The 2005 Mazda RX-8 receives a mixed safety rating based on available data. While the front crash passenger side rating is a solid 5 out of 5, both the front crash driver side and overall side crash ratings are at a 4. The rollover rating, however, is at the highest possible score of 5, indicating good resistance to rollovers. It is notable that this car offers optional electronic stability control but lacks both forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems.
On the downside, the overall rating for this vehicle is marked as "Not Rated" due to insufficient data in some categories. Additionally, there have been 168 complaints reported and a relatively high number of recalls at 6. It's worth noting that there have been 4 investigations as well. Overall, while the Mazda RX-8 has some high safety ratings in specific areas, the absence of certain advanced safety features and the presence of a significant number of complaints and recalls may raise concerns for potential buyers.
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Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2005 Mazda RX-8 4-DR. w/SAB
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.
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.
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.
Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2005 Mazda RX-8 4-DR. w/SAB 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.
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 | 2011 Score |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Front Crash Rating | Not Rated | Not Rated |
| Front Crash Driver Side Rating | 4 | Not Rated |
| Front Crash Passenger Side Rating | 5 | Not Rated |
Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.
| Test | 2005 Score | 2011 Score |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Side Crash Rating | Not Rated | Not Rated |
| Side Crash Drivers Side Rating | 4 | Not Rated |
| Side Crash Passenger Side Rating | 4 | Not Rated |
| Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front | Not Rated | Not Rated |
| Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear | Not Rated | Not Rated |
| Overall Side Barrier Rating | Not Rated | Not Rated |
The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.
| Test | 2005 Score | 2011 Score |
|---|---|---|
| Rollover Rating | Not Rated | 5 |
| Rollover Possibility % | 0% | 0% |
| Dynamic Tip Result | No Tip | |
| Side Pole Crash Rating | Not Rated | Not Rated |
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.
Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.
Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.
Recall:
"mazda north america operations (mazda) is recalling certain 2003-2008 mazda6, 2006-2007 mazdaspeed6 and 2004 mpv vehicles nationwide. mazda is also recalling 2005-2006 mpv vehicles in alabama, arizona, arkansas, california, delaware, the district of columbia, florida, georgia, hawaii, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, louisiana, maryland, mississippi, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, south carolina, tennessee, texas, virginia, west virginia, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. virgin islands. on july 9, 2019 this recall was expanded to include certain 2004-2011 rx-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under 16v-354 but have not yet been repaired. these vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these passenger air bag inflators..."Consequence:
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.Remedy:
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 6, 2018. Mailing to the affected RX-8 owners began July 6, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: With the addition of the RX-8 vehicles, this recall fully supersedes recall 16V354.
Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > PASSENGER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2018-06-15
Recall:
"mazda north america operations (mazda) is recalling certain 2005-2006 mazda mpv vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of alaska, colorado, connecticut, idaho, iowa, maine, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, montana, new hampshire, new york, north dakota, oregon, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, washington, wisconsin, and wyoming. on july 9, 2019 this recall was expanded to include certain 2005-2009 rx-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under 17v-011 but have not yet been repaired. these vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling."Consequence:
An inflator explosion may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.Remedy:
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 6, 2018 for MPV vehicles. The recall began July 9, 2019 for RX-8 vehicles. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: With the addition of the RX-8 vehicles, this recall fully supersedes recall 17V-011.
Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > PASSENGER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2018-06-15
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 |