2012 Mazda MAZDA3 acceleration problems

Filed Feb 14, 2020 · Acceleration · 91,000 miles · TX · crash

I applied the brakes, and the car kept moving forward even though I was pressing the brake pedal. I pulled the emergency brake but that didn't stop the car from moving forward and hitting the back of the truck in front of me. I was on a highway.

Filed Jun 6, 2018 · Acceleration, Engine · 26,465 miles · CT

I purchased my 2012 mazda 3 one year ago (2017). I first noticed the issue about a month after owning my car. I turned on my air conditioner at first low, then all the way up, it felt slightly cool, but only as if my fans were blowing and nowhere near what an air conditioner should properly feel like. This was after letting the car warm up, and driving on back roads or highways as well as when parked. I brought the car back and the technician had some trouble figuring out how to fix it. The AC compressor was replaced, and yet I am still now dealing with a car that will not blow cold air! Only semi cool on the highest fan setting ! Also when accelerating and having the air conditioner on my car does not accelerate as well or feel as though it is driving as well as it does without needing the air conditioner on. My car really feels like it is working extra hard to put out semi cool air. I have had the air conditioner checked again and it says its not as cool as it should be. I need a resolution to this please.

Filed Dec 29, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 48,000 miles · FL

Driving at approx 45mph, car lost acceleration, power steering, and multiple engine lights on. Car moved to site of the road and towed to dealer.

Filed Dec 29, 2014 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 40,000 miles · FL

Driving at 70mph, lost acceleration and multiple engine lights came on. Had to move over to emergency lane on interstate and driving to nearest exit at approx 40mph. Car towed to dealer for repair.

Filed Sep 16, 2014 · Acceleration · 45,000 miles · CA

Mazda 3 skyactive 2012, 45,000 mi. Driving down on a dry street, sunny day, going at approx 35mph when suddenly engine started revving high but car wasn't accelerating. This was very dangerous as car was stalling in middle of the road. The at, tcs/dsc, and engine lights came on. Pulled over safely asap to see what was going on. Turned off engine, waited 2 minutes, re-started engine and lights were off, and drove home slowly. Following morning, engine light was on but car seems to be driving normally. Will take to dealership asap.

Filed Aug 27, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 20,000 miles · OH

We were just returning from a trip of 9 days which contained many high speed highway hours and mountainous terrain. Car has 20000 miles on it. As we pulled off the highway and onto a city street, all three lights ( engine, autotransmission, and slippage icon) went off and there was a bare minimum of power to move car forward. Maybe 5 MPH. We drifted into parking lot, restarted car and was able to drive to dealership without incident although the lights remained on. If this had happened while passing a truck on the highway it would have been disastrous. In shop over a week.

Filed May 12, 2014 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 16,490 miles · CA

I was driving along a city street on the way to a mall when I noticed the traction control warning light come on. My car then started to decelerate. I pressed on the gas and noticed that the needle on my tachometer was running high indicating high rate of RPM. I could not drive faster than 35 MPH for fear of redlining and possibly damaging the engine. I went back home and parked my car. Later when I started my car the traction control warning light had turned off and I was able to drive the car normally again. This is a very serious matter that could result in serious accident if it had happened on a freeway or on a mountain road. I no longer feel safe driving this car, not knowing when this might occur again. I will be having the car inspected at the dealership since it is still under warranty.

Filed May 9, 2014 · Acceleration · 55 miles · VA

I was driving along fine @55mph then the dsc/tsc light came on & then my car had no speed at all, it wouldn't move even with the gas pedal all the way pressed, I could have been killed on the highway!!! This is the 2nd time it has happened in the last week! I see several other complaints here about the same thing. The mazda dealership states there is no recall on this car! What now??? Take a chance & continue driving it??? Please fix the issue!!! The vehicle needs to be recalled asap! Lives are on the line.

Filed Apr 22, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 1,600 miles · CA

While downshifting from 4th to 3rd and/or 5th to 4th to slow down without having my foot on the gas pedal (only on the clutch) my 2012 mazda 3 touring 6 speed mt accelerates very rapidly and jerks about. It happens for several seconds and then stops. It's almost every time I downshift. I brought it to the attention of the mazda dealer on the first service appointment at 5000 miles in april 2013. However, the service advisor informed me that mechanic checked the problem and found no issues with the car that would be causing this problem.

Filed Aug 8, 2013 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 24,000 miles · OH

After taking a left hand turn onto a local road,I noticed that my car was decelerating despite the fact I was pressing on the gas. The traction control light on the dash came on and the car appeared to be stuck in 1st or 2nd gear; I could not go faster than 40 MPH without the rpms going too high. This car has automatic transmission. I tried turning off the traction control by pressing its button, but this did not work. I also tried switching to manual mode but couldn't get the car to shift or the traction control light to shutoff. I finally had to pull over and restart the car to get the light to turn off and the transmission to act normally. I have seen others post a similar problem, though they were in much more serious environments - on the highway going 70 and all of a sudden having to pull across traffic and restart the car because of this weird transmission-traction control issue. This creates for an incredibly dangerous situation and I am petrified of this happening again in a similar scenario. This is something mazda needs to address immediately.