2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE Complaints

MY CAR IS NOT EVEN 4 YEARS OLD YET AND THE AIRBAGS DO NOT WORK. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. THE DEALERSHIP SAID I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THAT, HOWEVER, THEY WILL NOT FIX IT UNLESS THERE IS A SAFETY RECALL. THIS IS VERY SERIOUS MATTER. AIRBAGS ARE SUPPOSE TO BE SAFE AND THEY ARE REQUIRED. *TR

MY WIFE PURCHASED A USED 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE. THE ACCELERATOR CABLE FAILED AND WHEN IT FAILED THE CAR ENGINE WAS AT FULL THROTTLE WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO STOP IT. A FAILURE THAT DEFAULTS TO FULL ACCELERATION IS AN OBVIOUS DEFECT. I CHECKED THE INTERNET AND LEARNED THAT THE CAR HAD BEEN RECALLED TO CORRECT THAT DEFECT. I CALLED MAZDA AND WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALL WORK HAD BEEN DONE ON THE CAR. I TOLD MAZDA THAT THE RECALL WORK HAD NOT FIXED THE PROBLEM AND THAT A FAILURE THAT DEFAULTS TO A THROTTLE AT FULL ACCELERATION IS A MASSIVELY DANGEROUS DEFECT. THEY BASICALLY SAID WE DID ALL WE HAD TO DO. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION AND WILL CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH. *TR

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT. DEALER DIAGNOSIS WAS THAT CODE B1877 AND B1994 NEED 2 HARNESSES FOR SIDE AIR BAGS AND 2 HARNESSES FOR PRETENSIONER. VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN IN ACCIDENT. WELL MAINTAINED IAW MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDATIONS. IF THIS IS A FREQUENT PROBLEM PERHAPS THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL. ESTIMATED COST TO REPAIR $900. *TR

I HAVE HAD AIR BAG HARNESS REPLACED THREE TIMES NOW AND ACCORDING TO MAZDA IT HAS NOW CAUSED MY AIR BAG MODULE TO SHORT OUT. THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE A SAFETY RECALL WHICH MAZDA DOES NOT WANT TO OWN UP TO. I AM CONCERNED FOR SAFETY OF PASSENGER IN CAR AND COST FOR REPLACEMENT IS BECOMING ABSORBENT AND ANY INVESTIGATION INTO THIS SAFETY CONCERN WOULD BE APPRECIATED. *TR

COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON MY 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE WITH UNDER 52,000 MILES. *JB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED WHEN DRIVING AT 40 MPH. THE VEHICLE FAILED ON TWO OCCASIONS ,AND APPEARED AS IF IT WOULD FAIL MORE FREQUENTLY. THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE WAS ON APRIL 27, 2007. THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL BUT IT DID NOT APPLY TO THIS VEHICLE DUE TO THE VIN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 95,000, AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000. *AK

I WAS DRIVING ON A FREEWAY (4 LANE - 65 MPH SPEED LIMIT) ON THE AFTERNOON OF 2/3/2007 WITH MY CRUISE CONTROL SET TO 65 MPH. I NOTICED THAT I WAS SPEEDING UP, AND WITHIN A SHORT TIME, MY SPEED HAD CLIMBED TO ABOUT 90 MPH. AT FIRST, I THOUGHT THIS WAS A MALFUNCTION OF MY SPEED CONTROL, BUT AFTER TOUCHING THE BRAKE AND TURNING THE SPEED CONTROL OFF, IT CONTINUED TO GO ABOUT 90 MPH. AT THIS TIME, I NOTICED AN EXIT COMING UP IN ABOUT 1 MILE - SO I KEPT TOUCHING THE BREAK TO KEEP THE SPEED ABOUT 75-80 AND WHEN I APPROACHED THE EXIT, SHUT OFF THE CAR AND COASTED TO THE TOP OF THE RAMP. WITH THE CAR SAFELY STOPPED, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TOWED TO A SERVICE STATION, WHERE THE MECHANIC PULLED OFF THE AIR FILTER ASSEMBLY GOING INTO WHAT I THINK IS A THROTTLE CHAMBER AND FOUND A LARGE PIECE OF ICE HOLDING EITHER THE CHOKE OR THROTTLE CAUSING THE PROBLEM. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE TEMPERATURES THAT DAY WERE VERY COLD - ABOUT 10 DEGREES F. BELOW ZERO. AFTER REMOVING THE ICE AND CLEANING OUT THE CHAMBER WITH SILICON, AND ALLOWING IT TO WARM UP FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES - EVERYTHING WAS OKAY. I SHOULD NOTE THAT I HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE INTO THE LOCAL MAZDA DEALER ABOUT A MONTH EARLIER BECAUSE I NOTICED THE THROTTLE WAS STICKING - THEY SERVICED IT AND IT SEEMED TO BE OKAY, UNTIL THE INCIDENT ON 2/3/07. WHEN I CALLED THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP, THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL ON THE THROTTLE ASSEMBLY, BUT THEY SHOWED THIS PART HAD BEEN REPLACED ALREADY. I AM CONCERNED THAT ICE CAN BUILD UP IN THIS AREA AND THE SAME THING WILL HAPPEN AGAIN, WHENEVER IT IS COLD OUT. I HAVEN'T SEEN ANOTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINT, BUT THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO DOCUMENT THIS - THIS COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSED A MAJOR ACCIDENT. *NM

TL* - THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING A 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE AT 25 MPH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL GOT STUCK. THE CONTACT APPLIED THE BRAKES AND THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, UNTIL THE CONTACT HEARD A POPPING NOISE, THAT'S WHEN THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO IDLE. WHILE INSPECTING THE VEHICLE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE ACCELERATOR CABLE HAD SNAPPED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP (D DAHLE MAZDA IN MURRAY, UT) AND THEY STATED THAT THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR SINCE THEY HAD ALREADY PERFORM THE RECALL REPAIR FOR CONTACT NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 04V583000. THE CONTACT CAN PROVIDE PICTURES IF NEEDED.

AT 39720 MILES I BROUGHT MY 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE IN FOR A PROBLEM THAT TURNED OUT TO BE LEAKS IN THE TRANSFER CASE AND TIMING CHAIN COVER WHICH WERE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. AT THAT TIME, THE MAZDA SERVICE CENTER (#1) TOLD ME THAT THE FRONT DISC BRAKE ROTORS HAD WORN BELOW MINIMUMS, COULD NOT BE RESURFACED AND SHOULD BE REPLACED. THEY ALSO SAID THAT THE PADS WERE AT THEIR MINIMUM THICKNESS AND SHOULD ALSO BE REPLACED. THIS WAS AFTER HAVING TAKEN THE SAME CAR TO A DIFFERENT MAZDA DEALER'S SERVICE CENTER (#2) ONE WEEK EARLIER AND BEING TOLD THAT THE FRONT BRAKES WERE OK (5/32 ON PADS; 2/32 BEING THE LEGAL LIMIT) AND COULD PROBABLY GO FOR ANOTHER YEAR BEFORE NEEDING TO BE CHANGED. THAT TECHNICIAN (#2 DEALER) DIDN'T SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE ROTORS. I WAS TOLD BY THE #1 DEALER THAT THE ROTORS WERE NOT COVERED UNDER THE MAZDA WARRANTY - THIS WAS CONSIDERED A NORMAL WEAR ITEM. HOWEVER, MAZDA'S OWN NATIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE AGREED WITH ME THAT ROTORS ARE TECHNICALLY NOT A "WEAR" ITEM. THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME IN 30 YEARS OF DRIVING CARS WITH DISC BRAKES THAT I HAVE EVER HAD TO REPLACE A ROTOR; THE LAST TIME THE CAR HAD 90,000 MILES ON IT. ROTORS GENERALLY DON'T WEAR AT ANYWHERE NEAR THE SAME RATE AS PADS. ALSO, THERE WAS NO WARNING TO ME WHILE DRIVING THAT I WAS GETTING TO A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONDITION. THE BRAKES APPEARED TO WORK FINE, DID NOT PULL TO ONE SIDE OR MAKE ANY KIND OF SQUEALING OR METAL-ON-METAL SOUNDS. THIS IS A SERIOUS CONDITION WORTHY OF A RECALL! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE A WHILE AGO AS I HAVE HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM FOR MORE THAN A YEAR NOW! THE FACT THAT TWO MAZDA TRAINED TECHNICIANS CAME UP WITH TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ASSESSMENTS OF MY BRAKES IS ALSO CAUSE FOR CONCERN. *NM

AT 35,000 MILES I BROUGHT MY 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE INTO FIRESTONE FOR A BRAKE INSPECTION. AT THIS TIME, I WAS TOLD THAT THE ROTORS HAD WORN BELOW MINIMUM SPECIFICATION, COULD NOT BE RESURFACED AND WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I AUTHORIZED THIS WORK TO BE COMPLETED AND PAID FOR THE REPAIRS. SUBSEQUENTLY I WENT TO SHOWCASE MAZDA DEALERSHIP TO REQUEST A REFUND FOR THE AMOUNT I PAID FOR NEW ROTORS. THEY INFORMED ME THAT ROTORS WERE A "WEAR" ITEM, EVEN THOUGH ROTORS ARE NOT LISTED IN THE WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS. I WAS TOLD THAT BECAUSE OF THE SOFT MATERIAL THESE ROTORS ARE MADE FROM, THEY WEAR MORE EASILY. IN MY OPINION THIS IS "DEFECTIVE MATERIAL" NOT A "ROUTINE WEAR ITEM". THE WARRANTY STATES "WORN BRAKE AND CLUTCH LININGS" ARE EXCLUDED. A ROTOR IS NOT A BRAKE LINING. I BELIEVE MAZDA SHOULD PAY FOR REPLACEMENT OF ALL WORN ROTORS DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD, INCLUDING MINE. BRAKES ARE CERTAINLY A SAFETY ISSUE AND ROTORS WEARING OUT IN 35,000 MILES AND EVEN LESS AS I'VE READ AT SOME AUTOBYTEL.COM POSTINGS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND SHOULD BE FIXED BY MAZDA AT NO CHARGE TO THE OWNER. *NM