The contact owns a 2022 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated unexpectedly. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact slammed on the brake pedal and bumped his head. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes independently activated. The vehicle stopped independently while the contact was driving on a busy highway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was taken to another dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the vehicle had been taken to four dealers and the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and twelve complaints had been filed. The failure mileage was approximately 27,287.
Mazda MAZDA3 collision warning problems
10 of the 2,994 owner complaints about the Mazda MAZDA3 describe false forward collision warnings, most of them for the 2020 model year.
- owner complaints
- 10
- worst model year
- 2020
By model year
- 20221
- 20211
- 20204
- 20193
- 20181
Often reported together
What owners say
The collision warning light and lane assistance light come on frequently. It used to just be when the weather was under 40 degrees and the car was cold. However, it now happens all the time. It seems to go on and off for no reason. Additionally, the infotainment system keeps switching radio stations or ghosting without anyone touching it. It also drops Bluetooth connectivity constantly.
I was driving down 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, traffic was crowded but flowing with an estimated speed of 20mph between lights. I believe the distance between my front bumper and the car ahead was only slightly under 2 car lengths in motion. Coming to a stop light, the car in front of me slowed and I followed, applying pressure to the brake gradually. Roughly 2-3 seconds into my braking, the forward collision warning activated (fast beep) followed by a hard brake causing myself and one passenger to lurch forward. The car behind me managed to hard brake before hitting me by a very small margin. As my car came to a near stop the space in front opened to several car lengths, that is a continuous application of gradual braking would have been totally sufficient to stop. Weather conditions were good. A similar situation had occurred to me before on the highway (unnecessary forward collision warning, but thankfully no auto brake) and so after this I decided to check the front for any obstruction of sensors and could not find any. I have heard from at least one other owner of a similar model Mazda that they have experienced the same during city/Manhattan driving.
The contact owns a 2019 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the brake warning light illuminated and the vehicle would brake suddenly without the driver depressing the brake pedal. The failure had become recurring. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V907000 (Forward Collision Avoidance). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
I was traveling approximately 5 mph with approximately 15 feet from the car in front of me, maintaining a constant following distance. The collision warning sounded, followed by emergency braking within 1 second. No collision was imminent.
I was traveling 25mph with no obstruction in front of me, when the collision warning sounded. The braking system did not activate. No collision was imminent.
Context: ADAS was not on. Lane keep assist is disabled in system settings entirely as it is dangerous. Blinkers were on, I was pulling out from parallel parking into left turn lane onto a straight road with slight incline. Car is of the Turbo trim on stock tires. Upon finishing pulling out of parallel parking spot and gassing the car, torque vectoring or some underlying collision avoidance may have phantom activated. I felt torque shift to the wrong tires, unsettling the car, and the wheel -- with no human input -- jerked to the left to force me into the lane left of intended. I applied throttle and steered right back into the correct lane, but the car was applying torque to the wrong tires and applying a left bias to the steering. Only after I got above 25mph and held straight did the car settle. Almost caused an accident if the lane was not empty due to car unsettling itself into the left lane.
I was on the Queensboro Bridge headed from Queens, NY into Manhattan on the afternoon of August 29. Weather was partly cloudy and dry conditions. Traffic was bumper to bumper and moving anywhere from 0mph to maybe 5mph. I was in the middle of the bridge driving approximately 5mph and my 2020 Mazda 3 beeped (collision warning) and applied brakes. I was almost rear ended and my two passengers were jolted forward. I maintained a safe following distance the entire time. I believe a van on my left triggered my car’s actions as it passed. I was in no danger of getting into an accident although I was quite shaken up since this is the first time my car applied its brakes. I have an appointment to bring my car in and would like the automatic braking system disabled. Previously, the car from time to time has alerted of a collision always under 40mph and a previous inspection of my vehicle (after I reported collision warning activation) revealed everything was working properly.
Tl* the contact owns a 2019 mazda mazda3. The contact stated that the brake auto alarm activated causing the brakes to engage. The contact stated the vehicle was included in 19v907000 (forward collision avoidance) for which the remedy was completed. The contact stated the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle network malfunction warning light, vehicle inspection needed, safety and driver support system disabled and front radar obscured warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the lane departure alarm activated, and the auto correct activated causing the vehicle to pull both to the left and right. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer (russ darrow metro mazda - address: 11330 w metro auto mall drive, milwaukee, wi 53224 phone: (414) 409-9201) who performed the recall remedy along with 8 other unspecified recall repairs however, the failures persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and a case was filed. The approximate failure mileage was 1,491.
My car's collision warning engaged without cause. It makes the car brakes abruptly for no reason. This is especially dangerous during highway speed. It happened 3 times so far in the 4 months that I own the car. Some other owners also experienced this.
Related recalls
Lane departure: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2024 Mazda 3, CX-30, and 2025 CX-50 vehicles. A malfunction in the forward sensing camera (FSC) may prevent the automatic emergency braking system and the lane-keep assist system from functioning. In addition, the headlights will not automatically adjust from high beams to low beams as intended.
- Risk
- Automatic braking, steering assist, and headlight control systems that do not function as intended can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the forward sensing camera as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2024. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, Option 6. Mazda's number for this recall is 6824H.
Recall number 24V649000 · Recall details
Forward collision avoidance: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2024 CX-90 and MAZDA3 vehicles. Due to a software error, the rearview, front, and/or side camera images may not appear on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
- Risk
- A camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's view, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the view monitor control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 20, 2023. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500 Option 6. Mazda's number for this recall is 6223J.
Recall number 23V718000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2014-2018 Mazda3 and 2016-2021 CX-3 vehicles. The rearview camera image may not display properly by showing a flickering or distorted image.
- Risk
- A rearview camera that does not display properly can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera, as necessary. In addition, dealers will install a wiring harness fastening seal. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed September 13, 2023. Final owner letters for affected models and model years in the states of CT, MA, MD, NJ, NY, PA and VA were mailed August 14, 2024. The remaining owner notification letters will be mailed at a future date, anticipated on or before May 1, 2025. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, Option 6. Mazda's number for this recall is 6023G.
Recall number 23V487000 · Recall details
Forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking
- What is wrong
- Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Mazda3 vehicles. The Smart Brake System (SBS) can falsely detect an obstacle while driving, activating the automatic emergency braking system and suddenly stopping the vehicle.
- Risk
- Stopping the vehicle unexpectedly increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will update the SBS software. In addition, vehicles with certain production dates will receive an instrument cluster software update or replacement and a replacement owner's manual. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began February 14, 2020. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 4219L.
Recall number 19V907000 · Recall details
Electronic stability control (ESC)
- What is wrong
- Mazda is recalling 7,100 my 2009 mazda3 vehicles equipped with dynamic stability control for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 126, "electronic stability control system". The yaw rate measured after completion of the sine with dwell steering input exceeded the test standards.
- Risk
- Improper operation of the electronic stability control.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and have the unit replaced free of charge. The recall began on july 14, 2009. Owners may contact mazda at 1‑800‑222‑5500.
Recall number 09V187000 · Recall details
Questions about the Mazda MAZDA3 collision warning
Which Mazda MAZDA3 years have false forward collision warnings problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2020 (4 complaints), 2019 (3 complaints) and 2018 (1 complaints).
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