2018 Mazda MAZDA3 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2018 Mazda Mazda3 has an outstanding overall safety rating of 5 stars according to the data. It excels in various crash scenarios, with top scores in front crash, side crash, and rollover ratings. Additionally, this car comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances its handling and safety on the road. While it offers an optional forward collision warning system for added safety, it does not have a lane departure warning feature.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the vehicle has had 46 complaints reported and has been subject to 4 recalls. These numbers should be considered when evaluating the overall safety and reliability of the 2018 Mazda Mazda3.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

46

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

5/5

Search Vehicle Details

Advanced Search

The advanced search lets you search by safety ratings and features. This will return a list of vehicles that match your search criteria.

Safety Features

2018 Mazda Mazda3 5 HB FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2018 Mazda Mazda3 5 HB 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.

Optional
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

2018 Mazda Mazda3 5 HB FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2018 Mazda Mazda3 5 HB 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 2018 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 2018 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 3 4 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 3 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2018 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 5 5

Complaints for the 2018 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:
"my car has a faulty front body power module, a known issue with these cars, but mazda keeps saying my model is not in the bracket for recalls, they say it's manufactured a day after the cutoff for the recall, so they won't give me recall repair. my windshield wipers aren't working and it's pouring rain, so this is a huge danger. i can't afford the $1500+ repair and don't think it's right this is a known issue for this car model and because mine is supposedly 1 day late i don't qualify for the recall care. they expect me to go to a dealership and pay more money for a diagnostic for something that is an issue, and then i have to call corporate again and they'll "decide" if they'll cover my car or not."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2024-07-01

Complaint:
"windshield wipers stopped working in every mode including auto rain detection mode."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2024-01-05

Complaint:
"my car's rear backup camera has been having issues for the last several thousand miles. i took the car in for repair, and the mazda dealership informed me that the wiring for the backup camera has corroded. after searching various online forums, it appears that this issue is pretty common with this generation mada3. i noticed today that ford issued a recall for a similar problem with mustangs."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2022-01-02

Complaint:
"the body computer experienced a malfunction leading to the wipers becoming inoperable. this can be made available for inspection. i was driving through a snow storm, my wipers stopped working without warning causing severe loss of visibility endangering myself and those around me. the problem has been confirmed by an independent service center. it has not, however the model of car has a recall for this, it does not extend to my specific vin. there were no warnings. the wipers worked and halfway through a drive they stopped."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2022-10-02

Complaint:
"front windshield wipers for my 2018 mazda 3 stopped working without any warning while driving on the highway under heavy rain fall. i recently read online about a faulty wiper motor relay but i have not received any information from mazda 3 about this."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2021-07-07

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2018 mazda 3. while the windshield wipers were activated, the contact noticed a cloudy film on the windshield that obstructed her view. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the contact replaced the windshield wipers, wiper fluid, and buffed the windshield. the vehicle was taken to a windshield specialist who stated that the windshield should be replaced. the vehicle was taken to global auto mall (1099 rt. 22 west, north plainfield, nj 07060, (866) 233-6719) where it was diagnosed that the windshield wipers and fluid needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 12263978563. the contact was referred to the dealer. the insurance company was contacted and stated that the windshield should be replaced. the failure mileage was 19,185. the vin was unknown. *bf consumer stated there remains a cloudy film that must be buffed to clear windshield in winter when wipers are activated it leaves a film as in a summertime but the film, flash freezes and obstructs view completely. in rainy weather - there is a film on window when wipers used. i sent pictures to nhtsa webmaster.*jb"
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2018-01-02

Complaint:
"my windshield wipers have just stopped working while driving in rain. i tried to pull over, turn off my car and turn it back on but they're still not working. the wiper fluid still sprays."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2021-07-07

Complaint:
"the window wipers stop working all of a sudden when on the interval setting. i have to turn them off and then on again for them to begin working once more. this has happened multiple times, usually after the wipers have swiped once or twice on that setting while driving."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2021-06-04

Complaint:
"on 1/25/2019 in the morning i went outside to take my dog out and noticed that the sunroof on my 2018 mazda 3 was cracked and had a fairly large hole in it. the car had been parked on my street outside my home over night. at first i thought it may have possibly been from someone trying to break into my car. however, upon further investigation i noticed that the glass was actually bubbled up and away from the inside of the car and not inwards. based on this i was able to rule out someone striking the glass with force from the outside of the car. i believe the glass to have been defective as the car was parked and not in use while this incident had happened."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2021-01-01

Complaint:
"on september 13th, 2018, i was driving out of the state, during a road trip on my way from cannon beach to portland in the state of oregon around 9pm, i was driving my 2018 mazda 3 on north of highway i-5 when rain began during rush traffic. i had the automatic front wipers on and they began performing their function for about 3 minutes when all of a sudden they went off. rain got heavier and even after trying to actuate the wiper lever to high speed, the front wipers failed to start working again. i was in the middle lane of a three-way road and was having a hard time trying to see through to go stop and park in a shoulder. traffic began to slow down and i could barely see through the windshield. i turned on the emergency lights and began honking to try to stop in the left shoulder. however, traffic suddenly began to stop and i had to hard brake before crashing into a truck in front of me, but another truck managed to barely evade me however it did scrape me and the rear of the car, i could not see the license plate of the truck due to the wipers not working during the downpour. i had to wait on the shoulder until the rain stopped, tried calling roadside assistance but the rain eased. the rear bumper of the vehicle got damaged because of the wipers failure, however the safety concern could have been worse such as the vehicle getting me into major accident where more than one causality could have occurred. other than that, the time wasted during my vacations and resources to push hotel stays is minimal yet to be accounted for. but now the distress of the incidents has led to mental repercussions."
Components Involved: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Date of incident: 2019-01-09

Recalls for the 2018 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 2016-2018 mazda3 vehicles. a defective windshield wiper relay may cause the windshield wipers to become inoperative, reducing the driver's visibility."
Consequence:
Reduced visibility while driving can increase the risk of crash.
Remedy:

Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front body control module with a new module which uses an improved wiper relay design, free of charge. The recall began May 7, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3219D.

Component(s) Involved: VISIBILITY > WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER
Date of incident: 2019-04-04

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

Related Vehicles

Why not check out other MAZDA vehicles?

2016 MX-5
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: Not Rated
  • Complaints Count: 27
  • Recall Count: 2
View Car
2016 CX-3
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 38
  • Recall Count: 3
View Car
2021 MX-5
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: Not Rated
  • Complaints Count: 1
  • Recall Count: 0
View Car
2017 MAZDA3
MAZDA
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 43
  • Recall Count: 2
View Car