2002 MAZDA MPV Complaints

I WAS DRIVING OUR 2002 MAZDA MPV, WITH ONLY 59000 MILES ON IT. WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW IN 2002. IN THIS INCIDENT, I SUDDENLY FOUND THAT WHILE DRIVING AT ABOUT 38 MPH, I TRIED TO ACCELERATE (TO 40 MPH), AND THE VEHICLE DECELERATED INSTEAD. I REPEATEDLY TRIED THIS, AND THE VEHICLE KEPT SLOWING INSTEAD OF ACCELERATING. WE TURNED THE CAR OFF, CHANGED DRIVERS IN THE SHOULDER, AND REPEATED THE SAME PROBLEM. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS, JUST WORSENING OF THE PROBLEM, WITH EXTREME SLOWING. WE MANAGED TO GET THE VAN TO A SERVICE STATION. WE WERE JUST INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. SOMETHING APPARENTLY SNAPPED IN THE TRANSMISSION, WITH NO WARNING. THE CAR WILL GO IN REVERSE, BUT WILL NOT GO FORWARD. WE WERE HEADED FOR THE HIGHWAY THAT DAY, AND ARE FORTUNATE THIS HAPPENED WHERE IT DID, NOT ON A HIGHWAY, BUT ON A SMALLER ROAD RIGHT NEAR A SERVICE STATION. WE ARE VERY LUCKY AND EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED WITH MAZDA. THIS SEVERE AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PROBLEM COULD HAPPEN WITH NO WARNING, ON A WELL-MAINTAINED VEHICLE WITH RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE. THE ENGINE IS BEING REBUILT FOR $2400, AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BORROW A CAR FOR THE DURATION OF THE REPAIR. AND BY THE LOOKS OF IT, MANY OWNERS OF THE 2002 MAZDA HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM! *TR

TIRE VALVE STEMS ALL FOUR ,CAUSED TWO FLAT TIRES AND TWO VALUE STEM CREAKING, 13 MONTHS OLD, SUMITOMO TIRES P21560H16 FROM SEARS. I WAS TOLD IT WAS DRY ROT, I TOLD THE MDG. HE WAS FULL OF B.S. . I HAD MIDAS REPLACE ALL FOUR VALUE STEMS. *TR

SINCE NEW, HESITATES BETWEEN 40-50 MPH, CAUSING SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER, HIGH RPMS BUT NO ACCELERATION. REMOVING FOOT FROM GAS VAN SOMETIMES RECOVERS. HAS HAD TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE REPLACED AS A RESULT, THEN IGNITION COILS WERE BLAMED AND THOSE WERE REPLACED ONE BY ONE, SOMETIMES MORE THAN ONCE, THEN COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR WENT, NOW AT 85,000 TRANSMISSION WENT. EACH EVENT STRANDED MY FAMILY BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND CAR HAD TO BE TOWED. *TR

THIS COMPLAINT MAY NOT BE ABOUT A SAFETY ISSUE OF MY 2002 MAZDA MPV VAN. HOWEVER, IT'S DEFINITELY ABOUT PART DESIGN DEFECTS. OVER YEARS, I WAS STRUGGLING TO SOLVE ENGINE LIGHT-ON WHICH TOOK PLACE EVERY ONCE WHILE. RECENTLY, THE THING GOT WORSE - ENGINE IDLE ROUGH, ENGINE LACK OF POWER, JERKING AT SPEED HIGHER THAN 40 MPH OR AT UP-SLOPE. AFTER LONG TIME STRUGGLE, I'VE FINALLY FOUND THE PROBLEM, WHICH WAS CAUSED BY A PCV HOSE FAILURE. I'VE NEVER THOUGHT IT WAS A PCV HOSE PROBLEM, BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL PCV HOSE (PART # AJ51-13-89) HAS BEEN RECALLED BY MAZDA AND REPLACED BY NEW ONE (PART # AJ51-13-89YA, IT LOOKS LIKE REVISION A) BACK TO YEARS AGO. I'VE THOUGHT MAZDA HAS SOLVED THE PROBLEM. OBVIOUSLY, IT?S NOT YET. THIS TIME THE PCV HOSE HAS FAILED AGAIN, AND IT'S SO WEAK THAT THE HOSE COLLAPSED AGAIN UNDER VACUUM PRESSURE. TO FIX THE PROBLEM, I ORDERED A NEW HOSE, PART # AJ51-13-89YB. IF YOU LOOK AT THE PART # CAREFULLY, YOU CAN INFER THAT MAZDA HAS REALIZED THAT THEIR REVISION A HOSE DIDN?T WORK, WHICH WAS USED TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL UNDER RECALL # 2204H, BECAUSE THEY HAVE RE--DESIGNED REVISION B HOSE. IT?S CLEARLY THAT THE ORIGINAL HOSE AND REVISION A HAD DESIGN DEFECTS. HOWEVER, THEY HAVEN?T ISSUE A RECALL TO REPLACE REVISION A YET THIS TIME. MAZDA SHOULD REALLY RECALL THIS PCV HOSE AGAIN. THE THING IS EVEN BAD TO CUSTOMERS. BECAUSE THE DESIGN DEFECTS AND UNCERTAINTY OF THE PART MAKE THE HOSE REALLY SPECIAL, NO RETAIL STORES CARRY THIS HOSE. THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN FIND IT IS AT MAZDA DEALERSHIP, AND IT COSTS $67, MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE. IT?S JUST A RUBBER HOSE, USUALLY A COUPLE OF DOLLARS. *TR

WE HAVE SENT IN OUR MAZDA MPV 2002 VAN INTO 3 DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS SIX TIMES FOR THE SAME TRANSMISSION ISSUES. EVERYONE EXCEPT ONE GAVE US A COULD NOT REPLICATE PROBLEM ANSWER. HOWEVER, THE ONE DEALERSHIP THAT COULD REPLICATE THE PROBLEM SAID IT WAS THE MECHANICS OF THE TRANSMISSION AND WE SHOULD NOT WORRY BUT LOGGED IN AN INCIDENT DURING OUR WARRANTY IN CASE WE HAD PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE. THEY ALSO INDICATED THAT IT WOULD BE HANDLED AS A WARRANTY PROBLEM WHEN AND IF THE PROBLEM BECAME WORSE AND NEEDED REPAIRED. NOW, THE PROBLEM OCCURS ALL OF THE TIME WITH 3,4,5 GEARS SHIFTING HARD. MAZDA HAS NOT CORRECTED THIS ISSUE AND WANTS TO CHARGE ME MONEY FOR THE REPAIRS. AFTER CONSULTING TWO TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST, THEY SAID IT NEEDED A REBUILT OR REPLACED TRANSMISSION. *TR

LOUD TAPPING NOISE EXISTED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, SOUNDED LIKE A VALVE TAPPING. PROBLEM WAS A CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD. DEALER FOUND CRACKED MANIFOLD AND A STRIPPED ATTACHING BOLT. BOTH WERE REPLACED. MANUFACTURER SUBSEQUENTLY REPAID ME FOR COST OF PARTS. I PAID LABOR. *TR

I WAS JUST SETTING IN MY 2002 MAZDA MPV ES AND WITH THE KEY TURNED TO ON SPOT NOT TO START THE VEHICLE SO THAT I COULD PUT DOWN MY WINDOW. AFTER A MINUTE OR SO MY SRS AIRBAGS IN MY DRIVER SEAT AND PASSENGER SEAT DEPLOYED WITHOUT ANY WARNING. INJURY TO MYSELF WAS MODERATE. MY BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IS THAT MAZDA WOULD NOT HELP ME AT ALL AND SUGGESTED I TURN IT INTO MY INSURANCE UNDER COMP. INSURANCE IS ONLY TAKING CARE OF THE DAMAGE FROM THIS DEFECTIVE PRODUCT AND I HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET TO HAVE THE OTHER AIRBAGS CHECKED FOR SAFETY. I BOUGHT MY VEHICLE NEW AND NEVER HAD BEEN IN ANY ACCIDENT. *TR

O/D LIGHT FLASHING AND HARSH SHIFT. MY FAMILY AND I WAS PLANNING TO TAKE A TRIP TO WILLIAMSBURG VA, AND WHEN I START THE VAN, I DISCOVERED THE O/D (OVER DRIVE) LIGHT IS FLASHING AND HARSH SHIFTS. I TOOK THE VAN TO AMOCO AND ASK TO CHECK MY TRANSMISSION. THE SERVICE TECH TOLD ME EVERYTHING IS NORMAL, HOWEVER WE NOTICED YOUR GEARS ARE NOT SHIFTING SMOOTHLY. THEY COULD GET ANY CODE OF WHAT CAUSING. I LEFT THEIR SHOP AND STOPPED BY COTTMAN TRANSMISSION. THEY ALSO SCANNED AND COULDN'T GET ANY CODE; THEY ALSO TEST DRIVE THE VAN AND ALSO NOTICED SAME THING THAT AMOCO HAS TOLD ME. THE TECH HAS ASKED ME TO TAKE TO THE DEALER AND GIVE THIS BULLETIN # 05-001/04 (HARSH SHIFTS - REFLASH PCM). I DROPPED THE CAR TO THE DEALER OVER NIGHT AND MENTION WHAT HAVE HAPPENED AND ALSO MENTIONED THE BULLETIN NUMBER. I HAVE RECEIVED A CALL THE FOLLOWING MORNING FROM THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THE SERVICE ADVISER HAS TOLD ME THAT I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND WHEN I ASK HOW MUCH, HE SAID IT WILL COST TO YOU ABOUT $3200. THIS SHOCKED ME AND DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH. I FOUND OUT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO THOUSAND OF MPV 2002 OWNERS, WHICH ONE FORUM HAS SUGGESTED THAT I SHOULD FILE A COMPLAIN HERE. *TR

WE HAVE 83000 MILES ON OUR VEHICLE. WE HAVE TAKEN OUR VEHICLE IN FOR THE REQUIRED CHECK UPS AT 20K, 30K,,FOR ISSUES CONCERNING AIR SENSORS. WE HAD NOT RECEIVED ANY CAUTION BY THE DEALER THAT WE MAY HAVE ISSUES WITH ANY PART DEALING WITH THE POWERTRAIN EVEN AFTER THE DEALER "26 POINT INSPECTION" THEY ALWAYS TALK ABOUT. MY FAMILY WAS DRIVING FROM A DOCTOR APPOINTMENT, AND THE TRANSMISSION STARTED JERKING IN AND OUT OF GEAR. WE CALLED THE DEALER, AND WERE INFORMED THAT THE CAR COULD HAVE A TRANSMISSION ISSUE AND NOT TO DRIVE IT. NOBODY WAS INJURED THROUGH THE JERKING MOTIONS OF THE CAR, BUT LUCKILY, WE WERE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN IT HAPPENED. IT WAS TOWED TO OUR DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSIS, AND WE WERE INFORMED THAT IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. *TR

DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT LATCH WILL NOT READILY ENGAGE. REQUIRES MULTIPLE AND FORCEFUL ATTEMPTS TO GET THE SEAT BELT LOCKED. *TR