Buyer Research

2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $17,000–$24,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Mazda MX-5 Miata years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The second year of the ND, and the record is small — eleven complaints — so read it as a light file rather than a verdict on the car. What is in it is worth your time: a third of the filings are glass, two are a power steering warning followed by the steering going heavy, one of those ending in a crash with an injury, and there are two open-ended recalls including an airbag module update that dealers were still short of tools for years afterwards. Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup before you drive it, and on the test drive make slow full-lock turns in a car park listening for the assist dropping out. A good ND is one of the best-value driving cars on the used market; this one just needs its paperwork checked.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 11 owner complaints for the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata, and 2 recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under glass, wipers and mirrors (4), steering (2), the transmission and drivetrain (1). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

2 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Power steering warning, then the steering goes heavy at speedHigh — wallet impact

Two owners describe the same sequence: a Power Steering Malfunction message, then the electric assist dropping out. One lost steering mid-turn and crossed a lane before it came back; the other had it go stiff at freeway speed and hit the centre divider, with an injury recorded. Two filings on an eleven-complaint record is a small number, and we are telling you it is small — but a car that steers itself into a barrier is not something to discover later. Turn lock to lock at walking pace and listen for the motor whining or cutting; any steering warning in the history means a diagnosis before you buy.

Repair cost (estimate): $900–$2,200 for an electric power steering column or motor

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (2).

Transmission control software can force an abrupt downshift (recall 19V072000, automatics only)High — wallet impact

Recall 19V072000 covers 2016 to 2019 MX-5s with the automatic gearbox: incorrect transmission control module programming could make the car downshift without warning and decelerate hard, which Mazda's own filing says can cost the driver control. The remedy is a free reprogramme at a dealer, and it began in March 2019. If you are looking at an automatic, this is a two-minute check on the VIN lookup and there is no excuse for it being open. Manual cars are not in the campaign.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Windshield chips and cracks easily, and the top's headliner sags over the rear windowMedium

Four filings, and they are all glass or roof. Owners report windshields spidering from a stone chip at 8,000 miles, one cracking horizontally while parked, and one rear screen shattering on start-up. A separate owner had the convertible top's headliner come unfastened above the rear window three times, sagging an inch and a half into the mirror's view. Check the glass in raking sunlight for star chips, and put the roof up and look at the headliner seam above the rear screen.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$1,200 for a windshield with the rain sensor recalibrated; $250–$700 for headliner refastening

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (4).

Airbag control module software can make the front bags deploy too hard (recall 24V695000)Medium

Recall 24V695000 covers 2016 to 2023 MX-5s: a software error in the airbag control module can make the front airbags fire with excessive force in a crash, which is a compliance failure as well as an injury risk. The remedy is a free software update to the sensor module, with letters mailed in November 2024. Be aware that owners on later years of this car report dealers turning them away because Mazda had not supplied the tool — so check the VIN, and if it is still open, budget the time rather than the money.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Manual gearbox can start whining or refusing a gear at moderate mileageMedium

One owner here reported a manual transmission failing without warning at 55,000 miles, citing a Mazda service bulletin they said covered it. One filing is not a pattern, and we are not calling it one on this year — but the same six-speed manual accounts for the majority of complaints on our 2022, 2023 and 2024 pages for this car, where owners describe synchroniser failure and grinding into third. On the test drive, shift firmly through every gear including a 2-3 upshift under load, and listen for a whine that rises with road speed in the higher gears.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,500–$4,500 for a replacement manual gearbox

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (1).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Any Power Steering Malfunction message in the car's history, however brief
✗Steering that goes heavy or whines at full lock in a car park
✗An automatic car with recall 19V072000 still showing open on the VIN lookup
✗Star chips or a spidering crack anywhere in the windshield
✗A crunch or baulk shifting into second or third with the gearbox warm

Good Signs

✓Both recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Clear glass all round under raking sunlight, with the rain sensor working in a car wash
✓Clean 2-3 and 3-4 upshifts under load on a warm gearbox
✓Convertible top headliner still fastened tight above the rear window
✓Gearbox oil changed with a receipt, especially on a car that has seen track days