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2016 Mazda MAZDA6

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Mazda MAZDA6 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 105.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

54 reports with mileage · 23 unknown

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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports0 fire reports6 injury reports

What owners actually said

77 reports
Mileage unknown · Dec 9, 2024
Fuel/propulsion System

Fuel smell in & outside of vehicle after fuel fill, being a retired Master Technician I decided to investigate this and after removing the the fuel tank access door under the rear seat I was shocked to see that on an 8 year old vehicle the fuel sender retainer is completely rusted out. An overfill, an aggressive maneuver or sma…

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Fuel smell in & outside of vehicle after fuel fill, being a retired Master Technician I decided to investigate this and after removing the the fuel tank access door under the rear seat I was shocked to see that on an 8 year old vehicle the fuel sender retainer is completely rusted out. An overfill, an aggressive maneuver or small collision could prove disastrous with this condition pending! I have just ordered a replacement since I intend to repair this myself and that is only of the tank itself is not compromised when I proceed to remove the rusted out screws as well. Also after further investigation I find this is nothing new to Mazda and actually had this same condition in previous years but I assume chose not to prevent it from happening in future models. I will be attaching a photo of it.

NHTSA ODI #11629784

Mileage unknown · Dec 2, 2024
Tires

I bought the Bridgestone tires in Sept 2023 from Walmart. On Nov 23, 2024, I went to Walmart auto center to have 4 Bridgestone tires rotated and balanced. The tech discovered severe bead separation in 3 of 4 tires. I had to buy 4 new tires. I have pictures of the tires with bead separation on the wheel rims and also off th…

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I bought the Bridgestone tires in Sept 2023 from Walmart. On Nov 23, 2024, I went to Walmart auto center to have 4 Bridgestone tires rotated and balanced. The tech discovered severe bead separation in 3 of 4 tires. I had to buy 4 new tires. I have pictures of the tires with bead separation on the wheel rims and also off the rims.

NHTSA ODI #11628289

Mileage unknown · Jun 13, 2024
Unknown Or Other

Moonroof explosion Moonroof had spontaneous explosion while driving on highway. No objects were seen flying towards front of car prior to explosion. Driver and 1 passenger in front seat. Sun shade partially open resulting in glass coming into the car. No accident or injury occurred. Moonroof closed at time of explosion.

NHTSA ODI #11594101

Mileage unknown · May 23, 2024
Forward Collision AvoidanceVehicle Speed Control

When driving, after a period of 10 - 20 minutes usually, of the adaptive cruise being on (not necessarily in use), the buttons on the steering wheel will re-map. That is, the + button for adjusting the cruise speed up by 1 mph increments will switch with the - button that adjusts the cruise speed down by 1 mph increments. Th…

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When driving, after a period of 10 - 20 minutes usually, of the adaptive cruise being on (not necessarily in use), the buttons on the steering wheel will re-map. That is, the + button for adjusting the cruise speed up by 1 mph increments will switch with the - button that adjusts the cruise speed down by 1 mph increments. This happens reliably... if I've driven the car with adaptive cruise on for more that 10 - 20 minutes, the buttons will re-map. + slows the car down or doesn't work at all (does nothing). - speeds the car up. Also, rarely, the cancel button will speed the car up. Often the cancel button will not work and the only way to disengage the adaptive cruise is to tap on the brake pedal. Less frequently--maybe about 1/3 - 1/2 of the time, the "off" button, which turns the adaptive cruise off entirely, will not work. Note, that this is not the "engage" or "enable" button. These are the buttons that just turn on and off the adaptive cruise and show that it is now ready to be set if on. I discussed this with the dealer. I believe it is a software problem, they cannot find a software problem as they patched the software in the car up to the latest version. They want to replace the steering wheel where the switches are. This is a $750 repair. (I'm not sure if it's the whole steering wheel or the switch cluster on the wheel.) I cannot afford it and I'm not convinced it will work. I believe they are just guessing at a solution. Nothing to my knowledge has ever spilled on the steering wheel to potentially damage the switchgear. Also, this, to me, does not explain how it always works correctly for the first 10 - 20 minutes of driving, then fails reliably after that. This problem has existed for over two years. Since the car has had about 100,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI #11590278

Mileage unknown · Dec 5, 2023
Engine

There is a bearing in the crankshaft that looks like it’s not up to spec. No warning lights came on, car suddenly lost power on the highway. Fortunately no one was injured though it was a very scary situation. Mechanic took a look inside the engine and said a main bearing stud broke off and busted a hole through the short block.…

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There is a bearing in the crankshaft that looks like it’s not up to spec. No warning lights came on, car suddenly lost power on the highway. Fortunately no one was injured though it was a very scary situation. Mechanic took a look inside the engine and said a main bearing stud broke off and busted a hole through the short block. He said I’m lucky the engine didn’t turn into a grenade. Upon looking up the failure many other people have had the same issue with this engine. The exact same failure on the exact same bolt. Here are some links to some posts: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] Clearly I’m not the only one with this issue, and there are more examples of the same problem that you can find online through out different Mazda models that use the same engine. I can definitely have the vehicle inspected if needed, my mechanic took video of the damage as well. I could only imagine if this happened while there was more traffic on the road, it’s not safe. And the fact I can find more examples means there are probably more that never posted or reported the issue. the vehicle has less than 100k miles which a lot of the examples have the same issue at less than 100k INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11558470

Mileage unknown · Jul 8, 2023
SteeringCrash

I was on freeway when some warning start showing on dashboard ( enging, track control system, battery) then my steering wheel was hard that I couldn’t manubrio i hit a curb that was on the entrance and my car start spinning in circles till i hit the hill on side road.

NHTSA ODI #11531004

85,000 miles · Mar 6, 2023
Seats

The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that the driver’s seat was previously moved backward; however, when her daughter attempted to move the seat forward to drive the vehicle, the seat remained stuck in the rearward position. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, who informed the contact that the wire co…

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The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that the driver’s seat was previously moved backward; however, when her daughter attempted to move the seat forward to drive the vehicle, the seat remained stuck in the rearward position. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, who informed the contact that the wire connecting the seat motor to the seat track had fractured. The dealer informed the contact that the entire seat assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

NHTSA ODI #11510423

75,000 miles · Nov 18, 2022
Parking Brake

The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and shifting into drive(D) or reverse(R), the vehicle failed to move. The electronic parking brake warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle, deactivated the electronic parking brake, and f…

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The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and shifting into drive(D) or reverse(R), the vehicle failed to move. The electronic parking brake warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle, deactivated the electronic parking brake, and forcefully depressed the accelerator pedal; however, the failure persisted. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that he had to pay to repair the vehicle since the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V393000 (Parking Brake). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was in the process of towing the vehicle to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the VIN was not included in the recall. A case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000. The contact has noted that this complaint has been resolved.

NHTSA ODI #11494079

Mileage unknown · Jul 16, 2022
Service Brakes

Pulled up to gas pump, put parking brake on (manual transmission), got out of car and heard a beeping noise from inside. The car then began to drift backwards into traffic. Have DashCam video that can share.

NHTSA ODI #11474292

Mileage unknown · Jun 2, 2022
Unknown Or Other

I was driving, and all of a sudden, I hear a loud pop above my head. I slow down to investigate and notice the sound of the wind coming from above me. I slide back my sunroof door and the entire glass is shattered. This could’ve been a very dangerous situation as I was driving on the highway and the loud sudden pop without wa…

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I was driving, and all of a sudden, I hear a loud pop above my head. I slow down to investigate and notice the sound of the wind coming from above me. I slide back my sunroof door and the entire glass is shattered. This could’ve been a very dangerous situation as I was driving on the highway and the loud sudden pop without warning could’ve affected me to lose control of my vehicle. I’ve read up on this and have seen that this issue has happened to a number of vehicles and some manufacturers have had a large list of complaints.

NHTSA ODI #11467151

Official recalls

1

17V546000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification; Seats; Steering:electric Power Assist System

Aug 31, 2017

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016 Mazda6 vehicles. Debris from the welding process during manufacturing of the front passenger seat frame may damage the occupant classification system (OCS) wiring.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the wiring becomes damaged, there may be a loss of power steering assist and the deactivation of the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of a crash and the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will attach a protective pad on the seat frame. If the OCS harness is damaged, insulating tape will be applied to the harness. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 26, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1517H.

Additional source detail variants (3)

Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016 Mazda6 vehicles. Debris from the welding process during manufacturing of the front passenger seat frame may damage the occupant classification system (OCS) wiring.

Consequence: If the wiring becomes damaged, there may be a loss of power steering assist and the deactivation of the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of a crash and the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will attach a protective pad on the seat frame. If the OCS harness is damaged, insulating tape will be applied to the harness. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 26, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1517H.

Steering:electric Power Assist System

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016 Mazda6 vehicles. Debris from the welding process during manufacturing of the front passenger seat frame may damage the occupant classification system (OCS) wiring.

Consequence: If the wiring becomes damaged, there may be a loss of power steering assist and the deactivation of the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of a crash and the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will attach a protective pad on the seat frame. If the OCS harness is damaged, insulating tape will be applied to the harness. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 26, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1517H.

Seats

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016 Mazda6 vehicles. Debris from the welding process during manufacturing of the front passenger seat frame may damage the occupant classification system (OCS) wiring.

Consequence: If the wiring becomes damaged, there may be a loss of power steering assist and the deactivation of the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of a crash and the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will attach a protective pad on the seat frame. If the OCS harness is damaged, insulating tape will be applied to the harness. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 26, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1517H.

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.