1999 Mazda 626

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AT AN INTERSECTION, THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP. THE REPAIR SHOP DETERMINED THE EXTERNAL SPRING IN THE TIMING BELT TENSIONER BROKE. THERE IS A NHTSA RECALL, #00V134000, REGARDING THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS AS INDICATED IN THE RECALL; HOWEVER, IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN.

REFER TO ODI 10150361. WANT TO CLARIFY THAT PURCHASED VEHICLE NEW 6-28-99. TRANS WENT OUT AT 87000 MILES. HAD REBUILT. NEVER SHIFTED CORRECTLY WHEN NEW. EVEN WORSE AFTER REBUILD. REVERSE SHIFTED VERY ROUGHLY AFTER VERY APPARENT PAUSE. CALLED MAZDA DEALERSHIP PURCHASED FROM, THEY DIDN'T CARE. SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT. HAD REBUILT 23 MONTHS AGO. ALREADY WENT OUT AT CHRISTMAS 2005. HAD REBUILT. LASTED TWO DAYS - RETURNED TO TRANS SHOP. WENT BACK TO THE SHOP TODAY FOR THE 5TH TIME SINCE WAS "REBUILT" AGAIN AT CHRISTMAS. NO ONE DROVE THE CAR/SAT IN DRIVEWAY AFTER PICKED UP THE LAST TIME. DECIDED TO TAKE THROUGH CAR WASH TODAY, AND DIDN'T MAKE IT OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY - SO NO CAR WASH. WANTED TO GET IT READY TO TRADE OFF, AND TRANS STARTED SLIPPING AND JERKING AGAIN. O/D LIGHT FLASHING, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON AGAIN. WON'T SHIFT INTO REVERSE. SAME THING AGAIN. I CERTAINLY WISH I WAS A MILLIONAIRE AND I WOULD PURSUE A LAWSUIT AGAINST FORD AND MAZDA FOR THEIR "EXPENSIVE JUNK" CARS! MY CAR HAS ALWAYS HAD REGULAR MAINTENANCE, OIL CHANGES, TUNE-UPS, ETC. IT HAS NEVER BEEN ABUSED AND STILL LOOKS LIKE BRAND NEW INSIDE AND OUT. TOO BAD IT'S NOT RELIABLE. JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE HAS SAID HERE, WORD OF MOUTH, SAYING THEY WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER MAZDA OR FORD AGAIN. THE SAME DEFINITELY GOES FOR ME. SO, IN THE LAST TWO YEARS I'VE SPENT OVER $4000 FOR TRANSMISSION REPAIRS, AND IT STILL WON'T RUN CORRECTLY! I'M JUST FED UP!*JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE BEGAN JERKING, AND THEN THE REVERSE WOULD NOT ENGAGE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP, WERE THE TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILT. LESS THAN TWO YEARS LATER, THE OVERDRIVE LIGHT ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY AND THE REVERSE FAILED AGAIN. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILT A SECOND TIME. THE OVERDRIVE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN JERKING LESS THAN A WEEK LATER.

I PURCHASED THIS 1999 MAZDA 626 USED IN NOVEMBER 2002. I HAD THE DEALER CHECK THE CAR TO MAKE SURE ALL WAS OKAY; THEY SAID YES. A FEW MONTHS LATER, WITH 3 PEOPLE IN THE CAR AND SOME LUGGAGE FOR THE WEEKEND, WE EMBARKED ON A TRIP. TWO HOURS INTO THE TRIP AT SPEEDS NO HIGHER THAN 75 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION BLEW. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A MAZDA DEALER WHERE I WAS INFORMED THAT DRIVING AT SUCH HIGH SPEEDS (70 TO 80 MPH) FOR 2 HOURS WITH 3 PEOPLE IN THE CAR WAS TOO MUCH FOR THE MAZDA 626. I DID HAVE THEM PUT IN A TRANSMISSION AND A TRANSMISSION COOLER WHICH WE FOUND OUT WAS NOT STANDARD FOR THE 1999 626. IT WAS QUITE DIFFICULT TO DO, BUT MAZDA AGREED TO PAY PART OF THE COST. INTERESTINGLY, WHEN I CALLED TO SPEAK TO THE MECHANIC WHO INFORMED US OF THE MISSING TRANSMISSION COOLER ABOUT 1 WEEK AFTER THE CAR BROKE DOWN, HE NO LONGER WORKED THERE. ANYHOW, TO NOTE I DID PUT THIS INFORMATION IN AT THE TIME, BUT I NOTICED TODAY MY COMPLAINT WAS NOT IN THE SYSTEM. MOVING ON, IT IS ONE THING AFTER THE OTHER ON THIS CAR. I REALLY WANT TO GET RID OF IT, BUT I DO NOT EVEN WANT TO IMAGINE PUTTING SOMEBODY ELSE THROUGH THIS. I HAVE PUT MORE MONEY INTO REPAIRS IN A COUPLE YEARS, THAN I EVER DID WITH THE SATURN. THIS IS MY THIRD CAR AND THE ONE WITH THE MOST PROBLEMS. MY FIRST WAS A USED DODGE K, AND MY SECOND, A WONDERFUL SATURN SL1. I THOUGHT I WAS MOVING UP IN THE AUTO WORLD WHEN PURCHASING THE MAZDA. SORRY TO SAY, I DO NOT HAVE GOOD REPORTS ABOUT THE COMPANY. IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR PARTS THEY KNOW ARE FAULTY. IT APPEARS FROM OTHER REPORTS THEY WERE/ARE AWARE OF THIS. IF ANYONE FROM MAZDA IS READING THIS, CONSIDER THE KIND OF PRESS UNHAPPY CONSUMERS ARE GIVING YOUR COMPANY. I AM SURE OTHERS AGREE, WHEN MAZDA IS READY TO MAKE THIS RIGHT, WE WILL BE QUITE HAPPY TO ALSO GIVE POSITIVE REPORTS OF THE COMPANY. WHEN A COMPANY CARES ABOUT THEIR PRODUCT AND THE CONSUMER, THEY DO ALL THEY CAN TO ASSURE QUALITY PRODUCT AND SERVICE. THANK YOU.*JB

IF ONLY I DID MORE RESEARCH ON THE 626! WIFE DROVE 30 MILES WITH NO PROBLEM. HAD PREVIOUSLY REPLACED CABLE LINKAGE FOR THE TRANSMISSION. WIFE TRIES TO PUT CAR IN REVERSE, BUT COULDN'T. O/D LIGHT FLICKERING ON AND OFF , FLUID COMING OUT OF DIP STICK ONTO MOTOR. MECHANIC SAYS THE TRANS IS COMPLETELY GONE OR SOME ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. *JB

SEVERAL MONTH BACK, AFTER 2 HOURS OF A 3 HOUR TRIP ON I-77, THE O/D OFF LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING ON MY 1999 MAZDA 626. IT REMAINED IN THE OD (4TH) GEAR, BUT I SLOWED DOWN ANYWAY AS I THOUGHT THIS MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO W/ OVERHEATING. AFTER CHECKING WITH MY NEIGHBOR (HAS HIS OWN TRANSMISSION SHOP) HE NOTED INHERENT PROBLEMS WITH THIS MODEL TRANSMISSION, AND THAT IT WAS LIKELY DUE TO OVERHEATING. THIS WAS AT AROUND 96,000 MILES. NOW, AT 104,000 MILES, THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED COMPLETELY. AT FIRST, IT WAS SLIPPING ON THE HIGHWAY. THEN IT WOULD ONLY GO FORWARD IF SHIFTED INTO 1, 2, OR DRIVE, BUT NOT OVERDRIVE. LASTLY, IT LOST ALL FORWARD POWER WHILE ALMOST AT THE TOP OF A HILL AT A RED LIGHT. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO COAST IN REVERSE DOWN THE HILL AND INTO A PARKING LOT, LET THE TRANNY COOL, AND GET A POLICE ESCORT TO MY APARTMENT 4 BLOCKS AWAY (IN REVERSE), UP A ONE WAY STREET. REPLACEMENT COSTS PER MY TRANSMISSION GUY (FOR A USED TRANNY) AROUND $1000 + LABOR.*JB

THE O/D LIGHT STARTED FLASHING WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. STOPPED AND FOUND THAT THERE WAS A LARGE AMOUNT ON TRANSMISSION FLUID ALL OVER THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. I FILLED THE TRANS BACK UP AND IT ALL LEAKED OUT WITHIN FIVE MINUTES. THE FLUID IS COMING OUT OF THE VENT TUBE. I WILL BE TAKING IT TO GET IT FIXED. THIS IS ONE OF MANY PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD WITH THIS CAR. JUST REPLACED THE COOLING LINES THAT RUSTED IN HALF!*AK

I OWN A 99 MAZDA 626 W/ 120K MILES ON IT. ON NEW YEARS DAY I WAS DRIVING HOME ON A HIGHWAY AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER THE CAR STARTED REVVING UP PERSISTENTLY. IT SEEMED LIKE THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING. QUICKLY THE CAR ACTED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL IN ALL THE GEARS. THERE WAS ENOUGH MOMENTUM TO GET THE CAR TO A SIDE ROAD. LUCKILY I WAS NEARLY HOME. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A LOCAL TRANSMISSION PLACE TO GET LOOKED AT. THE FINAL QUOTE WAS ABOUT $3000 DOLLARS. SUPPOSEDLY THE TRANSMISSION PUMP WENT OUT AND THE TRANNY BURNED UP. THE TORQUE CONVERTER, SOLENOID BLOCK, 4 GEARS, AND ALL THE BUSHINGS NEED TO BE REPLACED. I THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST BAD LUCK BUT AFTER CHECKING ONLINE I FOUND THAT TRANSMISSION FAILURES WERE COMMON FOR 93-2001 MAZDA 626'S. APPARENTLY THERE HAVE NOT BEEN ENOUGH COMPLAINTS OR PUBLICITY FOR MAZDA TO ISSUE A RECALL, YET THEY STOPPED PRODUCING THE VEHICLE DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION. *JB

(1) THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING AT 120000 MILES WHEN ACCELERATING HARD (2) I HAD THE CAR CHECKED OUT PRIOR TO DEPARTING FOR MY CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP FROM FL TO CA, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT I DID NOT HAVE THE TIME NOR MONEY TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION; I HAD TO TAKE MY CHANCES AND BARELY MADE IT. THE CAR NOW CANNOT BE DRIVEN, IT CANNOT MAKE IT UP A HILL, AND I'M STUCK WITH NO TRANSPORTATION. (3) NOTHING HAS YET BEEN DONE; I'LL BE DROPPING THE CAR OFF EITHER AT A MECHANIC TO GET IT FIXED (IF I CAN GET A CREDIT CARD) OR AT A DEALER AS A TRADE-IN FOR ANOTHER CAR. *NM