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Mazda · NHTSA safety record

2017 Mazda MX-5

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

Owners have filed 11 safety complaints about the 2017 Mazda MX-5 with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the air bags and the power train.

The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers, named in 4 complaints, 36% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 8,150 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers March 2017 to March 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

11 complaints on file

11

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

1

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
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%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 11.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

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

4 3 2 1
17 18 19 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2017 Mazda MX-5. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

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

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

CX-5 148 MAZDA3 83 CX-9 61 MAZDA6 60 CX-3 21

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Mazda on this site — 82 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst