1994 Mazda MPV Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1994 Mazda MPV, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
I HAD A MVA ON 9/20/03. A VEHICLE PULLED IN FRONT OF ME AND I COLLIDED WITH THEIR FRONT PASSENGER SIDE. THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG IN MY VEHICLE DID NOT DEPLOY. I WAS DRIVING A MAZDA MPV 1994. MPV TOTALED. MPV FRONT END COLLAPSED. *JB
WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH THE VEHICLE HIT A DEER. UPON IMPACT THE FRONT AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. *AK *NLM
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
LIFTERS & ROCKER ARMS REPLACED 3 TIMES - CARBON BUILD UP WAS NEVER FIXED CAUSES ENGINE TO NEED REPLACEMENT. *AK
THIS PROBLEM WITH THE LIFTERS HAS BEEN REPORTED TWO SEPARATE TIMES. BOTH TIMES WE WERE GIVEN A MAJOR RUN AROUND IN ORDER TO GET THIS ISSUE TAKEN CARE OF. ON THE FIRST VISIT WERE TOLD THAT KNOCKING WAS NORMAL FOR A ENGINE TO DO. WHICH I STRONGLE DISAGREED WITH. AFTER GOING INTO THE ENGINE IT WAS FOUND THERE THERE WAS SOME COLLAPSED LIFTERS. SOON AFTER THE REPAIR THE PROBLEM RESURFACED, THIS TIME SPACERS WERE INSTALLED. I WAS TOLD THAT NOT ENOUGH OIL WAS REACHING THE LIFTERS. AFTER THIS THE KNOCKING WAS GONE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND I THOUGH THE PROBLEM WAS TAKEN CARE OF. UNTILL WE MOVED TO GEORGIA IN JULY OF 98 THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN WITH US UNTILL PRESENT. I CAN SAFTLY SAY THAT I TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF THE VAN THE OIL IS CHANGED ON A 2000 MILE CYCLE SO I WOULD THINK THAT THE OIL SHOULD BE ABLE TO REACH THE LIFTERS FINE. EVEN THOUGH I WAS TOLD BY THE MAZDA DEALER THAT THE KNOCKING NOISE WOULD NOT CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE, I HAVE TO DISAGREE. THE CAM SHAFT HAS TO HAVE SOME KIND OF WEAR AS WELL CONSIDERING THATS WHAT THE PUSHES THE LIFTERS UP.
Brakes
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake.
From owner reports, verbatim
WHEN WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE WE NOTICED FOR NO APPARENT REASON LIGHTS WOULD COME,TRANSMISSION WENT OUT BEFORE EXPECTED,EVEN WHEN REPLACED BRAKES WOULD MAKE A GRINDING NOISE.AFTER TALKING TO MANY PEOPLE,WE FOUND OUT THAT MPV VANS FOR SEVERAL YEARS HAVE THESE SAME TYPE PROBLEMS*AK
THE BRAKES MAKE A LOUD GRINDING NOISE SOUND, HAS TROUBLE STOPPING THE VEHICLE, IT'S LIKE METAL TO METAL. PADS AND ROTORS HAVE BEEN CHECKED AND THE DEALER STATES EVERYTHING IS FINE. *AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Transmission
Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules.
From owner reports, verbatim
WHEN WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE WE NOTICED FOR NO APPARENT REASON LIGHTS WOULD COME,TRANSMISSION WENT OUT BEFORE EXPECTED,EVEN WHEN REPLACED BRAKES WOULD MAKE A GRINDING NOISE.AFTER TALKING TO MANY PEOPLE,WE FOUND OUT THAT MPV VANS FOR SEVERAL YEARS HAVE THESE SAME TYPE PROBLEMS*AK
ON APRIL 28,2000, THE TRANSMISSION IN OUR L994 MAZDA MPV MINI-VAN WENT COMPLETELY OUT. I WAS TRAVELLING AT AN APPROXIMATE SPEED OF 60 MILES PER HOUR ON INTERSTATE L2 IN BATON ROUGE. WE PURCHASED THE VAN, USED, IN JANUARY 2,000. WHEN WE HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP, WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION COULD NOT BE REBUILT. WE THEN PURCHASED A USED TRANSMISSION FOR INSTALLATION IN THE VAN. THE TOTAL COST WAS APPROXIMATELY $2,200.00. WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO DETERMINE IF THERE ARE ANY TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS LISTED FOR THE L994 MAZDA MPV MINI-VAN INVOLVING THE TRANSMISSION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Tires & wheels
Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.
From owner reports, verbatim
DEFECTIVE TIRES. STEEL BELTS SPLIT. TIRES READY TO EXPLODE. FUTURA 775 PURCHASED AT PEP BOYS 02/2005. LESS THAN 10,000 MILES DRIVEN ON 55,000 TIRE. SHOWED TIRES TO 4 DIFFERENT AUTO SHOPS AND ASKED IF THIS WAS A NORMAL THING OR IF IT WAS A DEFECTIVE TIRE? ALL 4 SAID IT WAS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT, INCLUDING THE PEOPLE IN THE PEP BOYS GARAGE. THE MANAGER OF THE STORE SAID IT WAS NOT A DEFECT AND WOULD NOT REPLACE THE TIRES, BUT OFFERED TO SELL ME A COUPLE OF NEW TIRES. *TR
PEOO 020 ; VEHICLE HAD A FLAT TIRE ON PASSENGER'S REAR SIDE. SHE TOOK VEHICLE TO A TIRE PLACE, AND MECHANIC TOLD HER THATTWO TIRE TREADS HAD SEPARATED FROM VEHICLE. FIRESTONE, WILDERNESS, P215/65R15, DOT W2VFH30358. THESE TIRES WERE NOT ORIGINAL TIRES ON VEHICLE, BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM.*AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Driver assistance
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.
From owner reports, verbatim
CONSUMER WAS AT STOP LIGHT WHEN TRYING TO TAKE OFF AND VEHICLE DIDN'T MOVE AT ALL. THROTTLE WAS TO THE FLOOR. CONSUMER TOWED VEHICLE TO DEALER. *AK
WHEN IN DRIVE VEHICLE WILL SUDDENLY ACCELERATE WITH GREAT RPM'S. PLEASE DESRCIBE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Exterior lighting
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.
From owner reports, verbatim
WHEN WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE WE NOTICED FOR NO APPARENT REASON LIGHTS WOULD COME,TRANSMISSION WENT OUT BEFORE EXPECTED,EVEN WHEN REPLACED BRAKES WOULD MAKE A GRINDING NOISE.AFTER TALKING TO MANY PEOPLE,WE FOUND OUT THAT MPV VANS FOR SEVERAL YEARS HAVE THESE SAME TYPE PROBLEMS*AK
MY DEALER AND REPAIR SHOP SAY THEY HAVE SEEN SEVERAL CASES OF THIS SWITCH FAILURE. IT CAUSES THE HEADLIGHTS TO COME ON BY THEMSELVES. MUST BE A DEFECT IN THE SWITCH ASSEMBLY THAT MAZDA IS AWARE OF. MAZDA SHOULD COVER THE REPAIR. *AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Seat belts
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners.
From owner reports, verbatim
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION AT 35 MPH, SEATBELTS DID NOT RETRACT, AND AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Suspension
Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware.
From owner reports, verbatim
WHEEL ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS CAUSING PREMATURE WEAR ON TIRES. *SKD
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .