Mazda3 by Model Year: Problems, Recalls and MPG

Every Mazda3 model year since 2016: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash tests.

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Sep 27, 2026

Every model year since 2016 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 33 mpg combined, arrived in 2016. Includes the sedan and hatchback.

Complaints in each year's first three years

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2019 Mazda3 Most reported: brakes	47	74	6
2021 Mazda3 Most reported: engine	31	49	1
2016 Mazda3 Most reported: electrical system	27	104	6
2018 Mazda3 Most reported: electrical system	19	108	4
2017 Mazda3 Most reported: electrical system	18	83	2
2022 Mazda3 Most reported: air bags	18	24	0
2020 Mazda3 Most reported: forward collision avoidance	17	32	2
2023 Mazda3 Most reported: electrical system	10	12	0

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	30 mpg Gas	0	1
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	1	7
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	3	12
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	0	12
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	0	24
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	1	49
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	30 mpg Gas	2	32
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	30 mpg Gas	6	74	Not rated
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	32 mpg Gas	4	108
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	32 mpg Gas	2	83
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	33 mpg Gas	6	104

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2019: 74 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Mazda3
Model year	Complaints
2016	104
2017	83
2018	108
2019	74
2020	32
2021	49
2022	24
2023	12
2024	12
2025	7
2026	1

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 30 to 33 mpg (every year from 2016 to 2026); highest in 2016.

2026: gas 30 mpg

Show as a table

Mazda3 best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version
2016	33
2017	32
2018	32
2019	30
2020	30
2021	31
2022	31
2023	31
2024	31
2025	31
2026	30

Questions

Which Mazda3 years have the most problems?

A typical Mazda3 year drew only 18 owner complaints in its first three years (the range is 10 to 47), too few to rank the years fairly. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Mazda3 years have the most recalls?

The 2016 and 2019 have the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (6 each). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. One recall tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside until it is repaired: NHTSA 15V-621 (2016 models).

What are the most common Mazda3 problems?

Of the 506 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2016 to 2026 models, the areas named most are electrical system (21%), engine (11%), and brakes (10%). One complaint can name more than one area. The recalls and problems page for each year breaks this down further.

Which Mazda3 year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 33 mpg combined, first reached by the 2016 gas version.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Sep 18, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Sep 27, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Sep 26, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.