2001 MAZDA TRIBUTE Complaints

INOPERATIVE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE ON DRIVER'S DOOR. INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE WILL NOT OPEN DOOR. HAD TO ROLL DOWN DRIVER'S WINDOW TO OPEN DRIVER'S DOOR. *TR

ON JULY 9, 2007, I PAID TO HAVE MY TRANSMISSION REBUILT AFTER A TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN OUR 2001 MAZDA TRIBUTE, (ES-V6 4WD), RESULTED IN STRANDING MY WIFE AND YOUNG DAUGHTER ON A BUSY ROADSIDE, 45 MILES FROM HOME, IN SAN LEANDRO. AT THE TIME OF THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE THE CAR HAD 93,782 MILES ON IT. I PURCHASED THE MAZDA NEW IN 2001 FROM THE ALMADEN MAZDA DEALERSHIP IN SAN JOSE. (NOW CAPITOL MAZDA). THE TRANSMISSION REPAIR INVOLVED TOWING THE CAR TO A SHOP AND REBUILDING THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE REBUILD INCLUDED REPLACING THE TORQUE CONVERTER, SOLENOIDS, DIRECT DRUM, SHELL, PISTONS, AND A VALVE BODY UPGRADE AMONG OTHER PARTS. THE REPAIR COST WAS $3085.00 PLUS TOWING CHARGES. THE INCIDENT ALSO RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF USE OF THE CAR FOR 1 WEEK. AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE THE CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, AND I CONSIDERED MYSELF AN UNFORTUNATE VICTIM OF UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES. HOWEVER, SINCE THAT TIME I'VE LEARNED THAT TRANSMISSION FAILURES IN THE 2001 MAZDA TRIBUTE AND THE CD4E AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ARE AN ALL TOO COMMON OCCURRENCE AND THAT MY EXPERIENCE IS NOT RARE AT ALL. IN FACT, REPORTS ON THE INTERNET SUGGEST THAT THE OCCURRENCE OF SIMILAR TRANSMISSION FAILURES AT RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE, BETWEEN 50,000 AND 100,000 MILES, IS ALARMINGLY COMMON IN THE MAZDA TRIBUTE. *TR

DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR HANDLE BROKE OFF IN MY HAND WHILE TRYING TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. HAD TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW AND OPEN THE DOOR FROM THE OUTSIDE. PLASTIC DOOR HANDLES SHOULD NOT BE USED ON ANY VEHICLE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON ONE OF THE MANY TRIBUTE RECALL LISTS! THE DEALERSHIP WANTED TO CHARGE DOUBLE TO REPLACE THE DOOR HANDLE AND I HAD IT REPAIRED AT A NATIONALLY KNOWN CAR REPAIR SHOP FOR LESS THAN HALF OF THE COST THE DEALERSHIP QUOTED. *TR

MY TRIBUTE HAS STARTED TO ACCELERATE BY ITSELF. IT SCARES ME ANYMORE TO DRIVE IT. WHEN I START IT SOMETIMES THE PEDAL GOES STRAIGHT DOWN BY ITSELF AND REVERSE UP THE MOTOR AND JUST THE OTHER DAY I WAS SLOWLY BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AND WHEN I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND JERK ME BACK FAST I WAS LUCKY I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I JUST PUSHED THE BRAKE TO THE FLOOR AND IT STOPPED . THIS IS HAPPENING ALOT LATELY AND GETTING WORST. MY CAR SHOULD NOT ACCELERATE BY ITSELF. NOW AFTER READING THAT THERE ARE ALOT OF TRIBUTE OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM I AM REALLY SCARED TO DRIVE MINE. *TR

I HAVE HAD CONSTANT PROBLEMS WITH MY MAZDA. IN 2003 I HAD TO GET NEW SWAY BAR LINKS. THIS SUV IS TREATED WELL AND SHOULD NOT OF HAD SUCH A PROBLEM SO EARLY. THAN IN 2005 HAD TO HAVE TWO COIL PACKS REPLACED. 2006 HAD TO HAVE TO MORE COIL PACKS REPLACED ,THANKS GOODNESS I ONLY HAVE 6 COIL PACKS.NOW THE LAST THREE YEARS I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY CATALYTIC CONVERTERS ( NOT SURE IF THAT IS SPELLED RIGHT) BUT I HAD A NEW ONE PUT IN BECAUSE MY SUV WOULD NOT RUN AT ALL LITTLE DID THEY INFORM ME THAT MY SUV HAS FOUR SO NOW I AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM BECAUSE OF ANOTHER ONE GOING BAD. *TR

I HAVE HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY TRANSMISSION SHIFTING HARD AND SOMETIMES JERKING WHEN ON GOING UP HILL. I HAVE HAD MANY AUTO SERVICES CHECK INTO IT BUT THEY CAN NOT FIND A REASON FOR IT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T DO IT ALL THE TIME. AND MAZDA USA REFUSES TO LOOK UP OR FIX RECALLS ON MY MAZDA BECAUSE IT WAS MADE IN CANADA BUT I BOUGHT IT IN KENTUCKY NEW. I BOUGHT IT IN THE USA AND IT IS A MAZDA AND I FEEL MAZDA SHOULD FIX IT. MY BATTLE WITH MAZDA TO FIX MY TRIBUTE STARTED IN 2002. I KNOW I HAVE A RECALL ON THE COMPUTER SYSTEM. CANADA TOLD ME THAT IT NEEDED TO BE REPROGRAMMED. THIS COULD BE RELATED TO WHY MY PROBLEMS WITH MY TRIBUTE COME AND GO. I DO NOT TRUST IT ANYMORE. *TR

I BOUGHT A MAZDA TRIBUTE NEW AND IT WASN'T A YEAR OLD WHEN THE INSIDE DRIVERS DOOR LATCH BROKE. I HAVE NOTICED MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF MY PROBLEMS. *TR

THE FRONT DRIVER'S-SIDE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE BROKE OFF MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN THE DRIVER'S DOOR FROM INSIDE. FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS ELECTRICAL POWER AVAILABLE AND I WAS ABLE TO OPEN THE POWER WINDOW AND USE THE OUTSIDE HANDLE TO OPEN THE DOOR. IF I HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHICH CAUSE A POWER FAILURE, I WOULD'VE BEEN TRAPPED INSIDE THE VEHICLE. *TR

DRIVER'S DOOR LATCH HAS BECOME INOPERABLE PREVENTING NORMAL LATCH OPERATION FOR EXITING OF VEHICLE FOR THE DRIVER. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MAZDA TRIBUTE. IN JUNE OF 2009, THE OVERDRIVE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOWED BY THE ENGINE LIGHT. THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO OVERHEAT AS WELL. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE SOLENOID KIT FOR THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT PAID FOR THE REPAIR, BUT WOULD LIKE THE ISSUE INVESTIGATED BECAUSE SHE FEELS IT WAS DUE TO A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.