Reliability

[Zoom Zoom Zoom]

Hello,

For those of you that had your Mazda3 for almost a year now. Could you please give me your honest feedback (without being bias) on "overall reliability". If you had a Civic or Corolla in the past, is the Mazda3 you currently own better in reliablity or the same?

 

[barod60]

reliability

Hello,

For those of you that had your Mazda3 for almost a year now. Could you please give me your honest feedback (without being bias) on "overall reliability". If you had a Civic or Corolla in the past, is the Mazda3 you currently own better in reliablity or the same?

my 3's going on 10 months. only problem has been a speaker
on passenger door going bad. dealer fixed it. i currently own a
98 corolla (my wife) the only problem it's given us is with the rear
wheel bearings. mybe still too soon to pass judgement but
it's been great so far.

 

[dulog]

We've had ours for just over 6 months and have 8000 miles. The issues seen so far have been really minor, such as rattles and noises. This is the first brand new car I've owned so it's hard for me to make comparisons.

In my mind there are no sure bets out there though - just cars that would be better bets than others. In '97 I bought a Camry used from my Uncle and everyone said it would be a great car and would run forever, and from what I had read I expected it to be reliable but the car ended up needing a lot of reparis and being costly to maintain. Later on I drove an old Volvo 240 that was remarkably reliable and didn't cost me much to keep running even though it was many years older than the Camry I had before and it had a lot more miles. I'm not thinking along the lines of Toyota's are p.o.s and Volvo's are highly reliable -- I think my expericne more had to do with bad/good luck as much as anything else. Although the Camry I had was a fairly good bet for a decent car, it wasn't a sure bet. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mikey444]

my 3 is going on 11 months 20000 kilometers and it still brakes and handles like the day I bought it. The only things I am anoyed by is some rattling sounds, brake dust, and thin paint. Recalls dont have much to do with reliability in my opinion, thye are just a nuissance. So, so far I am fairly happy with my Mazda 3 as well as my 6.

 

[Zoom Zoom Zoom]

What is this "rattling" sound that I'm reading about in the Mazda3 forum? Where is the sound coming from?

 

[Mazda3Zoomer]

i dont have a rattle.

12k miles in 4 months.

no major problems to report besides the wheel well issue that is self repairable.

 

[Zoom Zoom Zoom]

Any more opinions/comments?

After knowing what problems you people have with your vehicle, would you recommend this vehicle to someone and would you buy the vehicle again.

Before buying this vehicle, if you knew what you know now, would you still buy the Mazda 3?

 

[Pete47]

My Mazda3 has been great so far but one problem. When going threw the hurricans this summer I had water get into my car and wet the front and rear passenger side with out the car being opened and driven for one whole month. I was on vaction when going threw hurrican Charlie and noticed that when I came back that my car had a funny smell inside. To make it short. I went to the dealer and they said it was a drain hose from the sun roof that was a little short and thats what caused the problem. THey fixed the problem and cleaned the car. Other then that, the car has been great.
I'm just feel a little scared of the tranny. It feels weak.
You never know what your going to get into but I brought this car for reliabilty reasons. Mazdas are known to last.

 

[dulog]

Any more opinions/comments?

I took a trip this weekend to the coast and took some windy backroads. This car is comfortable, fun and handles great!

After knowing what problems you people have with your vehicle, would you recommend this vehicle to someone and would you buy the vehicle again.

I'd buy the vehicle again, and I'd recommend it to someone else (depending on what they were looking for).

Before buying this vehicle, if you knew what you know now, would you still buy the Mazda 3?

Yes. Out of the new small cars that were out last spring when I was shopping as well as the cars available today & the near future I like this one. I would make the same choice. If I had to do it again I'd still consider buying a low mileage Protege, Corrola or Civic a couple years old if I wanted to be more frugal and let someone else take the depreciation. Kind of a tough call...I'd hate to give up my car though I wouldn't mind saving some money you know.

 

[hworth18]

Any more opinions/comments?

After knowing what problems you people have with your vehicle, would you recommend this vehicle to someone and would you buy the vehicle again.

Before buying this vehicle, if you knew what you know now, would you still buy the Mazda 3?

I have had my 3 for 5 months now (over 7000 miles) and I still LOVE it.. I would buy another one if I had the option (besides a 2005 Mustang)..
The only thing I would want is for Mazda to add a few things like auto trunk pop and standard ABS..
Other than that, (and I have owned many cars over the past 20 years) This is one of the best, low cost, cars I have ever owned so far.. It's a blast to drive, mileage is great and I got a great deal on it.. (hi)

 

[Chilly]

I've only had my 3 for 4 months now, getting close to 6000 miles no issues whatsoever. No recalls, no warranty work *knock on wood*
I have had 4 mazdas now and they have all been great, 626, protege, 6 and now 3.

 

[rodslinger]

I had my 3s sedan for almost a year and 13k miles. The only problems have been one of the HID bulbs went out, the air bag recall, check engine light, a pop from the rear brakes and the TPMS system throwing an error code. Everything was warrantied and fixed rather quickly. I was given a loaner with no hassle from the dealer either.

The TPMS sensor was bad on a wheel that I had to have a flat repaired on so I suspect the tire dealer may have damaged the sensor. Regardless, Mazda replaced it. The check engine light was taken care of with an ECU reflash to address false coolant sensor error codes. The brake clunk was apparently one of the retaining/anti-rattle clips not installed properly.

Despite having a few minor issues, I was in and out of the dealer in about 10 minutes and I didn't have to put up with any garbage. Overall I'm very pleased with the car and would recommend it.