Mazda zoom zooms to top of reliability survey

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Source: 4car

Mazda has topped a reliability survey by Warranty Direct, which studied claims it dealt with for cars aged 3-9 years old. In the 450,000 cars it studied in the UK and US, Mazda models accounted for just 8.04% of failures per 100 cars.

It comes as no surprise that the Japanese manufacturers dominated the study; second-placed was Honda, with just 8.9 failures per 100 cars, followed by Toyota (15.78) and Mitsubishi (17.04). Subaru was sixth (18.46), followed by Nissan (18.46) and Lexus (20.05).

Best-placed of the non-Japanese car-makers was Korean firm Kia (17.39, fifth) with the best of the Europeans being Mini (ninth place behind Lexus, 21.9). Citroen came in tenth (25.98), followed by Daewoo (26.3), Hyundai (26.36), Peugeot (26.59), Ford (26.76) and Suzuki (27.2).

At the bottom end of the table were Chrysler's Jeep brand (46.36 failures per 100 vehicles), Land Rover (44.21), Saab (41.59), Alfa Romeo (39.13), Renault and Seat (both 36.87), Audi (36.74), Chrysler (34.9), Skoda (32.12), Jaguar (32.05), Volkswagen (31.44), Volvo (31.28), MG Rover (31.12) and Mercedes-Benz (29.9).

Middling results were achieved by Porsche (27.48), Fiat (28.49), BMW (28.64) and Vauxhall (28.77).
 
In my mind, they've ranked right up there with Toyota and Honda, ever since I bought the '96 Protege, new. Fit and finish was amazing for a car like that. I've been a Mazda believer since, and wouldn't hesitate buying another Mazda vehicle........ except the one's with rotary engines. :p
 
I don't know if this is a reliable study, because I thought Lexus is the top dog in terms of reliability from other surveys
however I am happy with this result since I own a Mazda too :D
original parts are very good mileage, but very expensive and hard to find when it comes to replacement, aftermarket parts sucks
 
This is not the first survey of this kind and mazda is usually first followed by Toyota. I always notice the American car brands go **** and the european are always in the middle.

But wtf KIA 5th overall. That was totally unexpected.
 
"Warranty Direct" is an extended service warranty provider. What they're not saying in the survey is whether they are counting customer complaints that Warranty Direct does or does not cover, or both. Extended service plans not related to the marque tend to cover much less than the factory warranty, from my experience.

Reading their website didn't tell me much; however, it's a decent, if not perfect, indicator of a car's reliability over many years. Also, if a brand has a good reputation, then owners aren't as likely to purchase an extended service plan.
 
appie17
But i must say that Kia and mazda made some really good cars the past years
Click to expand...

Over the past four to six years, it's possible... the quality of certain newer Kias and Hyundais are pretty good... but of Kias in the 90's... I'm not entirely sold... but then I haven't heard any horror stories about them, either, while I've heard a few horror stories about 90's Mazdas... heck, I own one. :lol:

But, in general, yeah, a Mazda isn't any more likely to break down than a Toyota or a Honda, although the general lack of sound insulation and the increased perception of suspension wear this gives owners makes it look like it's breaking faster... but in general, much of the problems I've seen or had with Mazda Proteges have been due to premature wear... simply because most of us in the owner's clubs drive them so damn fast... :lol: ...can't help it... I suppose if the survey stuck to owners who maintain their cars at dealerships and who haven't voided their warranties (like us), Mazda would rank high. :lol:
 
My family has owned 7 Mazdas, ranging from the 1980 to 2007 model years. The '85 626 developed a leaky heater core, and the 1990 Protege's radiator gave up after 11 years. Other than that, our cars have not spent any significant time in the repair shop. That's two less-than-severe failures for somewhere north of 500,000 total miles. Granted, my dad and I made a few other minor repairs along the way, but overall, the Mazdas we've owned have been bulletproof. I don't think the '96 626 will ever stop running.
 
Lucky you... we've had sensor issues with our 626, but it's way past 12 years old, and has been overheated (due to a water pump that was diagnosed way too late) nearly a dozen times.

I've got 56,000 kms on the Proty, and besides a few squeaks in the trim, she's in great shape. Clutch is going, though, but a whole lot of mountain runs and a few track days will do that... :lol:
 

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