Owners have filed 116 complaints on the Mazda RX-7, covering 1987–1994. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (32 reports). Worst years by volume: 1993, 1990, 1994; cleanest: 1987, 1991, 1994. 4 reports describe a crash, 24 a fire. On average the car was 6.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mazda RX-7
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 116 RX-7 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 32 Read
Electric short within the fan system caused a fire
Vehicle caught fire due to leaking engine coolant and gas line
Consumer states that while driving at 55 mph the vehicle caught on fire
Fuel System 23 Read
Common failure of fuel plusation damper results in fuel leak under hood and engine fire. Should issue recall and design strong part
Fuel line leaked due to cracked line resulting in fire. Yh
Pulsation dampers fail on almost all fi mazda rx-7s
Seat Belts 23 Read
Automatic shoulder strap on driver's side inoperative, cable comes off track and out of molding
Shoulder belt buckle opened when struck from behind
Experienced automatic shoulder harness malfunctioning when belt stops midway on track
Electrical System 11 Read
I was on my way to work, driving under very normal conditions. I had the following accessories on at the time of the fire. Heater, radio, rear defroster, and maybe the headlights. I was stopped at a traffic light when smoke started to come out from under the hood. I pulled over turned off the car and slowly opened the…
Failed electronic control unit caused sudden acceleration/accident
Alternator shorted, causing fire
Service Brakes 4 Read
ABS brakes dont work until car warms up.in addition, in addition, vacuum lines and check valve were replaced a sper recall (96V-149.000)
Defective check valve, causing brake failure
Anti-lock brake unit leaking brake fluid. Started about 5/5/97. Leaks with car parked, may leak while driving. Started gradually, now loses about two ounces per week. If brake fluid level gets too low while driving, it can prevent proper brake operation and increase the risk of accident. The ABS unit is located near…
Air Bags 3 Read
Went over a cliff, hit some trees and the drivers air bag did not deploy. Tt
Was involved in a head on collision and airbag did not deploy. Approx. $14,000 in frontal damage to my car and approx. $4,000 frontal damage to other vehicle
The contact owns a 1993 mazda rx-7. The contact heard a loud noise coming from the vehicle while it was parked. The contact discovered that the air bags deployed independently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the mechanic refused to diagnosis it and advised the contact to go to a dealer. The…
Suspension 3 Read
Egr valve failed twice, also replaced rear shock/oilpressure sensor
This seems to be a common failure for this car. Not only is it an expensive repair, but from what I understand this 'pulsation damper' failure has lead to many fires in this car. I believe the problem is happening again and I hope I don't have to pay another $500 to have it repaired again. I think that because it is…
Manufacturer's headquarters had advised consumer that front passenger's side coil spring would not be available from japan until 2 weeks after ordering it. Consumer felt that too much time was spent ordering a part
Power Train 3 Read
5 speed transmission failed
Transmission fifth gear synchronizer failure
When changing from 2nd to 3rd, 3rd to 4th gear, engine making a loud noise (RPM go up), the car is jerking
RX-7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 3 | 18 | |
| 1991 | Engine And Engine Cooling,fuel System, Gasoline | — | 1 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | — | 2 | |
| 1987 | Electrical System,engine,fuel/propulsion System | — | 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 | 47 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.5 |
| Worst single series | 9 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.9 years |
A model average of 2.5 hides a worst series at 9. 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 RX-7?
By complaint volume, 1993, 1990, 1994 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 RX-7 years are the cleanest?
1987, 1991, 1994 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mazda RX-7 have?
116 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1987–1994. Of those, 4 describe a crash and 24 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.