AutoUtility currently tracks 10 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Mazda CX-3. Driver Assistance & Safety Tech issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 5 complaints (50% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 10 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (5 reports • 50% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (2), Fuel & Propulsion System (1)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 0 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Mazda CX-3
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #23V487000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Electrical System
Fuel & Propulsion System
Exterior Lighting
Brakes & Traction Control
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Mazda CX-3
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Fuel injector failed without warning. A lot of fuel leaked into the engine destroying a spark plug in one cylinder and ultimately ruining the catalytic converter when fuel got into it. Independent mechanic and Mazda dealership diagnosed. Car cannot be driven."
"The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX-3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V487000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount..."
"Heavy condensation is occurring inside the driver side headlamp. A quick google search shows this is a common problem among Mazda owners and Mazda will not cover the repair. I am unable to get a Massachusetts state inspection sticker due to this."
"The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V487000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX-3. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle was moving from left to right. The contact stated that the brakes were making an abnormal scraping sound. There was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The local dealer was not contacted. There were no..."
Complaint History for Mazda CX-3
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2016–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Mazda CX-3 | 48 | 4 | 3 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Mazda CX-3 | 21 | 2 | 1 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Mazda CX-3 Current Page | 10 | 1 | 1 | Current |
| 2019 Mazda CX-3 | 27 | 1 | 2 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Mazda CX-3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Mazda CX-3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Mazda CX-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Mazda CX-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Mazda CX-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Mazda CX-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Mazda CX-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Mazda CX-3
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 9 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.