Most common 2004 Mazda MPV problems
Share of the 71 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Mazda MPV complaints by model year
Best MPV years: 2006, 1998, 1995. Years to avoid: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2001, 2004. Compare all years →
2004 Mazda MPV recalls (5)
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
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.
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.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
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,…
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.
Equipment › Other › Labels
The tire inflation pressure indicated on the vehicle certification label is not correct. The labels show the maximum tire pressure as 240 kpa/32 psi when it should be shown as 240 kpa/35 psi. As a result of this error, the load ratios for the 205/65r15 94h and the 215/60r16 95h tires exceed the levels permitted by FMVSS 120.
Remedy: Owners will be provided with a corrected label that they can apply to their vehicle, or they can have a dealer install the label, if desired. The recall began on July 16, 2004.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Certain minivans fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection." some of these vehicles were produced with air bag warning labels intended for the canadian market. Thus, the labels contain warnings in both english and french.
Remedy: Owners will be provided with air bag caution labels and installation instructions which were mailed on July 22, 2004. Owners should contact Mazda at 1-800-222-5500.
Air bags › Frontal
As a result of an ncap test, certain minivans fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection." the front passenger seat air bag was not correctly wiring.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new wiring harness in the front passenger seat air bag system. The recall bagan March 5, 2004. Owners should contact Mazda at 1-800-222-5500.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2004 Mazda MPV:
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
What 2004 Mazda MPV owners say
Engine & cooling all 24 →
Mazda MPV 2004 vehicle's engine hesitated when driving in rain at any speed. This began happening before mileage and date listed below. This is a safety hazard when particularly when it occurred while driving on the washington metro beltway. An assistant service manager at, rosenthal Mazda arlington, 750 n. Glebe road, arlington, va. ( 703/527-3000) advised that this problem was known to Mazda for the past five years and required air induction service every 12,000-15,000 miles. We never were warned of this problem or the need for the specific preventable maintenance by either the company or rosenthal Mazda. The repair cost $2000 and could have been avoided if Mazda had advised owners of the need for preventable maintenance (air intake manifold). …
Prolong off and on ticking sound in the engine , finally thought it was a belt took it to a shop to have belts changed or checked , mechanic said it is not your belts it is your engine, so we had to have it towed at our expense to the dealer we bought it from to have engine checked or replaced , and now Mazda won't warranty it !!! The mechanic from where we bought it from ,got kind of nasty and told us to get our dam car out of his f-ing shop , we were upset because Mazda won't replace engine , now I am stuck with a 15,000 dollar car no engine !!!! …
Air bags
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Mazda MPV. While the contact's wife was driving 15 MPH, she struck another vehicle on the driver's side door. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to send documentation from the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 166,000.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Mazda MPV. The contact stated that the driver side air bag was faulty. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14V773000 (air bags). However, the recall only included the passenger side air bag. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, who advised the contact that the drivers side airbag was discontinued and the part needed to do the repair was unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.
Electrical system
Tl contact owns a 2004 Mazda MPV. While driving at speeds of 30 MPH, the vehicle began hesitating as if it were attempting to stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they replaced the electrical coil to the cylinder. The repairs were performed under factory warranty. The failure recurred within a year and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic placed insulating materials around the coil to prevent moisture from entering the coil. The mechanic advised when moisture would enter the electrical coils; it would cause a shortage contributing to the failure. In addition, when the engine was shut off, the cooling fan would continue operating. The failure persisted. There were no recalls for the failure. The failure mileage was 23,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
I purchased a 2004 MPV arch 28, 2005. To date, I have had this van in for warranty service to replace ignition coils three times: 10/31/06 '' 31,770mi - #4 coil replaced. Transmission range sensor replaced also 12/05/06 '' 33,229mi - #4 coil replaced again 1/08/07 '' 34,708mi - #6 coil replaced. Today as I was driving, the same symptoms '' steering wheel vibration, bucking, lurching '' occurred as before when the other coils failed. The CEL came on, I checked for the code and I discovered that the #5 coil has failed. Now this will be the fourth service for the same problem. There has been no effort on the part of country Mazda to find the source of the coil failure. Replacing the parts obviously is not solving the problem.
2004 Mazda MPV engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | FWD | 16 / 23 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: Minivan.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2004 Mazda MPV a good car?
Based on 71 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2004 MPV rates avoid: 2.6× as many complaints as a typical year of the MPV at the same age. It is one of the MPV years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2004 Mazda MPV?
The engine & cooling — 24 complaints, 34% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine. Next are the air bags (14) and electrical system (13).
How many recalls does the 2004 Mazda MPV have?
There are 5 recalls for the 2004 Mazda MPV, the most recent from October 31, 2019 (inflator module). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Mazda MPV?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2006, 1998 and 1995. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2001 and 2004. See the full Mazda MPV years comparison.
At what mileage do 2004 Mazda MPV problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 55,000 miles; 42% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.