On 10/19/19 the vehicle was involved in a crash when swerving to avoid a deer on the road. Two trees were hit and the vehicle was flipped on its side. No airbags deployed during this accident as I was expected. Pictures show the front damage and interior.
Mazda RX-8 no deployment problems
12 of the 784 owner complaints about the Mazda RX-8 describe airbags did not deploy in a crash, most of them for the 2004 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2004
- typical mileage
- 95,000
Is there a fix? There are 7 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20072
- 20054
- 20046
Often reported together
What owners say
Tl* the contact owned a 2005 mazda rx-8. While driving 55 MPH, the vehicle was involved in a front end collision. The air bags did not deploy. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the junk yard. A police report was filed. The contact received medical attention and suffered injuries to the head, pelvic, and ribs. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was totaled and was not diagnosed. The failure mileage was 150,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. While driving 25 MPH, the contact's vehicle was rear ended by another vehicle. As a result, the contact rear ended the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact received neck and back pain that required medical attention. The vehicle was not towed and was able to be driven after the crash. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 15v345000 (air bags) and 15v382000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,400.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. While driving at 70 MPH, the steering wheel independently turned in both directions. As a result, the contact crashed into a curb and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact did not sustain any injuries. A police report was not filed. In addition, the contact noticed that the rear passenger wheel well was curved and fractured. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owned a 2005 mazda rx-8. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the contact veered to the left to avoid hitting a deer. As a result, the contact crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver did not sustain any injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
I have a 2007 mazda rx-8 and I was recently involved in a side impact collision, but my airbags did not deploy, but later on in the body shop, they did deploy after the fact while it was being driven. There is an obvious safety issue related to this and why the airbag did not deploy properly.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. The contact stated the driver was traveling 35 MPH when a vehicle crossed the center lane crashing into a vehicle in front of the contact causing that vehicle to crash into the contact. The vehicle was hit on the drivers side door. The air bag in the steering wheel did not deploy as the steering wheel detached from the steering column. The side air bags did deploy. The passenger side air bags did not deploy. The driver suffered a crushed pelvis, tail bone shattered, and their urethra was severed in half. The contact stated the side air bag did very little to protect the driver. There was no mention of a police report being filed. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. The contact stated that the driver was traveling 35 MPH when another vehicle crashed into the vehicle preceding the contact. The preceding vehicle then spun into the front driver's side door of the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the steering wheel was detached from the steering column upon impact. The driver sustained severe injuries and suffered a crushed pelvis, shattered tail bone and a severed urethra. The contact stated that the side air bags did very little to protect the driver. The failure mileage was not available.
On april 3,2012 at 10pm in buffalo ny. I was driving my 04 rx8 around a bend at 35mph. I experienced a jerk/twitch in the power steering. The indicator light came on instantly I lost the steering sending me into the front of a steel divider of a train bridge. I was taken to ecmc by ambulance. I luckily only suffered minor injuries to my back neck ribs head and shoulder. I am not one to sue nor am I'm going to pursue any legal action against mazda. I will say my airbags did not deploy my car was considered totaled $10,000 in damage. I just thought anyone looking to buy an rx8 should read on numerous sites that this malfunction is an extremely common problem that mazda is aware about but still does not wish to post a tsb or a recall. Love the car but have lost faith in mazda. Sincerely unhappy owner.
Had an incident today where my rx-8 had been t-boned at an intersection. My side curtain airbags did not deploy though. I hit my head against the interior doorwell and have a bit of whip-lash. They hit the side of the vehicle hard enough to make it so my door doesn't open any longer and in-fact it's pushed up a bit from where it is suppose to sit. The other vehicle was a 1996 geo metro.
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2004-2005 MPV, 2004 RX-8, and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 vehicles. These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. The recall began December 3, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V130, 14V362, 14V773 and 15V869.
Recall number 19V781000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2010-2011 Mazda RX-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under recall 18V‑716 but have not yet been repaired. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. The recall began July 9, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F.
Recall number 19V488000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Mazda MPV vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. On July 9, 2019 this recall was expanded to include certain 2005-2009 RX-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under 17V‑011 but have not yet been repaired. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 6, 2018 for MPV vehicles. The recall began July 9, 2019 for RX-8 vehicles. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: With the addition of the RX-8 vehicles, this recall fully supersedes recall 17V‑011.
Recall number 18V404000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2009-2010 Mazda RX-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under recall 18V‑017 but have not yet been repaired. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. The recall began July 9, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: This recall supersedes recall 18V017.
Recall number 18V403000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 and 2004 MPV vehicles nationwide. Mazda is also recalling 2005-2006 MPV vehicles in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. On July 9, 2019 this recall was expanded to include certain 2004-2011 RX-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under 16V‑354 but have not yet been repaired. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these passenger air bag inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 6, 2018. Mailing to the affected RX-8 owners began July 6, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: With the addition of the RX-8 vehicles, this recall fully supersedes recall 16V354.
Recall number 18V402000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2004-2008 RX-8, and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on September 12, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1‑800‑222‑5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1417G. Note: This recall supersedes recall 15V‑382.
Recall number 17V474000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal
- What is wrong
- As a result of an ncap test, certain passenger vehicles are being recalled for improperly wired front passenger seat air bags.
- Risk
- The air bag will not provide adequate protection when the vehicle is involved in a frontal crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a new wiring harness in the front passenger seat air bag system. The recall began march 5, 2004. Owners should contact mazda at 1‑800‑222‑5500.
Recall number 04V074000 · Recall details
Questions about the Mazda RX-8 no deployment
Which Mazda RX-8 years have airbags did not deploy in a crash problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2004 (6 complaints), 2005 (4 complaints) and 2007 (2 complaints).
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