Mazda Held Owners Accountable Until Regulators Intervened | Carscoops
A delayed recall affects more than 170,000 vehicles due to a serious airbag problem that Mazda has finally recognized, after initially attributing it to user error.
The company is recalling 171,412 Mazda3 and CX-30 models because of an airbag malfunction.
The airbags may fail to deploy if the battery is unintentionally drained in a certain manner.
Mazda avoided issuing a recall for several months by blaming the issue on the owners, but later changed its stance.
Airbags are crucial safety components, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimating that they have saved over 50,000 lives in the U.S. from 1987 to 2017. Given their significance, it is concerning that Mazda is recalling 171,412 vehicles due to airbags that may not function during an accident.
The recall affects the 2024-2025 Mazda3 and CX-30 models. According to the government, if owners accidentally leave the ignition on for over two hours without running the engine, the battery can become fully drained, causing the car's Sophisticated Airbag Sensor to "store an internal fault." This fault will stop the airbags from deploying in the event of a collision.
The NHTSA states that owners will notice there is an issue when, after recharging the battery and starting the vehicle, the warning light turns on, along with a message on the instrument cluster indicating an airbag malfunction.
Mazda first learned of the problem last summer when it received a report about an airbag warning light turning on after a "low battery condition." The automaker investigated over the following months and concluded it was a non-safety issue since it arose from "customer usage and/or error." However, the company updated the Sophisticated Airbag Sensor software in late 2024.
A few months later, in March 2025, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation requested information regarding 15 incident reports where airbag sensors were replaced due to airbag warnings. The information request led to a technical review, and Mazda maintained its position that the problem did not pose an unreasonable safety risk, attributing it to customer usage and/or error.
This situation has reflected poorly on the automaker, and by May 2025, the company decided to initiate a recall in the United States and Canada. Fortunately, Mazda has not reported any injuries or fatalities linked to this issue.
Notifications for vehicle owners will be sent out next month, instructing them to take their cars to an authorized dealership. There, technicians will either reprogram or replace the Sophisticated Airbag Sensor.
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Mazda Held Owners Accountable Until Regulators Intervened | Carscoops
A delayed recall impacts more than 170,000 vehicles due to a significant airbag problem that Mazda has finally recognized and attributed to the owners.