AI Damage1996 Mazda B-Series Truck: common problems
Owners of the 1996 Mazda B-Series Truck filed 55 complaints with NHTSA, most often about visibility and tires. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 55
- involving a crash
- 2
What fails most often
- 1 Visibility 24% of all complaints
- 2 Tires 13% of all complaints
- 3 Service brakes 11% of all complaints
- 4 Steering 9% of all complaints
- 5 Vehicle speed control 9% of all complaints
- 6 Seat belts 7% of all complaints
- 7 Suspension 7% of all complaints
- 8 Air bags 5% of all complaints
- Visibility: 13 complaints (24% of all).
- Tires: 7 complaints (13% of all).
- Service brakes: 6 complaints (11% of all).
- Steering: 5 complaints (9% of all).
- Vehicle speed control: 5 complaints (9% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 55 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Consumer states that son's vehicle was involved in an accident the vehicle flipped over and the air bag did not deploy. Owner of the vehicle was killed. Manufacturer contacted.
During frontal impact at 15 to 20mph, the driver's side air bag did not deploy.
Like many others wipers were working intermittently only to stop working completely replaced switch to no avail. Have red its a problem with the general electric module with try replacing that next!
Frame is cracked and has holes from rust. Spring shackles have holes from rust. Will not pass inspection without new frame or major frame repair.
The contact noticed a gas leak while filling the vehicle with gas up to the filling neck. This leakage has occurred twice before. He has not taken the vehicle to the mechanic. The current and failure mileages were 145,000.
Cruise control came on without turning it on and would not turn off. I pulled to the side of the road and disabled it under the hood.
Dt: gas was leaking from the top of the tank. The consumer just bought the truck a week ago and the gas tank started leaking on may 5-16-05. The consumer took the truck to a mechanic on 5-16-05 and the mechanic told the consumer that the gas tank looked defective. This is to be fixed on friday may 20, 2005.
Consumer checked the brakes, and found that the brakes rotors on the 2 front wheels were cracked. He took vehicle to the dealer, but wanted to know if there were any recalls on them.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 5,078 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 14% most complained about).
On average one model year of the B-Series Truck has 36 complaints (20 years in the data). This year has 55, above average.
What to check before buying
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
- Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Steering. Steering play, power assist, rack and tie rods after a wheel impact.
Other years of this model
- B-Series Truck 199016 sources
- B-Series Truck 199114 sources
- B-Series Truck 199211 sources
- B-Series Truck 19939 sources
- B-Series Truck 1994122 sources
- B-Series Truck 199542 sources
- B-Series Truck 199752 sources
- B-Series Truck 199867 sources
- B-Series Truck 199978 sources
- B-Series Truck 200058 sources
- B-Series Truck 200137 sources
- B-Series Truck 200228 sources
- B-Series Truck 200321 sources
- B-Series Truck 200424 sources
- B-Series Truck 200516 sources
- B-Series Truck 200611 sources
- B-Series Truck 200737 sources
- B-Series Truck 200811 sources
- B-Series Truck 20094 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1996 Mazda B-Series Truck?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: visibility, tires, service brakes. Total complaints: 55. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: vibration (7%), rust, corrosion (5%), airbags did not deploy (4%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1996 Mazda B-Series Truck?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1996 Mazda B-Series Truck from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1996 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.