Total Complaints
8 filings
MAZDA MX-5 MIATA · model year
8 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2004MAZDAMX-5 MIATA carries 8 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2004 MX-5 MIATA is engine and engine cooling:engine with 2 filings, followed by wheels (1) and seat belts:front (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 21 investigation files overlapping the 2004 MX-5 MIATA, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
8 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 2 |
| WHEELS | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 1 |
THE FORWARD FRAME RAILS ARE SEVERELY RUSTED, COMPROMISING THE FUNCTION OF THE BUMPERS GREATLY INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD OF INJURY IN THE EVENT OF A FRONT COLLISION. CORROSION IS NOT READILY APPARENT, SUGGESTING THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE THAT THEIR VEHICLE'S SAFETY HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.
Mileage: 142,000
THE CAR HAS A INTERMITTENT PROBLEM RUNNING, IT HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. LAST TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS ALMOST RUN OVER BY A 18 WHEELER. I HAVE MENTIONED IT TO THE DEALER AND NO RECALL EXISTS THIS PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD ON THIS MODEL AS NOTED BY MEMBERS OF MIAT ACAR CLUBS. BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER WILL NOT OWN UP TO THE PROBLEM EXTENSIVE TESTING HAS BEEN DONE BY OUR CAR FORUM. REPLACING THE MAP SENSOR CURES THE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 90 DAYS BUT AT 100 DOLLARS A POP IT IS A LITTLE EXPENSIVE. CARS THAT HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM HAVE BEEN MODIFIED TO RUN WITHOUT A MAP SENSOR AND THIS HAS CURED THE PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY THE CURE IS 2000 BUCKS. I HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM FOR 2 YEARS NOW AND WOULD LIKE SOME HELP FIXING IT. *TR
Mileage: 20,000
DRIVING MY 2004 MAZDASPEED MIATA ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE ENGINE SUDDENLY STALLS. THE PROBLEM WAS THE FUEL PUMP FAILURE. I BOUGHT MY CAR NEW AND IT HAS 4,400 MILES ON IT. I HAD THREE FUEL PUMP FAILURES SINCE 2004. I COMPLAINED TO THE MAZDA DEALER AS TO WHY THIS IS HAPPENING BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE. *TR
Mileage: 4,200
CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I CAME TO A STOP AT A TOLL BOOTH. WHEN I WENT TO PULL AWAY THE CAR WOULD HARDLY ACCELERATE. ANY AMOUNT OF THROTTLE WOULD CAUSE THE CAR TO BOG OUT. SEEMS VERY LIKELY A CRASH COULD OCCUR IF THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED AT THE WRONG TIME. THIS IS SPECIFICALLY A PROBLEM WITH THE MAZDASPEED MODEL OF THE MX-5. *TR
Mileage: 11,100
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA MIATA. WHEN THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AFTER A STOP, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO MOVE. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE FOUR TIMES, HOWEVER, THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE DEALER REFUSED TO MAKE ANY REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 23,000.
Mileage: 8,000
I BOUGHT THE 04 MAZDASPEED MIATA NEW IN 2/05 AND HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT STARTING SINCE IT WAS NEW. MY LAST SERIES OF STARTING PROBLEMS WAS IN 2/07. MAZDA REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP IN 8/06 TO HOPEFULLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED IN 9/06. I STILL HAVE THE ISSUE WITH THE CAR.
Mileage: 1,466
NORMAL DRIVING. SEAT BELT LOCKS. SEAT BELT WILL NOT UNLOCK.*AK
Mileage: 700
ON 4/24/2004 WHILE DRIVING SOUTHBOUND ON MIDDLEBELT ROAD IN LIVONIA, MI I HEARD A LOUD "POP" AND SHORTLY AFTER EXPIRIENCED A FLAT TIRE. THE TIRE HAD PICKED UP A BOLT AND THE FLAT WAS CAUSED BY THE BOLT PENATRATING THE WHEEL.*AK BOTH THE WHEEL AND THE TIRE WERE REPLACED. THE TIRE WAS SENT TO THE MANAFACTURE AND I HAVE POSSESSION OF THE WHEEL. THE AUTOMOBILE WAS LESS THAN ONE WEEK OLD.
Mileage: 286
Momentary increase in steering effort after recall remedy
Inadvertent Curtain Air Bag Deployment
Front Subframe Corrosion
Lower ball joint separation
Brake Booster Failure
Data as of 2025. 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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.