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All cars · Mazda3 · Transmission

Mazda3 transmission problems by year.

Worst years for transmission complaints per car sold: 2010 (37 complaints), 2012 (36 complaints), 2004 (21 complaints). Fewest since 2010: 2017, 2024, 2020.

Mazda3
Photo shows a 2015 Mazda3. MercurySable99, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · background removed

Transmission complaints owners filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) for each model year, per 100,000 cars sold. A complaint counts when it's filed under the transmission, or under the power train and the owner describes the transmission (shifting, slipping, gears, CVT). It's an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.

20042126.9 per 100K sold200533.1 per 100K sold20061920.1 per 100K sold20071411.6 per 100K sold20081513.6 per 100K sold200955.2 per 100K sold20103734.8 per 100K sold2011109.8 per 100K sold20123629.2 per 100K sold20131413.4 per 100K sold201454.8 per 100K sold201554.6 per 100K sold201666.3 per 100K sold201711.3 per 100K sold201846.2 per 100K sold2019713.8 per 100K sold202013 per 100K sold20210no sales data20220no sales data202339.8 per 100K sold202412.6 per 100K sold20250no sales data

What owners describe

Hard or jerky shifting14%
Lost power while driving11%
Slipping6%
Delay or hesitation6%
Stuck in gear or limp mode6%
Transmission replaced5%

Share of this model's transmission complaints that mention each symptom. One complaint can mention several.

In owners' words

I have a 2010 mazda 3 spor with 41,000 miles and the clutch totally went. Clutch , flywheel had to be replaced for $1800 dollars. Mazda refused to admit any defect.

2010 Mazda3 owner · NHTSA complaint

Clutch needs replacement as per mazda service department. Car is 6 years old and has 53000 aprox. I have read blogs about this being a common problem for certain mazdas between 2009 -2012.

2010 Mazda3 owner · NHTSA complaint

Quick answers

Which Mazda3 years have transmission problems?

By transmission complaints filed with NHTSA per car sold, the worst Mazda3 years are 2010, 2012, 2004.

What are common Mazda3 transmission problems?

Owners most often describe hard or jerky shifting, lost power while driving, slipping.

Which Mazda3 years have the fewest transmission complaints?

Since 2010, the Mazda3 years with the fewest transmission complaints per car sold are 2017, 2024, 2020.

See every problem, not just the transmission: Mazda3 reliability by year. How we count

Updated

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