Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Mazda RX-8 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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.
Hello. How are you? I hope everything is going well for you. I am an owner of 2005 Mazda rx8. I was a faculty of one university at texas by 2016. However, I left USA last fall and currently settled down in Korea. I also took my car (2005 Mazda rx8) from USA to Korea. In terms of safety recall notices, I asked Mazda USA to solve two safety recall issues (Mazda recall #: 1017e—fuel tank leak as well as 9416e—Takata recall) for my car. Unfortunately, there are no Mazda dealer shops in Korea, so I asked to Mazda USA to send the parts via the mail to replace bad parts for my car. However, they rejected my requests and they said only Mazda (certified) mechanic should complete the repairs. I am wondering if I can solve these serious safety recall issues. Am I not a customer of Mazda because im not staying in the us anymore? …
There is a material defect with the dash panel over the passenger air bag, now with the weather getting colder there are cracks in the dash panel and every morning the cracks get longer or new ones start. With the way it's cracking if the air bag deploys the panel will not just split open but May could up throwing chunks of plastic at the occupants. Contacted Mazda directly but since she didn't see any bulletins or recalls for this issue she pretty much didn't care. I wish more people would file complaints because I have seen this problem in almost all other rx8's I've been in.
Tl contact owns a 2005 Mazda RX-8. The contact stated that NHTSA campaign number: 14V773000 (air bags) had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for repair. The dealer stated the parts were not available for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the delay. In addition, the air bag warning light illuminated. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V344000 (air bags). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000.
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.
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.
The passenger side air bag door, part number fey157k5x, has become brittle and is cracked where the airbag deploys. This creates a hazard as the brittle pieces of vinyl will become projectiles in the event of airbag deployment. This is clearly the fault of the manufacturer and should be remedied.
Clutch pedal keeps braking every 20,000 miles. :-/ this is the 4rth replacement I am looking at, currently is braking gradually. Air bags sensors keep failing every 30,000 miles and passenger airbag is cracking.
Driver was backing out of a parking space when an extremely loud pop sounded resembling a backfire or the explosion of an aerosol can. After pulling back into the space, a further inspection of the noise revealed a malfunction with the rear passenger seat airbag. The door panel has been knocked askew resulting in a back door that will not open. The front seat passenger seat belt was jerked tight and remains completely locked up. Had a passenger been sitting in the front seat, the tightening of the belt upon the malfunction of the airbag would have resulted in injury. The other airbags are of great concern at this point because if there is another malfunction when the car is in motion on the road, serious injury would occur. The airbag indicator light continues to either blink or remain constantly lit. …
Tl* Takata recall. The contact owns a 2005 Mazda RX-8. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V354000 (air bags) and stated that the part was not available within a reasonable time frame to schedule the recall repair. The dealer did not give a specific date for when the part would become available so the contact was unable to determine when the vehicle would be repaired. The dealer indicated that the parts May become available the fourth quarter of 2017. The manufacturer could not provide an estimated date for when the contact's vehicle would receive the recall repair. The contact was not experiencing a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Related recalls
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.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
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,…
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.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
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…
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.
NHTSA investigations
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…
Airbag complaints in other RX-8 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2005 Mazda RX-8?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the air bags of the 2005 Mazda RX-8, 14% of the model year's 162 complaints. The component named most often is side/window (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Mazda RX-8 airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 18V-402 (inflator module, Jun 15, 2018); NHTSA recall 18V-404 (inflator module, Jun 15, 2018); NHTSA recall 17V-474 (inflator module, Jul 26, 2017). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Mazda RX-8 airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 75,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.