Mazda2 reliability discussion. How is your Mazda2 holding up?

Tom_Mazda2

Member
:
2011 Mazda2, Touring, 5spd MT
Hello everyone! I wanted to start a discussion about the Mazda2 in regards to it's reliabilty. I'm curious to see if anyone has expirenced any issues with their Mazda2. Whether your Mazda 2 is used as a daily driver, track day car, autocrosser, dedicted track car, or a combintaion of these it will be nice to see if we can identify any common weak areas in our cars.

Use this template below and lets see just how reliable our cars really are...

Model Year - (What year is your Mazda2)
Mileage - (How many miles are currently on your Mazda2)
Daily Driver - (Y/N, and what kind of commuting)
Race - (Y/N, and what kind or racing and how frequently is the car raced)
Long road trips - (Y/N, and for how many miles)
Mods - (Y/N, Does your Mazda2 have any Modifications done or performance parts installed?)
Minor Issues - (Y/N, Include a description of your issue. If it was mechanical, non-mechanical, rust, etc...)
Major Issues - (Y/N, Include a description of your issue. If it was mechanical, non-mechanical, rust, etc...)
Were the Issues covered under warranty? (Y,N, or N/A)

I'll start...

Model Year - 2011
Mileage - 13,000
Daily Driver - Yes, but only in the summer time
Race - Yes, 10 track days and 3 autocross events
Long road trips - Yes, 6 so far all over 500 miles
Mods - Yes, I have numerous engine and suspension mods
Minor Issues - Yes, I got a CEL for the MAF sensor but it cleared after I reset the computer. Never had the problem again.
Major Issues - None
Was the Issue covered under warranty? No, I was able to fix the CEL myself.
 
Ill play along ;)

Model Year - 2011
Mileage - 9,700
Daily Driver - yes, very little commuting though about 15 minutes to work every day
Race - no, although i drive it like i race it haha
Long road trips - not really, longest journey in this car has been to ATCO in New Jersey
Mods - Yes, H&R Lowering Springs and 16inch Konig Feathers
Minor Issues - just a TPMS problem that was cleared up by a local tire shop
Major Issues - No major issues :)
Were the Issues covered under warranty? N/A
 
Mine:

Model Year - 2012 Touring MT
Mileage - 4,400
Daily Driver - Yes, 100% city, enthusiastically driven with intermixed hypermiling.
Race - Nothing yet
Long road trips - No
Mods - Yes, I have numerous engine and suspension mods
Minor Issues - Nothing.
Major Issues - Nothing
Was the Issue covered under warranty? No issues as of yet.

Honestly, I'm loving every minute of owning this car. My only gripe is the center floor console. They just gave up on that sh*t. There is no excuse for such a crappy center floor console, and frankly, in the year 2013, there is no excuse for not having a center console with an armrest and integrated cubby (see every other mazda car). Other than that, I just smile every time I drive this car.
 
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Yup, sounds good!!

Model Year - 2011 Touring MT
Mileage - 29,000
Daily Driver - Yup, 60ish mile commute a day in traffic mostly...
Race - 1 auto x the first summer I got it, I really need to do some more events!
Long road trips - Yup, one trip from SoCal to the Las Vegas/Grand Canyon ~1,000 miles or so. Big road trip from SoCal to Wall, SD and back though various states ~3,000 miles.
Mods - Yup, CorkSport adjustable shocks/struts H&R Sport Springs, CorkSport rear torsion bar. Konig Britelite's wrapped with Kumho XS.
Minor Issues - Creaking front sway bar links after lowering (Need to upgrade to Raybestos or other aftermarket links)
Major Issues - Not a thing.
Was the Issue covered under warranty? N/A

Over the past 2+ years my Mazda2 has not missed a beat! It's been a great car and my only wish was that more people would buy them. Most of the ones I see are rentals (you can tell by the small barcode sticker usually on the right rear window) However, being that these cars will be a low seller, 20 years from now, the rarity will be sky high!
 
Minor Issues - Creaking front sway bar links after lowering (Need to upgrade to Raybestos or other aftermarket links)

I heard about the problematic end links on our cars especially in Mazda2's that have been lowered. One day when I was leaving the track I thought I heard some creaking noises coming from the front but it went away and I chalked it up as my imagination playing tricks on me. I haven't had any problems with my sway bar end links yet but I'm going to replace them with Raybestos end links before I do. It's a cheap insurance policy IMO.

However, being that these cars will be a low seller, 20 years from now, the rarity will be sky high!

I'm hoping the value increases as well especially with modified Mazda2's.
 
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Model Year - 2012

Mileage - 13k

Daily Driver - Yes, 7 miles each way to work, transporting 2 kids and their stuff, 5-6 hours of mountain roads once a month or so for whitewater kayaking, shorter drives for mountain biking.

Race - 3 autocrosses, 1 circuitcross, lots and lots of "canyon carving" often with a kayak on top

Long road trips - longest trip was 5 hours each way

Mods - wheels, tires, front swaybar, rear torsion bar, skidplate, springs, exhaust, shift kit, roof rack, kid seats, floor liners

Minor Issues - 1. broken key transmitter 2. loose endlink bolts 3. walking front swaybar 4. rattling cd's in armrest

Major Issues - none

Were the Issues covered under warranty? 1. yes 2. re-tightened by me 3. aluminum collars installed by me
4. took cd's out of armrest

comment: I have no desire to get rid of this economical fun machine anytime soon. My wife says the seats bother her back so lately we take the 5 on long family road trips.
 
Model Year - 2011, Sport, MT
Mileage - 51,800
Daily Driver - Yup. 50/50 highway and rural. About 1 hr. one-way to work
Race - nope
Long road trips - nothing over a couple hours
Mods - TB Performance braces
Minor Issues - occasional airbag warning light (1/6 pattern, I believe). Comes and goes. Seems to be a non-issue
Major Issues - fuel pump died at around 45,000
Were the Issues covered under warranty? fuel pump covered under drive train warranty

comment: I normally fill my gas tank when I have a blinking E w/ bar. Occasionally I'll get to blinking E. I don't recall every being able to fill up with 10+ gallons. Not sure how many gallons are needed for pump cooling, but I'd have to imagine it was submered nearly constantly.
 
Model Year - 2012, Touring, MT
Mileage - 11k
Daily Driver - Yes
Race - not yet
Long road trips - Just one so far, I think. About 600 miles each way.
Mods - CS rear torsion bar
Minor Issues - None
Major Issues - None

My conclusion from this is that so far I'm a very boring driver.
 
I've had my 2 for a bit over a year now and it has been a dream the entire time.
Model Year - 2012
Mileage - 31,000
Daily Driver - I drive 50 miles each day for work.
Race - No racing or anything yet.
Long road trips - Several 200 mile road trips and one 500 mile one. they were a blast and had no issues sitting in the car for that long of a time.
Mods - Lol it would be easier to just look at my signature...it can be a pretty long list. Each mod was easy to do.
Minor Issues - Not a thing
Major Issues - Nothing at all.
Were the Issues covered under warranty? No issues to be covered...yet /crosses fingers.
 
Model Year - 2012 Sport MT
Mileage - 13,500
Daily Driver - Yes, 35mi one-way Monday-Friday
Race - Yes, autocrossing 4-5 events per month.
Long road trips - Yes, 1 500+ mile road trip.
Mods - Corksport Shifter
Minor Issues - Entire antenna broke off of roof
Major Issues - None
Were the Issues covered under warranty? Yes
 
Model Year - 2011 Touring MT
Mileage - 33000
Daily Driver - Yes, 100+ miles a day
Race - Fast and Furious
Long road trips - Y, WV to Baltimore from time to time
Mods - Y, HR Springs, 16" Rotas, KN filter, Racing Beat axle back
Minor Issues - Y, rear bushings made noise when it was cold, fixed it will a lil grease
Major Issues - N, N/A
Were the Issues covered under warranty? N/A
 
Model Year - 2011
Mileage - 32,xxx km
Daily Driver - Yes, 50/50 highway/city
Race - Nope.
Long road trips - Numerous times from Toronto to Buffalo. Longest trip from Toronto to Philadelphia, through NY.
Mods - Only a sub/amp.
Minor Issues - Rattling caused by sub, occasionally has bouts of low idle (under 500) where the car feels like it wants to stall. RPM follows a "breathing" pattern.
Major Issues - First issue appeared at around 13k, pulled into bank, turned car off and car didn't start once I walked back out. PCM, fuel pump & battery all died and were replaced under warranty. A few week later car went into limp mode and started to buck/hesistate, code for cyl.#2 misfire, problem was eventually traced (over the next few months) to a defective wiring harness to the PCM, and was replcaed.
Were the Issues covered under warranty? Certainly was, can't replicate low idle and hasn't happened in awhile, so hopefully the wiring harness fixed it.
 
Mileage - 51,800

I think that is the most mileage I have seen on a Mazda2, at least here on the forums.

Minor Issues - occasional airbag warning light (1/6 pattern, I believe). Comes and goes. Seems to be a non-issue

Thats strange? This is the first time I have ever heard of this problem.

Major Issues - fuel pump died at around 45,000
Were the Issues covered under warranty? fuel pump covered under drive train warranty

I've heard about this. I hope I can find an aftermarket fuel pump so that I can avoid this problem. At least it was covered under the warranty.
 
I've heard about this. I hope I can find an aftermarket fuel pump so that I can avoid this problem. At least it was covered under the warranty.

There's a reason Mazda recommends filling the tank when you reach 1/4 left; it's so the fuel pump stays submerged, which keeps it cool. This is only the 2nd time I've heard of a failed fuel pump in a 2.
 
Model Year - 2011
Mileage - 28,000
Daily Driver - Yes, about 70/30 freeway/city
Race - Nope
Long road trips - Yes, one long trip so far, about 900 miles roundtrip
Mods - Yes, appearance only
Minor Issues - Squeaky rear suspension when below 40 degrees outside
Major Issues - None (knock on wood)
Were the Issues covered under warranty? Yes, replaced rear shocks under warranty 3k ago


Model Year - 2013
Mileage - 85
Daily Driver - Yes, about 70/30 freeway/city
Race - Nope
Long road trips - Nope
Mods - Yes, appearance only
Minor Issues - None
Major Issues - None
Were the Issues covered under warranty? N/A
 
There's a reason Mazda recommends filling the tank when you reach 1/4 left; it's so the fuel pump stays submerged, which keeps it cool. This is only the 2nd time I've heard of a failed fuel pump in a 2.

If I fill up when I have a blinking E w/ bar, I normally put in around 8.5-9 gallons. Thats about 2.5-3 gallons left in the tank - about 1/4 tank capacity. I think the fuel gauge takes that into consideration, right? So, when the guage is reading just about empty, what it really means is just about to 1/4 tank.
 
If I fill up when I have a blinking E w/ bar, I normally put in around 8.5-9 gallons. Thats about 2.5-3 gallons left in the tank - about 1/4 tank capacity. I think the fuel gauge takes that into consideration, right? So, when the guage is reading just about empty, what it really means is just about to 1/4 tank.

The owner's manual specifically states (page 5-31):

"The fuel gauge shows approximately how much fuel is remaining in the tank when the ignition is switched ON.
We recommend keeping the tank over 1/4 full."

I've attached the picture from the manual, showing the gauge at 1/4 full.

I also seem to recall someone posting a link to a Mazda TSB somewhere in these forums explaining how the 2's gas gauge works (how many gallons are left at each mark, etc.) with a note about the fuel pump.
 

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I've heard about this. I hope I can find an aftermarket fuel pump so that I can avoid this problem. At least it was covered under the warranty.

There's a reason Mazda recommends filling the tank when you reach 1/4 left; it's so the fuel pump stays submerged, which keeps it cool. This is only the 2nd time I've heard of a failed fuel pump in a 2.
Haha, mine went out at exactly 10.000 miles. Warranty covered it. No problems since.
 
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