2016 Mazda Mazda6 Complaints

POWER TRAIN — Filed 03/15/2025

The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a burning odor was noticed inside the vehicle. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the clutch disc kit had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 125,166.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 04/18/2026

The front CV axles on my car have failed. It begun with a clicking noise and vibration when accelerating. I took the car to the Mazda dealership, and they confirmed the sounds but said they weren't able to diagnose the issue and that I would have to leave my car for them to figure it out. This places my daughter and my life at risk, as well as other passengers, due to the critical role the CV axles play in operating a vehicle. More specifically, the ability to properly control my steering movement while transporting my daughter to and from school is necessary and if not present, very dangerous. An independent service mechanic has confirmed this issue and indicated that this issue has been seen in many Ford and Mazda's recently. However, there is no recall. There were no warning lights or messages prior to the problem occurring. Again, when Mazda recently services my vehicle, they conducted a full-circle vehicle inspection and did not produce any concerns.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE — Filed 04/14/2026

The vehicle exhibits dangerous electronic malfunctions. A licensed technician (MV-113255) has confirmed a sporadic unintended acceleration defect where the cruise control 'decrease' button causes the vehicle to increase speed. Additionally, the vehicle repeatedly enters 'Limp Mode' in active traffic, causing a violent jerk and a total loss of acceleration while displaying a 'Smart City Brake Support' (SCBS) failure on the dashboard. An independent inspection also documented gross mechanical neglect, including loose battery terminals and a loose transmission bellhousing bolt, which may contribute to these intermittent electrical/safety failures.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS — Filed 10/12/2025

The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that after her husband had driven for approximately 2 hours with the seat heater activated, the passenger’s side seat overheated, and the seat started smoking. The driver stated that the seat heating element overheated and burned a hole in the seat, damaging the air bag located near the seat heater sensor. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,500.

AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SEATS — Filed 04/30/2025

My seat doesn’t detect if passanger is in seat so my air bag engine light goes on and off it was recalled and mazda supposedly cleared the issue but seems like they didnt fix it the recall properly

SEATS — Filed 01/03/2023

1) UNKNOWN. My guess: The front seats or guard rails. 2) Very seat when braking, and coming to and from a stop. Poses as a safety risk. 3) Yes, no remedy/solution was yielded. Others on forums who visited dealership stated that the dealership said it was “normal”. Despite the other side not having the issue at all. 4) No 5) No Full assessment: The issue of this complaint lies within the front seat of the vehicle. My educated guess is that there is a defect within the seat rails of the vehicle as no remedy seems to be found upon extensive research on google and various forums. Specifically, in my vehicle and may others that I have found, have issues with the driver seat feeling loose when braking or hitting the gas from a stop. Many individuals (including my close friend) have raised this to dealerships and were told that this is “normal” despite the passenger seat (or vice versa) does not have the same issue whatsoever with no remedy. I personally have tightened all possible nuts and bolts for the seat AND brought it to multiple shops and dealerships, which yielded no remedy as all bolts were in fact tightened. I strongly believe that this issue should be further investigated and mitigated as it poses as a risk of serious injury - whether involved in an accident or the seat coming loose, or off entirely. The best way to describe the amount of play is sitting on a chair that is placed on an uneven floor, with one corner rocking toward itself. Or a table that is placed on an unleveled floor and is rocking towards one end (which that remedy consists of folding an napkin enough times to stick it under one of the legs). Please note that I have had this car for a couple of years and this one thing that grinds my gears.. aside from the plastic rattle of the driver side window switch module when listening to music.

POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 06/01/2021

PCM ISSUE, passenger air bag issue, OCS wiring issue. infotainment system, transmission, and engine. Key fobs not able to be reprogrammed due to PCM issue

SEATS — Filed 11/01/2018

Driver seat is unstable and has been since I purchased the vehicle. I never got it looked at because I can't afford repairs. There was a recall for the passenger seat and I believe it would be for the driver seat as well given the driver seat stability is crucial. It rocks as if it isn't fully secure. You notice it sometimes when getting in and out the car and I became noticable when my dog decided to jump into my seat one day when cleaning my interior and I saw the seat heavily rock forward and backward. You sometimes notice it as well when coming to a stop from highway speeds the seat will slightly tilt forward. This issue has been with the car after i purchased it in 2018 but didn't notice it until a few months after the purchase.

SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN — Filed 09/24/2024

The contact owns a 2016 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V451000 (Suspension). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

AIR BAGS — Filed 02/26/2025

My passenger air bag doesn’t turn on when passenger is in vehicle, sensor for air bag turns on and off as if it can’t determine if a person is on the seat. My dashboard has the SRS OCS light on. My vehicle has already been seen by Mazda to fix the recall but I am afraid to drive and suddenly air bags go off.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 12/08/2024

Fuel smell in & outside of vehicle after fuel fill, being a retired Master Technician I decided to investigate this and after removing the the fuel tank access door under the rear seat I was shocked to see that on an 8 year old vehicle the fuel sender retainer is completely rusted out. An overfill, an aggressive maneuver or small collision could prove disastrous with this condition pending! I have just ordered a replacement since I intend to repair this myself and that is only of the tank itself is not compromised when I proceed to remove the rusted out screws as well. Also after further investigation I find this is nothing new to Mazda and actually had this same condition in previous years but I assume chose not to prevent it from happening in future models. I will be attaching a photo of it.

TIRES — Filed 11/23/2024

I bought the Bridgestone tires in Sept 2023 from Walmart. On Nov 23, 2024, I went to Walmart auto center to have 4 Bridgestone tires rotated and balanced. The tech discovered severe bead separation in 3 of 4 tires. I had to buy 4 new tires. I have pictures of the tires with bead separation on the wheel rims and also off the rims.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 06/12/2024

Moonroof explosion Moonroof had spontaneous explosion while driving on highway. No objects were seen flying towards front of car prior to explosion. Driver and 1 passenger in front seat. Sun shade partially open resulting in glass coming into the car. No accident or injury occurred. Moonroof closed at time of explosion.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 05/22/2024

When driving, after a period of 10 - 20 minutes usually, of the adaptive cruise being on (not necessarily in use), the buttons on the steering wheel will re-map. That is, the + button for adjusting the cruise speed up by 1 mph increments will switch with the - button that adjusts the cruise speed down by 1 mph increments. This happens reliably... if I've driven the car with adaptive cruise on for more that 10 - 20 minutes, the buttons will re-map. + slows the car down or doesn't work at all (does nothing). - speeds the car up. Also, rarely, the cancel button will speed the car up. Often the cancel button will not work and the only way to disengage the adaptive cruise is to tap on the brake pedal. Less frequently--maybe about 1/3 - 1/2 of the time, the "off" button, which turns the adaptive cruise off entirely, will not work. Note, that this is not the "engage" or "enable" button. These are the buttons that just turn on and off the adaptive cruise and show that it is now ready to be set if on. I discussed this with the dealer. I believe it is a software problem, they cannot find a software problem as they patched the software in the car up to the latest version. They want to replace the steering wheel where the switches are. This is a $750 repair. (I'm not sure if it's the whole steering wheel or the switch cluster on the wheel.) I cannot afford it and I'm not convinced it will work. I believe they are just guessing at a solution. Nothing to my knowledge has ever spilled on the steering wheel to potentially damage the switchgear. Also, this, to me, does not explain how it always works correctly for the first 10 - 20 minutes of driving, then fails reliably after that. This problem has existed for over two years. Since the car has had about 100,000 miles on it.

ENGINE — Filed 11/30/2023

There is a bearing in the crankshaft that looks like it’s not up to spec. No warning lights came on, car suddenly lost power on the highway. Fortunately no one was injured though it was a very scary situation. Mechanic took a look inside the engine and said a main bearing stud broke off and busted a hole through the short block. He said I’m lucky the engine didn’t turn into a grenade. Upon looking up the failure many other people have had the same issue with this engine. The exact same failure on the exact same bolt. Here are some links to some posts: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] Clearly I’m not the only one with this issue, and there are more examples of the same problem that you can find online through out different Mazda models that use the same engine. I can definitely have the vehicle inspected if needed, my mechanic took video of the damage as well. I could only imagine if this happened while there was more traffic on the road, it’s not safe. And the fact I can find more examples means there are probably more that never posted or reported the issue. the vehicle has less than 100k miles which a lot of the examples have the same issue at less than 100k INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

STEERING — Filed 06/25/2023

I was on freeway when some warning start showing on dashboard ( enging, track control system, battery) then my steering wheel was hard that I couldn’t manubrio i hit a curb that was on the entrance and my car start spinning in circles till i hit the hill on side road.

STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 11/13/2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 MAZDA M6. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 20 MPH IN THE SNOW, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWERS AS THE STEERING FAILED. THE VEHICLE SLIDE AND REAR-END THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR AIR BAG WAS THE ONLY AIR BAG THAT DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESTART AFTER THE INCIDENT. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE PARKING BRAKE WAS ENGAGED AND FAILED TO DISENGAGE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A LOWER BACK AND NECK INJURIES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOW YARD WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS DEEMED A TOTAL LOSS HOWEVER, THE CONTACT HAS RETAINED THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT CALLED CONTINENTAL (4800 OLD SEWARD HIGHWAY, ANCHORAGE, AK 99503) AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CALLED BUT NO ONE ANSWERED THE PHONE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 54,900.

STEERING,AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL — Filed 12/12/2019

WAS IN AN ACCIDENT WHICH RESULTED IN A LOCKUP OF VEHICLE AND SIDE COLLISION WITH BATTERY FAILURE

AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 12/04/2019

DRIVING ALONG A HIGHWAY (LEFT SIDE OF ROAD) I CRASHED INTO LARGE BOULDERS OF CONCRETE SCATTERED ALONG THE ROAD THAT WAS CAUSED BY A PREVIOUS ACCIDENT. TRAVELING AT 60 MPH MY VEHICLE LAUNCHED OFF THE GROUND SLAMMING BACK DOWN ON ALL FOUR TIRES. MY VEHICLE THEN SPUN OUT OF CONTROL CRASHING TO THE SIDE GUARD RAIL IMPACTING THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE 2X'S (RIGHT SIDE OF ROAD) RESULTING IN DISABLING DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE. TO MY SURPRISE THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY (PARTICULARLY MY SIDE AIRBAGS). LATER I LEARNED THAT MAZDA (MANUFACTURE) REPORTED A RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE RELATING TO A POTENTIAL MALFUNCTION OF SIDE AIRBAGS. UPON MY DISCOVERY I LEARNED THAT MAZDA HAD LEARNED OF THE DEFECT AROUND AUGUST 2019, BUT HAD NOT ISSUED A RECALL NOTICE ON THEIR WEBSITE UNTIL JANUARY 1ST 2020. MY ACCIDENT TOOK PLACE DEC 4TH 2019, AND I SHOULD ALSO ADD THAT AS OF YET MAZDA STILL HAS NOT MADE ANY DIRECT ATTEMPTS (EMAIL, MAIL, PHONE) TO NOTIFY ME OF THE POTENTIAL HAZARD. HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR MY OWN INQUIRIES I STILL MAY HAVE NOT KNOWN THAT THERE WAS A SAFETY ISSUE WITHIN MY VEHICLE ESPECIALLY WHEN I NEEDED IT THE MOST. I DON'T WANT TO COME OFF AS BEING DRAMATIC BUT THAT ACCIDENT I WAS INVOLVED IN COULD OF COST MY WIFE AND I OUR LIVES. FOR THAT REASON I AM SEEKING TO RETRIEVE THE EVENT DATA RECORDS (EDR) OF MY VEHICLE SO THAT I MAY DETERMINE IF THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AS NOTED AS A POTENTIAL HAZARD OR IF THE IMPACT AND DAMAGES WHERE SIMPLY NOT SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE AIRBAGS TO DEPLOY. I ASKED MY INSURANCE COMPANY IF THEY COULD ASSIST ME IN GATHERING THAT DATA WHICH THEY FIRST CLAIMED TO BE POSSIBLE, BUT SHORTLY AFTER I WAS INFORMED THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE THE SOPHISTICATION TO DO SO, HENCE FORWARDING ME TO THIS WEBSITE. PLEASE ADVISE ON HOW I MAY RETRIEVE THAT INFORMATION, ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU.

SEATS — Filed 05/03/2019

"DRIVER SEAT ALIGNMENT" AFTER DRIVING FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME DRIVERS LEFT LEGS BEGINS TO FEEL DISCOMFORT OR STRESS TO THE OUTSIDE OF LEFT KNEE DUE TO SEAT BEING ANGLED LEFT. PRESSURE FROM LEFT FOOTREST AND WHEEL WALL FORCES DRIVER TO RETRACT LEG AND PLANT INTO FLOOR CLOSER TO THE SEAT. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH EVERY TIME I HAVE DRIVEN ALSO IT WAS CONFIRM BY A MAZDA SALES ASSOCIATE.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) — Filed 02/07/2019

VARIOUS SOFTWARE CONTROL FEATURES TRANSIENTLY STOP WORKING. THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM HAS FAILED TO COME ON SEVERAL TIMES. THE KEY FOB STOPS WORKING AND THEN WORKS AGAIN.THE PROBLEMS ARE ALWAYS TRANSIENT AND THEN START WORKING AGAIN. THE WORST THING THAT HAPPENED WAS THE FRONT SENSOR FAILED TO WORK AND A SMALL POLE WAS HIT AND DID DAMAGE TO THE FRONT FENDER.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 08/03/2018

CAR ACCELERATED UNASSISTED AND THE BRAKES DID NOT STOP IT . MOUNTED A CONCRETE DIVIDER AND SLAMMED INTO ANOTHER CAR. VEHICLE WAS GOING ABOUT 5MPH PULLING OUT OF PARKING SPACE AND TURNING ONTO EXIT DRIVEWAY.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 12/21/2017

TWICE NOW THE ELECTRONIC EMERGENCY BREAK SEEMS TO HAVE DISENGAGED RANDOMLY MINUTES AFTER I WALKED AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE

STRUCTURE,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 11/14/2015

I HAVE A 2016 MAZDA 6 GT WITH STOCK 19" DUNLOP TIRES. I BOUGHT THE CAR WITH AROUND 80 MILES & AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT WAS AROUND 6800 MILES. I WAS TRAVELING TO WORK GOING AROUND 72 MPH & THE LEFT REAR TIRE BLEWOUT CAUSING AN ACCIDENT ON THE INTERSTATE. TIRES SHOULD NOT BLOWOUT THAT QUICKLY WITH PROPER CARE OF THE VEHICLE. THE TIRE TREAD WORE TOO FAST.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL — Filed 10/21/2015

I WAS ABOUT TO PARK THE CAR IN A PARKING SPOT IN A MALL. IT WAS CRAWLING SPEED AND ALMOST ABOUT TO STOP. THEN THE CAR SUDDENLY SURGED FORWARD AND WENT OVER THE CURB ON TO THE OTHER SIDE. THANKFULLY THERE WAS NO OTHER VEHICLE OR PERSON ON THE OTHER SIDE. I WAS HOLDING TIGHT THE STEERING WHEEL. MY HUSBAND PULLED THE ELECTRONIC PARKING BREAK BUTTON AND THE CAR FINALLY CAME TO A STOP. TIRES WERE BURST ON RUNNING OVER AND THERE WAS DAMAGE TO FRONT LEFT SIDE OF CAR. I BELIEVE THIS COULD BE AN ISSUE OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION.