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2020 Mazda MAZDA3

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2020 Mazda MAZDA3 are lower than the model-year median of 108.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 6 of 32 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

Forward Collision Avoidance complaints

15 reports
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Mileage unknown · Sep 26, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

While driving on a residential street the automatic emergency braking system activated and brought the car to a very abrupt stop but there was nothing in the front of the car to activate the system. There were no cars in the on-coming lane and no cars in the lane beside my car. When the car stopped the Brake warning appeared in …

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While driving on a residential street the automatic emergency braking system activated and brought the car to a very abrupt stop but there was nothing in the front of the car to activate the system. There were no cars in the on-coming lane and no cars in the lane beside my car. When the car stopped the Brake warning appeared in the windshield and a warning tone sounded. It was in the early evening and it was raining. Fortunately there were no cars behind me so there were no injuries. I took the car to the Mazda dealership and upon inspection they noted that the radar system associated with the automatic emergency braking system was malfunctioning and not correctly calculating the distance between the car and other objects. They are in the process of replacing the radar. If this had happened on the highway at higher speeds or if there had been a car behind me I would have been injured.

NHTSA ODI #11546515

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

My car's automatic emergency brake is deploying without warning, during driving, when there are no other cars in my forward proximity. I took it to the dealership to have it fixed, and on the drive home, it did it again. There is a recall for similar makes and models for this year, but my car has not been included.

NHTSA ODI #11539401

Mileage unknown · Jul 21, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

on 3 occasions may 2023, June 2023 and July 2023 the forward Collison camera activated. in May and June it showed the vehicle to near stop like radar cruise control in rush hour speed traffic. in July 2023 it sounded the alarm and came to a full stop in heavy traffic. it occurs on bright hot days going straight no turns no on…

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on 3 occasions may 2023, June 2023 and July 2023 the forward Collison camera activated. in May and June it showed the vehicle to near stop like radar cruise control in rush hour speed traffic. in July 2023 it sounded the alarm and came to a full stop in heavy traffic. it occurs on bright hot days going straight no turns no oncoming traffic no traffic around and no obstacles hold or dips. this can cause the car to stop immediately and cause an accident. App detects problem with system but dealer cannot find problem and blame camera or GPS or satellite radio factory equipped.

NHTSA ODI #11533718

Mileage unknown · Jun 12, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceUnknown Or Other

I was driving down 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, traffic was crowded but flowing with an estimated speed of 20mph between lights. I believe the distance between my front bumper and the car ahead was only slightly under 2 car lengths in motion. Coming to a stop light, the car in front of me slowed and I followed, applying pressure to …

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I was driving down 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, traffic was crowded but flowing with an estimated speed of 20mph between lights. I believe the distance between my front bumper and the car ahead was only slightly under 2 car lengths in motion. Coming to a stop light, the car in front of me slowed and I followed, applying pressure to the brake gradually. Roughly 2-3 seconds into my braking, the forward collision warning activated (fast beep) followed by a hard brake causing myself and one passenger to lurch forward. The car behind me managed to hard brake before hitting me by a very small margin. As my car came to a near stop the space in front opened to several car lengths, that is a continuous application of gradual braking would have been totally sufficient to stop. Weather conditions were good. A similar situation had occurred to me before on the highway (unnecessary forward collision warning, but thankfully no auto brake) and so after this I decided to check the front for any obstruction of sensors and could not find any. I have heard from at least one other owner of a similar model Mazda that they have experienced the same during city/Manhattan driving.

NHTSA ODI #11526574

Mileage unknown · Nov 28, 2022
Forward Collision Avoidance

•The first incident I had with the SBS was about a month on the highway, I was approaching a vehicle that was braking due to upcoming traffic. I had plenty of time to stop, upwards of 8-10 car lengths. Yet my SBS kicked in and slammed the brakes, jarring me forward. Luckily no one was directly behind me at that time because I ha…

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•The first incident I had with the SBS was about a month on the highway, I was approaching a vehicle that was braking due to upcoming traffic. I had plenty of time to stop, upwards of 8-10 car lengths. Yet my SBS kicked in and slammed the brakes, jarring me forward. Luckily no one was directly behind me at that time because I have no doubt it would have caused an accident. At that time, it was the only time it had occurred, so I wrote it off as the sensor being a bit too sensitive. •The second incident I have had was recent, 11/23. I was pulling into a parking spot at work, that has a concrete wall to section off parking spots. I was low speed, turned into the spot and the SBS activated, slamming the brakes, resulting in me being propelled into my steering wheel. I was roughly 5-6 feet away from the wall

NHTSA ODI #11495146

Mileage unknown · May 16, 2022
Forward Collision Avoidance

I was traveling 25mph with no obstruction in front of me, when the collision warning sounded. The braking system did not activate. No collision was imminent.

NHTSA ODI #11464747

Mileage unknown · May 16, 2022
Forward Collision Avoidance

I was traveling approximately 5 mph with approximately 15 feet from the car in front of me, maintaining a constant following distance. The collision warning sounded, followed by emergency braking within 1 second. No collision was imminent.

NHTSA ODI #11464746

Mileage unknown · Apr 12, 2022
Forward Collision Avoidance

Was letting car slow down for red light. No cars in front of me. Suddenly the car braked and the brake warning came on. I was pretty far back from the light. I took the car to the dealer and he said the occurrence did not show on the computer. There was a recall for this problem but not for my car. If someone had been behind me …

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Was letting car slow down for red light. No cars in front of me. Suddenly the car braked and the brake warning came on. I was pretty far back from the light. I took the car to the dealer and he said the occurrence did not show on the computer. There was a recall for this problem but not for my car. If someone had been behind me or if this happens on a busy street, I would be rear ended. There have been other computer problems with this car but they never happen when the dealer checks for them.

NHTSA ODI #11460550

Mileage unknown · Dec 18, 2021
Forward Collision Avoidance

While driving the vehicle decided to suddenly brake ....... thinking it was dangerous ..... lucky no one was behind me ..... that was really scarry and could have caused an accident for no reason.

NHTSA ODI #11444236

Mileage unknown · Sep 9, 2021
Forward Collision Avoidance

I was on the Queensboro Bridge headed from Queens, NY into Manhattan on the afternoon of August 29. Weather was partly cloudy and dry conditions. Traffic was bumper to bumper and moving anywhere from 0mph to maybe 5mph. I was in the middle of the bridge driving approximately 5mph and my 2020 Mazda 3 beeped (collision warning)…

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I was on the Queensboro Bridge headed from Queens, NY into Manhattan on the afternoon of August 29. Weather was partly cloudy and dry conditions. Traffic was bumper to bumper and moving anywhere from 0mph to maybe 5mph. I was in the middle of the bridge driving approximately 5mph and my 2020 Mazda 3 beeped (collision warning) and applied brakes. I was almost rear ended and my two passengers were jolted forward. I maintained a safe following distance the entire time. I believe a van on my left triggered my car’s actions as it passed. I was in no danger of getting into an accident although I was quite shaken up since this is the first time my car applied its brakes. I have an appointment to bring my car in and would like the automatic braking system disabled. Previously, the car from time to time has alerted of a collision always under 40mph and a previous inspection of my vehicle (after I reported collision warning activation) revealed everything was working properly.

NHTSA ODI #11432358

Official recalls

2

20V346000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:caliper

Jun 12, 2020

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2020 CX-30 and Mazda3 vehicles. The front brake caliper mounting bolts may not have been tightened properly during assembly, possibly allowing the calipers to loosen.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Loose brake calipers can reduce braking performance or interfere with wheel rotation, affecting vehicle handling. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front brake caliper bolts, tightening them as necessary. If bolts are missing, the affected brake caliper will be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began July 24, 2020. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 4420F.

19V907000 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking

Dec 19, 2019

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Mazda3 vehicles. The Smart Brake System (SBS) can falsely detect an obstacle while driving, activating the automatic emergency braking system and suddenly stopping the vehicle.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Stopping the vehicle unexpectedly increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will update the SBS software. In addition, vehicles with certain production dates will receive an instrument cluster software update or replacement and a replacement owner's manual. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began February 14, 2020. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 4219L.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.