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

What owners actually said

282 reports

Mileage unknown · Jun 29, 2001

Power Train

VEHICLE HAS THE SAME DEFECT AS RECALL 99I005000/SPEEDOMETER FAILURE, SPEEDOMETER GEAR FAILED, CAUSING TRANSMISSION TO STAY IN THIRD GEAR. ALSO A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER.*AK

NHTSA ODI #891744

Mileage unknown · Jun 20, 2001

Electrical System

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ODI #747160

Mileage unknown · Jun 13, 2001

Power Train

CONSUMER HAS SOME PROBLEMS WITH TRANSMISSION, FIRST HOLD LIGHT STAYS ON, SECOND TRANSMISSION OVERHEATS, AND THIRD CONSUMER HAS TROUBLE SHIFTING FROM FIRST GEAR TO SECOND GEAR. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER AND THE DEALER CANNOT FIND THE PROBLEM.*AK

NHTSA ODI #890306

Mileage unknown · May 31, 2001

Engine And Engine CoolingUnknown Or Other

I'VE HAD TO REPLACE BOTH SETS OF OXYGEN SENSORS THREE SEPARATE TIMES. THE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON THEN THE FUEL MIXTURE IS THROWN OFF CAUSING THE CAR TO BURN VERY RICH. EACH TIME THE OXYGEN SENSOR WAS TO BLAME. ESTIMATED LIFE OF EACH REPLACEMENT WAS LESS THAN 10000 MILES. *AK

NHTSA ODI #746222

Mileage unknown · May 24, 2001

Power Train

TRANSMISSION REBUILT 8/17/00, STILL HAVING PROBLEMS. *AK CONSUMER STATES THAT VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO MAZDA AND THE DEALER STATED THAT CONSUMER NEEDS ANOTHER NEW TRANSMISSION. CONSUMER FEELS ITS NOT THE TRANSMISSION THATS CAUSING THE PROBLEM. CONSUMER STATES THAT VEHICLE GEARS ARE NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. CONSUMER FEELS TH…

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NHTSA ODI #745835

Mileage unknown · May 16, 2001

Power Train

THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE OF FORD, THE WORST CAR CAR MAKER OF THE WORLD. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED. *AK

NHTSA ODI #745394

Mileage unknown · Apr 24, 2001

Electrical System

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ODI #744437

Mileage unknown · Apr 13, 2001

Power Train

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MY CAR/TRANSMISSION IS AN ACCIDENT JUST WAITING TO HAPPEN. YOU NEVER KNOW IF YOU ARE GOING TO PULL OUT SAFELY IN TRAFFIC BECAUSE OF TRANSMISSION FAILURE. I HAD IT REPLACED LAST YEAR AT A COST OF $2,200 AND IT STILL DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY. HAD THE SPEEDOMETER GEAR SET REPLACED BY RECALL AND IT STILL DOESN'T WORK. HAD A NEW NUETRAL SAFETY SWITCH REPLACED TODAY ALONG WITH THE "NEW" TRANSMISSION NOT HAVING ENOUGH FLUID WHICH CONSITUTED A FLUSHING OF THE SYSTEM AND MORE FLUID BEING PUT IN. UPON LEAVING THE DEALERSHIP TODAY, MY "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT CAME ON. CALL DEARLERSHIP, NOW THEY TELL ME I NEED TO BRING IN MONDAY TO HAVE THE "02" SENSOR REPLACED. MY COSTS ARE CLIMBING OVER $3,000 NOW. ALL I WANT IS A SAFE CAR TO DRIVE FOR ME AND MY CHILDREN. I'M A SINGLE MOM RAISING TWO CHILDREN AND THIS IS DRAINING ME, PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND FINANCIALLY. I'VE HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP AT LEAST 15 TIMES OVER THE PAST YEAR AND ONE-HALF FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. THE CAR IS BECOMING A NIGHTMARE YOU DON'T KNOW IF YOUR SPEED IS GOING TO INCREASE OR IF ITS GOING TO START JERKING AND HAVE TRANSMISISON FAILURE. DEALERSHIP ADMITS THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH THIS PARTICULAR TRANSMISSION AND MAZDA IS AWARE OF IT, BUT SO FAR NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO MAKE MAZDA RESPONSIBLE. THE CAR IS A TICKING TIME BOMB, I JUST HOPE NO ONE GETS HURT, OR EVEN WORSE, KILLED, BECAUSE OF THE TRANSMISISON DEFECT.

NHTSA ODI #744014

Mileage unknown · Apr 11, 2001

Engine And Engine Cooling

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED WITHOUT NO PRIOR WARNING, VEHICLE CUT OFF. CONSUMER NOTED PROBLEM OCCURRED MORE OFTEN UPON ACCELERATION. CONSUMER HAS YET TO CONTACT THE DEALER. *AK *SLC

NHTSA ODI #885652

Mileage unknown · Apr 6, 2001

Power Train

DEALER REFUSED TO COVER OFF WARRANTY REPAIRS. I KNOW THIS IS A COMMON MAZDA PROBLEM AND THINK THEY SHOULD OWN UP TO THEIR MISTAKES. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED. *AK

NHTSA ODI #743605

Official recalls

15V674000 · 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

RQ99022 · 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.