There are 5 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2005 Mazda Mazda3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
ENGINE FAILED ENTIRELY DURING ROUTINE HIGHWAY DRIVING, VEHICLE LOST FORWARD PROPULSION, EVENTUALLY COMING TO COMPLETE STOP ON THE ROAD. THERE WERE ZERO WARNING OR ANY NOTICE AT ALL THAT THE ENGINE WAS DYING. I WAS STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD FOR OVER 1 HOUR, WHILE HELP ARRIVED.
VEHICLE WILL NOT START UNLESS KEY IS ON PUT INTO NEUTRAL THEN STARTS. SOMETIMES GREEN P LIGHT DOES NOT LIGHT UP.
MAZDA 3 INTERNAL SENSORS GETTING STUCK AT MILEAGE FROM 35K TO 95K MAZDA AND GIVING MESSAGE AT IN DASHBOARD. IF U RESET THE COMPUTER THE CAR WORKS FINE AGAIN FOR A COUPLE OF MILES UNTIL AT MESSAGE APPEARS. WHEN U TAKE THE MAZDA TO THE MAZDA CENTER THEY TELL YOU THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION IS BAD, BUT IF U TAKE IT TO A TRANSMISSION DEALER THEY SAY IS REVERSE SOLENOID OR FIRST SOLENOID CUS OF THE CODES. BUT FIRST AND REVERSE WORK FINE WHEN U RESET THE COMPUTER, I SEARCHED THE WEB FOR AT MESSAGE IN MAZDA 3 2004-2007 HATCHBACK OR SEDAN AND IS SAME THING. I THINK IS A MAZDA FACTORY ERROR. *TR
TRANSMISSION FELL SOMEHOW AND MY LEFT DRIVESHAFT IS CRACKED. PRIOR TO THIS EVENT, IN MARCH 2007, MY LEFT DRIVE AXLE WAS REPLACED BY DEALERSHIP AFTER DRIVE AXLE BENT AND BROKE. *TR
WHILE DRIVING MY MAZDA 2000 PROTEGE(AUTOMATIC) HOME FROM FRIENDS ON JULY 4 TH, NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A BIG JERK FROM TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE STARTED REWING AT ~4K TO ~5K AND THE CAR WAS LOOSING POWER. I WAS DOING 55 MPH AT THE TIME AND THE SPEED CAME DOWN TO 40 MPH. FROM THAT POINT ON CAR WOULD NOT GO BEYOND 40 MPH AND ENGINE STILL KEEPS REWING AT THAT SPEED. I WAS ON A HIGHWAY IN THE CAR ALONE AND WAS FEARED FOR LIFE THAT THE ENGINE REWING WITH LOUD NOICE WOULD BLOW ON ME. HAD TO TAKE LOCAL ROADS TO MAKE IT TO HOME. THE CAR HAS 37K MILES ON IT AND WAS GENTLY DRIVEN. ALL THE REQUIRED MAINTENANCE WORK WAS PERFORMED. DEALER AFTER PERFORMING THE DIAGNOSTICS CAME BACK WITH THERE WAS AN INTERNAL FAILURE WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED COSTING OVER $2600.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026