Mazda Miata owners have reported a total of 264 problems for their cars built in the 17 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the Mazda Miata. The 1999 Mazda Miata cars have the most problems reported (84 problems).
| Model Year | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| 2016 Miata | |
| 2014 Miata | |
| 2013 Miata | |
| 2010 Miata | |
| 2008 Miata | |
| 2007 Miata | |
| 2006 Miata | |
| 2005 Miata | |
| 2004 Miata | |
| 2003 Miata | |
| 2002 Miata | |
| 2001 Miata | |
| 2000 Miata | |
| 1999 Miata | |
| 1998 Miata | |
| 1997 Miata | |
| 1996 Miata |
The following chart shows the 23 most common problems for Mazda Miata cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's air bags (27 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's engine and engine cooling (26 problems).
It would not be fair to compare the Mazda Miata of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Miata model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.
PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,
where P = total problems reported during the life of a Mazda Miata model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).
The results are shown in Table 3.
Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the Mazda Miata is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.
| Model Year | Problems Reported |
|---|---|
| 2014 Miata | |
| 2013 Miata | |
| 2010 Miata | |
| 2008 Miata | |
| 2007 Miata | |
| 2004 Miata | |
| 2003 Miata | |
| 2001 Miata | |
| 2000 Miata | |
| 1999 Miata | |
| 1996 Miata |