VehicleVerdict

2012 Mazda Mazda3 engine problems

The 2012 Mazda Mazda3 has 36 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 11% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

36

Engine complaints

11%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Mazda3 engine complaints by model year36 complaints2004: 22 complaints2005: 23 complaints2006: 34 complaints2007: 31 complaints2008: 26 complaints2009: 3 complaints2010: 31 complaints2011: 5 complaints2012: 36 complaints2013: 11 complaints2014: 14 complaints2015: 6 complaints2016: 7 complaints2017: 5 complaints2018: 13 complaints2019: 11 complaints2020: 1 complaints2021: 18 complaints2022: 2 complaints2023: 2 complaints
Mazda3 engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WHEN DOWNSHIFTING (MANUAL TRANSMISSION) FROM 3RD TO 2ND AS I WAS SLOWING DOWN BECAUSE OF A RED LIGHT, THE ENGINE RPM WENT WAY UP, MAYBE AROUND 4,000 RPM. I PRESSED THE CLUTCH TO AVOID THE CAR JERKING FORWARD AND HITTING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THIS WAS THE THIRD TIME THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED. I…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · December 8, 2012

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2012 Mazda Mazda3 have?

NHTSA has 36 complaints about the 2012 Mazda Mazda3 engine — 11% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.