Many Americans dream of owning a Mazda MX-5 Miata, and the little roadster’s reasonable price makes it one of the few dream cars plenty of Americans do end up buying. But buyers of the 2025 Miata are in for some frustration.
Mazda is holding thousands of new 2025 Miatas in port, not delivering them to dealerships or buyers. Mazda builds every MX-5 in Hiroshima, Japan.
The problem isn’t tariffs, though they could add a wrinkle to the eventual delivery of the cars. Instead, Mazda says, the company is investigating a problem with the cars.
Likely a Hardware Issue
A Mazda spokesperson told The Drive the company is “investigating a potential issue with a vehicle control module in certain MX-5s.” The term “vehicle control module” could refer to several computer systems within a modern car, from units that manage the powertrain to stability control systems.
The hold doesn’t appear to affect every MX-5. Internet forums show that some buyers have received recent deliveries, while others can log into Mazda’s system and see their cars held in port.
It’s not unusual for a vehicle recall to cover a subset of cars that received a part from a faulty batch of parts. Mazda may be waiting for a supplier to send replacements for a problematic part.
Deliveries May Come in Summer
The wait could take months. The spokesperson told The Drive, “Delivery timelines vary in general, but the latest intel we have is Summer 2025.”
That’s where the tariff issue comes into play. A tariff is a tax on imports. However, due to a quirk of import law, car companies don’t pay a tariff on a car when it arrives in the country. They pay it when they process the vehicle out of a storage lot at the port where it arrived.
At least one automaker — Volkswagen luxury brand Audi — is currently holding thousands of newly delivered cars in ports rather than sending them to dealers to delay paying tariffs. Audi can do this because dealers already have plenty of cars in inventory. The move could theoretically let Audi avoid paying tariffs if the White House ends them before Audi dealers need to refill their lots.
Related: Amid Tariff Changes, Cars Piling Up at Ports
Mazda’s import pause could mean the company ultimately has to pay tariffs on some cars that arrived before the tariffs kicked in.
Buyers waiting on a Miata they’ve ordered have likely already agreed to a price. However, the move could mean price increases on some cars dealers ordered for their inventory.
