Mazda MAZDA3 transmission failure problems

Filed Mar 13, 2026 · Transmission · OK

Transmission failure when driving. Car was towed to dealership and diagnosed. Transmission and torque converter replacement required under factory warranty. Very long lead time for dealer to acquire replacement parts, about 4 months.

Filed Aug 18, 2024 · Body · IL

The car has had a lot of issues. The inside driver side glass for the display dash fogged up and had to be replaced. The first replacement didn’t fix it and I had to threaten legal action to get Mazda to replace the glass a second time before it finally resolved the issue. The car (which is washed and waxed weekly), got rust on it in year 3. Mazda repaired it and promised it would not return. 14 months later the rust is back and Mazda won’t repair it. I have escalated with no avail. I have had to replace the air conditioning fan for over $1K. I bought the car brand new with 59 miles on it, I have kept up on every maintenance and kept records and today it has 18,000 miles and I am told the transmission needs replaced. 18,000 miles on a garage kept car? This is not right!

Filed Feb 1, 2023 · Acceleration, Electrical · TN

The Transmission Control Module (TCM) has gone out on my car, causing it to shift to 2nd gear while doing 75mph with cars around me, and would no longer shift out of 2nd gear, or into reverse. It was an extremely dangerous situation that made me come very close to wrecking into a car, as well as the many cars behind me that had to emergency brake due to my rapid deceleration, especially without and brake lights coming on because it was engine braking. Doing a simple google search show that this is an extremely well-known problem effecting almost every Mazda 3 that used this TCM in 2010-2011. Any mechanic will tell you it's a known problem, and that it was due to where and how Mazda placed the computer, which causes it to overheat and fail without warning. I'm not sure why there has not been a recall on this issue with how prevalent it has been, and how easily recognized it is by mechanics. It is not a cheap fix, and can cause many other major issues leading up to requiring a full new transmission, if the problem did not already cause the car to wreck!

Filed Jan 19, 2022 · PA

Automatic transmission failure. It causes the vehicle to jar around and have misproper steering. For example improper acceleration causes inability to move in a fluid motion. Causes risks of someone rearending or hitting another vehicle.

Filed Jun 8, 2021 · Transmission · PA

There is a loud winding sound sound coming from the transmission and sound of metal (broken teeth) as well. We took it to a Mazda dealer and they quickly identified the issue as a failing transmission. As a result I was able to find that a service bulletin aligned with this issue (TSB No. 0500414) and confirmed this with the dealer. This service bulletin indicates a manufacturing issue but only applied a warranty of 6 years or 60,000 miles. Yes, our car is over the 6 yrs and only 800 miles over the 60,000 miles, however, my concern is that this is a known issue that clearly becomes a safety issue. We got a price from the dealer of $4,500 for a new transmission so I took it to a transmission shop for a 2nd opinion. They confirmed the failing transmission and indicated the car should not be driven for safety reasons. They said the transmission is in bad shape and when it fails the car will just stop creating a very unsafe condition. They are able to find a used transmission and install it for an estimate of $2,700 but I believe this should be covered by Mazda due to the safety concerns. I have no choice to proceed with this replacement but hope that you can help to get Mazda's attention and have them stand behind this and cover this cost.

Filed Nov 28, 2020 · Body, Brakes · 26,000 miles · MA · crash

I parked at the top of my driveway at a slight incline position with the emergency brake engaged and the car was in second gear (manual transmission). It was in a stationary position at that time. My family exited the vehicle and we went inside our home. Approximately a half our later I notice my car rolled down my driveway and crashed in between two trees on my property. Either the emergency brake failed or the car's transmission failed while parked. The car was found at the bottom of my property still in gear and had the emergency brake in the engaged position.

Filed Oct 29, 2020 · Transmission · 68,000 miles · FL

Around 68,000 miles, I began to hear a subtle whining noise coming from my 2014 mazda mazda3. I was unsure where it was coming from and originally thought it was something to do with the tires. As time passed, the noise became louder, eventually to the point where I felt I needed to get it checked out. A mechanic told me it was something to do with the automatic transmission because the sound was emitting there. He explained to me that there was a technical service bulletin posted by mazda that described the exact issue, and that's what he's sure it is. I got a second opinion from another mechanic and he explained the same thing. The cost to replace the transmission with a remanufactured model is somewhere in the ballpark of $2,000 - $3,500. The second mechanic I went to showed me the technical service bulletin. After the description, the bulletin states, "this is caused by a damaged bearing in the transaxle due to improper configuration of the transaxle case." this would be covered under warranty; unfortunately, the issue is known only to happen right around 65,000 + miles, after the warranty has expired. Because the technical service bulletin states the issue is "due to improper configuration", tells me that it is not something that should have happened. It only happened because of a manufacturing defect. After taking my car to the mazda service center, and being told they can't do anything about it, as well as speaking with mazda customer experience and explaining the situation, mazda was unwilling to help because my vehicle is no longer in warranty. I believe that because this issue was due to 'improper configuration' mazda should issue a recall. The technical service bulletin to reference for this complaint is bulletin no: 05-005/15 or the federal safety agency tsb # 10105626.

Filed Jul 14, 2020 · Transmission · 95,700 miles · PA

At and yellow check engine light came on and car was in limp mode first thing in morning after having no issues with my mazda previously. Codes came back with solenoids a, b, c, d, e all have electrical failure, and issues with the oxygen sensor. My car has had regular maintenance done on it. No signs or symptoms of transmission failure beforehand. Happened instantly overnight. Tcm is not in stock anywhere and I suspect that is the culprit due to other mazda owners similar situations. 95k miles.

Filed May 26, 2020 · Transmission · 12,680 miles · CA

Automatic transmission went out on me while driving on road. The transmission started to slip while I was doing 15 MPH and just gave out in the middle of the street. All you could smell is burnt fluid and hear a loud whining noise from under the car while at idle. The car only has 12,680 miles on it. The transmission was replaced under warranty. I am highly disappointment with this car.*dt

Filed Jul 31, 2019 · Electrical, Seat belts · 18 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 mazda 3. The contact stated that she was experiencing different electrical failures with the vehicle. The contact stated that the passenger side seat belt warning chime sounded when the seat was unoccupied. The contact had to buckle the seat beat to stop the warning sound. In addition, both passenger side windows failed to roll up after being down. Also, while driving 40 MPH, the transmission failed to respond without warning while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact had to shift the vehicle from second into first gear in order for it to resume normal operation. The contact took the vehicle to odges mazda at the avenues (10681 philips hwy, jacksonville, fl 32256, (904) 562-1600) where a diagnostic test was performed, but no failure was found. The failure continued and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 18.