NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

2.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,800 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Mazda MAZDA3 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2009 Mazda MAZDA3 Owner Comments

problem #5

Mar 262021

MAZDA3

  • 130,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This seems to happen as I'm slowing down, as you would to make a turn onto a street or driveway. I turn on my blinker, then the moment I press the brake, all of the power in the car dies, and comes right back on. I think of it as a quick reset it seems. However, when this happens, the power steering does not work, and I'm left finishing my turn without power steering. The power steering is the only thing that does not "reset" when the power fails. The power steering may take 3-6 seconds before it comes back. And it always comes back on, but not until after I'm through my turn. It typically seems to happen when my blinker, and brake is applied, almost like the power of those lights shuts everything off. But this all happens at random. I have a part time job on the wknds delivering food. It started out just maybe happening once a month, and that was 3-4 months ago. Now it's everytime I go out, it's likely to happen, but when, it's impossilbe to tell because I can try everything to make it happen that normally might seem to be the cause and then nothing. I've read a lot of forums recently that have a lot of people with either exact problems or very similar. I don't live in a big city but for people that are driving this car in a big city thats busy, this is very dangerous, and not only that people are gonna end up getting in small wrecks for something that could be taken care of with a recall. Please do something. I'm unable to work my wknd job with this issue so it's costing me 3 days of work until I get it fixed. Thank you.

- Oshkosh, WI, USA

problem #4

Jan 032019

MAZDA3

  • 75,000 miles
The power steering cuts out while driving and the electricity for the car cuts out for a second or two and then it comes back on. This happens frequently when turning the steering wheel.

- Beverly Hills, CA, USA

problem #3

Jan 052015

MAZDA3

  • miles
My car does not have a key lock on the passenger side. The door can only be unlocked by the driver's side or by a key remote. I do not have a remote. Because the passenger side can only be opened by the driver's side this creates a risk of injury for the driver, as well as passengers who are dependent on the driver. For example, my mother is 80 years old and deaf. She needs assistance walking. When I need to unlock the car, I have to leave her unattended on the passenger side or bring her with me to the driver's side then walk back to the passenger side. Another example would be if I need to unlock my car when there heavy traffic on the street side (driver's side) before I can put my dog's in the car, I have to leave my dogs unattended, or bring them into the street with me. When traffic is heavy, my only method to unlock the car is to go into heavy traffic. I have noticed there are many car manufacturers not installing a key lock on the passenger side. I can't understand the reason for this other than saving on costs. Nowadays most car keys are coupled with a remote to unlock the car. However, if the remote should fail, the driver can only unlock the car from the driver's gain entry. This poses a dangerous risk to the driver and passengers. To replace a faulty remote costs approximately $150. I believe this approach to gain car entry is defective and can result in injury or death. There is a strong inference that car manufacturers are deliberately not installing a key lock on the passenger side to save on manufacturing costs and also make money by having the consumer buy a remote. I respectfully request you look into this matter. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

problem #2

Jan 202014

MAZDA3

  • 45,000 miles
Red tail / brake light lenses are melted by bulb.

- Culver City, CA, USA

problem #1

Mar 032010

MAZDA3

  • 9,000 miles
Purchased vehicle on 7/09. On 1/6/10, vehicle failed to start, at first cranking with no engine start then complete discharge of systems (no cranking, no battery power whatsoever). Brought into dealership and was told "main relay" was defective and was the reason battery was not holding its charge. Relay was replaced. Same events again occurred on 3/3/10. Car remains in dealership for diagnosis & repair. Car remains inoperable when these events occur.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

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