Total Complaints
6 filings
MAZDA !MX-5 · model year
6 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2012MAZDA!MX-5 carries 6 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2012 !MX-5 is visibility with 1 filings, followed by service brakes, hydraulic (1) and air bags (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 21 investigation files overlapping the 2012 !MX-5, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
6 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 |
| AIR BAGS | 1 |
| TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 1 |
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MAZDA MZ5 (NA). THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V644000 (STRUCTURE); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MAZDA MX-5. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE TRACTION CONTROL WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.
Mileage: 80,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MAZDA MX-5. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE TRACTION CONTROL WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.
Mileage: 80,000
PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON SAYING THE AIR BAG IS NOT ON. HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY. MY WIFE WEIGHS 101 LBS. I HAVE CONTACTED MIATA USA TODAY AND MY DEALER (3RD TIME). SO FAR NO SATISFACTION. I'M BRINGING THE CAR IN 08/01/2014 AGAIN. I SPOKE TO MAZDA USA TODAY (07/09/14). IN NOT SO MANY WORDS I WAS TOLD THAT MY WIFE WASN'T POSITIONED PROPERLY IN THE SEAT OR THAT SHE DOESN'T WEIGH ENOUGH. THAT IS AN ABSURD ANSWER. I THEN ASKED WHAT IF A CHILD WAS IN THE SEAT. I WAS TOLD THAT THEY COULD NOT CONJECTURE ON THAT POSSIBILITY. THEY SAID IT WAS UP TO THE DEALER TO FIND A SOLUTION. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Mileage: 450
I PURCHASED THE NEW MIATA ON 4/23. WHEN GOING OVER THE FUNCTIONS WITH THE SALESMAN, HE PULLED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE UP VERY HARD. I WAS NOT ABLE TO RELEASED IT WITH BOTH HANDS. HE APOLOGIZED FOR PULLING IT UP TOO FAR & SAID THAT WAS NOT NECESSARY. I USED THE BRAKE A NUMBER OF TIMES AS I DROVE THE CAR WITH HIM AND THERE WAS A DISTINCT SPOT WHERE THE BRAKE WOULD STOP, WHICH I ASSUMED MEANT IT WAS ENGAGED. I ASKED THE SALESMAN FOR ANY FEEDBACK HE HAD ABOUT HOW I WAS DRIVING. HE WAS POSITIVE. THE NEXT DAY, WITH 77 TOTAL MILES ON THE ODOMETER, AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED, THE CAR ROLLED FROM A RELATIVELY FLAT AREA WHERE IT WAS PARKED, DOWN AN EMBANKMENT, INTO THE WOODS AND THE FRONT END IS DESTROYED. THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER TOLD ME HE DIDN'T THINK THE BRAKE WAS FULLY ENGAGED, GOT INTO THE CAR & PULLED THE BRAKE INTO THE POSITION AGAIN THAT I WAS NOT ABLE TO UNLOCK EVEN WITH BOTH HANDS. I SHOWED HIM THE POSITION I HAD PUT IT IN. HE SAID HE UNDERSTOOD THE PROBLEM'THAT THE SEAT NEEDED TO BE FAR
Mileage: 77
2012 MAZDA MIATA SUN VISORS DO NOT ROTATE LEFT TO RIGHT, MAKING MORNING SOUTHBOUND DRIVE AND EVENING NORTHBOUND DRIVE DANGEROUS, AS LEFT HAND IS OCCUPIED BLOCKING SUN, AND RIGHT HAND REQUIRED TO OPERATE BOTH MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND STEERING. RESULT IS, THERE IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. *TR
Momentary increase in steering effort after recall remedy
Inadvertent Curtain Air Bag Deployment
Front Subframe Corrosion
Lower ball joint separation
Brake Booster Failure
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2012 MAZDA !MX-5; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.