10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,596 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.

2011 Mazda MAZDA3 steering problems

steering problem

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2011 Mazda MAZDA3 Owner Comments

problem #13

Sep 202022

MAZDA3

  • miles

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

UNKNOWN. Electric power steering just suddenly stopped working for no apparent reason. Very hard to steer. DANGEROUS!

- Lewiston , ME, USA

problem #12

Apr 122022

MAZDA3

  • miles
When I-??m driving the car, electricity of the car goes off, including headlights. The steering wheel gets locked. It doesn-??t do that regularly. Sometimes, it takes weeks to do that, but sometimes it happens once in every five minutes. The red airbag light on the odometer turns on or off randomly. But, the worse case is that the airbags are not working while my steering wheel gets locked at the same time. They all start happening around the same time. I took my car to the Mazda Service and another mechanics. Neither of them found the issue. When I leave the car with them, the car doesn-??t show these malfunctions. It literally randomly occurs. Therefore, they told me that I need to bring the car when it start happening in regular basis to understand the exact cause for the issue. I don-??t know when it becomes a regular issue. 4-5 days ago, when I was turning right on a small street, the wheel locked again. I was about to crash. It-??s a deadly malfunction, so I don-??t want to wait until then.

- Bala Cynwyd, PA, USA

problem #11

Sep 052020

MAZDA3

  • 160,000 miles
When driving the steering wheel locks up. Super hard to pull over. Very dangerous. Could have been killed. The power steering light and engine light come unill I turn vehicle off and on. I have read many post on line of this happening to this vehicle and I'm shocked this is not a active recall or haven't caused any deaths.

- Surprise, AZ, USA

problem #10

May 282019

MAZDA3

  • 120,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2011 Mazda Mazda3. While the contact's daughter was driving 60 mph, the steering wheel seized. The contact was unaware if any indicators were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to Mazda of arlington (1400 tech centre pkwy, arlington, tx 76014, (817) 575-6000) where it was diagnosed that the power steering assist failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 120,000.

- Grand Prairie, TX, USA

problem #9

Apr 082019

MAZDA3

  • 65,000 miles
On April 8 while picking up my daughter from school on nautilus street in la jolla, pointed downhill on a steep grade, my idling vehicle lost power without warning, I lost control of steering and brakes had to stop the vehicle with the handbrake, the passenger car door was open at the time my daughter was trying to step into the vehicle as the car took off, the door hit the car in front of me breaking her tail light, it took me three tries to get the engine to turn back over.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #8

Mar 142018

MAZDA3

  • 88,800 miles
My 2011 Mazda 3 is having power steering problems. It goes on and off and creates dangerous situations for myself as the driver and others on the road. The power steering goes off and the car becomes very very difficult to handle and steer. Its almost impossible to maintain control and make turns.

- East Lansing, MI, USA

problem #7

Feb 072017

MAZDA3

  • 77,745 miles

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

My clutch blew on 2/7/17 while I was driving on a multilane busy city street. All function of the manual transmission ceased as I was driving, and I coasted across a lane and to the side of the road. I am thankful that I did not get hurt. However, I am very concerned that my car, a 2011 Mazda3, stopped working while I was driving! this directly put my life in danger! I am aware that Mazda has a known clutch release assembly defect - "a significant safety risk to the driver and passengers as often, suddenly and without warning, the vehicle's engine is unable to provide power to the transmission and becomes inoperable.' (https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/333511-Mazda-class-action-says-automaker-hid-clutch-defect-decade/).

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

problem #6

Apr 182017

MAZDA3

  • 66,000 miles
While driving the vehicle on city streets and highway the power steering stopped functioning. Causing the vehicle to be manuel steering. A less expierianced driver was opperating the vehicle at the time. Had him turn the car off wait a short time and start the car. Power steering was back. Problem persisted and the car is in for repair. I also see steering problem recalls on the 2008-2009 models.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #5

Nov 062012

MAZDA3

  • 20,000 miles
Oem yokohama avid envigor, first set of tires lasted 20,000 miles. Second set lasted 20,000 miles. The middle of the tire keeps the tread very nice, it's the sidewalls that go completely bald. Very dangerous in the snow and wet roads. First I took sts tires (yokohama auth.) dealer to court for lying about tires being still good. Then took yokohama to court....... don't waste your time doing this..... yokohama is paying someone off and getting away with murder. Literally the judge didn't even look at the evidence. Got screwed big time. Someone let me know when yokonumbnuts finally gets nailed for selling crap and getting away with it?

- Pine Brook, NJ, USA

problem #4

Aug 252014

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • 29,200 miles
I bought this Mazda on June 2014 and was running great till few days ago when the power steering stopped working, I was told to change the battery because the power takes alot of electrical power but the problem was not fixed. So I decided to take the car to the dealer in arlington for diagnostic, the result was that the pump has internal failure and that's will cost about $1200 to fix it. I hope Mazda will fix it for me free of charge since this issue has been reported by many and it is has to do with safety.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

problem #3

Apr 142014

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • 31,500 miles

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

On or about April 15th, during an oil change and all fluid inspection by ewing, plano, tx, it was discovered that there was a power steering leak. And was told that I should bring the car to a Mazda dealership asap after I called Mazda usa. After several attempts that lasted a week, to get Mazda usa on the phone, I was able to speak to a [xxx] that refused to give his last name, I explained him all the details and he told me that the car 3/36 warranty had expired by few days( I purchased the car new on 3/16/2011) I only had less than 32000 miles on the car, however good news he said the power steering was covered under the 5/60 warranty, of course he didn't know what he was talking about, because everyone I spoke to told me that the car steering was not covered, after lengthy phone conversations with [xxx] at 18002225500 opt 6- 2 and then extension [xxx] complain # [xxx], I was able to secure an appointment at el dorado Mazda in mckinney, tx and a loaner car for 2 days, the manager [xxx], a total run around, [xxx] told me that there was a seepage of fluid from the power steering and was not covered under the 5/60. I called Mazda headquarters infuriated but [xxx] was never available and never returned my phone calls, my young children drive the car, power steering leakage are dangerous, I found out thru internet blogging many people have the same problem. I would never buy anther Mazda, and hope the Agency would investigate Mazda, safety item should always be covered under warranty ( [xxx]) information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Long Branch, NJ, USA

problem #2

Sep 042012

MAZDA3

  • 12,000 miles
Driving from Wisconsin to Chicago Illinois the power steering failed. When I stopped at a toll booth and started on the road again, the power steering was ok as soon as the car started to move. Same thing happened again on the same day driving on South on hwy I55 about 30 miles from home. When I stopped at a stop light coming into town and then left the stop light, again the power steering returned to normal. On another day, it happened one time after the car had been parked on an inclined. I backed the car up and could feel the power steering was gone but after the stop and then going forward, the power steering was ok. Again another day, it happened backing out of my garage but after stopping and then going forward, it was ok once again. Stopping the vehicle seems to cause the power steering to fix itself. I took it to the dealership. No codes could be retrieved. I only saw the little steering wheel light on the dash one time during these episodes although the light may have been on and I didn't notice it except for the one time. Not getting any satisfaction from my dealership, I called [xxx], the car doctor. I was told by him, that this should be reported at this site as he felt it was a safety issue. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Springfield, IL, USA

problem #1

Sep 132011

MAZDA3 4-cyl

  • 500 miles
On September 3, 2011 I purchased a brand new 2011 Mazda 3 from Mazda of escondido. On Tuesday September 13, 2011 I started my vehicle and turned on the headlights at which point the power steering light and also the traction control warning lights came on. As I was trying to park my vehicle I noticed difficulty with the power steering. Also, the dsc button would not turn on/off while the light was on. On Monday September 19, 2011 the same two lights came on again. I took a picture of the lights and the odometer reading so we could show the dealer. Due to a prior wrist injury power steering is a must for me.

- San Diego , CA, USA

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