2008 Mazda MAZDASPEED3

No clear pattern

19.5% of complaints about the 2008 Mazda MAZDASPEED3 arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2008 vehicle, but with only 41 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is power train (23 complaints), typically at 5.7 yr or about 49,600 miles.

Complaints: 41
Median age at failure: 5.3 yr
Median mileage: 43,250 n=36
Crash / fire / tow: 9.8% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

11V329000 2011-06-15

Visibility:windshield wiper/washer:motor

MAZDA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2009 MAZDA3 AND MAZDASPEED3 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 7, 2008, THROUGH NOVEMBER 28, 2008. THE GROUND TERMINAL OF THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR MAY HAVE BEEN INADVERTENTLY BENT DURING ASSEMBLY. IF THIS CONDITION EXISTS THEN OVER TIME THE ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE OF THE MOTOR CIRCUIT MAY INCREASE UP TO A POINT THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD NOT WORK.

THE LOSS OF WIPER FUNCTION IN ADVERSE WEATHER COULD POTENTIALLY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Power train 30,000 mi 2.8 yr in service

MY COMPLAINT IS REGARDING MY 2008 MAZDASPEED3 WHICH HAS SMOKED FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW WHENEVER THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED AT RED LIGHTS. THIS IS CONSISTENT AND MAKES BREATHING DIFFICULT WHILE WAITING AT STOP LIGHTS SINCE THE SMOKE GETS INTO THE CABIN DURING MOST BRIEF STOPS. THE ISSUE IS DOCUMENTED UNDER MAZDA TSB 0100410 JAN 10. THE ISSUE SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE FACTORY WARRANTY; HOWEVER IT HAS NOT BEEN FIXED SINCE THE DEALER CLAIMS THEY ARE UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE SINCE IT WAS SMOKING AT THE DEALERSHIP AS I DROVE AWAY FROM THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. *TR

Power train mileage not reported 11 mo in service

2008 MAZDA 3. CONSUMER STATES PERSISTENT CLUNKING NOISE FROM THE SUSPENSION AND TWO OF ENGINE MOUNTS ARE COMING LOOSE *TGW THE DEALER DETERMINED THE NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE REAR SHOCKS AND REPLACED THEM. THE NOISE, HOWEVER PERSISTED. THE CONSUMER DECIDED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP AND THEY DETERMINED THAT BOTH FRONT AXLES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THERE WAS A CRACK IN THE CV BOOT. THE CONSUMER THEN WENT BACK TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THEM INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER DETERMINED THE STRUTS MOUNTS, REAR SWAY BAR LINKS, BUSHINGS AND CLAMS ALL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *JB

Power train 49,600 mi 5.1 yr in service

I GOT INTO MY CAR AND WENT TO PUT IT INTO REVERSE AND IT STUCK ALITTLE. USUALLY, I CAN MOVE IT SLIGHTLY AND IT WILL GO INTO GEAR BUT THIS TIME IT JUST SNAPPED AND FELL OVER INTO MY LAP. *TR

Other MAZDASPEED3 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2008 Mazda MAZDASPEED3

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other MAZDASPEED3 model years

How to read this