Owner-reported complaints naming the powertrain system, filed with NHTSA
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Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1998 Mazda 626 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 16 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
SINCE OWNING THE MAZDA 626 I HAVE HAD A VERY BIG PROBLEM THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPING. IT WILL SLIP GOING INTO SECOND GEAR. IF ITS BELOW 60 DEGREES THE CAR WONT SHIFT INTO DRIVE UNTIL THE MOTOR GETS HOT ENOUGH. THE CAR IS LIKE THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY AND DOES IT EVERY TIME IT IS DRIVEN. ALSO THE INTERIOR LIGHTS WORK SOMTIMES ON AND OFF AND THE BACK WINDOWS WONT ROLL DOWN FROM THE DRIVER BUTTON
TAKATA RECALL. THE TRANSMISSION CD4E TRANNY DOESN'T HAVE SWITCH GEARS UNLESS YOU USE EXCESSIVE RPM.
TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS! RIGHT NOW THE CAR IS AT THE MECHANIC HAVING THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED. I KNOW I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM, PLEASE DO SOMETHING. RIGHT NOW REPLACING IT FOR A REBUILT ONE IS $1,100, BUT BEING A MANUFACTURER PROBLEM, IT MAY NOT LAST ANOTHER YEAR. I AM THE 3RD OWNER, SO I AM NOT SURE HOW MANY MORE TIMES THIS TRANSMISSION HAVE BEEN REPAIRED OR REPLACED, BUT WHEN I BOUGHT IT WAS WORKING WELL. *TR
MY 98 MAZDA 626 TRANSMISSION WENT OUT TWICE WITHIN 2 YEARS AFTER I BOUGHT IT! MAZDA DID A '!@#$% JOB WITH THAT TRANSMISSION AND SHOULD HAVE CAME UP WITH A SOLUTION THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE ME SPENDING 2,000 DOLLARS TO FIX IT!!! *TR
I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT MY 1998 MAZDA 626. THIS CAR HAS BEEN TROUBLE EVER SINCE DAY ONE. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TIMING BELT, THE DRIVE AXLES TWICE, AND PUT IN 4 TRANSMISSIONS. I HAVE HAD THE CAR SINCE 2002 AND HAD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION EVERY YEAR. I COULD HARDY MAKE MY CAR PAYMENTS FOR HAVING TO SPEND EXTRA MONEY TO REPAIR MY CAR.
MAZDA 626 1998, TRANSMISSION LEAKED AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. *BF *JB
I PURCHASED MY 1998 MAZDA 626LX IN DECEMBER 2000 WITH 65,000 MILES ON IT. IN JULY 2002 THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT COMPLETELY WHILE DRIVING UP A HILL AT 65 MPH WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON AND THE AIR CONDITIONING TURNED ON. THE CAR SUDDENLY SHIFTED INTO SECOND GEAR AND PROCEEDED TO STRIP ALL THE GEARS IN THE TRANSMISSION (AS I WAS TOLD BY THE TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP) RENDERING MY CAR USELESS FOR THREE MONTHS WHILE I SAVED THE MONEY TO HAVE IT REPAIRED. I PUT A REMANUFACTURED ONE IN FROM PHOENIX HARD PARTS (NEVER GOT MY REBATE, SO DON'T GO TO THEM FOR HELP!). IT COST ME $1300 FOR THE TRANSMISSION AND $1200 IN LABOR TO HAVE IT INSTALLED. NOW THIS TRANSMISSION OVERHEATS (FLASHING O/D LIGHT) AFTER ONLY AN HOUR ON THE INTERSTATE! PLEASE SOMEONE LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE. IT MAY NOT BE CHILD SEATS, BUT THIS IS COSTING LOTS OF PEOPLE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!*AK
PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE'S ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION.*MR THE CONSUMER BELIEVED RECALL#00V134000 WAS RELATED TO THE PROBLEM HE EXPERIENCED WITH HIS VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION REPAIRS. *JB
TRANSMISSION FAILED AT 79,000 MILES, WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE WAS NOT A RESULT OF MISUSE OR AN ACCIDENT, AND IN FACT, TRANSMISSION MAINTENANCE WAS PERFORMED PER THE MANUAL WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS. AFTER SPEAKING WITH A FORMER MAZDA MECHANIC AND SEARCHING ONLINE, I'VE FOUND OUT THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE TRANSMISSION FAILURES WITH THIS CAR DUE TO A DESIGN DEFECT WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN CORRECTED BY MAZDA IN THE NEWER MODELS, HOWEVER MAZDA HAS NOT SEEN FIT TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THE DEFECTIVE MODEL YEARS.
MY 1998 MAZDA 626 4CL 2.0 ENGINE HAS APPROX. 71K MILES ON IT. THE TRANSMISSION STARTING HAVING PROBLEMS IN AUGUST 2003, AT WHICH POINT WE HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSHED,& THE SPARK PLUGS CHANGED. THE MECHANIC TOLD US TO DRIVE IT A LITTLE WHILE AND LET THE CONDITIONERS TAKE EFFECT, BUT THE CAR SHOWS NO DIFFERENCE IN DRIVING. THE O/D LIGHT FLASHES NOW ON OCCASION, AND THE RPM GOES UP TO 4 OR 5 BEFORE IT SHIFTS TO A HIGHER GEAR. WE ARE NOT DRIVING IT NOW..ITS BEEN SITTING IN OUR DRIVEWAY FOR A WEEK & A HALF. I CALLED THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP AND BEFORE SEEING THE CAR THEY SAID IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I HAVE A EXTENDED WARRANTY THATS GOOD THRU 90K, BUT THEY MAY OR MAY NOT HONOR IT, I CAN'T AFFORD TO TAKE THE CHANCE IF THE WARRANTY COMPANY DOSENT REIMBURSE ME. THIS IS OUR ONLY CAR, AND I STILL HAVE 2 YEARS OF PAYMENTS LEFT. AFTER READING 56 PAGES OF COMMENTS ON-LINE WITH PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM, I HAVE NO FAITH THAT A NEW TRANNY WOULD EVEN SOLVE THE PROBLEM...IT LOOKS AS THOUGH EVEN WITH A REBUILT ONE THEY GO OUT RIGHT AFTER THE REBUILT WARRANTY. I HAVE NOT SEEN A CARFAX ON MY CAR, BUT I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS WASN'T THE FIRST TRANSMISSION. WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO BUY A NEW CAR WITHOUT SELLING THIS ONE, BUT HOW CAN I SELL A CAR THAT DOSEN'T RUN, ESPECIALLY WHEN I STILL OWE MONEY ON IT.
I PURCHASED MY 626LX USED IN THE YEAR 2001. WHEN TEST DRIVING IT, I FELT A LIGHT KICK TO THE CAR. THE SALESMAN TOLD ME IT WAS A SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE TRANSMISSION. THAT IT ACTS AS A V6 BUT ONLY A 4 CYLINDER SO IT WILL SAVE ME ON GAS. IN TAKING THE DEALERS WORD, I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE BELIEVING IT WAS IN FINE CONDITION. AFTER A WEEK OF HAVING IT, IT WAS KICKING HARDER. I TOOK IT TO A MAZDA DEALER TO HAVE IT EXAMINED, WHEN ALL I WAS TOLD IS, IT CHECKED OUT OK. THEY SAID IT WAS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VEHICLE. NOW, AFTER ALL THE RUN AROUND OF TAKING IT TO ALL THE AUTO SHOPS I KNOW FOR DIFFERENT OPINIONS. ACCORDING TO ONE OF THE PROFESSIONAL TRANSMISSION SHOPS, I HEAR THE WORSE DIAGNOSE OF WHAT I WAS AFRAID OF INITIALLY. THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACING. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE SAME MAZDA DEALER TO HAVE THEM REDIAGNOSE IT SINCE THEY WERE THE ONES THAT HAD SAID IT WAS FINE JUST EIGHT MONTHS PREVIOUS. THEN THEY TOLD ME, THE TRANSMISSION INDICATES AN INTERNAL PROBLEM. THAT IT SHOULD BE REPLACED. SO ANOTHER $100 BUCKS LATER FOR A 10 MINUTE DIAGNOSE, I FIND MY CAR WAS DEFECTIVE FROM THE FIRST DAY I GOT IT! IN TAKING MY VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER I GOT IT FROM, ALL I GOT WAS, LET?S GET YOU INTO SOMETHING ELSE, BUT OF COURSE WE?LL HAVE TO DEDUCT ANY COST IT WILL TAKE TO FIX IT TO RESELL IT. SO I WENT HIGHER; I TOOK IT TO MAZDA CORPORATION..( I WAS TIRED OF DEALING WITH THIS FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS ALREADY) I EXPLAINED MY PROBLEM WITH THEM AND THEY TOLD ME TO WRITE A LETTER. I WAS FRUSTRATED IN HAVING TO WAIT AND WAIT SO I CALLED BACK A WEEK LATER TELLING THEM MY STORY AGAIN BUT TO A DIFFERENT PERSON. I RESEARCHED ALL TYPES OF FACTS FROM EVERY SOURCE TO USE AGAINST MAZDA ABOUT THE EXACT MODEL OF THE 626 I HAVE. WHEN READING EVERY DOCUMENT I HAD IN MY HAND CONFRONTING THEIR DEFECTS IN THE VEHICLE, THE REP. TOLD ME SHE?LL TAKE IT TO HER MANAGER AND CALL ME BACK. A DAY LATER, SHE DID. SHE ALSO TOLD ME THAT THEY?LL PAY FOR THE TRANSMISSION AS LONG AS I PAY FOR THE LABOR ($600).
SINCE I PURCHASED MY CAR USED FROM CORPORATE MOTORS IN SACRAMENTO, CALIF. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING AT 18K, THIS WAS MY FIRST ONE SO I JUST FIGURED THAT'S HOW AUTOMATICS DROVE, WRONG? AIR CONDITIONING WENT OUT AROUND 30K. I'VE SPENT WELL OVER $2500 REPAIRING THE VEHICLE TRANSMISSION WISE, AND NOW THE PUMP IS GOING OUT. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE PUMP JUST CAN'T BE REPLACED, I WILL HAVE TO GET ANOTHER TRANSMISSION, EITHER REBUILT OR A NEW ONE. I AM LETTING IT GET TO THE POINT THAT IT WILL DRIVE IN A DEALERSHIP AND NEVER COME HOME WITH ME AGAIN.
TRANSMISSION FAILED IN YEAR 5 OF OPERATION FOR 1998 MAZDA 626. I AM AWARE THAT I AM NOT ALONE WITH MY TRANSMISSION PROBLEM REGARDING 1994-1998 MAZDA 626S. THIS IS TOO SOON TO BE DISPOSING OF AN AUTOMOBILE BECAUSE OF A BIG TICKET ITEM. VERY DISAPPOINTED. WON'T EVER BUY MAZDA AGAIN. ALSO, FRONT, RIGHT AXLE JOINT WAS FAILING/LOOSE A YEAR AGO, 3 REPAIRS/AXLE REPLACEMENT AND $1000 LATER, THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN FIXED. ABSOLUTELY NO FAITH IN MAZDA, OR THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT LOCATED IN BURNSVILLE, MN.
THE VEHICLE SHIFTED GEARS ON ITS OWN WHILE DRIVING. *JB
THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP, WHICH CAUSED THE REAR TIRES TO LOCK, WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE.*JB
FRONT AXLE PULLS OUT OF THE TRANSMISSION AND THE STEERING WHEEL WOBBLES. COULD LOSE CONTROL IF DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS ON HIGHWAYS, ALSO, WHEN MAKING A TURN, CANNOT DRIVE. THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT PROBLEM WILL OCCUR WHEN MAKING A TURN. THE DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THEY WILL REPLACE THE AXLE, BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE A NEW AXLE IN STOCK. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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