Avoid: 2016 (lowest Year Scores on complaints per year on the road, crash reports and recalls)
Best: 2021 (few owner reports)
6 model years of NHTSA owner complaints and recalls · How we grade
Across 6 model years, the Mazda CX-3 has 111 owner-filed NHTSA complaints and 9 recalls on record. The most-reported areas are electrical system and fuel/propulsion system. 2016 drew the most complaints (48), 2020 the fewest (1).
Source: NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for Mazda CX-3 vehicles (US, public record). Typical used asking price $13,774–$17,099.
Complaint volume by model year. Raw NHTSA totals, not adjusted for sales volume or time on the road, so older and higher-selling years accumulate more. Every year links to its full breakdown.
Highest: 2016 (48 complaints). Lowest: 2020 (1).
Mixed sentiment with a clear generational divide.
Including timing belt replacement, complete air conditioning system repair/replacement (evaporator, compressor), front shock and mount replacement, and bearing failures.
Complete black screen and non-operation, with one specific case involving a DTC U3000:42 (Control Module General Memory Failure) following a battery replacement, suggesting potential vulnerability to voltage spikes.
Engine starts but loses power and cuts out when pulling away after a short stop, accompanied by a strong fuel smell and a sporadic low fuel pressure code; unresolved despite replacing high-pressure fuel pump, crankshaft sensor, and battery.
Described as sluggish, hesitant to downshift, and prone to staying in high gears at low RPM, making the vehicle feel slow.
In a 2025 model, the transmission is reported to be reluctant to downshift when slowing, holds excessively high gears (e.g., 4th gear at 100 km/h / 62 mph) in sport mode leading to high RPMs, and results in a vehicle perceived as very slow and noisy.
Owner insights cover all generations of the CX-3. Individual model years are broken down above.
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