There are 4 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2019 Mazda Mazda3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The car has had a lot of issues. The inside driver side glass for the display dash fogged up and had to be replaced. The first replacement didn’t fix it and I had to threaten legal action to get Mazda to replace the glass a second time before it finally resolved the issue. The car (which is washed and waxed weekly), got rust on it in year 3. Mazda repaired it and promised it would not return. 14 months later the rust is back and Mazda won’t repair it. I have escalated with no avail. I have had to replace the air conditioning fan for over $1K. I bought the car brand new with 59 miles on it, I have kept up on every maintenance and kept records and today it has 18,000 miles and I am told the transmission needs replaced. 18,000 miles on a garage kept car? This is not right!
I PURCHASED MY 2019 MAZDA3 HATCHBACK BRAND NEW LAST SEPT (2019). THIS SUMMER I NOTICED THE REAR DRIVER SIDE DOOR WAS DIFFICULT TO OPEN FULLY. IT SEEMED TO BE BINDING AT THE HINGE. HOWEVER, ON FURTHER INVESTIGATION I REALIZED THE FRONT EDGE OF THE DOOR WAS ACTUALLY HITTING/RUBBING AGAINST THE BACK EDGE OF THE FRONT DOOR! THIS HAD NOT BEEN AN ISSUE FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS I OWED THE VEHICLE. I ATTRIBUTED IT TO EITHER A SETTLING OF THE STRUCTURAL FRAME OF THE CAR OR AN EXPANSION OF THE DOORS DUE TO THE SUMMER HEAT. EITHER ONE I BELIEVE ARE CAUSE FOR ACTION BY THE MANUFACTURER. I HAVE NOW BROUGHT THE CAR TO TWO DIFFERENT MAZDA DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPT'S AND BOTH EXPLAINED THAT, WHILE THE CAR HAS OBVIOUSLY NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, REPAIRING THE DEFECT UNDER WARRANTY MIGHT BE MORE DIFFICULT THAN I WOULD EXPECT. THE FIRST SAID HIS 'AUTO BODY SHOP WANTS TO CHARGE HIM EVEN IF IT IS COVERED BY WARRANTY' AND THE SECOND ADVISED HE 'COULD TAKE PICTURES AND SEND A REQUEST FOR COVERAGE TO 'MAZDA' SO THEY COULD DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT WOULD BE COVERED BY WARRANTY BUT (THAT HE BELIEVES) IT WOULD BE A 'TOUGH FIGHT' AS IT'S NOT A 'KNOWN PROBLEM' ON THESE CARS.' I BELIEVE THE CORRECTION SHOULD NOT ONLY BE COVERED BY WARRANTY BUT MIGHT WARRANT ADDITIONAL ACTION INCLUDING A LARGER SCALE INVESTIGATION AND/OR RECALL. I SHOULD ADD THAT THE PAINT HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM BOTH DOORS WHERE THEY WERE RUBBING TOGETHER. THIS SHOULD BE REPAIRED AS WELL...REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE FRAME OF THE CAR IS UNSTABLE OR THE DOORS ARE EXPANDING/CHANGING POSITION ON THEIR OWN.
DOOR GAP BETWEEN THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR AND THE DRIVER SIDE REAR DOOR IS TOO SMALL. WHEN TEMPERATURES EXCEED 75 DEGREES F AND THE CAR IS PARKED IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT, THE DOOR EXPANDS AND IT WILL RUB ONTO THE REAR DOOR B PILLAR WEATHERSTRIPPING. DOOR BECOMES HARD TO OPEN FROM THE INSIDE WHEN THIS HAPPENS. THE B PILLAR REAR DOOR TRIM IS PRESSED UP SO HARD AGAINST THE DRIVER DOOR THAT THE WEATHER SEAL NEAR THE TOP WILL START TO PREMATURELY WEAR OUT. ON CERTAIN OCCASIONS, THE DRIVER DOOR EXPAND SO MUCH THAT THE REAR DOOR B PILLAR TRIM WILL ALMOST COME OFF. DEALER REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM. ATTACHED ARE OTHER MAZDA 3 OWNERS WITH HOW WORSE THE PROBLEM CAN GET.
EVERY TIME IT RAINS SPARE TIRE WELL FILLS WITH WATER
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 26, 2026