1998 MAZDA 626 Complaints

MY SON WAS GIVEN A 1998 MAZDA 626 WITH 70,000 MILES BY HIS GRANDMOTHER. WE KNEW THE HISTORY ON THIS CAR, IT HAD BEEN WELL MAINTAINED AND WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD SAFE FIRST CAR FOR HIM. BEFORE MY SON EVEN GOT HIS LICENCE WE STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS, THE CAR APPEARED TO BE SLIPPING IN AND OUT OF GEAR, THE RPM'S WOULD JUMP AND THE VEHICLE WOULD LURCH FORWARD. WE PUT THE CAR IN THE SHOP AND WERE TOLD IT WOULD NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. WE ARE THANKFUL THE PROBLEM APPEARED BEFORE MY SON WAS OUT ON THE ROAD ALONE. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT MAZDA TRANSMISSIONS AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL IN THE HANDS OF AN INEXPERIENCED DRIVER. MAZDA HAS BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT SEEMS TO BE IGNORING IT. DO WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THERE ARE FATALITIES BEFORE SOMETHING IS DONE?*AK

WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH VEHICLE STALLED TIMING BELT T TENSIONER MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING THE TIMING BELT TO BREAK. THERE'S A TIMING RECALL 00V134000 WAS ISSUED, HOWEVER, THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED DUE TO VIN. *AK

REPLACED TRANSMISSION ON 1998 MAZDA 626 AT 72,500 MILES. ALONG WITH MULTIPLE REPAIRS IN THE LAST 2 YEARS, INCLUDING ABNORMAL BURNOUT OF TIRES, 3 WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENTS AND ALIGNMENT ISSUES. *CB

THE MANUFACTURER RECALL AMENDMENT; MANUFACTURE RECALL #92007, NHTSA RECALL 00V134000, "SPRING ON TIMING BELT TENSIONER BREAKS OFF AND GETS CAUGHT IN THE TIMING BELT". WHILE THE CONSUMER WAS SITTING AT A STOP LIGHT, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. A MECHANIC EXAMINED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND THAT THE SPRING HAD BROKEN OFF IN THE TIMING BELT. *PH *SC *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.

MY DAUGHTER HAS A 1998 MAZDA 626. SHE HIT A TREE HEAD ON AT ABOUT 40 MILES PER HOUR AND THE AIR BAG DID NOT COME OUT. WE HAVE HAD THE CAR REPAIRED AND SHE IS DRIVING IT NOW. IT REALLY CONCERNS ME THAT THIS IS A DANGEROUS CAR IF SHE HAS A WRECK THAT IS WORST THAT THE ONE SHE ALREADY HAS.

SINCE APPROXIMATELY JUNE, 2002, THE IMMOBILIZER HAS BEEN TURNING OFF THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY AFTER I START THE CAR, EVEN THOUGH THE ALARM IS DEACTIVATED. I USUALLY HAVE TO WAIT 24 HOURS OR SO FOR THE ALARM TO RESET ITSELF. THIS OCCURS EVERY 2 MONTHS OR SO, BUT WHEN IT HAPPENS, IT CONTINUES TO OCCUR FOR SEVERAL DAYS. IT HAS HAPPENED EVEN WHEN THE CAR WASN'T LOCKED. JUNE, 2002, REPLACED BATTERY; DEC. 2002, INSTALLED NEW FUEL PUMP; JAN. 2003, INSTALLED FUEL PUMP AGAIN; APRIL, 2003, BOUGHT NEW KEY AND CLICKER; SEPT. 2003, DEALER WANTS TO REPLACE IMMOBILIZER @ NEARLY $800. ALL OF THESE REPAIRS ARE AT DEALER'S REQUEST, AND ARE INTERSPERSED WITH MANY TOWS AND ALARM RESETS.