2012 Mazda Mazda3 Electrical Problems

Which parts fail

• Instrument cluster/panel
  1

Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  316%
• 25k–50k
  316%
• 50k–75k
  526%
• 75k–100k
  526%
• 100k–150k
  211%
• 150k+
  15%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Mazda Mazda3 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owned a 2012 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact woke up to the fire department extinguishing a fire in the vehicle. The fire department stated that the fire began under the hood and that the fire was due to the electrical system. The vehicle was deemed totaled by the insurance company. A police report and a fire report were filled out. The vehicle has not been towed yet. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the automatic trans-axle warning light illuminated and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the failure reoccurred for a second time that day and she was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the battery cables had detached. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer who diagnosed that the transmission control module had failed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 85,598.

When driving at night with exterior lights on, when brake and or gas pedal is pressed the exterior lights strobe/flashes. The Mazda dealership has been contacted about this issue and there is a technician service bulletin stating that the ECM needs to be reflashed/programmed. No recall has been set for this issue and the Mazda dealership stated that I would have to pay $265 out of pocket to have the problem fixed. I believe that because it's a problem with there programming or software that the company should have to issue a safety recall and fix the factory defect. I'm currently in the process of filing a lawsuit against Mazda because of this and I have already filed a complaint with the better business bureau for this issue.

2012 Mazda3i 5dr hatchback. Persistent issue with headlights, both low beam and high beam, as well as interior lighting and other lighting. The headlights flicker for several seconds any time the brake pedal is applied. Interior lighting also flickers when brake pedal is applied. Headlights sometimes flicker when vehicle is decelerating and no brake pedal is applied, most notable when vehicle is traveling downhill. Further, the luminosity (brightness) of the headlights visibly dims, but does not flash, when the vehicle is parked and the brake pedal is applied. A high volume of others report the same issue, including documented complaints. These vehicles are unsafe, defective as designed, and do not conform to FMVSS No. 108. NHTSA must investigate further. Many other owners are not aware of the cause of the issue and attempt to fix it by replacing headlights, alternator, etc. …

My wife was driving on the freeway - I was on the passenger side. This is the first time it happened. The car lost sort of reset itself - dash warning lights came on (according to my wife). Radio/cd stopped music - ABS light went on (that's all I can see from passenger side). My wife said others too but she was focused on the road because it was a construction zone. She was nervous and said the car was not responding to throttle. Luckily all went back to normal after 2 or maybe 3 seconds. The music came back on also. No check engine light or any sign of trouble. We pulled over and I checked the front to see if we hit something that could have caused it. Restarted the car - all seemed normal and reached our destination. This was our first 200 mile trip or more on this car. 1 day after arrival - I did a once over safety check (fluids, tire pressure, etc) nothing out of the ordinary. …

Headlights flicker/pulsate when applying brakes. This is a well known issue with 2012-13 Mazda3 that requires a software update to remedy. Currently, Mazda is charging a minimum of $99 to 'diagnose' the issue. Since the issue occurs in motion, I do not have photos, but I do have videos. Given that this is a safety issue caused by faulty software that only Mazda can update, there is no reason that owners should have to pay them to fix their own mistake. It's a scam, at best. Documentation of others with same issue and consistent software update solution: https://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/Mazda3-26/Mazda-3-headlights-flickering-pulsating-when-braking-34536/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/Mazda3/comments/6aaeik/20122013_headlight_flickering_solution/ - this link includes a Mazda Canada service bulletin, indicating that the company is fully aware of the issue …

There is a problem with the door sensor on the rear passenger door. At random intervals the interior lights will turn on and the dash indicates that the rear passenger door is open after the doors automatically lock due to speed. This will continue until I unlock the doors. Unfortunately they relock automatically if I stop for a traffic light and then accelerate. The interior lights come back on and the dash indicates the door is open again as soon as my speed is sufficient to make the doors automatically lock again. This is a nuisance during the day but a major distraction at night. Having the interior lights suddenly turn on while driving at 10 pm in the rain is horribly distracting and a little scary. This will sometimes occur for 2-3 days in a row and then not happen again for 2-3 weeks. My car has only 38000 miles on it but the dealer says this isn't covered under any warranty.

I drove over bumpy rail road tracks, went to give it gas to go and engine revved but no acceleration. Dash light that normally says 'd' was blank. Shifted to manual mode and attempted to up or down shift but dash light still blank and no shifting possible. The car was running in nuetral but the gear selector was in drive or in manual mode. Had to coast to the side of the road. Noted traction control light was on while shift selector indicator was blank. I put the car into park, turned car off and then on again and seemed to drive OK at this point after this. I was lucky that I was driving at a slow speed and had room to get off the road. If I had gotten stuck on the tracks this could have been much worse. And the dealer says they can do nothing unless there is a code stored. No code so nothing I can do. This ranks up there in level of danger yet Mazda can do nothing?

Cruise quit working, traction control light came on and shortly thereafter the check engine light came on. Then all the lights on the dash started flashing and went into limp mode. Car decelerated and I pulled over to the side of the road. Turned car off and then it wouldn't start. Waited about 10 min and restarted successfully with the check engine and traction control light still on. Drove another 70 miles going in and out of limp mode with dash lights flashing on & off. Took to dealer and replaced the angle (sp?) sensor in steering wheel. Dealer reset all codes and it's done it twice since getting car back, dealer can't figure out what's wrong. Have to go in and have the codes reset every time to get it back to running again.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Mazda 3. The contact stated that the instrument panel was popping out of the display paneling. The failure hindered the visibility of the speedometer, fuel gauge, and oil levels. John hine temecula Mazda (42050 dlr dr, temecula, ca 92591, [phone]) stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 62,000.

Electrical complaints in other Mazda3 years