MAZDA 626 vs MAZDA MAZDA3

The MAZDA 626 (1983–2003, 21 model years) carries 3,877 NHTSA consumer complaints and 3 safety recalls, while the MAZDA MAZDA3 (2004–2025, 22 model years) carries 3,974 complaints and 58 recalls. Severity indicators for the pair split as follows: 244 vs 321 crashes, 65 vs 42 fires, and 111 vs 4 reported fatalities.

Raw complaint counts favor whichever nameplate has fewer vehicles on the road, so the cleaner lens is components: which specific part families concentrate each model's filings? For the MAZDA 626, the leading complaint category is power train:automatic transmission (1793 filings), followed by air bags:frontal and engine and engine cooling:engine. For the MAZDA MAZDA3, it is steering (377), ahead of unknown or other and electrical system. When the two vehicles cluster around the same component, the problem is likely a shared supplier or a shared federal standard under stress; when they diverge, each nameplate has its own defect signature independent of the other.

Average NCAP crash-test scores are not uniformly available for both nameplates in this dataset, which typically means one or both pre-date the 2011 rating methodology refresh. Use the side-by-side table below as your scorecard, but do not treat it as a verdict. Recall counts tell you how many defects the manufacturer has already been compelled to remedy; complaint counts tell you what owners are still flagging today; and safety ratings tell you how the vehicle performs in standardized barrier tests — three different lenses on the same underlying question. The "also compare" links at the bottom of this page let you triangulate against neighboring nameplates in each model's competitive set.