IllustrationSIDE MOLDING COMING OFF, ANTENNA WILL NOT GO UP NOR DOWN, HOLD LIGHT KEEP FLASHING, SUN ROOF WILL NOT SLIDE BACK, AIR BAG FLASHES SOMETIME,CUP HOLDER WILL NOT KEEP CONTAINERS FROM TILTING OVER,OIL DIP STICK HANDLE BROKE OFF,CRUISE CONTROL DO NOT WORK,CRACKED MANIFOLD
1994 Mazda 626
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most 626 years
Owner complaints for the 1994 Mazda 626 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 44.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all 626 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 64 of 282 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 177 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 26 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
18 crash reports6 fire reports14 injury reports
Vehicle Speed Control complaints
9 reportsSINCE OWNERSHIP OF VEHICLE, HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING ROUGH IDLE OR VIBRATION WHILE IN NEUTRAL AND WARM ENGINE, MANY ATTEMPTS WERE MADE AT ADJUSTING THE IDLE SPEED TO ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM, BUT PROBLEM KEPT REOCCURING UNTIL IT WAS FINALLY DISCOVERED THAT THE ONBOARD COMPUTER WAS RESETTING THE IDLE TO ORIGINAL SETTING, ROUGH IDLING …
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SINCE OWNERSHIP OF VEHICLE, HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING ROUGH IDLE OR VIBRATION WHILE IN NEUTRAL AND WARM ENGINE, MANY ATTEMPTS WERE MADE AT ADJUSTING THE IDLE SPEED TO ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM, BUT PROBLEM KEPT REOCCURING UNTIL IT WAS FINALLY DISCOVERED THAT THE ONBOARD COMPUTER WAS RESETTING THE IDLE TO ORIGINAL SETTING, ROUGH IDLING BECAME MORE DISTURBING AND WAS RECOMMENDED BY DEALER TO ADD CLEANING AGENT TO FUEL -ENGINE PERFORMANCE SEEMED TO IMPROVE BUT NO CHANGE TO ROUGH IDLING,THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION WAS TO REPLACE TIMING BELT AND MOTOR MOUNTS, STILL ROUGH IDLING CONTINUED, SWAY BAR LINKS WERE ALSO REPLACED TO ELIMINATE A RATTLE IN THE FRONT END OF VEHICLE. *JB
WHEN VEHICLE IS PUT INTO REVERSE AFTER A COLD START UP, VEHICLE SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATES. *AK DEALER HAS CHECKED VEHICLE AND THAT A DEFECT MAY BE IN CRUISE CONTROL. DISCONNECTED CRUISE CONTROL AND PROBLEM HAS NOT REOCCURED. *YH
WHEN TRAVELING BETWEEN 60-65 MPH AND UPON DEPRESSING THE ACCLELERATOR PEDAL RPMS WILL GO DOWN AND VEHICLE WILL COME TO A SLOW STOP, RESULTING IN LOSS OF ALL POWER.CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER, DEALER UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
WHEN APPLYING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL VEHICLE DOES NOT MOVE, AS IF IN NEUTRAL. DEALER HAS REPLACED TRANSMISSION TWICE ALREADY. NEEDS THIRD TRANSMISSION. *AK
RECEIVED VEHICLE AFTER A FEW MONTHS & THE ENGINE STARTED SURGING. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO STUTTER. IT WOULD SOMETIMES BUCK OR JERK. SOMETIMES WOULD STALL OUT. WAS INFORMED THE ECM MODULE SHOULD CORRECT THE PROBLEM ONCE INSTALLED. *AK
TRANSMISSION BEGAN "JUMPING" GEARS AND ENGINE REVVING WILDLY AT APPROXIMATELY 35000 MILES. DEALER FAILED TO FIND ANY PROBLEM ON 2 OCCASIONS. ON THE 3RD ATTEMPT, I SAT SERVICE MANAGER IN CAR WITH ME TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEM. DEALER SUPPOSEDLY FIXED TRANSMISSION. AT APPROXIMATELY 71,000 MILES AIR FLOW SENSOR HAD TO BE REPLACED. …
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TRANSMISSION BEGAN "JUMPING" GEARS AND ENGINE REVVING WILDLY AT APPROXIMATELY 35000 MILES. DEALER FAILED TO FIND ANY PROBLEM ON 2 OCCASIONS. ON THE 3RD ATTEMPT, I SAT SERVICE MANAGER IN CAR WITH ME TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEM. DEALER SUPPOSEDLY FIXED TRANSMISSION. AT APPROXIMATELY 71,000 MILES AIR FLOW SENSOR HAD TO BE REPLACED. AT 72000 MILES "HOLD" LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING. DEALER PULLED CODE 628 FROM THE COMPUTER AND TOLD US THIS MEANT THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED. I TOLD SERVICE MANAGER, GENERAL MANAGER AND DISTRICT SERVICE MANAGER THAT 72000 MILES WAS ENTIRELY TOO SOON FOR A TRANSMISSION TO NEED TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF PREVIOUS PROBLEMS, AND WANTED MAZDA TO PAY FOR PART. I WAS TOLD "TOUGH LUCK". IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED PROBLEM WITH MAZDA TRANSMISSIONS. I STILL WANT SOME FORM OF ASSISTANCE FROM MAZDA! *AK
WHEN THE CAR IS IN DRIVE AND PUT FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL, THE CAR GOES IN REVERSE. DEALER DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. *AK
CONSUMER WAS AT TOLL BOOTH AND THE RPM JUMPED UP AND VEHICLE ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL. *AK
Official recalls
215V674000 · Electrical System:ignition:switch
Oct 19, 2015
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and overheat.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
99V358000 · Exterior Lighting:headlights:switch
Dec 17, 1999
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE HEADLIGHT WIRE THAT RUNS THROUGH THE TURN SIGNAL LEVER CAN FAIL AT THE POINT WHERE IT IS SOLDERED TO THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THE FAILURE OF THIS WIRE COULD CAUSE A LOSS OF HEADLIGHTS, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH LEVER.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2RQ99022 · Headlight Failure
Opened Dec 20, 1999 · Closed Aug 30, 2000
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Exterior Lighting
OBTAINED RECALL 99V-358
SQ98024 · Speedometer Inoperative
Opened Oct 29, 1998 · Closed Sep 10, 1999
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Power Train
SEE RESUME FOR DETAILS.