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2012 Mazda Mazda6: Complaints, Recalls & Known Issues

What the public record actually says about the 2012 Mazda Mazda6 — every figure below is a NHTSA or EPA number, not an opinion.

The read

Middle-of-the-pack complaint volume for sedan.

Owners filed 99 NHTSA complaints — more complaints than 51% of 2012 sedans. Air Bags leads the reports (30%). 6 safety recall campaigns on record — check the VIN and remedy terms with a dealer.

Based on NHTSA complaint volume against 2012 sedans, not adjusted for how many were sold. It describes the model year, not the individual car you are looking at.

Complaints filed

99

Reports to NHTSA, 2012

Safety recalls

6

NHTSA campaigns on record

NHTSA crash test

Overall NCAP rating

Combined MPG

No data

EPA estimate

Complaint volume vs. segment peers

More complaints than 51% of 2012 sedans

The bar is this car's percentile among 2012 sedans by complaint volume — a full bar means the fewest complaints in its class. Not adjusted for sales.

Known issues

Air Bags issues lead owner complaints (30% of 99 reports), followed by exterior lighting (21%).

Air Bags30% · 30 reports
Exterior Lighting21% · 21 reports
Electrical System11% · 11 reports
Unknown Or Other11% · 11 reports
Suspension7% · 7 reports
Structure6% · 6 reports
Steering4% · 4 reports
Fuel/Propulsion System2% · 2 reports

+ 7 more component categories with fewer reports.

Share of all 99 NHTSA complaints for this model year, grouped by the component owners named. Bars are scaled to the largest category. Examples: ODI 11157345, ODI 11120095, ODI 11090226, ODI 11089542, ODI 11563908.

Recalls(6)

Open a recall to read what NHTSA says is wrong, what can happen, and how it gets fixed. Check the VIN and remedy eligibility with a dealer; federal no-charge requirements have an age limit, though a manufacturer may offer more coverage.

Air BagsDec 2018 · 18V717000Details +

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Mazda CX-9 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, unless covered in "Zone A," Mazda is recalling certain 2011-2013 Mazda6, 2011-2012 CX-7, and 2011-2015 CX-9 sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless covered in Zone A or Zone B, Mazda is recalling certain 2010-2013 Mazda6, 2010-2012 CX-7, and 2010-2015 CX-9 vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2018. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F.

Fuel SystemNov 2014 · 14V114000Details +

Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Mazda6 vehicles manufactured September 14, 2009, through May 2, 2011, and equipped with 2.5L engine. In the affected vehicles, spiders may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent hose, blocking it and causing the fuel tank to have an excessive amount of negative pressure.

Risk: Negative pressure could cause the fuel tank to crack resulting in a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the powertrain control module and inspect and clean the canister vent line. If a web was found in the line, the fuel tank and check valve on canister vent line will be replaced. These repairs will be done free of charge. The recall began on April 30, 2014. Owners may contact Mazda at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's recall number associated with this campaign is 7214C.

Latches/Locks/Linkages · 13V425000Details +

Mazda is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Mazda6 vehicles manufactured February 4, 2008, through August 24, 2012. The door latch mounting screws may become loose.

Risk: If all three door latch mounting screws become excessively loose the door latch mechanism would not engage and the door might open while the vehicle is in motion increasing the risk of accident or injury.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will apply a thread locking adhesive to the door screws and retorque them, free of charge. The recall began on October 29, 2013. Owners may contact Mazda at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's recall number is 7013I.

Air Bags · 17V457000Details +

Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2012 CX-7, CX-9 and Mazda6 vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Mazda is recalling certain 2009 CX-7, CX-9 and Mazda6 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Mazda is recalling certain 2007-2008 CX-7 and CX-9 sold, or ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began October 4, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F. Note: This recall supersedes recall 17V-012.

Structure · 19V323000Details +

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2011-2013 Mazda6 vehicles sold, or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The front cross member may corrode after exposure to road salt.

Risk: Corrosion may weaken the mounting point for the passenger side lower control arm, unexpectedly changing the steering alignment and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the cross member and either install a side member and drain hose and apply wax to protect from rust, or install a drain hose and an improved front cross member, free of charge. The recall began June 13, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2818I. Note: This recall is an expansion of Recall 18V-631.

Air Bags · 19V782000Details +

Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2007-2012 CX-7, CX-9, and 2009-2012 Maza6 vehicles. These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. The recall began December 3, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 16V356 and 17V012.

A campaign can apply to this model year without being incomplete on a specific vehicle. Check the VIN with NHTSA or a dealer to confirm whether a particular car needs repair.

Investigations

0 NHTSA investigations on record

No investigations are on record as of Jul 2026. An empty record is not a clean bill of health.

Crash-test ratings

2012 Mazda Mazda6 4 DR FWD NHTSA source

Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover

Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

Fuel economy by trim

No EPA fuel-economy record is available for this model year. Some trims and older vehicles were not tested or are not in the current EPA feed.

Before you buy

Useful next checks

Federal records tell you about patterns. These checks can tell you more about the specific car in front of you.

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Compare model years

"Fewest reports" and "most complained" describe raw NHTSA complaint totals, not vehicle reliability. The last few model years are left unlabelled because they have had less road time.

2012 Mazda Mazda6: frequently asked

What does the complaint record show for the 2012 Mazda Mazda6?

Owners filed 99 NHTSA complaints about the 2012 Mazda Mazda6 — more complaints than 51% of comparable 2012 sedans, so it sits toward the weaker end of its class. That's a signal, not a guarantee about any single car.

What are the most common problems on the 2012 Mazda Mazda6?

The most-reported problem areas are Air Bags (30% of complaints) and exterior lighting (21%).

How many recalls does the 2012 Mazda Mazda6 have?

6 recalls have been issued that affect the 2012 Mazda Mazda6, covering components such as air bags. Check the VIN with NHTSA and ask a dealer to confirm remedy eligibility; federal no-charge requirements have an age limit, though manufacturers may offer more coverage.

What gas mileage does the 2012 Mazda Mazda6 get?

EPA fuel-economy figures for the 2012 Mazda Mazda6 aren't available yet.