The 2018 Mazda Mx-5 has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 213,078 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 5 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS24V6950002024-09-1877,670 affected
Defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016-2023 MX-5 Miata vehicles. A software error in the air bag control module may cause the front air bags to deploy with excessive force during a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard…
Consequence
An air bag that deploys with excessive force can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will update the Sophisticated Air Bag Sensor (SAS) control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 7, 2024. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 6924I.
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018 Mazda3, Mazda6, 2019 CX-3, 2018-2019 MX-5, CX-5, CX-9, and 2019-2020 Mazda2 vehicles. The impeller inside the low-pressure fuel pump may crack and deform, potentially causing the fuel pump to fail.
Consequence
Fuel pump failure may cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the fuel pumps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 18, 2022. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 5321K.
POWER TRAIN19V0720002019-02-0114,370 affected
Defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2016-2019 MX-5 (Miata) vehicles with automatic transmissions. Due to incorrect programming of the Transmission Control Module (TCM), certain conditions may cause the vehicle to unexpectedly downshift and abruptly decelerate.
Consequence
If the vehicle abruptly downshifts, the driver may lose control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the TCM with corrected software, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3019A.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
ENGINE
1
POWER TRAIN
1
STRUCTURE:BODY
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
Total complaints5
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“2018 mazda miata mx-5 club sport, manual transmission heading home from a friends house that evening, transmission started whirring/whining in 6th gear, then 5th, and so on through 2nd - 1st gear seems to be unaffected. I was forced to apply hazard flashers and travel well below the speed limit in…”
“I've owned my 2018 mazda mx-5 for about two years. The problems slow started arising. At first I hadn't noticed, but when going in and out of 'drive' the vehicle felt like it was either going to stall or accelerate. I had initially thought was because it's a 'sports car.' in august of 2020 the…”
“I've owned my 2018 mazda mx-5 for about two years. The problems slow started arising. At first I hadn't noticed, but when going in and out of 'drive' the vehicle felt like it was either going to stall or accelerate. I had initially thought was because it's a 'sports car.' in august of 2020 the…”
“I've owned my 2018 mazda mx-5 for about two years. The problems slow started arising. At first I hadn't noticed, but when going in and out of 'drive' the vehicle felt like it was either going to stall or accelerate. I had initially thought was because it's a 'sports car.' in august of 2020 the…”
“Started from creak noise as car start to move, accelerate or stop. Now it developed to some ticking noise every time car accelerate or decelerate. The car is only at about 9700 mi went to spreen mazda loma linda ca to inspect the car. They said it is normal and come back when it gets worse”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Mazda Mx-5 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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