Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.
A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.
Exact model-level NHTSA results for 1990 MAZDA 323. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and overheat.
Consequence
If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH FRONT SEAT AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELTS. THE RAIL OF THE AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELT CAN WEAR SUFFICIENTLY SUCH THAT THE CABLE WHICH RETRACTS THE BUCKLE ASSEMBLY CAN BECOME JAMMED IN THE RAIL RENDERING THE SHOULDER BELT INOPERATIVE.
Consequence
A SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE PASSIVE SHOULDER BELT ASSEMBLY WITH A MODIFIED ONE (WITH ADDITIONAL DUST LIP) IN VEHICLES WHICH HAVE EXPERIENCED A PROBLEM. IN VEHICLES IN WHICH THE AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELT FUNCTIONS PROPERLY, THE RAILS WILL BE INSPECTED AND REPLACED WITH MODIFIED RAILS IF THEY EXCEED THE INSPECTION CRITERIA.
02 · Owner allegations
22 NHTSA complaints
Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.
Crash mentions
4
Fire mentions
0
Injuries reported
1
Most-reported component labels
SEAT BELTS13
POWER TRAIN4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL2
HYDRAULIC1
SERVICE BRAKES1
Complaints across nearby Mazda 323 model years
Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.
An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.
FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.
EPA configurations
8
Combined economy
21–28 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
19–25 / 24–33 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
1.6–1.8 L
Cylinders
4
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive · Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Compact Cars
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$2300–3100
05 · Evidence strength
Exact identity. Explicit limits.
No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.
exact match
Recall campaigns
2 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.
exact match
Complaints
22 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.
exact match
ODI investigations
2 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.
canonical only
Model aliases
Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.
not published
Manufacturer ownership
No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.
PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT
Identity, freshness and provenance.
The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.
Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.
06 · Research paths
Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.
These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.
13 complaint labels
SEAT BELTS
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.