Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
100
Complaints
10
Crashes
0
Fires
13
Injuries
0
Deaths
Owners of the 2021 Mazda CX-30 have filed 100
safety complaints with NHTSA
between May 2021 and July 2026.
The most complained-about system is the engine,
named in 49 of them
(49%). The typical failure was reported at 5,078 miles, the median
across the 13 complaints that gave an
odometer reading.
NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this
vehicle.
Recalls (2)
TIRES:VALVE
21V101000 · February 22, 2021
The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2021 Mazda3 and CX-30 vehicles. Air may suddenly leak from the tire air valve.
The risk
A sudden air leak from the tire air valve may cause a loss of vehicle control while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace all four tire air valves with new parts, free of charge. The recall began April 6, 2021. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 4721B.
Mazda North American Operations · up to 599 vehicles across all model years covered
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
21V086000 · February 18, 2021
The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2020-2021 CX-30 vehicles. When fully opened, the power liftgate may partially lower unexpectedly when the vehicle is parked facing uphill on a slope.
The risk
If the power liftgate unexpectedly lowers while a person is accessing the rear storage area of the vehicle, it can increase their risk of injury.
The remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will update the power liftgate control module software and inspect the serial number of the power liftgate drive unit, replacing it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 8, 2021. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 4621B.
Mazda North American Operations · up to 13,857 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 100.
ENGINE 49 49%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13 13%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 12 12%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10 10%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 9 9%
POWER TRAIN 8 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 8 8%
SERVICE BRAKES 6 6%
AIR BAGS 3 3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 3%
VISIBILITY 3 3%
SEATS 2 2%
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2022 at 37.
2021 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.
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
4 injured · crash · towed · 1,400 miles
The contact owned a 2021 Mazda CX-30. The contact stated that her husband was driving 60 mph on cruise control and while approaching a traffic light he depressed the brake pedal but failed to deactivate the cruise control and stop the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver steered to the right and crashed into another vehicle. The contact stated all the air bags did deploy. The driver sustained leisure on his back and both legs due to the air bag deployment. The contact sustained leisure on her head, her nose, her left ribs, hips, and both legs due to the air bag deployment. The contact stated they both sought medical attention at a near hospital. The …
NHTSA complaint 11511941, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SEAT BELTS
3 injured · crash · towed
Involved in an accident low speed on 3/17/23. Upon impact with other car passengers seat belt did not activate until passenger hit dash with her head and then it apparently engaged and threw passenger back with tremendous force injuring passenger. Upon inspection at the body shop they found the following code: U0452..invalid data received from restraints control Panel. History. They will be calling Madza for inspection. This needs to be inspected as soon as possible before someone gets killed.
NHTSA complaint 11514192. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
2 injured · crash · towed
I was involved in a traffic accident on 6/29/23 involving myself and my [xx] year old son, both in the front seat. We were struck in the back by one vehicle, spun out of control, hit another vehicle on the passenger side where my son was sitting and spun out of control again. Driver side did not strike anything and side airbags deployed (both front seat and back seat), passenger side airbags never deployed. My son's safety was put at risk as the damage was extensive and the car was totaled. He suffered two fractures in his shoulder and a broken clavicle. The problem has not been confirmed by the dealer. The vehicle has been inspected by my insurance carrier, Progressive. There were no …
NHTSA complaint 11533785, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
1 injured · crash · towed · 1,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-30. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle accelerated independently and hit a brick pillar. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries on her neck, back, and also had headaches. The contact did seek medical attention at the emergency room. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
NHTSA complaint 11453651. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
The climate control system suffered a sudden, complete failure due to an engineering defect documented in Mazda Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) ID: MC-10203760-0001. The factory evaporator core leaked refrigerant rapidly starving the A/C compressor of essential lubricating oil. This caused the compressor to overheat and complete seize. This failure occurred during extreme summer heat exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, creating an immediate health hazard inside the cabin during my daily 40-mile highway work commute. Additionally, the complete loss of climate control functionality compromises the vehicle's defogging and defrosting capabilities, creating a severe visibility hazard during …
NHTSA complaint 11753153, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
Excessive oil consumption. Regularly have a low oil warning come up about 6000 kms after an oil change. Oil is always low when checked.
NHTSA complaint 11748372. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The vehicle experienced a premature internal A/C failure, resulting in a total loss of climate control refrigerant. Because the A/C system failed, the vehicle's windshield defroster completely stopped removing humidity and moisture from the cabin air. This caused the front windshield to instantly and severely fog over while operating the vehicle completely obstructing forward driver visibility. The manufacturer has issued Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) MC-10203760-0001 for factory evaporator defect on 2021 models, acknowledging low refrigerant charge due to component leakage. However, the manufacturer's current TSB VIN cutoff is too narrow. My vehicle is a 2021 model built at the same …
NHTSA complaint 11744720, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
crash
On June 3rd, 2026, about 1:15 PM, I braked in the rain because there was a stopped car in front of me. The brakes did not work; the Automatic Emergency brakes did not work; the Forward Collision Warning did not work and I hit the car in front of me causing a 3 car accident. As I hit the car I saw the Forward Collision Warning come on and then go out. Unfortunately, the brakes worked after that and the Mazda Collision Center cannot find anything wrong with the brakes. I note that the 2022 and 2023 models of the same car did have recalls related to the brakes. The claim is still open and I have not yet received the final damage report. Yesterday I was told the revised estimate is $16,000 and …
NHTSA complaint 11743896, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
Following a recent inspection at Perry Mazda in Santa Barbara, my vehicle was diagnosed with a failed clock spring mechanism causing airbag malfunction warnings. Clock spring failure under 70K miles on a 2021 vehicle is premature and suggests a defect rather than normal wear. I contacted Mazda North America and it has been over a week without a response. I have maintained the vehicle responsible and have no history of collisions or modifications that could have contributed to this failure.
NHTSA complaint 11739586. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
While driving, on approach to a stop signal, at an intersection the car stopped moving. The display said engine malfunction, have inspected. The electronics and engine continued to operate, but the car would not move when gas pedal was depressed. I shut off and restarted my vehicle numerous times, with no effect on the problem, the car still would not move. The vehicle behind me had to brake unexpectedly, and I could have been hit by others in the intersection, there could have been an accident.(I put car in neutral and the driver behind me, pushed my vehicle, manually, out of the intersection) AAA towed vehicle to the dealer I purchased it from, they were unable to reproduce the problem or …
NHTSA complaint 11734603, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
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.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst