Owners have filed 1,929 complaints on the Mazda Mazda6, covering 2003–2021. The system named most often is Air Bags (570 reports). Worst years by volume: 2009, 2010, 2006; cleanest: 2020, 2019, 2021. 119 reports describe a crash, 23 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 6.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mazda Mazda6
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,929 Mazda6 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 570 Read
My daughter's mazda was involved in a fender bender which deployed the driver air bag, while the police officer was taking the accident report from the drivers involved, the officer noticed that the airbag was starting to smoke and then burst into flames. Only the interior of the vehicle burned from the dash to the…
Vehicle was involved in a front end collision while traveling approximately 30mph. The airbags deployed and the driver was wearing safety belt. After exiting vehicle, a fire was discovered near the bottom of the b-post. Fire burned and melted the interior trim and seatbelt, as well as causing heat damage to the…
Driving along a highway (left side of road) I crashed into large boulders of concrete scattered along the road that was caused by a previous accident. Traveling at 60 mph my vehicle launched off the ground slamming back down on all four tires. My vehicle then spun out of control crashing to the side guard rail…
Electrical System 168 Read
My mazda6 spontaneously caught on fire while it was parked on a street and completely burned down. The fault/problem cause is unknown at this time but I suspect there was wiring/electrical fault and manufacturing and design defect. Both the sheriff's department and fire department were involved in assisting me in this…
The contact owns a 2015 mazda 6. While driving 26 mph, the vehicle was involved in a rear end collision. The contact stated the warning system did not activate and the automatic braking feature did not engage. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. A police report…
This car is not safe and mazda has known for years. The door sash molding has caused me permanent brain damage. At age 43, I had to retire/disability due to defects mazda knew of and just inform consumer of in 2018? I was making right hand turn, legally. Someone in lane next to me decided to turn and hit side of car.…
Structure 162 Read
The contact owned a 2005 mazda mazda6. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the consumer rear ended another vehicle. After the crash, the contact noticed that the b post on the frame was on fire, there was on damage to side of car. Why did it catch fire? A tow truck appeared on the scene and…
I have a 2016 mazda 6 gt with stock 19" dunlop tires. I bought the car with around 80 miles & at the time of the incident was around 6800 miles. I was traveling to work going around 72 mph & the left rear tire blewout causing an accident on the interstate. Tires should not blowout that quickly with proper care of the…
My wife moved our 2015 mazda6. She moved the car down the driveway, pressed the brake to bring the car to a complete stop and shifted the car into park. She then proceeded to press the button to turn off the vehicle. In doing so, the engine turned off and when she released the brake the car rolled 3 feet. Frantically,…
Suspension 156 Read
Turning left at an intersection after coming to a stop, the driver mis-judged the right edge of the right-most lane and struck the curb. The ball joint separated from its housing in the right, lower control arm, causing the bottom of the wheel to collapse inward and the driver to lose control and impact the car in the…
Buenos dias en el ano 2017 manejaba en linea recta aproximadamente 40 m/h logre ver un venado y aplique los frenos pausadamente el carro se dezplazo hacia la izquierda sin razon alguna saliendo fuera de la carretera e impactando con el orillo de la carretera causando desprendimiento del caucho derecho y mucho dano en…
The right side of the engine cradle rotted away, causing the right lower control arm to break away and loosing control of the vehicle. I was only going approx. 15 mph on a side street and applying the brakes when this accorded. The vehicle only have approx. 85k miles on it
Steering 121 Read
Was in an accident which resulted in a lockup of vehicle and side collision with battery failure
The contact owned a 2016 mazda m6. The contact stated that while driving about 20 mph in the snow, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle lost all powers as the steering failed. The vehicle slide and rear-end the vehicle in front. There were no warning lights illuminated. The passenger side door air bag was the…
I was on freeway when some warning start showing on dashboard ( enging, track control system, battery) then my steering wheel was hard that I couldn’t manubrio i hit a curb that was on the entrance and my car start spinning in circles till i hit the hill on side road
Power Train 119 Read
After driving my lincoln mkz, where pressing the ignition stop button automatically puts the car in park, I drove my friend's 2014 mazda6. I pressed the ignition stop button but exited the vehicle without putting it in park. I did not notice any warning that the car had been turned off and exited without being in…
The contact owns a 2014 mazda 6. While pulling into the parking spot and depressing the brake pedal to stop the vehicle, it suddenly accelerated. The vehicle crashed into a tree and the engine continued to rev as if attempting to continue accelerating. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained bruises to the…
My son took my car to school. He was going to leave after school let out, he was going to give his friend a ride home. This is a 6 speed car. His friend got in the car on the passenger side, my son was talking to his brother, he was not in the car. My son had put the keys on the driver seat, his friend put the key in…
Service Brakes 81 Read
Twice now the electronic emergency break seems to have disengaged randomly minutes after I walked away from the vehicle
The contact owns a 2012 mazda mazda6. The contact stated that while unoccupied, the vehicle rolled away and crashed into a wall while the emergency brake was engaged. The contact also stated that the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle had difficulty starting. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the…
Faulty e-brake. E-brake button has corroded away and will no longer hold the car in park (car is a manual, so this is particularly concerning since this is the only way to offically keep the car in park when turned off). Car was parked in a stationary position, on a slightly slanted road. Came back and car had…
Exterior Lighting 75 Read
The contact owns a 2010 mazda 6. After being stopped by a police officer, the contact was informed that the red reflector lens in the tail lamps were missing. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware that the tail light bulbs were extremely hot, which caused the reflectors to separate from the tail light…
The contact owns a 2005 mazda mazda6. The headlamps are melting from excessive heat build-up. Consequently the head-lights intermittently fail while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the head-lamps were replaced twice as a free remedy. However the technician will not replace the head-lights again as a…
LED headlights on this model continue to flicker while driving at night at highway speeds become serious safety concern. Had vehicle inspected not alternator related to entire assembly workmanship issues. Company refuses to acknowledge it. Other complaints exist from other people
Mazda6 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2020 | Service Brakes,engine | — | — | |
| 2019 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2018 | Back Over Prevention | 1 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 13 | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 14 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 12 | 1 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 9 | 5 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 9 | 3 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 10 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 680 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.8 |
| Worst single series | 28 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.6 years |
A model average of 2.8 hides a worst series at 28. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Mazda6?
By complaint volume, 2009, 2010, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Mazda6 years are the cleanest?
2020, 2019, 2021 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mazda Mazda6 have?
1,929 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2003–2021. Of those, 119 describe a crash and 23 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.