2008 Mazda Mazda6 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (76) · Power Train (7) · Steering (4)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mazda Mazda6 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
49 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2019-10-31 · campaign 19V781000 · 47,006 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2004-2005 MPV, 2004 RX-8, and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 vehicles. These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. The recall began December 3, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 13V130, 14V362, 14V773 and 15V869.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2018-06-15 · campaign 18V402000 · 308,591 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 and 2004 MPV vehicles nationwide. Mazda is also recalling 2005-2006 MPV vehicles in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 6, 2018. Mailing to the affected RX-8 owners began July 6, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: With the addition of the RX-8 vehicles, this recall fully supersedes recall 16V
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2017-07-26 · campaign 17V474000 · 308,992 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2004-2008 RX-8, and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on September 12, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1417G. Note: This recall supersedes recall 15V-382.
Service bulletins (216)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2026-09-11 · SA-041-26a · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
description if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by asking if any aftermarket devices have been installed. aftermarket devices may be the cause of the electrical con
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-20 · SA-055-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
product quality information (pqi) description service information mt-041/12 is no longer valid. it has been unpublished and superseded by the field quality information report (fqir) reporting system.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-07-29 · 09-022-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin supersedes the previously issued bulletin(s) listed below. the changes are noted in red text. 09-042/04 12/10/04 description some vehicles may exhibit inoperative electric rear window defroster grid lines, integral antenna concerns causing radio reception issues or terminal tabs pulled
Engine 2026-06-19 · SA-041-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sa supersedes the previously issued sa(s) listed below. the changes are noted in red. sa-061/25 12/17/25 description if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by ask
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-21 · SA-029-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service alert supersedes the previously issued sa listed below: the changes are noted in red. sa-011/24 02/12/24, 06/06/24, 07/29/24 description mazda has developed factory recommended scheduled maintenance services that support all major vehicle systems. mazda recommends dealers follow the sch
Electrical System 2025-12-17 · SA-061-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by asking if any aftermarket devices have been installed. aftermarket devices may be the cause of the electrical concern. below
Showing the 6 most recent of 216 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-09-20 · Fuel System, Gasoline · 235,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 mazda mazda6. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was fuel leaking from the fuel tank. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a leaking fuel tank. the contact was informed that the fuel tank needed to be replaced. the dealer added a protective coating. the failure reoccurred. …”
2023-10-06 · Wheels“the front subframe totally rusted out and the wheel disconnected. i purchased this car in 2009, but it was a 2008 vehicle. apparently there was a recall on this part for the 2009 through 2018 vehicles but it did not include the 2008, which had the exact same problem. my car was kept in the garage its entire life and the last 10 years, i was re…”
2021-12-17 · Suspension“the front frame is rusted out to the point it is unsafe. this is the same issue for the 2009 2010 models.…”
2019-11-14 · Power Train · 135,000 mi“transmission slips and shifts very hard from 1st to 2nd in the cold weather.…”
2019-08-23 · Power Train · 125,802 mi“driving 2008 mazda 6 when the at light came on and the automatic transmission slipped from gear reengaged very harshly into third gear. the 5 speed automatic transmission dropped 4th and 5th gear after re-engaging.…”
2018-11-16 · Steering · 106,000 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact owns a 2008 mazda 6. while driving approximately 50 mph, the steering wheel independently veered to the right. the driver was unable to turn the steering wheel back into place and crashed into a guardrail. a police report was filed and there were no injuries. the vehicle was towed. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manu…”
2018-06-28 · Air Bags“takata recall: i received a letter in 7/2015 stating my car's air bags had been recalled and to wait for a second letter to schedule a replacement appointment. never recieved 2nd letter and now car is not on recall. i suspect it (my car) was reported as having air bags replaced which has not happened. i am concerned as it was reported on the news t…”
2017-11-10 · Air Bags“i called dealer 3 times to have my airbags replaced (final recall 1317f). this was over the course of 6 months. they never call me back. the third time i called (on 8/24/2017) i was told they would call me back (again) in one month. they still have never called me back.…”
2017-09-06 · Air Bags · 158,000 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact owned a 2008 mazda mazda6. the contact stated that while the driver was driving at approximately 70 mph, another vehicle crashed into the passenger side of the vehicle. as a result, the driver crashed into a cement barrier. the air bags failed to deploy. the driver did not sustained injuries. a police report was filed. the vehicle w…”
2017-04-27 · Air Bags · 90,000 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact owned a 2008 mazda 6. while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle slid off the road and collided into a tree. the driver side air bag deployed, but the passenger side air bag failed to deploy. there were no injuries and a police report was filed. the vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. the vehicle was destroyed. the vi…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.