Complaint volume
106 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Mazda Mazda3 Complaints
106 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Mazda Mazda3, grouped by component category.
106 Total complaints
6 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
2 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are electrical system, unknown or other, visibility/wiper. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 6 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 2 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 35 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 38,779 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to electrical system, unknown or other, visibility/wiper?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Mazda Mazda3?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Mazda Mazda3
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Mazda Mazda3 complaints?
6 Crash
0 Fire
2 Injury
1 Fatality
5 Towed
2 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Mazda Mazda3 complaint categories?
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16
VISIBILITY/WIPER 14
BACK OVER PREVENTION 13
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5
SERVICE BRAKES 5
ENGINE 4
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 3
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 2
106 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V487000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the parking brake light illuminated, and the vehicle decelerated and was losing motive power. The contact pressed the parking brake button off and on and the warning light stopped, and the contact was able to drive normally. Additionally, the contact stated that in other instances the forward sensing camera and the lane departure systems were also independently engaging. The contact stated that it was difficult to maintain the lane she was driving in. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred at various speeds. The contact drove the vehicle to a dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and flashed the Powertrain Control Module (PCM). The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failures reoccurred and the battery short-circuited. The contact had taken the vehicle to a non-manufacturer dealer who used a handheld scanner and retrieved the following codes: C1001 Type 97, U3003, and B13D3. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 31,321. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 31,321 |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I took my vehicle into RBMC dealership due to the vehicle was experiencing electrical issues and had an open recall / still does. The dealership said I can’t have a dash cam plugged in to a charging port. FCM / LDW / E-Break staying on / throwing error codes = C1001 FSC failure type 97 & U3003 EPB control module power supply failure type 16. They gave me back the car the battery failed the next day and when I called them they banned the VIN of this car to ever return to them. ( the battery was under factory warranty) the issue has only gotten worse and removed my dash cam as they demanded and now I can’t get the car fixed and the issue has gotten worse then taking the car to this dealership less then 30 days ago. They also did not perform the recall when the car was there. The car now has the fallowing codes B13D3 / C1001 / U3003 & possibly more codes because the whole dash is flashing auto light / fcm/ LDW and Break. My [XXX] grandma can’t even take the car in to get fixed the refuse to touch it after it had issues when they gave it back to us and it’s under a extended warranty and was a CPO and has a extended warranty through Mazda. Car only has 31k miles on it and is dangerous for her to drive and myself. Issue has been on going for over a month. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V487000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not contacted due to the local dealer going out of business. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and informed the contact that a second notice would be mailed when the part to do the recall repair was available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I’m getting water in my trunk. Dealership replaced left tail light and both lights on the right. The left is dry and the right is soaked again. At least a gallon of water sitting where spare tire is. I’m seeing many other Mazda owners are having the same issue online. This should be a recall. If the water issue doesn’t get fixed it will lead to rusting and mold. My spare tire already is showing rusting. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | There is a known issue with the infotainment system referred to as ghost tough. This causes the system to randomly change stations/songs, etc while the car is in motion. There is also a delamination issue. Mazda issued a recall for 2014-2016 vehicles, however a quick internet search shows that this issue continues to be a problem. This issue can be extremely distracting as the driver attempts to stop the system from changing. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | This is in reference to the recall for the rear view camera on 7/14/2023 Manufacturer Recall Number6023G NHTSA Recall Number23V-487 Mazda has still NOT come up with an adequate remedy solution. The dealerships continue to state that they do not have the parts to replace it even though this recall was made 8 months ago. This is unacceptable as the rear view camera is an essential safety mechanism. If Mazda is unable to repair this defect, drivers should be allowed to get it repaired at other more component repair shops and be reimbursed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The review camera for my vehicle has been unreliable since 2022, if not longer, despite being fully replaced at no cost by the dealer once while still under warrantee. I received a recall notification regarding this issue via mail in September 2023 (recall no. 60232G, NHTSA campaign no. 23V-487), but later learned the recall was initiated two months prior, in mid-July 2023. Since then, my review camera has continued to malfunction with increasing frequency and severity. Some days it doesn't work at all (screen completely black), some days it works for a few seconds at a time but otherwise does not, and some days it works but only poorly (grainy or scrolling video feed with poor visibility). It has now been more than 7 months since this recall was issued, and the status is still "recall incomplete, remedy not yet available." This is an essential safety feature, and the continued lack of action on Mazda's part is unacceptable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Rear view camera started having distorted image causing issues reversing the car, there is an open recall for which Mazda has not been able to identify a fix | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | POWER TRAIN | I was driving on the highway in sixth gear and went to down shift to get on to the off ramp and was unable to get it out of sixth gear. I had it towed to the dealer where they were going to charge 4 grand just to tear down the transmission to tell me what might be wrong. So I towed it home and once I was able to get the transmission open, I found the roll pin that connects the shifting shaft to the shift selector plate had worked itself out. If the transmission had been in Neutral, it would have taken less than 20 minutes to fix. But, because it was stuck in gear the whole transmission had to be taken apart. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | About a year ago, I noticed multiple warning lights on my car on, including the traction control, ABS, emergency brake, tire pressure indicator, etc. I took my car to the dealership where they diagnosed the problem as related to a faulty speed sensor. I have been reading consumer info on Mazda forums and it appears numerous people are impacted by this, which leads me to wonder if it may warrant assessment for a potential recall. My vehicle had under 35k miles on it when the issue first presented. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I became aware of this recall for my backup camera and one day i closed my trunk wasnt expecting it too affect my car but it did!! the rear backup camera was flickering and distorted as i was back out of a parking spot and almost got rear ended by someone and mazda told me by the middle of january they should have a fix for this its a camera and a wiring harness and fastener no need to have too wait this long for something that can cause a major accident its not only happened once but twice out of nowhere i have pictures and video recordings of it!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | My car has a faulty Front Body Power Module, a known issue with these cars, but Mazda keeps saying my model is not in the bracket for recalls, they say it's manufactured a day after the cutoff for the recall, so they won't give me recall repair. My windshield wipers aren't working and it's pouring rain, so this is a HUGE danger. I can't afford the $1500+ repair and don't think it's right this is a known issue for this car model and because mine is supposedly 1 day late I don't qualify for the recall care. They expect me to go to a dealership and pay more money for a diagnostic for something that is an issue, and then I have to call corporate again and they'll "Decide" if they'll cover my car or not. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Touchscreen in vehicle is randomly changing without my touching the screen. This is a well-documented issue in other 2014-2016 Mazdas for which a recall has been previously issued. However, my vehicle also experiences this same issue ("ghost touch") which indicates to me that the problem is not just limited to 2014-2016 vehicles and that my 2018 Mazda should be included in the original recall to replace the defective touchscreen. The random operation of the touchscreen is a safety hazard and should be immediately recalled by Mazda. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Fuel smell after a fill-up, fuel pump is cracked/deformed EXACTLY as described in Mazda bulletin 5321K (THIS BULLETIN EXCLUDES THIS MODEL). Strong fuel smell in the cabin, liquid fuel leaking from the top of the tank. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V487000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the camera image was distorted and occasionally would not display an image. The failure mileage was 40,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |
| Oct 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that while his girlfriend was driving at 65 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that his girlfriend was able to safely drive the vehicle to her destination. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with rod knocks. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 105,000 |
| Sep 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, who determined that there was no oil in the engine. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 105,000 |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The infotainment screen has begun cracking and causing a ghost touch issue. This is distracting and dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | This is related to the existing recall with the backup camera. I have intermittently experience, fuzzing of the review camera. I have also experienced total loss of the review camera. In addition, I have had occasionally experienced the panel system not switching over to the rear view camera. The issues appear to be associated with opening and closing the rear hatch and if occurred could sometimes be resolved by turning the car off and back on. The issue was persistent and occurring on a more or less regular basis, but then in the last month it has ceased to occur though I have been opening and closing the hatch on a regular basis... I had been avoiding opening and closing the hatch to avoid losing the camera :( I am concerned that due to the intermittent nature of the failure that when I take the vehicle in under the recall that it will not occur and the dealership will consider the matter closed even if it reoccurs later. Note that in the attached pictures the vehicle is on and in reverse, but the screen is not showing the rear camera view. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ENGINE | I have a 2018 Mazda 3. On two occasions in the span of one month, my car has acted like it was going to stall out when I was stopping at a red light. It doesn’t stall out, but the car will idle like it’s about to stall. When starting the vehicle it is kind of sluggish at times. Battery has been tested and it is fine. I’ve had the car for five years and it has 60,000 miles on it. No issues until recently. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I have a 2018 Mazda 3 hatchback 2.5l with a faulty fuel pump. I bought the car 1 year old with 2k mikes on it in 2019 from Jake Sweeney Mazda in Cincinnati ohio. They tell me the issue with power loss and stalling I need a new fuel pump it's failing cost is $1600 to repair. Then I learn a few days later on my own 121,000 2018-2109 Mazda 3 and others were recalled due to a faulty fuel pump with the exact problem I have manufactured by Denso. But I'm told my vin # isn't on the recall. The Denso fuel pump is the brand. However no one at the dealership in Cincinnati or Columbus ohio will tell me what type of fuel pump I have. When I went to the Columbus dealership I believe called Byer Mazda they told me an upgrade was done (which never happened) to my fuel pump. Unless Mazda stole my car and returned it no work was ever done on my fuel pump. Only oil changes. Could an upgrade NOT performed and my Vin was marked as upgraded but wasn't? Why do I have a faulty fuel pump withBthe EXACT symptoms on the EXACT model or EXACT year of my Mazda.. NO ONE at Mazda will tell me what brand fuel pump was manufactured in my car. Neither the dealerships or the 800# I call can saY what fuel pump was manufactured in my car. But they can say what was recalled based on vin#. The car just turned 5 years old and shouldn't need a new fuel pump. Isn't this all a little suspicious especially since they cannot conveniently for them say what manufacturer fuel pump is in my car. The car has lost all power and stalls. What happens when I pay the $1600 and the fuel pump is the Denso that is faulty. What then? No one will help. All of this is fishy as can be especially cause I own the EXACT YEAR BRAND AND MODEL WITH THE EXACT PROBLEM THE OTHERS WERE RECALLED FOR. Please say to yourself this is a little fishy and ask questions instead of going by a computer. As a human being look at this as highly coincidental and needs looking into instead of dismissing me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I was driving my car and it suddenly jerks a few times and the engine light turns on. i slowed down and then began to accelerate, and it was losing power and wouldn’t t go above 40mph - even while flooring the gas pedal. Now it won’t start at all. the lights turn on and everything else is fine, but car won’t start and after checking CEL, i’m getting the code p0192 indicating it’s Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor Low Input. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield wipers stopped working in every mode including auto rain detection mode. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) warning light illuminated. The contact then slammed on the brakes and pulled to the side of the road. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The contact stated that when the failure occurred, she would shift into reverse(R) and shift back into drive(D) and wait for the AEB system to disengage. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring several times within a 10-minute drive. The contact stated that the vehicle had become undrivable. The contact's father, an independent mechanic, diagnosed that the AEB system software and wiring were faulty. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the year of the vehicle was not included in an unknown recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| Feb 2023 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact's daughter owns a 2018 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while her daughter was driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V875000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 78,000 |