1998 MAZDA 626 Complaints

I ALONG WITH ABOUT EVERY MAZDA 626 OWNER I KNOW AM FACING REPLACING MY TRANSMISSION. IT IS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY AND IS A REAL HAZARD SOMETIMES IS WORKS SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T. IT IS SLIPPING BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR AND WILL "HUNT" FOR FIRST GEAR AT TIMES WITH SEVERAL JERKS BETWEEN GEARS BEFORE IT SHIFTS. *NM

TRANSMISSION BREAKDOWN. BACK ON APRIL 07, 2003, I BROUGHT MY 1998 MAZDA 626 INTO A TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP TO GET MY VEHICLE FIXED. I WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION WAS TOAST. IT HAD OVERHEATED AND BURNT UP MOST OF THE INTERNALS. I ENDED PAYING FOR A REBUILT UNIT, A NEW TORQUE CONVERTER, AND A DRIVE CHAIN. THE TOTAL OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE WAS $1272.00 NOW EXACTLY THREE YEARS DOWN TO THE MONTH I'M STARTING ALL OVER WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS. THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING DOWNHILL AGAIN. FORTUNATELY THIS TIME I PARKED IT IN THE DRIVEWAY AND HAVEN'T FIXED IT YET. I AM CURRENTLY RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM AND IT APPEARS TO BE A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM, YET NOTHING IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT. *NM

CAR HAD O/D LIGHT ON WHEN BOUGHT IT AND TOLD IT WAS FINE BY DEALER. EVENTUALLY THE LIGHT WAS OFF FOR GOOD. CAR IS CURRENTLY DOWN SHIFTING FOR NO REASON AND NOW THE MECHANICS THAT I TOOK IT TO SAY THAT IT IS THE TRANSMISSION AND STUCK IN 3RD GEAR. *JB

VEHICLE DOWNSHIFTED TO 2 WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT 70-75 MPH. CAUSED VEHICLE TO SKID ON WET ROAD! WHILE CROSSING AN INTERSECTION, TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING AND ALMOST CAUSED A MULTIPLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT. *NM

HELLO, WE HAVE A 2.0L ENGINE AND AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN OUR MAZDA 626 WHICH WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 1998. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN SERVICED ON A REGULAR BASIS. WE HAVE JUST EXPERIENCED A MAJOR TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 99,000 MILES AFTER DRIVING THE CAR ABOUT 250 MILES ON A 95 DEGREE DAY. A TSB WAS ISSUED BY MAZDA IN 2002 BUT CURRENT OWNERS WERE NOT SENT ANY NOTIFICATION REGARDING THIS ISSUE. WE ARE LOOKING AT A FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL ($2500) REPAIR BILL ON AN ISSUE THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED ON A VEHICLE WITH THIS LOW OF MILES THAT HAS BEEN PROPERLY MAINTAINED, AND NEVER ABUSED. MAZDA HAS KNOWN OF THIS ISSUE AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTED FAILURES ON THIS ISSUE, YET THEY HAVE REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE. *NM

FAILED TRANSMISSION IN 1998 MAZDA 626. MAZDA CONTINUED TO USE TRANSMISSIONS THEY KNEW WOULD FAIL, INSTEAD OF FIXING THEIR PROBLEM, THEY PASSED THE COST ALONG TO THE CONSUMER. *NM

LAST OCTOBER (05), MY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, FINALLY WENT OUT. NOT WANTING TO SPEND TO MUCH MONEY TO FIX SOMETHING, WHEN THE CAR ISN'T WORTH IT. I GOT A USED TRANSMISSION (NOT SURE HOW USED IT WAS, BUT THE GUY THAT PUT IT IN, SAID IT WAS REALLY CLEAN (LITTLE WEAR) ON IT. NOW AUG 06 THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING OUT AGAIN. THE SYSTEM CAN'T SHIFT BETWEEN 2-3 GEAR. I HAVE YET TO GET IT FIXED, BUT IT WELL PROBABLY RUN ME AROUND $1300 LIKE THE LAST ONE DID. WHEN THE CAR ITSELF IS WORTH MAYBE 2,800? I THINK MAZDA NEEDS TO TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS. *JB

WHILE DRIVING, MY '98 626LX THE TRANSMISSION WILL DISENGAGE FROM THE ENGINE. AAMCO TRANSMISSION DETERMINED THE PROBLEM TO BE THAT DUE TO EXCESSIVE HEAT, THE TORQUE CONVERTER FAILED AND FRAGMENTS PENETRATED THE TRANSMISSION WHILE BEING SUSPENDED BY THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. NO LESS THAN $2000 TO REPAIR. HERE'S WHERE I REALLY GOT UPSET. MAZDA PUBLISHED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN-005/02 IN 2002 WHICH OUTLINES PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO TAKE TO AVOID THIS HEAT RELATED FAILURE. WHEN CONTACTED ABOUT A CLAIMS PROCEDURE, THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS NO SUCH BULLETIN AND THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE. I UNDERSTAND THAT FAILURES DO OCCUR ON VEHICLES. HOWEVER, WHEN THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND FAILS TO EVEN MAKE A CURSORY EFFORT TO INFORM THE VEHICLE OWNER/PURCHASER, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE COMPANY IS NEGLIGENT AND SHOULD IN PART BARE THE BURDEN OF THE COST OF REPAIR. *JB

MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING THE CAR IN HEAVY TRAFFIC WHEN IT STALLED AND LOST ALL POWER. IT WOULD NOT START AND IT WAS TOWED TO A SHOP WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT THE TIMING BELT HAD BROKEN AND CAUSED MUCH DAMAGE. WE HAD TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING REPLACED: CYLINDER HEAD GASKET, TIMING BELT, TIMING BELT TENSIONER, IDLER, SPARK PLUGS, THERMOSTAT, 2 DRIVE BELTS, AND THE WATER PUMP. IT COST US ALMOST $1,700 TO GET IT REPAIRED. I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR SINCE IT WAS NEW AND HAVE LIVED AT THE SAME ADDRESS AND WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF ANY RECALL BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. I HAVE HEARD THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS BUT THEIR CARS WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL... ONLY ONES WITH CERTAIN VIN NUMBERS. I BELIEVE IT IS A PROBLEM WITH ALL 1998 626 MODELS. *NM

FAILURE OF 1998 MAZDA 626 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. TRANSMISSION OVERHEATED ON THE INTERSTATE RESULTING IN BOILING OUT OF FLUID, FLUID WAS REPLACED AND THE TRANSMISSION OVERHEATED AGAIN BLOWING THE MAIN SEAL. SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED ON THE INTERSTATE (WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN VEHICLE TO EXIT RAMP -INCIDENT OCCURRED VERY CLOSE TO RAMP). THE SEAL WAS PREPARED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON (PTC 0743). DIAGNOSIS AT LOCAL SHOP INDICATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. MILEAGE WAS ONLY 90,000. *JB