2009 Mazda RX-8 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2009 Mazda RX-8 has an overall safety rating of "Not Rated" according to the available data. In terms of crash ratings, the front crash driver side rating is 4 out of 5, and the front crash passenger side rating is 5 out of 5. The side crash driver's side and passenger side ratings are both 4 out of 5. The rollover rating is 5 out of 5, indicating a lower possibility of rollovers.

In terms of safety features, the Mazda RX-8 comes with optional electronic stability control, which can help improve the vehicle's stability and control. However, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

The vehicle has had 8 complaints reported and 4 recalls, indicating some potential issues that have been identified. Overall, while the Mazda RX-8 has good crash ratings in certain areas and features stability control for enhanced safety, the lack of forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems may impact its overall safety performance. Additionally, the number of complaints and recalls should be taken into consideration by potential buyers.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

8

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2009 Mazda RX-8 2-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2009 Mazda RX-8 2-DR. w/SAB

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.

Optional
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

2009 Mazda RX-8 2-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2009 Mazda RX-8 2-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.

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 2009 Score 2011 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 4 Not Rated
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 Not Rated

Side Crash Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2011 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 4 4 Not Rated
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2011 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Complaints for the 2009 Mazda RX-8

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:
"mazda recalled all 2004-2008 rx8 models for fuel pump and lockring gasket assembly leakage. my 2009 rx8 has the same issue and starting leaking gas on 1-02-2020 while parked in a garage. i called mazda and was told there were no recalls; however my car has the same problem the 2004-2008 models had. now i have to pay close to $1,000.00 for repair that should be covered under the recall."
Components Involved: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2020-02-01

Complaint:
"while driving i noticed a fuel smell coming through my vents. after checking around the engine compartment i saw fuel pooling on the engine passenger side. i'm unaware at the moment of the cause add i am taking it to be checked at the dealer tomorrow. *tr"
Components Involved: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2014-03-03

Recalls for the 2009 Mazda RX-8

Component Recalls

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

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

Recall:
"mazda north america operations (mazda) is recalling certain 2009-2010 mazda rx-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under recall 18v-017 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 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 one, free of charge. The recall began July 9, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: This recall supersedes recall 18V017.

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 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

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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