2000 Mazda MX-5 MIATA problems and owner complaints
Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.
Key facts
29 owner complaints analyzed
0 distinct recall campaigns
40,000 mi median reported failure mileage
Scope: 2000 model year. Data snapshot: . 11 complaints include usable failure mileage.
Most common problems
Electrical System is the most frequently named component, appearing in 3 of 29 complaints (10.3%). A complaint can name multiple components.
| Topic | Matching reports | Share of complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Braking behavior | 6 | 20.7% |
| Engine operation | 4 | 13.8% |
| Electrical and battery issues | 3 | 10.3% |
| Transmission and shifting | 2 | 6.9% |
| Fuel system concerns | 2 | 6.9% |
| Steering behavior | 1 | 3.4% |
Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.
Component breakdown
Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | 3 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine | 2 |
| Power Train:Automatic Transmission | 2 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | 2 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Disc | 2 |
| Suspension | 2 |
| Unknown Or Other | 2 |
| Air Bags | 1 |
Electrical System: 3; Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine: 2; Power Train:Automatic Transmission: 2; Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip: 2; Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Disc: 2; Suspension: 2; Unknown Or Other: 2; Air Bags: 1
Reported problems by failure mileage
Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Under 25,000 | 1 |
| 25,000 to 49,999 | 7 |
| 50,000 to 74,999 | 1 |
| 75,000 to 99,999 | 1 |
| 100,000 to 149,999 | 1 |
| 150,000 and above | 0 |
Under 25,000: 1; 25,000 to 49,999: 7; 50,000 to 74,999: 1; 75,000 to 99,999: 1; 100,000 to 149,999: 1; 150,000 and above: 0
25,000 to 49,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (7). 18 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.
Complaints over time
Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 |
| 2001 | 13 |
| 2002 | 3 |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2017 | 1 |
2000: 1; 2001: 13; 2002: 3; 2004: 2; 2005: 2; 2008: 1; 2009: 1; 2013: 1; 2014: 2; 2015: 2; 2017: 1
Pattern summary
Electrical System leads the component reports. Braking behavior appears in 6 complaint narratives. Engine operation appears in 4 complaint narratives. Electrical and battery issues appears in 3 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.
Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.
Complaint evidence
Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.
Owner report 742608 · 2001-03-18 (March 18, 2001)
ON AT LEAST TWO OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING IN HEAVY RAIN, STEPPING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL PRODUCED NO BRAKING ACTION FOR 1-2 SECONDS. AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. DEALER WAS INFORMED AND ATTEMPTED TO REPRODUCE ON A DRY DAY. I KNEW THEY WOULD NOT BE SUCCESSFUL, BUT WANTED TO GO ON RECORD WITH THEM AS HAVING REPORTED THE PROBLEM. OTHER LATE MODEL MIATA OWNERS HAVE REPORTED THIS PROBLEM.*AK
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 742608 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 742891 · 2001-03-22 (March 22, 2001)
WHEN IN HEAVY RAIN, THE BRAKES TAKE MORE THAN A SECOND TO START WORKING. *AK
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 742891 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 10100398 · 2004-11-23 (November 23, 2004)
1.ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN POORLY VEHICLE LOST SPEED. 2. HAD TO EXIT FREEWAY AND USE SIDE STREETS TO RETURN HOME 3. TOOK CAR TO DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS, SERVICE REPORT INDICATED THAT THE COIL/IGNITER WAS DEFECTIVE WHICH WAS THE CAUSE OF THE LOSS OF POWER. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THE COIL/IGNITER FAILURE IS A PROBLEM ON THE 1999, 2000 MODELS.*JB
Owner-reported narrative. 38,360 miles reported. Look up ODI 10100398 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 10542383 · 2013-09-07 (September 7, 2013)
AFTER DRIVING AROUND IN HEATED CONDITIONS (ROUGHLY 80 DEGREES OR MORE) FOR ABOUT 10+ MILES, SOMETIMES LESS, THE CAR WILL NOT START. IT WILL CRANK AND ATTEMPT TO START BUT FAILS TO DO SO. IN ORDER TO GET IT TO START I HAVE TO POP THE HOOD OPEN AND LET IT SIT FOR 10-15 MINUTES. ONCE IT STARTS IT IS VERY ROUGH AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WILL COME ON. IF I STOP DRIVING IT FOR THE DAY, THE NEXT MORNING, THE LIGHT WILL BE OFF AND IT WILL DRIVE FINE, UNTIL I DRIVE DURING THE DAY, OR OVER A LONG DISTANCE. THRE HAS ALSO BEEN AN INSTANCE WHEN I WAS DRIVI…
Owner-reported narrative. 79,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10542383 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 10125923 · 2005-06-20 (June 20, 2005)
DT: CONSUMER PURCHASED A USED 2000 MAZADA MIATA, THE FRONT LEFT FOG LIGHT CAUGHT ON FIRE, NO PREVIOUS PROBLEMS WITH FOG LIGHT. WHEN THE FOG LIGHT CAUGHT ON FIRE IT CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE BUMPER TRIM, MARKER LIGHT, AND THE WIRING HARNESS, CONSUMER HAD TO USE A FIRE EXTINGUISH TO PUT OUT THE FIRE. *AK
Owner-reported narrative. 38,900 miles reported. Look up ODI 10125923 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 10297262 · 2009-12-28 (December 28, 2009)
1999 TO 2000 MAZDA MIATA THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE LOW/HIGH BEAM HAS BEEN SHOWN TO GENERATE HIGH TEMPERATURES AND ON ONE OCCASION, CAUSE A FIRE. I PERSONALLY HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS WITH MY 1999 MIATA WHICH PROMPTED ME TO REPLACE THE FORWARD SECTION OF THE H4 HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS. OTHERS ON THE MIATA.NET FORUM ( SEE HTTP://FORUM.MIATA.NET/VB/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=360101 HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS, AND ONE MEMBER WHO STARTED THE THREAD EXPERIENCED A FIRE AND DAMAGE. ) I URGE THE NHTSA TO LOOK INTO THIS FURTHER WITH MAZDA USA. *TR
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10297262 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 751218 · 2001-08-27 (August 27, 2001)
TRANSMISSION CAN NOT BE SHIFTED SAFELY DURING NORMAL OPERATION. GRINDS, KICKS-OUT AND BLOCK SHIFTING INTO GEAR.*AK
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 751218 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 753339 · 2001-10-17 (October 17, 2001)
HARD SHIFTING BETWEEN 1ST, 2ND, AND 3RD GEAR. GEAR WILL SOMETIMES GRIND WHEN SHIFTING OR ENGINE SPEED MUST MUCH BEFORE ENGAGING. VERY STIFF SHIFTER AT NEUTRAL AND CAUSE GEAR HUNTING FROM 5TH TO 4TH. WHEN TRANSMISSION IS WARMED UP, A RATTLING SOUND CAN BE HEARD AT NEUTRAL BUT DISAPPEAR ONCE THE CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED. *AK
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 753339 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11045602 · 2017-11-13 (November 13, 2017)
THE TRUNK SMELLS LIKE GASOLINE. THE CABIN SMELLS LIKE GASOLINE. WHILE RESEARCHING ONLINE, THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT A GAS SMELL ON THESE CARS.
Owner-reported narrative. 44,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11045602 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 745076 · 2001-05-08 (May 8, 2001)
FUEL TANK SHUTS OFF AFTER ONLY 3 TO 4 GALLONS. THEN I HAVE TO SQUEEZE AND PUMP A GALLON AT A TIME UNTIL FULL! I HAVE TRIED SEVERAL GAS STATIONS, SEVERAL PUMPS AND PUMP TYPES, I HAVE VARIED THE FLOW RATIO AND THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP IS VERY HELPFUL AND THE MOST CURTIOUS, BUT THE PROBLEM IS STILL PRESENT AFTER THEY HAVE REPLACED THE CHARCOAL CANNISTER, CHECKED THE LINES AND REPLACED THE GAS TANK (SINCE THE BACK FLOW TRAP IS INSIDE THE TANK. THEY WILL BE TRYING AGAIN TO FIX THIS PROBLEM ON MAY 10TH. THEY HAVE A TECHNICIAN THAT I…
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 745076 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 10761937 · 2015-09-07 (September 7, 2015)
I RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS CAR WITH ONLY 44,000 MILES ON IT. I RECEIVED THE COMPLETE SERVICE RECORD, AND IT HAD BEEN MAINTAINED THROUGH THE DEALERSHIP AND THROUGH A PRIVATE GARAGE AND BODY SHOP ON A REGULAR BASIS AND THOROUGHLY INSPECTED ON EVERY SERVICE AND BEFORE I BOUGHT IT. NO MENTION HAD EVER BEEN MADE OF RUST IN THE FRONT FRAME RAILS. I PULLED THE FRONT WHEELS TO CLEAN UP RUST AND ALL CONNECTIONS AND FOUND PATCHES OF RUST ON BOTH FRAME RAILS BETWEEN THE SWAY BAR BRACKET AND STRUT BRACKETS. I CAN PUNCH A SCREWDRIVER THROUGH THE RUST ON THE …
Owner-reported narrative. 46,200 miles reported. Look up ODI 10761937 at NHTSA ↗