2004 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Routine

Owners filed 8 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine and engine cooling › engine. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine2
000
Wheels1
000
Structure › Body1
000
Seat Belts › Front1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Fuel Pump1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Structure › Body
Filed Jun 11, 2017142,000 milesMI

THE FORWARD FRAME RAILS ARE SEVERELY RUSTED, COMPROMISING THE FUNCTION OF THE BUMPERS GREATLY INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD OF INJURY IN THE EVENT OF A FRONT COLLISION. CORROSION IS NOT READILY APPARENT, SUGGESTING THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE THAT THEIR VEHICLE'S SAFETY HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 6, 200820,000 milesTX

THE CAR HAS A INTERMITTENT PROBLEM RUNNING, IT HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. LAST TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS ALMOST RUN OVER BY A 18 WHEELER. I HAVE MENTIONED IT TO THE DEALER AND NO RECALL EXISTS THIS PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD ON THIS MODEL AS NOTED BY MEMBERS OF MIAT ACAR CLUBS. BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER WILL NOT OWN UP TO THE PROBLEM EXTENSIVE TESTING HAS BEEN DONE BY OUR CAR FORUM. REPLACING THE MAP SENSOR CURES THE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 90 DAYS BUT AT 100 DOLLARS A POP IT IS A LITTLE EXPENSIVE. CARS THAT HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM HAVE BEEN MODIFIED TO RUN WITHOUT A MAP SENSOR AND THIS HAS CURED THE PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY THE CURE IS 2000 BUCKS. I HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM FOR 2 YEARS NOW AND WOULD LIKE SOME HELP FIXING IT. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Aug 1, 20084,200 milesIL

DRIVING MY 2004 MAZDASPEED MIATA ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE ENGINE SUDDENLY STALLS. THE PROBLEM WAS THE FUEL PUMP FAILURE. I BOUGHT MY CAR NEW AND IT HAS 4,400 MILES ON IT. I HAD THREE FUEL PUMP FAILURES SINCE 2004. I COMPLAINED TO THE MAZDA DEALER AS TO WHY THIS IS HAPPENING BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Jul 18, 200811,100 milesMA

CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I CAME TO A STOP AT A TOLL BOOTH. WHEN I WENT TO PULL AWAY THE CAR WOULD HARDLY ACCELERATE. ANY AMOUNT OF THROTTLE WOULD CAUSE THE CAR TO BOG OUT. SEEMS VERY LIKELY A CRASH COULD OCCUR IF THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED AT THE WRONG TIME. THIS IS SPECIFICALLY A PROBLEM WITH THE MAZDASPEED MODEL OF THE MX-5. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Aug 9, 20078,000 milesIL

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA MIATA. WHEN THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AFTER A STOP, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO MOVE. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE FOUR TIMES, HOWEVER, THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE DEALER REFUSED TO MAKE ANY REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 23,000.

Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Fuel Pump
Filed May 25, 20071,466 milesNC

I BOUGHT THE 04 MAZDASPEED MIATA NEW IN 2/05 AND HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT STARTING SINCE IT WAS NEW. MY LAST SERIES OF STARTING PROBLEMS WAS IN 2/07. MAZDA REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP IN 8/06 TO HOPEFULLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED IN 9/06. I STILL HAVE THE ISSUE WITH THE CAR.

Seat Belts › Front
Filed Aug 30, 2004700 milesVA

NORMAL DRIVING. SEAT BELT LOCKS. SEAT BELT WILL NOT UNLOCK.*AK

Wheels
Filed Jun 8, 2004286 milesMI

ON 4/24/2004 WHILE DRIVING SOUTHBOUND ON MIDDLEBELT ROAD IN LIVONIA, MI I HEARD A LOUD "POP" AND SHORTLY AFTER EXPIRIENCED A FLAT TIRE. THE TIRE HAD PICKED UP A BOLT AND THE FLAT WAS CAUSED BY THE BOLT PENATRATING THE WHEEL.*AK BOTH THE WHEEL AND THE TIRE WERE REPLACED. THE TIRE WAS SENT TO THE MANAFACTURE AND I HAVE POSSESSION OF THE WHEEL. THE AUTOMOBILE WAS LESS THAN ONE WEEK OLD.

8 of 8 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1999
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20054000Routine
2004 — this page8000Routine
200314030Routine
200220010Routine
200122000Routine
200029020Routine
199974000Routine
19981000Routine
199711010Routine
199629000Routine
199530020Routine
199418000Routine
19938000Routine
199222000Routine
199121000Routine
199028010Routine

Compare every MX-5 Miata year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.