While downshifting from 4th to 3rd and/or 5th to 4th to slow down without having my foot on the gas pedal (only on the clutch) my 2012 Mazda 3 touring 6 speed mt accelerates very rapidly and jerks about. It happens for several seconds and then stops. It's almost every time I downshift. I brought it to the attention of the Mazda dealer on the first service appointment at 5000 miles in April 2013. However, the service advisor informed me that mechanic checked the problem and found no issues with the car that would be causing this problem.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Had exited the highway, and was on the surface streets to go home. Roads were dry, middle of day, tank was 1/4 full, car was in drive (not in triptonic manual). Stopped at light, and when tried to accelerate car, it acted funny. As approached 30 mph, the "traction control" light came on, car's RPM went up to nearly 4000, and lost ability to accelerate. Felt like car was in hydroglide or sliding on ice. Seemed like only in 2nd gear. In response, I put car into manual triptonic mode, but no gears were displayed on the dashboard, and based on RPM meter, and lack of change in car's response, this manual shift could not force shift to higher gear even though I tried twice. Slowed and pulled to side of road with blinkers flashing. Limped car the 1/2 mile home at 20 mph, and let it sit for 90 minutes. Restarted car and no warning lights were on. Took it around block, and again when approached 30 mph, the car lost all acceleration, rpms went high, and now 3 warning lights came on, "engine", "at" and "traction control". parked in front of house and call Mazda assistance for a tow.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

Hello, I was driving down a highway going about 30-40 mph in the passing lane. I went to accelerate past a truck when I noticed I wasn't gaining any speed. I looked down and the ABS light was on. Thinking that I might be in a lower gear and my auto transmission wasn't shifting well I changed it over to manual. There were no gear lights indicated on the dash. I could not get any power to the transmission from the engine. I have to pull over on the side of the road, while still kind of on the road considering I had no power. In a desperate attempt I turned the car off and back on and everything seemed to be reset. I called Mazda today and they seemed almost like it was no big deal. Well I consider this a big deal, losing transmission power on a highway is a big deal. Anyways I saw a post a few days ago with the same exact issue. This should not happen!

- New Kensington, PA, USA

While driving on four lane highway, car slowed and failed to respond to gas pedal. Could not shift gears in manual transmission. Pulled to side of roadway and called for tow to dealer. Dealer found front surface of clutch disk to be completely worn away, thus allowing clutch to slip. Danger was inability to maintain flow with heavy traffic. Due to low mileage, suspect defect in parts or assembly.

- Los Banos, CA, USA

After slowing to make a U-turn on a boulevard, the powertrain went into limp mode and the traction control light came on when I tried to accelerate with the wheels turned fairly sharply to the left. Car was fully warm; very light acceleration in 2nd gear (manual transmission, skyactive model). Not even close to wheelspin possible. Dry pavement and barely pushed gas pedal. Ran very roughly but had enough power to pull into a parking lot. Tried pushing traction control button to toggle off without result. Turned car off and re-started and car ran fine. Do not have a code reader to check to see if this incident set a code or not. Approx 900 more miles put on without incident.

- Waukesha, WI, USA

I drive a 2012 Mazda I touring skyactive. While driving home about 45 mph when I was came to a street light. As I applied my brakes the transmission shifted down hard, the traction control light came on and the transmission disengaged, which forced me to pull to the side of the road. The transmission type is an electric auto/manual. With the car still running, I put the car in to manual mode and nothing happened (no power). Only after turning the car off and restarting it did the traction control light go off and the car ran as normal. This is nothing I would want to happen while on a thruway. Also, over the past few months I have noticed downshifting hard one in a while, but not enough to take it to a dealer. After to night, I will be taking my car over to the dealer in the morning.

- North Chesterfield, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Mazda Mazda 3. the contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the traction skid warning light illuminated. The vehicle independently shifted into a low gear and would not accelerate. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnosis however, the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 26,900.

- Granada Hills, CA, USA

Driving at a steady 65 mph, the car suddenly lost power and rapidly began decelerating. Traction control light came on and stayed on. Pressing the accelerator down resulted in only a minor change in RPM. Narrowly avoided a collision and made it to the shoulder. I took the next exit and just made it home as the car was barely able to climb the slightest grade. It felt like I was piloting a large motor boat. At home, I turned the car off and restarted. Tcs light came on and then off as it normally does. The light stayed off and the car then performed normally.

- Darien, CT, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Mazda, Mazda3. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph the vehicle downshifted independently, causing the vehicle decelerate without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 22,000. Updated 12-30-13

- Apple Valley, MN, USA

Vehicle was traveling on highway going 45mph when automatic transmission downshifted suddenly to first gear and would not upshift. Attempted to manually shift gears and gear display that shows the gear number was blank. Traction control light went on, no engine codes were triggered. Car operated normally upon restart.

- Cambridge, MA, USA

I have a '12 Mazda Mazda3 itouring hatchback w/2.0L skyactiv I-4 (bl generation) with skyactiv 6mt. When starting off from a stop in 1st gear and shifting into 2nd gear (clutch pedal completely depressed before shifter was pulled out of 1st, no gas pedal was applied) transmission would grind when shifter is being pulled into 2nd gear. Grind can be heard inside and outside, and can be felt in shifter. Grind would continue for less than a second then would pop fully into 2nd gear. Along with issue, whenever grind does not occur, shifting into 2nd gear requires significantly more force to fully engage compared to reverse, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th gears. Mazda dealership could not duplicate symptom, therefore declaring an "npf" or "no problem found."

- Rockford, MN, USA

My car is an automatic transmission. I was driving in traffic on the highway (about 20 mph) and noticed that when I pressed the accelerator, the car did not accelerate or shift normally. Instead, the car stayed in low gear, and the RPM reached over 4000. At this point, I noticed. The stability control light on the dashboard was staying on, indicating a problem with the car's stability control. Once I reached a place I could stop, I turned off the car and restarted - the problem appeared to have gone away - no more light on the dashboard and no more weird engine speeds/failure to shift gears. I am concerned about this because it seems to be a common complaint both on the NHTSA site and on Mazda forum websites. I believe an investigation into this problem is warranted, as it represents a definite safety risk, affecting the car's ability to accelerate appropriately.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

While driving down the highway the vehicle all of a sudden lost power and began to slow down. The traction control light turned on at this time. Pushing the accelerator did nothing. When I switched the manual mode for the transmission the gear was not displayed on the dashboard and trying to up or downshift did nothing. After pulling off to the side of the road I was able to place the transmission in park. I lifted the hood and checked for fluid leaks or spills of which there were none. After turning off the car and waiting a couple of minutes I turned it back on and now had the traction control, at, and check engine lights lit. After putting the transmission in drive and pushing the accelerator the vehicle was extremely sluggish in acceleration and would shift through the first four gears but at rpms much higher than normal. I was able to limp the vehicle home as the dealership was already closed. After letting the vehicle sit for 15 minutes or so I turned it back on and now only the check engine light is lit. Will be taking to the dealer in the morning.

- Lockhart, TX, USA

My 2012 Mazda 3 skyactiv hatchback with the 6 speed manual transmission is exhibiting unintended acceleration. The symptoms exhibited are consistent with multiple other reports in this system. After downshifting into 2nd or 3rd gear, or after coasting in one of those gears with the clutch disengaged, the engine revs and the car "surges" forward upon re-engagement of the clutch. When this occurs, the accelerator pedal is only being slightly pushed, but the car acts as if it has been pushed almost to the floor. Depending on the position of the clutch pedal when this occurs, the engine will either rev to 3000 to 4000 RPM, or the car will accelerate forward until either the brake or clutch pedal is pressed. This issue has been confirmed by Mazda after multiple trips to the dealership for service. Upon the last visit, a data recorder was installed and recorded 7 specific unintended acceleration events between the dates of 11/13/12 and 11/20/12. According to an email I received from the district service & parts manager for district 2 of Mazda North America operations (mnao) on 12/23/12, "the concern found on the data recordings taken from your vehicle were found to be a PCM calibration issue. Mazda corporation is working on a new calibration for the PCM with an unknown time of completion." When I requested that my vehicle be replaced with another of the same model, this was the response from the same district service & parts manager: "since the calibration of the PCM is the same on a 2013 like model with a manual transmission it would not be advised to trade you into that vehicle as it could potentially exhibit the same concern depending on your driving habits and conditions." I am currently awaiting a response from mnao's mediation department regarding either replacing my car with another model, or buying back the car from me.

- Camarillo, CA, USA

When downshifting (manual transmission) from 3rd to 2nd as I was slowing down because of a red light, the engine RPM went way up, maybe around 4,000 RPM. I pressed the clutch to avoid the car jerking forward and hitting the car in front of me. This was the third time this actually happened. I bought the car new and have only owned it 5 months.

- Richmond Hill, GA, USA

The car sometimes surges during downshifting. I will be driving in moderate traffic in third gear. The traffic slows, and I let in the clutch and apply the brake. When the traffic starts to pick up again, I am going too slow for third, so I shift into second and let the clutch out. My right foot is just resting lightly on the gas pedal. The car has not been idling fast, but as soon as the clutch is engaged, the engine suddenly roars and the car leaps forward, even though I have not pressed the gas at all. I let in the clutch again to avoid an accident. When I let it out again, it works normally. This happens once, twice, or not at all in a 40-mile round trip out of town and back. It also happens frequently when I make a left turn without stopping, but where I need to slow and downshift. I coast into the turn with the clutch pedal in, shift down, and attempt to let the clutch out when coming out of the turn. I would expect the car to slow when I shift down unless I am pressing the accelerator, but something other than me is giving it gas. It is impossible to predict when this will happen, and it never happens twice in a row. I have made it happen on purpose, but I think that was pure luck. It happens when downshifting into any gear, but because of the heavy traffic in our area, it ends up usually being third to second. It has happened to me when downshifting into third or fourth also.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Driving home last night (on the freeway) at approximately 9:45 pm I attempted to accelerate to make a lane change. I noticed the car wasn't moving any faster the only thing I heard was the engine gunning. The car was slowing down in very fast traffic and I immediately put my hazards on while trying to move the gear shift which was stuck. Its a miracle that I didn't get hit trying to get tnate to have it apoenhis vehicle over to the right shoulder which I eventually did. I removed a small cover beside the gear shift inserted a screwdriver in the hole and was able to release the shift. I put it in park, turned the car off for about a minute. Started the car and shifted it to drive but the car jerked back and the gear shift is stuck again. I had to be towed home. This was a very dangerous and frightening situation for a male adult and would hate to have this happen to a single mother with children in the car. This is not the only time the gears have locked. I was fortunate to have it happen in my driveway and was able to unlock with the method I described above. I feel this really should be looked into.

- Alhambra, CA, USA

I was driving a steady 55 mph on the freeway on a dry sunny day with my wife and kids. The roads were smooth and dry, and the gas tank was 1/2 full. The car was 3 months old with 2700 miles on it. The car suddenly lost power and started to decelerate. The engine was still running, but pressing the gas pedal had no effect on engine RPM or vehicle speed. I looked down and the stability control light was on (steady lit, not blinking). I thought that maybe the stability control was confused, so I tried hitting the stability control switch to turn it off. No luck, the light was still on and the car continued to slow. I then moved the shift lever over to manually select gears since I though maybe the tranny was stuck in 6th gear - no luck as the display didn't even show what gear it was in. There was no freeway exit in sight and I was not able to coast to the next exit. I finally pulled over the car at less than 30 mph dodging cars zooming by at 60 mph. I turned off the car and restarted. The stability control light was now finally off and I was able to drive off.

- Fremont, CA, USA