CSR

Mazda · NHTSA safety record

2017 Mazda MX-5

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

11

Complaints

1

Crashes

0

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2017 Mazda MX-5 have filed 11 safety complaints with NHTSA between March 2017 and March 2026. The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers, named in 4 of them (36%). The typical failure was reported at 8,150 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

24V695000 · September 18, 2024

The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016-2023 MX-5 Miata vehicles. A software error in the air bag control module may cause the front air bags to deploy with excessive force during a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
An air bag that deploys with excessive force can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the Sophisticated Air Bag Sensor (SAS) control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 7, 2024. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 6924I.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 77,670 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

19V072000 · February 1, 2019

The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016-2019 MX-5 (Miata) vehicles with automatic transmissions. Due to incorrect programming of the Transmission Control Module (TCM), certain conditions may cause the vehicle to unexpectedly downshift and abruptly decelerate.
The risk
If the vehicle abruptly downshifts, the driver may lose control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the TCM with corrected software, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3019A.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 14,370 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 11.

VISIBILITY/WIPER 4 36%
STEERING 2 18%
AIR BAGS 1 9%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 9%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 9%
POWER TRAIN 1 9%
SERVICE BRAKES 1 9%
TIRES 1 9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 9%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 2.

2017 2026
2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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

STEERING

1 injured · crash · towed

Happened at US 101 Southbound 0.1 MILES SOUTH of RENGSTORFF AVENUE. “Power Steering Malfunction” light came on, then suddenly after 1 second, the car’s steering went stiff and suddenly braked while at freeway speed flow of traffic. Car then sharply veered left into center divider due to automatic sudden braking with no control of the steering wheel

NHTSA complaint 11717758. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I am filing this complaint regarding a manual transmission failure on my 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata (VIN: [XXX] ) at 55,000 miles. The failure occurred without warning while driving, causing immediate and significant transmission malfunction. Mazda issued Technical Service Bulletin 05 [XXX] c addressing this exact defect — defective synchros in 2nd and 3rd gear causing grinding, inability to engage gears, and transmission failure. My VIN falls within the TSB coverage range. The cutoff is sequential number XXX and my sequential number is XXX, placing me within the affected range. Despite this documented defect and my vehicle being under Mazda's Powertrain Limited Warranty at time of failure

NHTSA complaint 11725675, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES:SIDEWALL
I have 205/45/R 17 on a car that I drive on short trips maybe once a week or two. Driving on the highway, the tpms light came on and the handling was instantly strange. I pulled over and checked the tire, the sidewall was blown out on the passenger rear. I had it replaced. Now about 2 months later, the right rear went flat after a trip. I took it to be repaired and was told that the sidewall was splitting and it could not be repaired. I am concerned that this may not be coincidence.

NHTSA complaint 11689772. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
Vehicles rear windshield spontaneously shattered. Vehicle was idle and upon starting the vehicle a cracking sound was heard in the cabin and the rear view mirror was unusable as the rear windshield was entirely shattered into <1 inch pieces. Small pieces of loose glass had fallen from both upper corners of the windshield. The windshield is still attached to the vehicle and rear visibility is severely limited. No third-party inspections have been executed. There was no previous damage to the windshield and the car was idling when the failure occurred. There were no indications of potential failure before the incident.

NHTSA complaint 11667552. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
Airbag recall mail received from Mazda, when trying to book online mazdausa.com service depart denies vehicle has a recall and refused to schedule appointment

NHTSA complaint 11625369. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

12,000 miles

THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN A LOT. THE CRACK APPEARS TO HAVE STARTED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE EDGE OF THE WINDSHIELD AND RAPIDLY PROPOGATED HORIZONTALLY ALONG THE CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD TO ROUGHLY THE CENTER OF THE GLASS. THE CAR HAD 12000 MILES ON IT WHEN THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED.

NHTSA complaint 11221551. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Mazda MX-5

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2019 11 3
2016 34 3

Other 2017 Mazda models

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

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.

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