Paint/Trim
Paint (fading, chalking, cracking, or peeling), loose interior and exterior trim or moldings, rust.
What Owners Say
"A Lot of the paint on the front bumper has chipped off"
Andrea K., IL (2006 Mazda 3 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Car has peeling paint om every flat horizintal service"
Anonymous, SC (2006 Mazda 3)"The cars paint on the back bumper started chipping almost immediately"
Gary J., NM (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Paint peeling everywhere on the car"
William B., QC (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Paint is badly fading and chalking on the roof and hood. various areas of paint are chipping."
Blake D., TX (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Paint is easily chipped and leads to rust"
Gary H., AB (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Paint was peeling of the hood and left front quarter panel. $1500 to do bodywork and repaint"
John K., FL (2006 Mazda 3 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"The paint on the outside mirrors has wrinkled, apparently from temperature changes when the car was being used by my son in Virginia rather than its usual home in southern California"
Anonymous, CA (2006 Mazda 3 i)"I had rust repaired on the window frame by Mazda and the problem reoccurred in the same area plus other parts of the door, which were not covered by Mazda. Very poor!"
Zaf C., ON (2006 Mazda 3 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"rust around all wheel wells, side door panels, trunk"
Ross R., ON (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Car was recalled for rear wheel well rust, but I was not notified in time to have repair done for free. Very upsetting to miss by 3 weeks!"
Bob S., AB (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Rusting more than similar (foreign) cars of same age. User forums confirm paint fauilure. Rocker panels rusted the length, w/paint peeling in sheets. Fender wells, rear light in trunk lid, spare tire well, undercarriage. Also, clearcoat is very thin"
Ernest J., WI (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"paint around the rear third brake light was starting to discolor and rust, and streak onto trunk"
Peter G., RI (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Myterious rust in one wheelwell and fading paint on doors"
James F., PA (2006 Mazda 3)"Rust on the right rear door and right rear wheel are both known issues with this car"
Anonymous, CT (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Rust so bad hood requires replacement. I bought extended rust warranty (10 yrs) but dealer balked at covering cost"
William B., QC (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Rust gradually becoming worse around wheel wells, windows, trunk"
Ryan S., NS (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Rusted in areas where no parking lot type damage. Requested earlier than other cars I have owned"
Gayle L., ON (2006 Mazda 3 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Several areas have experienced paint failure and/or rust break through. Wheel wells, hood and rear hatch in particular"
Anonymous, NS (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"ROTTEN ROCKER PANELS, WON'T PASS INSPECTION fRAME ROT. sUSPENSION MOUNTING BRACKETS RUSTED OFF"
Pierre B., NS (2006 Mazda 3 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Rusting started at 4 years old, by centre brake light.Repaired under warranty but still rusting"
Anonymous, ON (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Rust is mostly around the wheel wells which is apparently a common problem with Mazda's"
Anonymous, ON (2006 Mazda 3 S)"Premature rust in the rear quarter panels and on the rear hatch despite regular washes. There was a recall for the condition but Mazda did not send letters out informing owners"
Dave R., AB (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"The 2 C-pillars are almost rusted through. They require annual attention. It seems that Mazda didn't rust-proof this model year appropriately as I read a lot of people complaining about excessive rust on 2006 Mazda 3. I contacted Mazda about this too"
Marcin J., IL (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Surface rust, mainly around rear wheelwells"
Anonymous, ON (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"hatch door rust . rust between windows between front and back doors"
Anonymous, ON (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"I keep my cars in very good mechanical condition. I really like this car, but the rust is something hard to keep ahead of (even considering my location in my rust-prone northern state of Wisconsin). Every door rusting around the edges on all sides. The rocker panels lost all of their paint. Rust spots developed in various other spots around the car. And the undercarriage has rust developing at most seems. I've done what I can to touch up spots are partially repainted some areas myself, since the cost to have it done professionally is very high (I got quotes in the past for even just some of this that came in at thousands of dollars, well more than the book value of the car, and that doesn't factor in the undercarriage). So while the car is currently in excellent mechanical condition, quite reliable, and with lots of good miles remaining, the appearance is definitely compromised and I'm sure that structural rust will be the life-limiting issue for this car. I have lots of experience maintaining my cars over the decades (performing all mechanical work myself). I've observed similar patterns of rust on other cars of his model, and seen significantly less rust on other makes/models of similar age and market position. This leads me to believe that this is a design/manufacturing characteristic of this model generally."
Anonymous, WI (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"The body continues rusting at accelerated pace. Started on C-pillars very early on, now it's the rocker pannel, wheel wells, trunk lid and hood."
Anonymous, IL (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Both rear quarter panel above and to the front of the wheels are rusting through. The car has always been kept in a garage, but we do have lots of road salt here in the winter."
Max S., IL (2006 Mazda 3 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Severe rust problems on both rear wheel wells/panels. Have had to spend a lot of time and money to repair or prevent the rust from spreading. We joke that we'll have to get rid of the car because the body will fall apart from rust long before the mechanics give out. It's been a great car, except for the rust."
Anonymous, MN (2006 Mazda 3)"Dealer declined to fix rust underwarranty because car was 3 weeks past deadline. This last year rust has spread on both rear fenders and other panels. Too expensive to fix."
Anonymous, AB (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Rust has now appeared in three places"
Anonymous, (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"This particular production year is notorious for rusting like crazy. I have rocker pannels rusted through and wheel wells, doors, hood cover and trunk lid are rusting too. The metal is very thin and poorly protected."
Anonymous, IL (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"The car rusts very quickly. C-pillars and wheel wells rust faster than expected. The quality of the steel and rust proofing is very poor"
Anonymous, IL (2006 Mazda 3 i 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"The trunk and seams of the car are covered in rust"
Anonymous, ON (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Rusted around the wheel wels and trunk lock"
Anonymous, QC (2006 Mazda 3 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Rusty in several spots on the car"
Gary H., AB (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Window frame of rear door Body panel in front of rear tire"
Anonymous, WI (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"extensive rust all over. Even if I've paid for an anti corrosion treatment made by the dealer before the new car left the garage"
Alain N., QC (2006 Mazda 3 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Both sides rear wheel areas are rusting heavily. This car did spend a lot of time in Wisconsin, so maybe a salt issue, but it is unusually bad on Mazda vs other vehicles I've owned"
Anonymous, NC (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"The window columns between the driver and passenger side rusted. These were previously fixed by Mazda under warranty but it rusted again. This 2006 Mazda 3 is very bad for rusting. There is also rust near the rear bottom panels and the rear stop light"
Anonymous, ON (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"After rust proofing , rust still bad especialy under wheel wells"
Eileen A., ON (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"Significant rust on the body panels around the rear wheelwells. I have seen a few other Mazda 3's parked at my office that have rust in the same place, in some cases much worse than mine. I think it's a manufacturer's defect that it is so susceptible to rust in this area."
Anonymous, AB (2006 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 2.3-L 4 Cyl)"This car is rusting faster than other cars on the road. I have treated/repainted the rust along door seams, rocker panels, and wheel wells to retard it, but it's still advancing, and the undercarriage is showing rust along most seams, etc. I/family members have other cars of similar or older vintage that aren't rusting as much."
Ernest J., WI (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"The body rusts at excessive rate, the C pillars are rusted through, now the rocker pannel and wheel wells are going"
Anonymous, IL (2006 Mazda 3 I 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Rust is a well known problem"
Anonymous, QC (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.0-L 4 Cyl)"Paint near trim would begin peeling then bubble up and turn into rust once exposed. It is not significant but it is visible."
Anonymous, IL (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)
"Water has intruded into the front passenger door."
Blake D., TX (2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3-L 4 Cyl)