What breaks most · 1990 to 1995 model years
Mazda RX-7 problems by year
Owners have filed 152 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Mazda RX-7 across model years 1990 to 1995. Three years stand out: 1993 for engine and cooling complaints, 1990 for seat belts complaints and 1991 for seat belts complaints.
- Years to check closely: 1993, 1990, 1991
- Complaints on file
- 1521990 to 1995, all trims
- Worst year
- 199382 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 529 fires · 4 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 93kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 13Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 0 | 2 | Seat belts (18) | |
| 22 | 0 | 1 | Seat belts (13) | |
| 82 | 4 | 4 | Engine and cooling (36) | |
| 18 | 1 | 4 | Engine and cooling (6) | |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | Engine and cooling (1) |
What fails on the 1993 Mazda RX-7
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 44% |
36 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1993 Mazda RX-7 |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 22% |
18 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 1993 Mazda RX-7 |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 21% |
17 | 2 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1993 Mazda RX-7 |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 5% |
4 | 0 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1993 Mazda RX-7 |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 2% |
2 | 0 | Shop steering parts for the 1993 Mazda RX-7 |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 2% |
2 | 0 | Shop all body and structure parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Unknown or other | 2% |
2 | 0 | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 2% |
2 | 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.
-
Oil line to turbo's collapsed causing the inner coolers to be flooded with oil. This was caused by the apex seal coming off in the rotary tube which caused the compression levels to drop. This damage costs me in excess $10000 and happened at 30000 miles. An investigation is currently under way. *jb
-
Exhaust manifold is leaking carbon monoxide into the cabin of vehicle, causing a health hazard. Dealer is aware of defect. Consumer claims he is aware of other vehicles of the same model that have this defect. *ak *ml
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 RX-7 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1993, 1990, 1991 carry the most filings on the Mazda RX-7. The 1993 alone has 82 complaints, led by engine and cooling.
What is the most common Mazda RX-7 problem?
On the 1993 model year, the most-reported component is engine and cooling with 36 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Mazda RX-7 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Mazda RX-7 complaints that include mileage is about 93,000 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.