general problems of the 2012 Mazda MAZDA3

When I drive down the road. My car speeds up and I don't press on the excilerator any harder. The cars idol goes up and down when driving and at park. This happens on all types of road ways. Sometimes it speeds up on me so fast I have to hit the brake while driving on the road.

Motor cylinder #1 low compression took it to Mazda they couldnt figure it out and less than 20 miles after the motor threw a rod at 70,001 miles total. Cylinder 1 walls where not made correctly.

More that one problem with this vehicle. 1) it starts honking while driving, instrument panel and interior lights flash on and off, the car will only make right turns and will not restart when vehicle is turned off. Yesterday, it did it once again immediately as I turned right onto the city street from a parking lot. Luckily there was another parking lot entrance on the right, so I pulled in, parked and turned off the vehicle. It continued to honk, flash interior lights and instrument panel and ignition would not work nor crank. I tried to restart the vehicle several times over a five (5) minutes, when it finally restarted and I was able to get the vehicle home without it happening again. This vehicle has done this several times and it will start honking in the middle of the night while parked and off for no reason. There are times that as quickly as it started honking it will stop, other times, I must go attempt to turn vehicle on and eventually ignition will crank and engine will start. I have taken it to Mazda but they are not able to replicate the problem and tell me there's nothing they can do. I am worried I will not be able to turn one of these days and hit someone and get hit by someone else when the car decides it won't turn left. Not to mention if the car will not start while I am in a bad area and be harmed while waiting for the car to stop honking, flashing and refusing to crank and start. 2) when you put gear in drive, from either park or reverse, and take your foot off the brake the car accelerates and lunges forward without pressing the gas peddle. The first time it did it I almost hit a parked car! thankful I acted quickly and reapplied the brake. Now I allow enough space, as if I driving a truck and am ready to apply the brake. Dealership states nothing is wrong with it. Mazda needs to take these matters seriously. But it's going back!!.

I purchased my 2012 Mazda 3 one year ago (2017). I first noticed the issue about a month after owning my car. I turned on my air conditioner at first low, then all the way up, it felt slightly cool, but only as if my fans were blowing and nowhere near what an air conditioner should properly feel like. This was after letting the car warm up, and driving on back roads or highways as well as when parked. I brought the car back and the technician had some trouble figuring out how to fix it. The ac compressor was replaced, and yet I am still now dealing with a car that will not blow cold air! only semi cool on the highest fan setting ! also when accelerating and having the air conditioner on my car does not accelerate as well or feel as though it is driving as well as it does without needing the air conditioner on. My car really feels like it is working extra hard to put out semi cool air. I have had the air conditioner checked again and it says its not as cool as it should be. I need a resolution to this please.

When decelerating, I'll push in clutch, apply brake, and shift to a lower gear. As I let out the clutch, car will sometimes lurch forward (as if I'm depressing accelerator even though I'm not). I must immediately depress clutch again and let out slowly to prevent the sudden surge in acceleration. Most often happens when I am coming out of a turn and begin to let out clutch. Also, at 3 1/2 years old, with 95,000 mostly highway miles, manual transmission has started popping out of 4th gear while driving. I'll be driving along and for no reason shifter will pop out of gear. Independent transmission shop said cause is likely bad bearings inside transmission and recommended replacement with manufactured transmission. I never had problems with my 2010 Mazda 5 with 5 speed manual transmission. I've reported problems to Mazda service and of course they can never get problem to repeat itself while they are driving.

Driving at approx 45,ph, car lost acceleration, power steering, and multiple engine lights on. Car moved to site of the road and towed to dealer.

We were just returning from a trip of 9 days which contained many high speed highway hours and mountainous terrain. Car has 20000 miles on it. As we pulled off the highway and onto a city street, all three lights ( engine, autotransmission, and slippage icon) went off and there was a bare minimum of power to move car forward. Maybe 5 mph. We drifted into parking lot, restarted car and was able to drive to dealership without incident although the lights remained on. If this had happened while passing a truck on the highway it would have been disastrous. In shop over a week.

Driving at 70mph, lost acceleration and multiple engine lights came on. Had to move over to emergency lane on interstate and driving to nearest exit at approx 40mph. Car towed to dealer for repair.

I was driving along a city street on the way to a mall when I noticed the traction control warning light come on. My car then started to decelerate. I pressed on the gas and noticed that the needle on my tachometer was running high indicating high rate of rpm. I could not drive faster than 35 mph for fear of redlining and possibly damaging the engine. I went back home and parked my car. Later when I started my car the traction control warning light had turned off and I was able to drive the car normally again. This is a very serious matter that could result in serious accident if it had happened on a freeway or on a mountain road. I no longer feel safe driving this car, not knowing when this might occur again. I will be having the car inspected at the dealership since it is still under warranty.

Hello, I was driving down a highway going about 30-40 mph in the passing lane. I went to accelerate past a truck when I noticed I wasn't gaining any speed. I looked down and the abs light was on. Thinking that I might be in a lower gear and my auto transmission wasn't shifting well I changed it over to manual. There were no gear lights indicated on the dash. I could not get any power to the transmission from the engine. I have to pull over on the side of the road, while still kind of on the road considering I had no power. In a desperate attempt I turned the car off and back on and everything seemed to be reset. I called Mazda today and they seemed almost like it was no big deal. Well I consider this a big deal, losing transmission power on a highway is a big deal. Anyways I saw a post a few days ago with the same exact issue. This should not happen!.

After taking a left hand turn onto a local road,I noticed that my car was decelerating despite the fact I was pressing on the gas. The traction control light on the dash came on and the car appeared to be stuck in 1st or 2nd gear; I could not go faster than 40 mph without the rpms going too high. This car has automatic transmission. I tried turning off the traction control by pressing its button, but this did not work. I also tried switching to manual mode but couldn't get the car to shift or the traction control light to shutoff. I finally had to pull over and restart the car to get the light to turn off and the transmission to act normally. I have seen others post a similar problem, though they were in much more serious environments - on the highway going 70 and all of a sudden having to pull across traffic and restart the car because of this weird transmission-traction control issue. This creates for an incredibly dangerous situation and I am petrified of this happening again in a similar scenario. This is something Mazda needs to address immediately.

Date & mileage approximate. I was driving 35mph and sped up to merge 1 lane to my right so I wouldn¿t miss my turn. I sped up, maybe to 40 and the traction control light went on and there was no acceleration at that point. I am glad I didn't get rear ended but did get flipped off for cutting someone off and slowing down. I made my turn and hit the traction control button but it stayed lit. I have an automatic with the manual option, I tried driving manually,the light didnt go off. I then pulled over tried the traction button again, it stayed lit. The weather condition was warm and nice out. I turned the car off for a few minutes, started it, light was off and it drove fine. If this happened and the driver behind me hadnt paid attention I would have been hit! I dont want to think about having to cross a street where the oncoming car had right of way and my car didnt accelerate. On another note I have had my car unlock itself 3 times, when I know it was locked with the fob. The fob is not damaged in any way. Twice in same location weeks apart. It was locked, beeped the lights flashed. My keys were set down untouched after that, not in my pocket moving around but on the counter. First time I thought I must have forgotten; my car got ransacked. Second time I knew I locked it, itold myself maybe the cat stepped perfectly on the key fob, on just the unlock button that night. My car got ransacked again but to their surprise nothing was in the car as everything was stolen the first #@#& time! the third time I had a witness watch me lock the car with the fob and I even checked all the handles-locked. We left the restaurant, again unlocked. I cant leave anything in my car because I fear it may happen again. . I wonder if someones key fob is on the same frequency and strangers are unlocking it? im going to the dealership in a few days. Im afraid to drive and park my car.

While downshifting from 4th to 3rd and/or 5th to 4th to slow down without having my foot on the gas pedal (only on the clutch) my 2012 Mazda 3 itouring 6 speed mt accelerates very rapidly and jerks about. It happens for several seconds and then stops. It's almost every time I downshift. I brought it to the attention of the Mazda dealer on the first service appointment at 5000 miles in April 2013. However, the service advisor informed me that mechanic checked the problem and found no issues with the car that would be causing this problem.

My 2012 Mazda 3 skyactiv hatchback with the 6 speed manual transmission is exhibiting unintended acceleration. After downshifting into 2nd or 3rd gear, or after coasting in one of those gears with the clutch disengaged, the engine revs and the car "surges" forward upon re-engagement of the clutch. When this occurs, the accelerator pedal is only being slightly pushed, but the car acts as if it has been pushed almost to the floor. Depending on the position of the clutch pedal when this occurs, the engine will either rev to 3000 to 4000 rpm, or the car will accelerate forward until either the brake or clutch pedal is pressed. This issue was presented to the service department and I told them that you have to drive in those conditions in order to re-create the problem. I also told them that I"ve been driving manuals for the last 28 years and don't think its a driver issue, especially since there are multiple complaints of this same issue on this site and other Mazda forums. This needs to be taken seriously by Mazda!!!!!!!!!!.

When downshifting (manual transmission) from 3rd to 2nd as I was slowing down because of a red light, the engine rpm went way up, maybe around 4,000 rpm. I pressed the clutch to avoid the car jerking forward and hitting the car in front of me. This was the third time this actually happened. I bought the car new and have only owned it 5 months.

I was driving home on a busy highway but luckily crossing at an intersection with lights. I turned left and it was as if my car went in neutral. I hit the gas and I didn't go anywhere. I had to glide to the side of the road as cars were beeping at me. I noticed that the stability control light came on. I regularly turn left at other sections of this highway where there are no lights and you just have to go when you can make it through quick. What if this happened then? I would have been hit my multiple cars going very fast. The dealership said the computer needed to be reset and it should be fine. "should be fine"! I have a family and bought a new car so we are safe then this happens and I hear "should be fine".

I was driving on the freeway when suddenly the traction control indicator lit up on my dashboard. When I exited the freeway and attempted to make a left turn, my car suddenly lost power. It was as if my car was in neutral. I looked at the gear shift to ensure it was still in drive, and it was. Somehow I made it through the turn and into a nearby parking lot. I turned the car off, waited a few minutes, and then was able to leave. It was scary and upsetting as my car is only 4 months old. The dealer said they won't be able to determine what happened since the indicator is no longer illuminated. I asked if there was any way at all to do a diagnostic test and they said no. I am having a hard time believing this. I'm just glad I wasn't rear ended with my grand baby in the back seat.

Cruise control: pedal does not stay where it is set - it returns to a 0 mph position. This makes it uncomfortable to keep your foot resting on the proper pedal while in cruise, leading to losing of 'place'. It could be a safety issue. Acceleration anomalies. When stepping on it (going straight) engine will hesitate, seem to wind up and then go, not giving you the power you need when you need it, but seconds after the fact. Other times engine will accelerate unexpectedly with more power than anticipated most frequently when accelerating into a turn. Seems unsafe.

When the car decelerates (braking or down-shifting) the headlights flash. When I take the car back to Mazda service, they tell me that this is a known issue that is effecting many of the new skyactiv engines. They say that there is something wrong with the electronic control unit that is making the lights flash. They state that Mazda engineers have not given them a fix for it yet, so they can't fix it. I believe this is a real saftey hazard. People on the highway think I am flashing my lights at them. I bought a second car (same model and year) at the same time and it doesn't have this problem. When I tell this to Mazda, they act surprised and state that I must have got lucky because most of the cars have these flashing lights. They seem to just want me to live with it. You need to investigate this since they are saying it is a common issue. I think these cars need a recall.

Approximately two or three times a week when downshifting out of a right or left hand curve or turn, my 2012 manual transmission Mazda 3 hatchback will accelerate on its own. This is characterized by a varying increase of rpms: 2100 rpms to 4500 rpms, depending on the incident, and a sudden lurching or surging forward of the vehicle itself. When approaching curves or turns, at 30 or 40 mph, that do not have to be taken at a complete stop, I engage the clutch, apply the brakes, and slow the vehicle to 15-20 mph. Upon coming out of the turn I shift the vehicle into second gear. When I slowly release the clutch, without depressing the gas pedal at all, the car's engine will rev, rpms will surge to as high as 4000 - 4500, and the car will lurch forward until the clutch is once again depressed. These incidents are random and are not dependent on speed, weather conditions, or location. These incidents have only been duplicated with a minimal increase of rpms and no lurching forward when a mechanic is present. These incidents can not be duplicated for the dealership at their fullest and most dangerous.

The car sometimes surges during downshifting. I will be driving in moderate traffic in third gear. The traffic slows, and I let in the clutch and apply the brake. When the traffic starts to pick up again, I am going too slow for third, so I shift into second and let the clutch out. My right foot is just resting lightly on the gas pedal. The car has not been idling fast, but as soon as the clutch is engaged, the engine suddenly roars and the car leaps forward, even though I have not pressed the gas at all. I let in the clutch again to avoid an accident. When I let it out again, it works normally. This happens once, twice, or not at all in a 40-mile round trip out of town and back. It also happens frequently when I make a left turn without stopping, but where I need to slow and downshift. I coast into the turn with the clutch pedal in, shift down, and attempt to let the clutch out when coming out of the turn. I would expect the car to slow when I shift down unless I am pressing the accelerator, but something other than me is giving it gas. It is impossible to predict when this will happen, and it never happens twice in a row. I have made it happen on purpose, but I think that was pure luck. It happens when downshifting into any gear, but because of the heavy traffic in our area, it ends up usually being third to second. It has happened to me when downshifting into third or fourth also.