Mazda · NHTSA safety record

2010 Mazda MAZDASPEED3

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Complaints

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Owners of the 2010 Mazda MAZDASPEED3 have filed 32 safety complaints with NHTSA between October 2012 and October 2019. The most complained-about system is the seats, named in 18 of them (56%). The typical failure was reported at 66,257 miles, the median across the 31 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

SEATS

17V082000 · February 9, 2017

The defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2011 Mazda2 and 2010-2011 Mazda3 and Mazdaspeed3 vehicles equipped with a manual seat lifter. In the affected vehicles, the seat height adjustment lifter links may break or detach from the seat frame and the seat angle may incline causing the driver to not be able to maintain an appropriate driving position.
The risk: If the driver cannot maintain an appropriate driving position, there is an increased risk of a crash.
The remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat lifter links and install a reinforcement bracket to the lifter links, or replace the entire seat adjuster unit, free of charge. The recall began April 7, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 0917B.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 173,859 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE

16V644000 · September 6, 2016

The defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Mazda3 and Mazdaspeed3 vehicles manufactured November 18, 2008, to June 8, 2013, 2012-2015 Mazda5 vehicles manufactured October 26, 2010, to June 22, 2015, 2016 CX-3 vehicles manufactured June 1, 2015, to December 26, 2015, and 2013-2016 CX-5 vehicles manufactured December 15, 2011, to December 26, 2015. On the affected vehicles, the lift gate support struts may corrode, possibly causing the struts to break and/or the lift gate to drop unexpectedly.
The risk: If the lift gate falls unexpectedly, it may hit the user, increasing their risk of injury.
The remedy: Mazda dealers will replace the both lift gate supports, free of charge, however parts are not currently available. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 9916H.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 580,455 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 32.

SEATS 18 56%

STRUCTURE 5 16%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 13%

AIR BAGS 3 9%

VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 9%

ENGINE 2 6%

POWER TRAIN 2 6%

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 3%

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 3%

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 3%

SUSPENSION 1 3%

TIRES 1 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2015 at 9.

2012 to 2019

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SUSPENSION Filed August 16, 2017

1 injured · 63,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MAZDA 3. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE DRIVER SIDE CURTAIN AIR BAG INADVERTENTLY DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING OR IMPACT. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A MINOR BRUISE TO THE RIBS. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT REQUIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER (FAIRWAY MAZDA OF SAVANNAH 10101 ABERCORN STREET, SAVANNAH, GA, 31406), BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND SENT OUT AN ENGINEER WHO DETERMINED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SUSPENSION DAMAGAE, WHICH CAUSED THE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 63,000.

NHTSA complaint 11015673. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE Filed October 30, 2019

139,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MAZDA 3. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING AND THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE INDEPENDENTLY RESTARTING. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE DASHBOARD WAS STICKY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 12396366785. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 139,000. THE VIN WAS INVALID.

NHTSA complaint 11277034. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed April 14, 2019

60,000 miles

BLINKING AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT SHORTLY AFTER MAZDA SERVICE RECALL FOR SEAT REPLACEMENT. MAZDA DEALER REFUSED TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE WHICH LATER FOUND TO BE LOOSE CONNECTOR UNDER THE SEAT. CONNECTOR WAS UNCLIPPED DURING ASSEMBLY OF NEW VEHICLE BRACKET AND NOT REINSTALLED PROPERLY. OWNER ALSO HAD U0100 CODE PENDING NO PCM COMM. REFERRED TO WS MANUAL FOUND OUT LOOSE WIRE FROM AIR BAG COULD'VE BEEN THE PROBLEM, BUT LATER FOUND MOISTURE UNDER STEERING COLUMN. LED TO FINDING LEAKING BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER ONTO ENGINE FIREWALL PCM MAIN HARNESS CONNECTION/PLUG. THIS CAUSED CORROSION, POOR CONTACT WITH GROUND WIRING, AND VEHICLE ELECTRICAL "GREMLINS". SUCH AS HATCHBACK DOOR INDICATING 'OPEN' ON

NHTSA complaint 11196097, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING Filed September 2, 2018

49,500 miles

WATER INTERMITTENTLY LEAKS INTO PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT.

NHTSA complaint 11124015. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS Filed February 15, 2017

71,000 miles

WHILE DRIVING, THE SWING ARM WHICH ATTACHES THE ADJUSTMENT BAR UNDER THE DRIVER SEAT CUSHION TO THE LEFT SEAT SLIDER BROKE. THE SEAT ROCKS FREELY APPROXIMATELY 1 FOOT, MAKING THE SEATBELT USELESS AND THE CAR COULD NOT BE DRIVEN SAFELY. I HAD TO REMOVE THE SEAT AND RE-WELD THE SWING ARM. THE DEALER SOLUTION WOULD BE A COMPLETE SEAT REPLACEMENT COSTING $900. MILEAGE: 71000

NHTSA complaint 10954913. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS Filed February 6, 2017

84,000 miles

DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BECAME LOOSE. WHEN SITTING DOWN IN THE CAR A LOUD CLUCK WAS HEARD AND THE FRONT DRIVER SEAT MOVED BACKWARD. UPON INSPECTION THE WELD HOLDING THE SEAT TO THE BRACKET HAD SNAPPED. CAR WAS STATIONARY AT THE TIME BEEN RENDERED UN-DRIVABLE DUE TO THE MOVEMENT IN THE SEAT.

NHTSA complaint 10949697. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2010 Mazda models

MAZDA3 686 MAZDA6 225 CX-9 195 CX-7 155 MAZDA5 57 Tribute 39

Every Mazda on this site — 81 vehicles, 161 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file , published August 20, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API , most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file , published 2026-08-19.

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by guarledes
Independent developer and analyst