK. WHICH ALSO HAPPENS TO BE RIGHT UNDER THE REAR SEAT WHERE ME KIDS SIT. REPLACEMENT WAS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE THE RING COULD NOT BE REMOVED FROM UNDER THE SEAT. IT REQUIRED DROPPING THE TANK TO REPAIR. MECHANIC FELT IT WAS A STRESS CRACK. THE FUEL PUMP HAD NEVER BEEN WORKED ON BEFORE. THE ORIGINAL RING WAS INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY.
WAS IN ACCIDENT HIT DITCH AND TREE HEAD ON AND AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, CAUSING INJURY TO FACE FROM HITTING STEERING WHEEL. WAS ON CITY STREET AND IN MOTION.
Showing 15 of 170 complaints