Air Bags May Not Deploy in a Crash

Affected vehicles (2)

Component / system

Defect

Mazda North American Operations is recalling certain 2024-2025 Mazda3 and CX30 vehicles. The Sophisticated Air Bag Sensor (SAS) units may set an error code and deactivate the air bags, due to a low battery condition.

Risk / consequence

Air bags that do not deploy in the event of a crash increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

Dealers will reprogram the SAS unit with improved software or replace the unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2025. Mazda's number for this recall is 7525E.

Chronology of events

1. Jun 28, 2024

   June 28, 2024: Mazda received the first field report received from the U.S. market indicating that the airbag warning light illuminated following a low battery condition.

2. Jun 29, 2024

   June 29, 2024 ~ October 2024: Mazda initiated an investigation to determine the root cause of the issue. Through this investigation, the root cause was identified, and an appropriate countermeasure was subsequently developed and prepared for deployment into production. At that time, Mazda determined that the issue was non-safety related, as it was attributed to customer usage and/or error of leaving the ignition in the “ON” position for two or more hours without starting the engine. This caused the battery to deplete to a level where the engine could no longer be started, resulting in the illumination of the air bag warning light after the battery is recharged then the engine is started.

3. November 2024

   November 2024 ~ January 2025: Mazda implemented production changes with improved software in the SAS unit for each applicable model.

4. Mar 4, 2025

   March 4, 2025: NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) initiated an inquiry into 15 FQIRs involving SAS units replaced due to illuminated air bag warning lights, requesting information on root cause, investigation results, whether or not accidents or injuries occurred, related DTCs, and impact on air bag deployment logic. Mazda started gathering details in preparation for the technical review meeting.

5. Apr 2, 2025

   April 2, 2025: Mazda held a technical review and explained its position that the issue does not constitute an unreasonable safety risk, as it arises from customer usage and/or error stated above. The system is designed to activate a warning light and display messages to inform the customer at the time of battery being restored to a proper voltage. April 15 ~ 29, 2025: Mazda and NHTSA continued discussions regarding this matter, while further technical engineering failure mode analysis of the SAS unit was conducted.

6. May 23, 2025

   May 23, 2025: Mazda held a Quality Audit Committee meeting and decided to initiate a safety recall for the U.S., U.S. Territories and Canadian markets. The customer usage and/or error of leaving the ignition in the “ON” position for two or more hours without the engine running appears to be unique to the U.S. and Canadian markets, as no similar incidents have been reported in other regions. This supported the decision to implement a safety recall limited to the U.S., U.S. Territories, and Canada markets, as the issue is considered region-specific in nature.

Notification schedule

Dealer notification

Jun 03, 2025 - Jun 03, 2025 No Dealers

Owner notification

Jul 28, 2025 - Jul 28, 2025 Phased Recall