2013 Mazda MAZDA3 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2013 Mazda Mazda3 receives an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5, indicating above-average safety features. It excels in front crash tests with a 5-star rating for both the driver and passenger sides. However, its performance in side crash tests is less impressive, with ratings of 4 for the driver's side and 2 for the passenger side. The car is equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances safety by helping drivers maintain control in challenging driving conditions. It does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

Additionally, the Mazda3 has experienced 115 complaints and 1 recall, suggesting some issues with the vehicle that owners and manufacturers need to address. Overall, while the Mazda3 offers good protection in frontal crashes and stability control for added safety, potential buyers should consider the concerns raised by the number of complaints and recalls when making their decision.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

115

Recall Count

1

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

4/5

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Safety Features

2013 Mazda Mazda3 4 DR FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2013 Mazda Mazda3 4 DR FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2013 Mazda Mazda3 4 DR FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2013 Mazda Mazda3 4 DR FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2013 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2013 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 3 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 3 4 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 3 2 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 4 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 2 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 3 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2013 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 3 5

Complaints for the 2013 Mazda MAZDA3

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"when driving at highway speeds and applying brakes, the headlights will pulse bright to dim for the duration of braking. i have seen this problem reported online by several dealers and it has a known software update to fix the problem, but it is not listed under the recalls for this vehicle. a similar problem exists on the 2014 mazda's and a recall does exist for that vehicle."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2022-07-07
Complaint:
"when applying the brakes, the headlights dim and flicker until the brake pedal is released. nighttime viability is substantially diminished when applying the breaks and flickering seams to send a signal to other vehicles in front of me. this defect occurs 100% of the time when applying the beaks at night when the headlights are on."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2017-01-01
Complaint:
"ongoing problem - reported by others in many forums. technical service bulletin issued. during breaking headlights pulse brighter and dimmer"
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2021-09-02
Complaint:
"description this vehicle exhibits the headlights flickering when the vehicle is decelerating (by applying the brakes) with the headlights on. this concern is caused by inadequate alternator output (controlled by the pcm) when the battery is under heavy load. to correct the problem, the control logic of the pcm has been changed. mazda will not update the pcm without charging customers a diagnostic and reprogramming fee in the us."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2020-04-12
Complaint:
"when driving at night, and applying the brakes to slow down, the headlights and taillights flicker/pulse. over the last 6-12 months this issue has become more pronounced so that it has begun reducing visibility. plus, nearby cars are distracted, evidently thinking we are in distress. we believe this creates an additional traffic hazard. note: initially, the problem was only noticeable when slowing from an initial speed of about 25-40mph. now it seems to have advanced to happen at any speed above about 25mph."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2019-03-04
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2013 mazda 3. while driving 20-60 mph, the headlights flickered when the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle became difficult to drive. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to a local dealer. the contact called smith haven mazda (827 jericho turnpike, st james, ny 11780, 631) 724-4070) and mazda 112 (2112 ny-112, medford, ny 11763, (631) 256-1074), but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and provided reference number: 1-2451813550 the failure mileage was 78,000. the vin was not available."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2019-01-01
Complaint:
"headlights flicker while decelerating. especially bad when braking. it has been happening for a long time, just decided now to report it. i see a lot of complaints for the same issue online."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2020-01-11
Complaint:
"when i hit the brakes, the light flash almost as if it flashing my bright light, no matter where or how fast or slow i'm driving."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2018-09-05
Complaint:
"headlights flicker when braking."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2018-10-12
Complaint:
"when driving with the headlights on and i begin to slow down, whether coasting or using the brake, my headlights will flicker really bad. it does not happen all the time but it happens 90% of the time. there are times they flicker bad enough that it looks like i am flashing my highbeams. i have had to pull over multiple times because of how hard it made it to concentrate on the surrounding area. i can only imagine what its like for someone in front of me or driving towards me. sometimes they will also flash a few times when i come to a complete stop. ive taken it to the dealer i bought it from and they continue to say nothing is wrong. so it is still an ongoing problem from the day i bought it."
Components Involved: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of incident: 2017-06-07

Recalls for the 2013 Mazda MAZDA3

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"mazda north american operations (mazda) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 mazda3 and mazdaspeed3 vehicles manufactured november 18, 2008, to june 8, 2013, 2012-2015 mazda5 vehicles manufactured october 26, 2010, to june 22, 2015, 2016 cx-3 vehicles manufactured june 1, 2015, to december 26, 2015, and 2013-2016 cx-5 vehicles manufactured december 15, 2011, to december 26, 2015. on the affected vehicles, the lift gate support struts may corrode, possibly causing the struts to break and/or the lift gate to drop unexpectedly."
Consequence:
If the lift gate falls unexpectedly, it may hit the user, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy:

Mazda dealers will replace the both lift gate supports, free of charge, however parts are not currently available. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 9916H.

Component(s) Involved: STRUCTURE > BODY > HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
Date of incident: 2016-09-06

MAZDA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

MAZDA ranks 16 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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