TOOK POSSESSION OF NEW CAR 3/31/2001. DROVE IT THAT NIGHT AND SUCCEEDING NIGHTS ON THE TWO LANE ROAD AROUND THE AREA WHERE I LIVE. I ENCOUNTERED NUMEROUS INCIDENTS WHERE THE ONCOMING AUTO WOULD FLASH THEIR BRIGHT LIGHTS AT ME, BUT MY LIGHTS WERE ALREADY IN THE DIM MODE. I CAME TO FIND OUT THAT THERE IS NO WAY TO ADJUST THE HEADLIGHT BEAM LOWER. I CONTACTED MAZDA USA THREE TIMES WITH NO RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM. I TOOK THE CAT TO THE DEALER WHERE I TOLD THEM THAT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. THE LIGHT BEAM IS SET AT THE FACTORY. ON A SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO CARLSBAD, NM WE DECIDED TO TAKE A COUNT OF THE NUMBER OF ONCOMING CARS PASSING US, AND THE NUMBER OF TIMES THEY FLASHED THEIR BRIGHT AT US (OUR LIGHTS WERE ON DIM). WE MET A TOTAL OF 1,232 VEHICLE. OF THOSE, 471 FLASHED THEIR HIGH BEAMS AT US; THAT'S 38&. I KEEP BEING TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT MY LIGHTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BRIGHT. I AGREE, BUT THE SHOULD NOT BLIND THE DRIVER IN THE ONCOMING VEHICLE. I HAVE TO APPLY TAPE OVER THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT TO "FIX" THE PROBLEM AND NOW I GET ZERO BRIGHT BEAM FLASHES FROM ONCOMING CARS. OTHER AUTO MANUFACTURERS OFFER THE SAME TYPE OF LIGHTING FOR THEIR PRODUCE, BUT THEY ALSO INSTALL A DIAL THAT IS USED TO ADJUST THE LIGHT BEAMS UP AND DOWN. THIS CAR DOES NOT HAVE SUCH A DEVICE. AFFIXING AN UGLY PIECE OF TAPE TO MY CAT IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED WHEN I PAID $ 34,000 FOR THIS AUTOMOBILE , AND I CANNOT GET ANYONE WHO IS WILLING TO HELP ME FIND A REASONABLE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM AND HONOR THE 3-
2011 Mazda MX-5
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the exterior lighting. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsExterior Lighting
Filed Jul 12, 20117 milesAZ
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2016| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2024 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2020 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2019 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2017 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2016 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2011 — this page | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2008 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2007 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2006 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
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.