17 inch alloy rims - stock tires (Goodyear) are no good in the rain or snow, have very little tread life (30,000 km) and are very expensive to replace ($300/tire). They do look great though.
Faulty airbag sensor, replaced under warranty.
Door trim fell off rear passenger and driver door twice (first time replaced under warranty, second time it was blamed on driver error???)
Leaking windshield washer fluid reservoir - patched with silicone under warranty.
Driver seats squeaks badly.
Front driver window makes a creaking noise when opened and then closed from around the half way mark.
Continuous rattling from the rear of the car and the front dash board - dealer said nothing was wrong.
Rear pads and rotors replaced at 70km (a little soon if you ask me and the dealer charged way too much and scratched my car in 4 places). scratches not repaired.
Check engine light - not covered under warranty.
Big problems with the cracked plastic skid plate and stripped screws under the car... fell off on the road in the winter.
Front pads and rotors gone at 100km...why so different than the rear pads?
Clutch burnt at 102km (again really low if you ask me) I asked the dealership to look into my clutch/transmission as I noticed a lag in the shifting so I wanted it looked at. Dealer told me the drove it and found nothing. checked the odometer only to find out they hadn't driven at all (reading was the same). 13 days later, clutch gone, only 102,000 km on my car. Mazda wanted $1600 for the job, I got it done for $1100 with parts that have a lifetime warranty.
Road trip in eastern Canada, car wouldn't start and I was in an area with no cell signal, had to hitchhike into the next town to a pay phone to call CAA. Tow truck came out... starter on its way out. was able to boost the car with battery.
Slave cylinder clip cracked, clutch fluid drained out onto the floor of a ferry. had to be towed off the ferry.
Latest problem, my stereo gets all fuzzy (Static) when the rear wiper blade cleans the window.
I bought my Mazda 3 in Oct 2005 used with 23,000 kms on it. The tires that come on the sport model look great and handle on dry pavement well, but are crap in the rain and snow and the tread life is crap. Bought snows for the winter. Problem solved.
Very fun and sporty car to drive, great in the city when you're close to reliable service and towing, absolutely unreliable for road trips or any roads other than smooth pavement.
Handles very well, great choice of colours, roomy interior and great controls/dash.
Although, with all the problems I've had with the car and the company, I'll never buy Mazda again.
FYI it's normal for front brakes to wear out before rears because they do about 70-80% of the work. Sorry to hear about the clutch though.
Actually he said his Rear went at 70km and front at 100kms..
He said the rears had to be replaced before the front, and I am finding the same with my Mazda 3 GT sedan. Many front end parts going on it lately (just under 100 000 kms), and I am at the dealership way too often! The mazda dealers are horrible, and don't seem to help at all. I agree, will never buy a Mazda again!
Most of these problems seem like build quality issues and a faulty manual transmission design. I say this because way too many pieces fell or broke off your car. I'd be annoyed too considering these Mazda 3's are not cheap comparably speaking. Also my friend's finance had problems covered under warranty with his manual transmission too.
Just curious if this may be your first standard vehicle; definitely sounds like the problems someone would have driving a manual improperly.
Front brakes should more often than not, need servicing long before the rears, since they do 90% of the stopping in all vehicles. However this does sound a little extreme.
I have a 2004 Mazda 3 with 59 000 KM's on it. Not miles.
I've gone through 3 sets of rear brakes (pads and rotors).
Front brakes never had to be replaced yet. Still 70% life left... really weird eh?
Skid plate and screws on the bottom have fallen off in the winter.
Front wheel bearings went at 52 000 km's.
Engine won't start sometimes, need to put it into neutral to start! (I think it's a faulty sensor) but still...
A lot of weird creaks and noises when accelerating from a stand still.
Cars paint already bubbled and is now rusting (NEVER BEEN HIT), and no it was not from a chip. It's from a bad paint job!!
If it wasn't for the coolness of the looks and power of the car, it being so fun to drive (when it's working) I would totally hate it. But since it's fun to drive, I'll give it a 5/10 overall.
Way too many problems for the 26 000 dollars including tax that I paid! Ridiculous. Mazda also is HORRIBLE for customer service. Don't buy Mazda... it's only fun to drive, but for the long term, it's a pain in the ass.
The rear brakes issue isn't new. Google a Mazda3 forum and you will find some information from actual owners and many "modders" discussing about it. It first shows up as really dirty rear rims from excessive brake dust and even grooving in the rotors.
Some member of the forum I know have "upgraded" their pads and report less brake dust and less wear, so you should try that and not replacing the brake parts with the same OEM stuff. The stock BADyear tires suck in rain and snow, but most stock tires aren't very good anyway and tires can be replaced easy enough. Again, don't go with OEM tires for replacement.
And 16:28, it is definitely a sensor issue, but the sensor maybe dirty rather than faulty. If you pull the center console piece around the AT shifter up, you will find the sensor. Any spilled liquid will gum it up and cause the car to think it was not in "P". Clean it and you're good to go.
Keep in mind folks that you bought a first year model and it did have a few kinks, but subsequent years have had their quality and reliability improved. I wouldn't write off an entire brand based on one first year model car.
2004 3s 4-dr.
I've heard that the settings by Mazda put too much pressure on the rear brakes, thus making them wear prematurely. I've also had the bad dust problem on the rears and have had to replace them twice (currently at 80000 miles) and not had to replace the fronts yet! I did to replace front brake rotors recently due to warping, and have a similar sound now coming from the right rear - will replace that one this weekend.
Goodyear tires on these are crap. Upgrade to any other brand. I put on Fuzion 215 (yes, look for 215 as there are many more options and they fit fine. My Goodyears barely made it to 40000 miles. Now I have 40000 miles on the Fuzions and they is probably 60% tread left. Much better in the Michigan snow too.
The underbody skid plate is cracked in many places and was flopping around due to loosing a few screws. I will repair that with some rivets and re-install this weekend. Been running without it for about 4 months with no problems.
The manual transmission is obviously a faulty design. I know one person who owns a Mazda 3 with manual transmission, and he too had problems with his transmission. So much for spending the extra money on a Mazda 3 over a much cheaper Ford Focus or any other cheaper economy car. Sad really because I LOVE the Mazda 3 and wanted one with a manual.
So much for Japanese engineering and the extra money they charge for it over cheaper American cars. Heck, you want manual transmission problems, go with a Hyundai Elantra. At least you're saving a ton of cash to begin with. Oh, what's with the terrible gas mileage in the Mazda 3?
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site