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1998 Mazda 626

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most 626 years

Owner complaints for the 1998 Mazda 626 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 44.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Compare all 626 years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

224 reports with mileage · 210 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 313 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 81 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

12 crash reports5 fire reports11 injury reports

Engine And Engine Cooling complaints

81 reports
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Mileage unknown · Mar 14, 2001
Engine And Engine CoolingPower Train

TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP WHILE DRIVING AT 45 MPH , VEHICLE CAME TO A DEAD STOP WITH ENGINE RUNNING. FRONT WHEELS LOCKED UP, AND WOULD NOT MOVE DUE TO TORQUE CONVERTER FAILURE. *AK ENGINE WOULD STALL DURING RIGHT TURNS, DEALER RESET COMPUTER, THEN ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, DEALER STATED THE TORQUE CONVERTER CLUTCH WAS SLIPPING, T…

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TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP WHILE DRIVING AT 45 MPH , VEHICLE CAME TO A DEAD STOP WITH ENGINE RUNNING. FRONT WHEELS LOCKED UP, AND WOULD NOT MOVE DUE TO TORQUE CONVERTER FAILURE. *AK ENGINE WOULD STALL DURING RIGHT TURNS, DEALER RESET COMPUTER, THEN ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, DEALER STATED THE TORQUE CONVERTER CLUTCH WAS SLIPPING, TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP ON THE WAY TO A DEALERSHIP FOR REPLACEMENT OF TORQUE CONVERTER CLUTCH, A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED AND 20 MILES LATER THE OD OFF LIGHT ILLUMINATED, VEHICLE STARTED SMOKING AND LOSING POWER, THIS TIME DEALER STATED THE COOLING SYSTEM IN THE RADIATOR WAS NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO COOL THE TRANSMISSION, AN EXTERNAL COOLING SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED, NOW TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACED AGAIN, CONSUMER REQUESTS THAT VEHICLE BE REPLACED OR REPURCHASED BY THE DEALER. *SLC

NHTSA ODI #882983

Mileage unknown · Feb 27, 2001
Engine And Engine Cooling

LOSS OF POWER DURING ACCELERATION FRON STOP OR AT SLOW SPEED, ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON DURRING FAILURE.*AK

NHTSA ODI #741619

Mileage unknown · Nov 9, 2000
Engine And Engine Cooling

CAR RAN HOT , WOULLDN'T FIXX, BROKE BOTH CAMSHAFTS IN THE HEADS. *AK

NHTSA ODI #736082

Mileage unknown · Oct 20, 2000
Engine And Engine Cooling

VEHICLE WOULD STALL OUT WHILE DRIVING. ENGINE WOULD OVERHEAT & START SMOKING. TOWED TO MAZDA DEALERSHIP & MECHANIC INDICATED NO OIL IN CRANKSHAFT & NO ANTI-FREEZE IN RADIATOR. THERE WERE NO LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD. THIS WAS A LEASED VEHICLE.*AK

NHTSA ODI #873525

Mileage unknown · Oct 11, 2000
Engine And Engine Cooling

AFTER VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BY DEALER UNDER RECALL 00V134000 VEHICLE BECAME INOPERABLE. DEALER WAS NOT ABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK

NHTSA ODI #872716

Mileage unknown · Jun 16, 2000
Engine And Engine CoolingFuel System, Gasoline

CHECK THE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND GOES OFF REPEATEDLY DUE TO OIL SPILLING INTO AIR FLOW SENSOR AND DUE TO INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAKING. YH

NHTSA ODI #552683

Mileage unknown · Jun 7, 2000
Engine And Engine CoolingPower Train

WHILE TRAVELING CONSUMER NOTICED OVERDRIVE INDICATOR LIGHT FLASHING. THEN, ENGINE WOULD IDLE WITHOUT ANY INDICATION. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ODI #863180

Mileage unknown · Dec 21, 1999
Engine And Engine Cooling

WHEN CONSUMER DRIVES AND ATTEMPTS TO ACCELERATE, VEHICLE LOSES SPEED AND BUCKS. *AK

NHTSA ODI #854255

Mileage unknown · Jul 8, 1999
Engine And Engine CoolingPower Train

TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED. *SLC

NHTSA ODI #782517

Mileage unknown · Oct 24, 1998
Engine And Engine CoolingPower Train

626 TAKEN TO MAZDA TO HAVE TRANSMISSION CHECKED FOR ROUGH SHIFTING AND CLUNKING NOISE. MAZDA SAID THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ONCE REPLACED, NEW TRANSMISSION ACTED IN THE SAME MANNER. MAZDA THEN DECIDED TO REPLACE ALL 4 MOTOR MOUNTS. THAT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM EITHER. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TH…

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626 TAKEN TO MAZDA TO HAVE TRANSMISSION CHECKED FOR ROUGH SHIFTING AND CLUNKING NOISE. MAZDA SAID THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ONCE REPLACED, NEW TRANSMISSION ACTED IN THE SAME MANNER. MAZDA THEN DECIDED TO REPLACE ALL 4 MOTOR MOUNTS. THAT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM EITHER. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THEN TOLD ME THAT ROUGH SHIFTING AND CLUNKING SOUNDS ARE NORMAL FOR THE 98'626. I FOUND THAT EXPLAINATION VERY HARD TO BELIEVE TO SAY THE LEAST, SO I AM MEETING WITH THE REGIONAL SALES REP FOR MAZDA IN AN EFFORT TO HAVE THE PROBLEM RECTIFIED.

NHTSA ODI #700070

Official recalls

4

15V674000 · Electrical System:ignition:switch

Oct 19, 2015

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 & remedy

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.

00V134000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine

May 9, 2000

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. AN EXTERNAL SPRING IN THE TIMING BELT TENSIONER COULD BREAK.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: THE BROKEN SPRING MAY GET CAUGHT IN THE TIMING BELT, RESULTING POSSIBLE ENGINE STALLING.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL CHECK THE TENSIONER INSTALLED AND REPLACE IT IF THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH THE AFFECTED TENSIONER.

98V243000 · Equipment:electrical:radio/tape Deck/cd Etc.

Oct 2, 1998

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: IF THE VEHICLE IS OPERATED IN A HOT, HUMID ENVIRONMENT WITH THE WINDOW OPEN AND AIR CONDITIONER RUNNING, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR CONDENSATION TO ENTER THE AUDIO UNIT AND CAUSE A SHORT CIRCUIT.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: IF THE SHORT CIRCUIT OCCURS AT ONE SPECIFIC SET OF TERMINALS, THE SPEAKER CAN OVERHEAT AND IN SOME CASES, CATCH FIRE.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL AFFIX ALUMINUM TAPE OVER THE AUDIO UNIT TO PREVENT WATER FROM ENTERING.

97V228000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System

Dec 17, 1997

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. DUE TO A PROGRAMMING ERROR, THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) INSTALLED CAN, UNDER CERTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS, TRIGGER A SHIFT IN AIR-FUEL RATIO TO AN OVERLEAN CONDITION.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: THIS CONDITION CAN RESULT IN AN ENGINE STALL, WHICH COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AND/OR A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE PCM WITH THE CORRECT ENGINE CONTROL LOGIC.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

SQ98024 · Speedometer Inoperative

Opened Oct 29, 1998 · Closed Sep 10, 1999

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Power Train

SEE RESUME FOR DETAILS.