Mazda MX-5 Miata Years to Avoid and Common Problems

Which Mazda MX-5 Miata years should you avoid?

Going by 339 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Mazda MX-5 Miata years to avoid are 1999.

199974 complaints, 2.6× a typical MX-5 Miata year, most often about the brakes.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Year	Complaints	Fires	Crashes	Most reported	Status
2005	4	—	—	Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine	Routine
2004	8	—	—	Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine	Routine
2003	14	3	1	Steering	Routine
2002	20	1	2	Electrical System	Routine
2001	22	—	3	Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Fuel Pump	Routine
2000	29	2	2	Electrical System	Routine
1999Avoid	74	—	10	Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc	Routine
1998	1	—	—	Air Bags › Frontal	Routine
1997	11	1	1	Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly	Routine
1996	29	—	1	Air Bags	Routine
1995	30	2	9	Air Bags › Frontal	Routine
1994	18	—	1	Air Bags	Routine
1993	8	—	2	Air Bags › Frontal	Routine
1992	22	—	3	Air Bags	Routine
1991	21	—	2	Air Bags	Routine
1990	28	1	4	Seat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly	Routine

Year

Complaints

Relative volume

Recalls

Fires

Crashes

Most reported

Status

2005

—

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine

Routine