Mazda MX-5 Miata Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 334 consumer complaints across the 14 model years of the Mazda MX-5 Miata (1990–2004) that have at least 5 complaints. 1999 has the most, with 74. Across all years, the part named most often is air bags (79 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst MX-5 Miata years →
All MX-5 Miata model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 8 | 6,100 | 0 | 23 | — | Not enough data |
| 2003 | 14 | 47,758 | 0 | 20 | — | Not enough data |
| 2002 | 20 | 32,000 | 0 | 21 | — | Stable |
| 2001 | 22 | 51,000 | 0 | 17 | — | Stable |
| 2000 | 29 | 40,000 | 0 | 13 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1999 | 74 | 41,730 | 0 | 8 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1997 | 11 | — | 0 | 8 | — | Not enough data |
| 1996 | 29 | 71,000 | 0 | 3 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1995 | 30 | 115,000 | 0 | 2 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1994 | 18 | 72,500 | 0 | 2 | — | Falling |
| 1993 | 8 | 207,000 | 0 | 2 | — | Not enough data |
| 1992 | 22 | 82,500 | 0 | 2 | — | Stable |
| 1991 | 21 | 64,750 | 0 | 1 | — | Falling |
| 1990 | 28 | 100,000 | 0 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Air bags79 30%
- Engine cooling32 12%
- Electrical system31 12%
- Brakes30 11%
- Transmission and drivetrain28 11%
- Body and structure24 9.1%
- Fuel system22 8.3%
- Seat belts18 6.8%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2003: “The plastic battery tray in the Mazda mx5 is quite fragile and often breaks under normal operating conditions. I have had to replace several of these trays in my 2003 mx5. Now, with yet another broken tray, I am told that these trays are no longer available. Recently this created a very dangerous situation in which my battery moved enough to make a contact between the positive battery pole and the metal part that holds down the battery. …”
NHTSA complaint #10877104, filed 2016-06, 42,516 miles1996: “Airbag warning light stays on constantly all of the time. Very concerned about airbag failure but no recall info exists. Also my pop-up headlights are randomly retracting down whenever they feel like it. No amount of twisting on and off at the steering column switch will make them come back up and I have to resort to the manual popup button located under the emergency flashers. This has almost caused me to crash several times when driving after dark!”
NHTSA complaint #10717672, filed 2015-05, 137,215 miles2001: “Driving at highway speeds for approx. 20 minutes when car engine started to violently shake and stall out. Narrowly made it to road shoulder, with 2 vehicles making emergency moves to avoid collision with me. Afterwards my vehicle would only start after waiting periods of 10-15 minutes, and then only run for 5-10 minutes before same engine issue would occur. After numerous starts and stalls, and 4 hours later arrived at car repair shop. …”
NHTSA complaint #10459780, filed 2012-05, 79,682 milesOther Mazda models
3,125 complaintsMazda MAZDA3
2,991 complaintsMazda CX-5
2,469 complaintsMazda MAZDA6
2,232 complaintsMazda Tribute
2,098 complaintsMazda CX-9
1,493 complaintsMazda CX-7
1,133 complaintsMazda Protege
1,074 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology