Owners have filed 709 complaints on the Mazda MPV, covering 1989–2006. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (145 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 2002, 2003; cleanest: 2006, 1995, 1996. 82 reports describe a crash, 22 a fire. On average the car was 5.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mazda MPV
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 709 MPV complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 145 Read
2000-2003 mazda mpv models have a coolant seepage from rear heater pipe which can cause severe engine failure and traffic hazard due to non-drivable vehicle. Mazda mpv 2002 was found to have a coolant leak in rear heater pipes and was taken to mazda repair center. Mazda advised a vehicle should not be run without…
Consumer parked vehicle and 5-10 minutes later was told that van was on fire. Fire dept. Said rear tail pipe came into contact with pine straw that was on the ground where catalytic converter contacts pine straw, starting a fire. Fire dept. Ph. #770-513-5500
Driving uphill on I-70 at the speed limit (55) the car lost all power, the driver steered to the shoulder. The engine compartment began smoking. By the time the fire department arrived the mazda mpv ('97) was consumed in fire
Power Train 141 Read
2003 mazda mpv - transmission shifts very rough from 2nd to 3rd. Problem is intermittent and unpredictable. Dealer says the problem cannot be diagnosed and fixed unless it can be duplicated in the repair shop
On may 13, 2004, my 33-week pregnant wife pulled into my driveway with our daughter sleeping in back of our 2003 mazda mpv. My wife put the car in park, engaged the emergency brake, and left the car running. Pse&g workers requested that my wife talk with them. While she did so, the car remained stationary for 5-10…
While motor was running with consumer not in vehicle, vehicle started going backward, hit 2 parked cars, spun around, went 100 yards, and hit a utility pole. After consumer turned off engine, he noticed vehicle was in reverse, not in park as he put it. *ak
Air Bags 76 Read
I had a single car accident in my 2004 mazda mpv van with front end sustaining damage with no deployment of front or side airbags. I sustained significant head and facial trauma
The contact owns a 2004 mazda mpv. While the contact's wife was driving 15 mph, she struck another vehicle on the driver's side door. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to determine the…
Dt: the contact stated while traveling at 45 mph another vehicle pulled out in front of the contact's vehicle. This resulted in a crash. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy. Also, the seat belts did not restrain the contact properly. The lap portion of the belt seemed to work fine, but the shoulder strap did not…
Service Brakes 56 Read
The contact owns a 2006 mazda mpv. While pulling into a handicapped space with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle continued to accelerate and struck the handicapped sign. The vehicle proceeded and crashed into the window of a bank. The contact received injuries to his chest and stomach. The vehicle will be towed…
My wife was driving mazda mpv van which is 2002 model. She was driving at about 20-25 mph and tried to apply the brakes when she saw another car approaching the road; the brakes did not engage and she started hearing some heavy sound coming from engine. The van continued to accelerate and she had to take wide turn to…
Consumer stated that while driving step on the brakes pedal, trying to stop vehicle, but did not stop crashing inton another vehicle, after pedal went alway to the floor. Dealer was contacted. Nlm
Electrical System 49 Read
The mini van caught on fire
Car caught on fire while driving. Mazda 2002 mpv minivan
The contact owns a 2001 mazda mpv. The contact stated the vehicle was shut off and in the park position. As the contact exited, the vehicle began to roll backward until crashing into a tree. The dealer contributed the failure to a faulty ignition switch. The ignition switch was replaced by the dealer and the failure…
Suspension 30 Read
Unable to control vehicle on snow/ice, resulting in 3 accidents
My vehicle is under national recall highway safety recall, due to manufacturing issues. I need to trade my vehicle in and I'm being over charged for vehicles that are not worry to be on the highway. I feel I should get an manufacture discount on an used/new vehicle because I should not have to pay for manufactured…
There is no way to adjustment the alignment of the rear wheels on this year mazda mpv, thus the tires ware out early because they are not in alignment. Tire failure occurred while driving on highway mazda dealer says no adjustment can be done as mazda did not provide a way to correct this alignment problem so early…
Tires 29 Read
Excessive front brake replacement, loss of braking ability almost hit two people, does not stop right away when brakes are pressed. Tge vehicle started to roll on its own and hit my neighbors property after veing parked for days.these are major safety issues that need to be looked at. I can not afford a different…
In 1998 I had an accident where my rear, right tire came apart causing me to crash agains a concrete divider on I-95 in boca raton. Tires had been services not more that a few weeks prior to the accident. I have pictures of the tires which I can submit
Premature wear - oem dunlop tires worn out at under 14,000 small puncture could not be sealed buy mazda dealer - after taking the mpv to the local goodyear shop - the indicated the tires were too worn to repair . I have all the maintenance records and the tires were rotated at mazda dealer
Structure 28 Read
I own a 2006 mazda mpv. On september 26, my wife had an accident while entering in our home drive way, with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle continued to accelerate and struck the garage door and crashed against the internal wall that divide the garage from the kitchen. We did not reported the accident to the…
Consumer's vehicle wasi nvolved in a collision, and the dealer repaired the door, but damaged the side body molding. Service manager refused to repair what was damaged, and asked consumer not to return. Also, vehicle was in for a tire rotation. Consumer wanted to know how they gained access to the interior of the…
The contact owns a 2005 mazda mpv. While the vehicle was stationary, the frame of the vehicle in front of the rear wheels was rusted and severely corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 79,473
MPV 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 10 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 4 | 5 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 9 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 4 | 3 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 1995 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 10 | — | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 5 | — | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 1990 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 3 | — |
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 | 308 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.3 |
| Worst single series | 15 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.0 years |
A model average of 2.3 hides a worst series at 15. 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
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 MPV?
By complaint volume, 2000, 2002, 2003 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 MPV years are the cleanest?
2006, 1995, 1996 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mazda MPV have?
709 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1989–2006. Of those, 82 describe a crash and 22 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.