What breaks most · 1990 to 1997 model years
Mazda MX-6 problems by year
Owners have filed 181 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Mazda MX-6 across model years 1990 to 1997. Three years stand out: 1993 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 1994 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 1995 for air bags complaints. The quietest years are 1992, 1991 and 1990.
- Years to check closely: 1993, 1994, 1995
- Fewest complaints: 1992, 1991, 1990
- Complaints on file
- 1811990 to 1997, all trims
- Worst year
- 199354 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 223 fires · 26 injuries · 1 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 108kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 19Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | 1 | Seat belts (8) | |
| 13 | 1 | 1 | Seat belts (5) | |
| 7 | 0 | 1 | Suspension (2) | |
| 54 | 5 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (11) | |
| 46 | 6 | 4 | Powertrain and transmission (13) | |
| 33 | 6 | 3 | Air bags (10) | |
| 12 | 3 | 3 | Air bags (7) | |
| 2 | 0 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (2) |
What fails on the 1993 Mazda MX-6
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 20% |
11 | 1 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1993 Mazda MX-6 |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 17% |
9 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1993 Mazda MX-6 |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 11% |
6 | 1 | Shop steering parts for the 1993 Mazda MX-6 |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 11% |
6 | 0 | Shop suspension parts for the 1993 Mazda MX-6 |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 9% |
5 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 7% |
4 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1993 Mazda MX-6 |
| Seat belts | 7% |
4 | 1 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Parking Brake | 6% |
3 | 0 | — |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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The disc brakes are defective. The front brakes are doing all the stopping and the car does not stop in a safe distance and caused an accident. Tt the front rotors were overheating causing the brake chatter and insufficient braking action. *yh
-
While driving transmission shifted into another gear ,causing vehicle to stall. Vehicle was towed to the dealership. Mechanic determined that there was a problem with transmission. Ak
-
Possible transmission failure causing vehicle to jump out of gear which resulted in vehicle running of the road. Later that day, vehicle started leaking oil & began to smoke. This failure could result in a fire. *yc
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Mazda MX-6 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1993, 1994, 1995 carry the most filings on the Mazda MX-6. The 1993 alone has 54 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Mazda MX-6 problem?
On the 1993 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 11 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Mazda MX-6 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Mazda MX-6 complaints that include mileage is about 108,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.