1996 MAZDA 626 Complaints

THE TRANSMISSION ON MY 1996 MAZDA 626 FAILED AT 75,000 MILES. MAZDA DEALERS SAID THEY ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE 1996 MODEL 626. I REPLACED TRANSMISSION AT MY OWN COST. *NM

TRANSMISSION HAS NOW WENT OUT TWICE IN MY 1996 MAZDA 626 WITHIN A YEAR. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS. IT JUST HAPPENED! CAME TO A LIGHT, STOPPED, LIGHT TURNED GREEN STARTED TO ACCELERATE AND IT ACTED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. ENGINE JUST REVVED UP NOT GOING ANYWHERE. IN A PANIC, I PUSHED THE O/D BUTTON OFF AND IT FINALLY WENT INTO GEAR. THE ONLY TIME I COULD DRIVE IT WITH O/D ON WAS IF I WAS GOING OVER 50 MPH. IN THE MEANTIME. DRIVING WITH IT OFF AROUND TOWN. WHEN YOU STARTED SLOW DOWN ALMOST BEFORE YOU CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP THE CAR WOULD JUMP LIKE IT WAS DOWN SHIFTING REALLY HARD. WHEN DRIVING IT ON THE HIGHWAY WITH O/D ON...IT WAS FINE UNTIL YOU TRIED TO PASS SOMEONE OR TRIED GETTING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE PASSING GEAR WOULDN'T WORK AND ACTED AS IF IT WAS IN NEUTRAL AGAIN. SCARED ME TO DEATH! I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE IT. AFRAID SOMEONE WOULD HIT ME. HUSBAND CHECKED THE TRANS. FLUID,,LOOKED FINE..SO WE TOOK IT IN, TO COTTMANS, BTW..DON'T EVER USE THEM. ENDED UP COSTING US $2800 FOR A REBUILT TRANNY. NOW ITS A YEAR LATER, SPRING BREAK, ME AND MY FAMILY OUT SHOPPING AND WENT TO PASS A CAR ON THE HIGHWAY AND IT STARTED DOING THE SAME THING AGAIN!! NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE CUT OUR OUTING SHORT AND WENT HOME. CALLED COTTMANS OF COURSE WOULDN'T HOLD UP TO THE WARRANTY. IT WENT OUT A MONTH TO THE DAY!!! WE ARE NOT GOING TO SHELL OUT MONEY ON THE CAR AGAIN! I HAVE DONE RESEARCH, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND HAVE HAD THEM REBUILT SEVERAL TIMES ONLY FOR IT TO FAIL OVER AND OVER. ALSO, I HAVE READ OTHER THINGS ABOUT THEM. WHICH I THOUGHT WAS MINOR ON MY CAR. BUT AFTER READING ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEMS OTHERS HAVE I AM GOING TO LIST THOSE AS WELL. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL STICKS, OIL LEAK REAR MAIN SEAL, OXYGEN SENSOR DOESN'T WORK, CV JOINTS BAD. WITH ALL THIS SAID EVEN THOUGH I LOVED MY PAID OFF MAZDA, I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND BUYING A MAZADA. NOW WE ARE STUCK GOING OUT DOING THE DREADFUL CAR SHOPPING IN WHICH ANOTHER MAZADA WILL BE OUT OF THE QUESTION. *JB

MAZDA 626 TRANSMISSION CD4E IS FAULTY. WHY SHOULD MAZDA BE ALLOWED TO GET OFF SCOTT FREE WHILE THOUSANDS OF CONSUMERS ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF THIS? BECAUSE IT'S NOT VIEWED AS A SAFETY ISSUE? ISSUE A RECALL ON THE CD4E TRANSMISSION. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MORE CLEAR CASE IN NEED OF A RECALL. *NM

FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN THREE YEARS THE TRANSMISSION O/D LIGHT BEGAN TO FLASH, WITHIN ONE MINUTE THE TRANSMISSION WHEN IN DRIVE WOULD SKIP FIRST GEAR. IF YOU START IN FIRST GEAR AND MANUALLY SHIFT THE CAR APPEARS OK. JUST OUT OF 2 YEAR WARRANTY WITH LESS THEN 10,000 MILES BETWEEN LAST REPAIR. TRANSMISSION SHOP SAID THAT BECAUSE OF FAILURE HISTORY ON MAZDA 626 AND FORD PROBES THEY COULD NO LONGER SERVICE IN GOOD CONSCIENCE. RECOMMENDED I BRING TO DEALER. AT THIS TIME I CAN NOT AFFORD A 2500- 3000 DOLLAR REPAIR. *JB

1996 MAZDA 626 WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE CAR HAS HAD WHAT I CONSIDER EARLY TRANSMISSION FAILURE. FROM WHAT I HAVE FOUND OUT THIS IS VERY COMMON ON THIS MODEL AND YEAR MAZDA AND WAS ADVISED TO FILE THIS COMPLAINT. *JB

PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE SPLIT OPEN CAUSING THE METAL PIN THAT HOLDS BUCKLE TO THE BELT PORTION TO FALL OUT, CAUSING ENTIRE BUCKLE TO FALL OFF. THE PLASTIC CASING IS THE ONLY THING HOLDING THE PIN IN PLACE BUT THE PLASTIC DRIES OUT WITH AGE AND SPLITS OPEN. REPORTED TO MAZDA, BUT THEY DON'T CARE. *NM

1996 MAZDA 626 4 CYL WITH CD4E AUTO TRANSMISSION & 110,000 MILES. THE TRANS O/D LOCK LIGHT WILL START TO BLINK. THE TRANS WILL START TO UPSHIFT HARD AND DOWNSHIFT FOR NO REASON. THE DEALER ADVISED THE TRANSMISSION MUST BE REPLACED. *JB

1996 MAZDA 626 TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS I.E. OD LIGHT FLASHING WHEN CAR IS DRIVEN AT SPEED OF 65 MPH. CAR MUST BE STOPPED, SHUT OFF, AND RESTARTED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, OTHERWISE ONCE SPEED IS DECREASED THE CAR SHIFTS ERRATICALLY. IN A TWO HOUR CAR TRIP, I MAY HAVE TO RESTART CAR 3 OR 4 TIMES OR DRIVE UNDER 60 AT ALL TIMES. I'VE SEEN SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON THE WEB REGARDING THIS PROBLEM AND THE MAJOR COSTS TO REPAIR, SO I JUST DON'T DRIVE MY CAR ANY LONG DISTANCES AND HAVEN'T FOR YEARS! DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY MAZDA ISN'T RECALLING IF THEY KNOW IT'S SUCH A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM. I WORRY THAT BECAUSE I HAVE TO DRIVE SLOW, I'LL GET REAR-ENDED ON THE EXPRESSWAY BY SOMEONE GOING THE SPEED LIMIT!! *JB

MY OVER DRIVE LIGHT HAS BEEN BLINKING LATELY, AND MY WIFE TWO WEEKS AGO HAD THE LIGHT COME ON AND STAY ON WHEN RETURNING FROM A TRIP ON THE INTERSTATE DRIVING ABOUT 72 MPH. AT 121,000 MILES AND REGULAR MAINTENANCE, MY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS ABOUT TO COMPLETELY FAIL IN MY 1996 MAZDA 626 LX. DOING ONLINE RESEARCH AND TALKING WITH THE SPECIALTY TRANSMISSION SHOP, I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE ISSUE WITH THE MAZDA TRANSMISSION TYPE CD4E IS WELL KNOWN BY THE COMPANY AND DOCUMENTED IN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS, YET MAZDA HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT. I AM LUCKY TO HAVE THIS MANY MILES ON THE CAR, WHERE OTHERS HAVE FAILED MUCH WORSE, BUT AS A CONSUMER THAT DOES NOT DRIVE ABUSIVELY AND THAT REGULARLY (EVERY 30,000 MILES) HAS THE TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSHED AND REPLACED AND THE FILTER SERVICED, THIS IS AN EXPENSE THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT MY FAULT. AND GIVEN THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS SINCE THE MID 1990'S, IT IS FRUSTRATING. I AM NOW SPENDING BETWEEN $1500 AND $1800 TO GET A REBUILT TRANSMISSION PUT IN MY CAR, ALONG WITH AN ATX COOLER THAT MAZDA RECOMMENDED IN 2002 BUT DID NOT COVER UNDER WARRANTY OR EVEN PROVIDE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY TO INSTALL.*JB

LOW POWER OUTPUT, THEN FINALLY CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE. HAVE NOT REPAIRED YET. CAR STILL IN MY POSSESSION. BURNED UP TRANSMISSION FLUID WITH THREE THOUSAND MILES OF CHANGING. *NM