2001 Mazda 626

IN AUGUST 2001, I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW MAZDA 626. IN MAY 2003, I STARTED TO EXPERIENCE MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. AT 23,000 MILES, THE FOLLOWING HAD TO BE REPLACED: TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY, THERMOSTAT AND RADIATOR SUB-TANK. AT 31,000 MILES, MY CAR WAS IN THE SHOP FOR 11 DAYS IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE FOLLOWING: MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR, FUEL PUMP, FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR, VALVE IDLE AIR CONTROL, THERMOSTAT GASKET AND THE THROTTLE BODY GASKET. NOW AT 48,000 MILES, I RETURNED FROM A TRIP, GOT IN MY CAR AND STARTED DRIVING. AFTER A COUPLE OF MINUTES, I NOTICED THAT THE THERMOSTAT WAS REALLY HOT, THEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND IMMEDIATELY THE CAR DIED AND STARTED SMOKING (LEFT MY HUSBAND AND MYSELF STRANDED ON THE 405 FWY AT MIDNIGHT). I WAS TOLD I NEED A NEW ENGINE (ENGINE LONG BLOCK, ALL WATER HOSES, RADIATOR, KNOCK SENSOR, GASKET SET AND SPARK PLUGS). THE COST: $8400. THEY OFFERED TO REDUCE THE COST TO $5200, HOWEVER I DON'T SEE HOW THIS IS HELPFUL FOR THE CAR IS PROBABLY WORTH LESS THAN THAT AND EVEN IF THEY DID REPLACE THE PARTS I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THEY WOULD JUST START FALLING APART AGAIN. I DRIVE MY CAR LESS THAN 10 MILES A DAY, SO I DEFINITELY DO NOT THINK THAT ALL THIS DAMAGE IS FROM NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR, RATHER I BELIEVE THAT MAZDA IS MAKING INFERIOR PARTS.

THE ENGINE LIGHT ON MY CAR HAS RECENTLY COME ON, AND GOES OFF PERIODICALLY ALSO. I TOOK IT TO HAVE THE PROBLEM DIAGNOSED AND THE MECHANIC SAID IT WAS THE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER & O2 SENSORS ON MY 2001 626 4.0 CYLINDER. HE SAID THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER HAD TO BE BOUGHT FROM MAZDA ONLY AND IT WAS $672, AND THE 2 O2 SENSORS WOULD BE $416.00 AS WELL.....IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO'VE HAD THESE PROBLEMS??? ALSO, IS THERE A WARRANTY ON THE CONVERTER??

I HAVE HAD MY 2001 MAZDA 626 FOR 3 YEARS. THERE IS ONLY 69,000 MILES ON THIS CAR, AND NOW MY TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THERE IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM HERE. MAZDA SHOULD HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES RECALLED. I DO NOT FEEL THAT CONSUMERS SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE WITH THE EXPENSE OF REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION AFTER A CAR BEING ONLY 4 YEARS OLD. *AK

I PURCHASED A 2001 MAZDA 626 IN JULY OF 2002 AND HAVE HAD EXTENSIVE PROBLEMS WITH THE TIRES ON THE CAR. I'VE HAD TO CHANGE USUALLY TWO TIRES AT A TIME EVERY SIX MONTHS. AS OF TODAY ALONG WITH PROBLEMS WITH THE TIRES MY TRANSMISSION BLEW OUT AND I'M BEING QUOTED $3,300 TO REPLACE IT. THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING ON ANY CAR THAT IS ONLY FOUR YEARS OLD. IT HAS 72,000 MILES ON IT. I'VE RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE COME ACROSS 200 OTHER INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION. SOME OF THEM WITH BRAND NEW MAZDA'S AND SOME OF THEM WITH THE SAME CAR THAT IS OLDER THAN MINE. IT'S AMAZING TO ME THAT MAZDA CAN GET AWAY WITH SELLING THIS CAR FOR SO LONG WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE THREE CHILDREN THAT ARE IN THE CAR WITH ME DAILY AND I ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT WHEN THE CAR DIED ON ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY ROAD. BUT YET, MAZDA CAN CONTINUE TO PUT THIS CAR ON THE ROAD EVEN WITH ALL OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS. MY PARENTS HAD A 1994 MAZDA 626 THAT THEY PURCHASED BRAND NEW WITH ZERO MILES AND THEY HAD THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM, HAD THE CAR REPAIRED AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN WITHIN TWO MONTHS. THEY ARE ASTONISHED THAT THE MAZDA 626'S ARE STILL ON THE ROAD WHEN THEY HAVN'T CORRECTED THE PROBLEM AND HAVE THE NERVE TO SELL THIS CAR WITH PRIDE IN THEIR DEALERSHIPS. *AK

MY 2001 MAZDA 626 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS BURNT-UP TWICE WITH A TOTAL OF 90K MILES. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE WELL DOCUMENTED WITH THIS MODEL AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE MANUFACTURE IS GOING TO DO ABOUT IT. THE FIRST FAILURE WAS REPLACE BY MAZDA AND THE SECOUND APPEARS TO BE MY RESPONSABILITY EVEN THOUGH I'VE ONLY LOGGED 50K ON THE REPLACED TRANIE. I HAVE PERFORMED ALL THE MAINTENANCE AND EACH TIME I HAVE THEM LOOK FOR THE PROBLEM THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS THE SAME UNTIL IT FAILS; IT'S NORMAL FOR THIS CAR! THE OTHER ANSWER IS TO BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WHICH IS A WASTE CONSIDERING THEY ALREADY KNOW OF THE PROBLEM AND THE FIX. I'M TIRED OF HAVING TO PAY TO FIX A PROBLEM THAT'S STRANDED ME ON THE HIGHWAY, CAUSED TRAFFIC JAMS AND TOWING FEES AND LEFT ME WITH A CAR THAT COSTS ME MORE IN REPAIRS THEN IT'S WORTH.

ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY, 2005, MY 2001 MAZDA 626 BEGAN EXPERIENCING A PROBLEM WHILE CHANGING GEARS. I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE VEHICLE BEGAN SPUTTERING, CHANGING GEARS VERY ROUGHLY AND BACKFIRED. AS THIS WAS TAKING PLACE, THE O/D LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING ON AND OFF. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OFF THE ROAD TO PREVENT AN ACCIDENT AND TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF. IT TOOK ABOUT FORTY-FIVE MINUTES BEFORE IT TURNED ON AGAIN. EVER SINCE THIS INCIDENT, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM ( ROUGH GEAR SHIFTING). IT IS NOW AT A TRANSMISSION SHOP WHO HAS EXPLAINED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAS BURNED OUT BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF A COOLING SYSTEM. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THERE ARE MANY CONSUMERS WITH MAZDA 626'S THAT WERE MANUFACTURED IN THE YEARS 1992 TO 2002 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE NOT HAD THE PROBLEM FIXED AS YET, I WILL DO SO AND REQUEST TO KEEP THE OLD PARTS IF NECESSARY.*AK

LESS THAN ONE MONTH AGO I HAD A FLASHING ENGINE LIGHT ON MY 4CYL-MAZDA 626. THE DEALER CLAIMED IT WAS THE CONVERTER AND CHANGED THAT OUT. NOW THE O/D LIGHT IS FLASHING AND THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO TWO SHOPS FOR CHECKING AND OF COURSE IT IS THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE NOT AND CANNOT HAVE IT REPAIRED AT THE RECOMMENDED COSTS..AND STILL PAY THE CAR NOTE. ALSO, I DO NOT THINK I SHOULD HAVE TO REPLACE IT AT 68,000 MILES ON A CAR THAT HAS BEEN SERVICED AND MAINTAINED PROPERLY.*AK