A sensor fault could deactivate the airbags on more than 171,000 Mazda vehicles.
According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as many as 171,412 Mazda 3 and CX-30 cars could have an issue where their airbags fail to deploy in a crash, under certain specific conditions.
The automaker notes this issue affects model years 2024 and 2025 for both the Mazda 3 (in sedan and hatchback forms) and CX-30 SUV. Of those two models, the recall affects 51,857 examples of the Mazda 3 built between May 25, 2023 and January 15, 2015; and 119,555 CX-30s built between August 22, 2023 and January 13, 2025.
Mazda tells safety regulators that an internal fault could in its Sophisticated Airbag Sensor (SAS) unit could trigger if the 12-volt battery is depleted by leaving the ignition switch in the “ON” position for two hours or more without the engine running. Apparently, the problem doesn’t crop up if the battery is depleted any other way, but Mazda says recharging the battery from a depleted state after leaving it on for hours will cause an airbag warning light to illuminate. If the owner decides to drive the vehicle in that condition, the airbags may not deploy in a crash. The company says it first became aware of the issue last June, and implemented improved software into production between November and January.
Mazda’s fix here will be to update the software in affected vehicles or replace the SAS unit, free of charge. Impacted vehicles are still under full warranty coverage, so it will not reimburse customers who paid to fix the issue out of pocket (as there shouldn’t be any).
The automaker tells the NHTSA it will send out recall notifications on July 28, though owners can search their VINs through Mazda’s recall website to determine whether their vehicle is affected now. Dealers were made aware of the issue last Tuesday, June 3.
