Lights

Mazda MAZDA3 Lighting problems by year

163 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Mazda MAZDA3's lights. Headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals and interior lighting failures.

Lighting complaints by model year

'04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 36'13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 '24 '25

Year	Lighting complaints	Crashes	Injuries
2023	1	0	0
2020	1	0	0
2019	2	0	0
2017	1	0	0
2016	1	0	0
2015	5	1	0
2014	1	0	0
2013	36	0	0
2012	31	1	0
2011	10	0	0
2010	23	0	0
2009	5	0	0
2008	17	0	0
2007	12	1	0
2006	3	1	0
2005	6	1	2
2004	8	0	0

Latest MAZDA3 lighting complaints

2017 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights

Many modern trucks, SUVs, and cars use LED headlights that are excessively bright and create dangerous glare. When approaching these vehicles from the opposite direction, the headlights can be blinding - similar to having a flashlight shined directly into your eyes - causing temporary loss of visibility. The glare also affects drivers traveling in the same direction, as the intense light reflects sharply off rear-view and side mirrors. This creates a persistent distraction and makes it difficult to maintain safe...

Read the full complaint

awareness of the road. This issue is widespread across many vehicle types and appears to be related to the brightness and mounting height of LED headlights, especially on larger vehicles. It poses a significant safety hazard and should be investigated as a systemic lighting problem.

2012 Mazda MAZDA3 Electrical system Lights

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...

Read the full complaint

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. Mazda was aware of issue prior to July 2013, when it issued TSB 01-019/13. This document states, "Some vehicles may exhibit the headlights flickering when the vehicle is decelerating (by applying the brakes) with the headlights on. This concern is caused by inadequate alternator output (controlled by the PCM) when the battery is under a heavy load. To correct the problem, the control logic of the PCM has been changed." This appears to be at best a temporary fix. Bommarito Mazda in Missouri required payment of $199.88 to "diagnose" this problem and address it in the manner prescribed in TSB 01-019/13. This service was not covered under warranty. Service Manager M.D. claimed to have never heard of this issue before and that it would need to be diagnosed, despite being informed by the owner of the precise issue, that others reported experiencing the same issue, and that others reported the issue was addressed by reprogramming the PCM. Immediately following this service, the headlights continued to visibly dim when the vehicle is parked and the brake pedal applied.

2004 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights

This model car has a fuse box under the glove box known as a "passenger junction box" that has a faulty or defective relay soldered onto the circuit board. The relay is tied to lighting that includes the interior lights, exterior front parking lights, exterior rear tail lights, and the license plate light and is controlled by the left turn signal stalk (rotating switch). Based on my experience and many others (on the Mazda 3 forums), this relay has the tendency to fail and cause all of these lights tied to this...

Read the full complaint

relay to intermittently or permanently be disabled. There is no warning for this; the driver will only notice when driving at night that the interior illumination of the dashboard goes completely dark, which could cause disorientation and confusion as to whether or not the car is operable. Subsequently, the problem can be recreated by attempting to turn the lights on and off and there will be no response (and no clicking noise...it is audible when working and it switches on); the relay fails to operate and all the lights will not turn on. Driving at night without tail lights is extremely dangerous and I am surprised this has not caused serious injury from rear-ending incidents in nighttime or inclement weather situations. The serial/model number of junction box on my vehicle is BN8B-66730-C and many others on the forums have had the same issue with the same model, as well as other variations of the box. Some on the forums went as far as replacing the culprit relay (see attachment); however, at the risk of destroying the entire junction box and rendering the vehicle unusable. I finally ended up purchasing a replacement unit on eBay which corrected the issue so far and has made the lights reliable again.

2020 Mazda MAZDA3 Electrical system Lights Driver assistance

Google search shows Mazda has common problem with their front sensing camera, people are reporting the issue for different Mazda models across the board for the last few years including newer models as well. My car display shows few malfunction warning messages. Following captured from MyMazda app. 1. Forward sensing camera malfunction. i-ACTIVESENSE advanced safety and driver support systems may not operate correctly. 2. High Beam Control System is disabled. Automatic switching between high and low beams is unavailable.

2015 Mazda MAZDA3 Electrical system Lights

Vehicle touch screen has aggressive and persistent "ghost touch" during vehicle operation (while in drive), which should not be possible while in drive at all. This causes any setting or feature accessible through the vehicle "infotainment" system to be activated at random leading to distracting, undesired operation. There is no setting within the "infotainment" system that allows you to disable the touch screen, leading to dangerously distracting situations. There is a voluntary extended warranty period provided...

Read the full complaint

by Mazda, but I was not notified required by law, nor was the warranty service offered to me when bringing my car to dealership(s) during the warranty period. Mazda is not willing to pay to fix the acknowledged safety defect.

2013 Mazda MAZDA3 Electrical system Lights

There seems to be a lot of people who own 2012 and 2013 Mazda 3 Sedans (with SKYACTIV-G 2.0L and Halogen Type Headlights) that are dealing with the same issue I am dealing with myself. I have just purchased a used 2013 Mazda 3 with Skyactive Technology and I noticed that when I was braking the headlights would pulse on and off and would continue while I braked. I have been told there is a TSB on this issue (attached) and Mazda is well aware of this happening. This concern is caused by inadequate alternator...

Read the full complaint

output controlled by the PCM when the battery is under a heavy load. They are to the point now of charging people for a doing the TSB on the car that is causing the problem of the alternator not producing the proper wattage to support both the headlights and the brake lights at the same time. There are numerous online forum entries that speak of this issue with 2012 and 2013 Mazda 3's. I am very concerned that my headlights may stop working which could result in my death or the death of my occupants of my vehicle not to mention the other motorists on the road around me if my head lights were to eventually fail at night due to lack of proper wattage to the headlights. There are videos on you tube that show these pulsing headlights on Mazda's. I believe that headlights are important enough safety issue that their failing could result in death if the headlights completely failed due to the known fault in these vehicles over time.

2016 Mazda MAZDA3 Electrical system LightsFire

Car began to smoke. Roof caught fire at driver's visor while occupied with 2 people. Both able to exit safely. Neighbor put out with fire extinguisher. Inspected by insurance adjuster - total loss. Dealership notified. No warning lamps or messages.

2012 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights

[[redacted]] covers a safety oriented problem with my car. Jim Ellis Mazda in Marietta refuses to work on my car because it is more than 10 years old. This is a proprietary issue since it deals with the computer system in the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2004 Mazda MAZDA3 Suspension Lights Body, doors & structure

There has been no accident- the vehicle is my mother in laws vehicle- my concern is while at work she has at times loaded our daughter into the vehicle- I inspected the vehicle one day while as an employee of Les Schwab- the driver cvc axle vibrates so bad from the boot being torn and having no lubrication- these axles power the vehicle forward and if not maintained can snap and cause damage- the wipers no longer work correctly- the tires are 2017 and old and weather cracked- potential to separate while driving or...

Read the full complaint

blow out on the heated pavement. upon inspection also found that the front shocks are blown out and bouncing in the mounts under the hood- causing the tires to not have the correct contact patch on the road thus decreasing traction and control- on top of all this the vehicle hasn't been registered since 2020 and has no insurance on the vehicle- again there has been no accident...yet- this is my concern- that if this vehicle continues to remain operational and on the road it not only puts the driver and occupants at risk but also other drivers- kids- teens and anyone that may be on the other end o the crash when the vehicle does snap the cvc axle or blow i out a tire

2023 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights

While driving in snow storm I had to pull over and I noticed lights were covered with snow . LED lights will not produce heat to melt snow The lip above and the ledge below traps the snow and with the way the headlights are set up the snow sticks on the lights which affects visibility creating a safety issue. Same thing happens in rain. I have been to a parts store and a mechanic shop Both shops said this is a poor design. The lip and lower ledge trap the snow and LED lights will not melt the snow. This vehicle would be unsafe to drive in a snowstorm because of poor vision. Thank you

2019 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights Electrical system Engine & cooling

The contact owns a 2019 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that after pulling over to the shoulder the vehicle would not immediately restart. The contact stated that approximately five minutes later, the vehicle restarted without pressing the start button. The contact stated that the message "Network Malfunction" was displayed. The contact stated that several electrical malfunctions had previously occurred with the...

Read the full complaint

vehicle including the front windshield wipers independently activating, with the headlights and instrument cluster lights flickering. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 59,000.

2010 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights

A substantial amount of water has made its way into the headlight housing. This has caused the driver side light to go out. There is no evidence of any damage, cracks, or failure otherwise. It seems, like thousands of other Mazda3 drivers, the seals have failed. My particular model has the auto leveling and turning headlights. Cost to repair will be well over $1,000. This is a well known problem to Mazda. Lack of lighting is a safety issue. High price of repair is a serious bar to fixing the issue and returning to safe driving. I was unaware of the failure as no warning is communicated to the driver.

2009 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights

Brake lights are causing the top of the tail light to melt on the housing.

2012 Mazda MAZDA3 Electrical system Lights

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...

Read the full complaint

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.

2007 Mazda MAZDA3 Lights

The brake light bulb has melted and burnt out the brake light housing assembly multiple times, I have purchased multiple brake light housing assembly and the issue continues. Clearly this is a manufacturing defect that is a safety/fire hazard.

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data