NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Power Train complaints
313 reportsClear category filter74,000 miles · Dec 4, 2006
Power Train
I BOUGHT A MAZDA 626 1998 MODEL DURING FEBRUARY' 06. IT HAD 69K MILES ON IT. LAST MONTH, WHEN I WAS DRIVING THE CAR, WHEN I PRESSED THE GAS, IT DID NOT MOVE ON THE ROAD. LUCKILY I WAS ON THE LOCAL ROAD. SO I COULD PUT TURN AND PUT IT ON A PARKING LOT AT A SPEED OF 5 MILES/HR. WHEN I CONTACTED FIRESTONE THEY TOLD THE TRANSMISSI…
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I BOUGHT A MAZDA 626 1998 MODEL DURING FEBRUARY' 06. IT HAD 69K MILES ON IT. LAST MONTH, WHEN I WAS DRIVING THE CAR, WHEN I PRESSED THE GAS, IT DID NOT MOVE ON THE ROAD. LUCKILY I WAS ON THE LOCAL ROAD. SO I COULD PUT TURN AND PUT IT ON A PARKING LOT AT A SPEED OF 5 MILES/HR. WHEN I CONTACTED FIRESTONE THEY TOLD THE TRANSMISSION IS A FAILURE AND IT HAS TO BE REPLACED. I SPENT A TOTAL OF 2400$ FOR THE REBUILT TRANSMISSION. I AM TOTALLY UPSET ABOUT THIS. I MEED MAZDA NORTH AMERICA TO REFUND MY MONEY BACK. THANKS. VINOD. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10175110
Mileage unknown · Dec 1, 2006
Power Train
THE TRANSMISSION ON MY 1998 MAZDA 626 WITH 89,000 MILES JUST FAILED. ACCORDING TO MY MECHANIC, A PUMP FAILED, AND NOW MY CAR HAS "NO FORWARD GEARS." I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT TRANSMISSION FAILURES ARE VERY COMMON WITH THIS MODEL, DUE TO A DESIGN FLAW OF WHICH MAZDA IS AWARE. I AM CURRENTLY HAVING THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT, BUT…
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THE TRANSMISSION ON MY 1998 MAZDA 626 WITH 89,000 MILES JUST FAILED. ACCORDING TO MY MECHANIC, A PUMP FAILED, AND NOW MY CAR HAS "NO FORWARD GEARS." I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT TRANSMISSION FAILURES ARE VERY COMMON WITH THIS MODEL, DUE TO A DESIGN FLAW OF WHICH MAZDA IS AWARE. I AM CURRENTLY HAVING THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT, BUT I BELIEVE THAT MAZDA SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT RECALLING THIS MODEL AND CORRECTING THIS PROBLEM. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10174901
71,000 miles · Sep 26, 2006
Power Train
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE JERKED WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. AT 50,000 MILES THE TRANSMISSION WAS FLUSHED AND THE FLUID WAS BLACK. THE REPAIR SHOP DETERMINED THE SEALS ON THE GASKETS WERE WORN AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED WITHIN 30,000 MILES. THEN, WHILE TRAVELING 40 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION…
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DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE JERKED WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. AT 50,000 MILES THE TRANSMISSION WAS FLUSHED AND THE FLUID WAS BLACK. THE REPAIR SHOP DETERMINED THE SEALS ON THE GASKETS WERE WORN AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED WITHIN 30,000 MILES. THEN, WHILE TRAVELING 40 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP WHO DETERMINED A REBUILT TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE INSTALLED.
NHTSA ODI #10169306
117,000 miles · Sep 22, 2006
Power Train
I ALONG WITH ABOUT EVERY MAZDA 626 OWNER I KNOW AM FACING REPLACING MY TRANSMISSION. IT IS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY AND IS A REAL HAZARD SOMETIMES IS WORKS SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T. IT IS SLIPPING BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR AND WILL "HUNT" FOR FIRST GEAR AT TIMES WITH SEVERAL JERKS BETWEEN GEARS BEFORE IT SHIFTS. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10169005
166,000 miles · Sep 21, 2006
Power Train
TRANSMISSION FAILURE - WOULD NOT GO INTO D. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10168881
72,046 miles · Sep 10, 2006
Power Train
TRANSMISSION BREAKDOWN. BACK ON APRIL 07, 2003, I BROUGHT MY 1998 MAZDA 626 INTO A TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP TO GET MY VEHICLE FIXED. I WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION WAS TOAST. IT HAD OVERHEATED AND BURNT UP MOST OF THE INTERNALS. I ENDED PAYING FOR A REBUILT UNIT, A NEW TORQUE CONVERTER, AND A DRIVE CHAIN. THE TOTAL OUT OF POCK…
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TRANSMISSION BREAKDOWN. BACK ON APRIL 07, 2003, I BROUGHT MY 1998 MAZDA 626 INTO A TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP TO GET MY VEHICLE FIXED. I WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION WAS TOAST. IT HAD OVERHEATED AND BURNT UP MOST OF THE INTERNALS. I ENDED PAYING FOR A REBUILT UNIT, A NEW TORQUE CONVERTER, AND A DRIVE CHAIN. THE TOTAL OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE WAS $1272.00 NOW EXACTLY THREE YEARS DOWN TO THE MONTH I'M STARTING ALL OVER WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS. THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING DOWNHILL AGAIN. FORTUNATELY THIS TIME I PARKED IT IN THE DRIVEWAY AND HAVEN'T FIXED IT YET. I AM CURRENTLY RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM AND IT APPEARS TO BE A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM, YET NOTHING IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10167772
90,000 miles · Sep 8, 2006
Fuel System, GasolinePower Train
CAR HAD O/D LIGHT ON WHEN BOUGHT IT AND TOLD IT WAS FINE BY DEALER. EVENTUALLY THE LIGHT WAS OFF FOR GOOD. CAR IS CURRENTLY DOWN SHIFTING FOR NO REASON AND NOW THE MECHANICS THAT I TOOK IT TO SAY THAT IT IS THE TRANSMISSION AND STUCK IN 3RD GEAR. *JB
NHTSA ODI #10167725
96,000 miles · Sep 8, 2006
Power Train
VEHICLE DOWNSHIFTED TO 2 WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT 70-75 MPH. CAUSED VEHICLE TO SKID ON WET ROAD! WHILE CROSSING AN INTERSECTION, TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING AND ALMOST CAUSED A MULTIPLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10167633
99,250 miles · Aug 30, 2006
Power Train
HELLO, WE HAVE A 2.0L ENGINE AND AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN OUR MAZDA 626 WHICH WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 1998. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN SERVICED ON A REGULAR BASIS. WE HAVE JUST EXPERIENCED A MAJOR TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 99,000 MILES AFTER DRIVING THE CAR ABOUT 250 MILES ON A 95 DEGREE DAY. A TSB WAS ISSUED BY MAZDA IN 2002 BUT C…
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HELLO, WE HAVE A 2.0L ENGINE AND AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN OUR MAZDA 626 WHICH WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 1998. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN SERVICED ON A REGULAR BASIS. WE HAVE JUST EXPERIENCED A MAJOR TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 99,000 MILES AFTER DRIVING THE CAR ABOUT 250 MILES ON A 95 DEGREE DAY. A TSB WAS ISSUED BY MAZDA IN 2002 BUT CURRENT OWNERS WERE NOT SENT ANY NOTIFICATION REGARDING THIS ISSUE. WE ARE LOOKING AT A FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL ($2500) REPAIR BILL ON AN ISSUE THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED ON A VEHICLE WITH THIS LOW OF MILES THAT HAS BEEN PROPERLY MAINTAINED, AND NEVER ABUSED. MAZDA HAS KNOWN OF THIS ISSUE AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTED FAILURES ON THIS ISSUE, YET THEY HAVE REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10167118
130,000 miles · Aug 9, 2006
Power Train
FAILED TRANSMISSION IN 1998 MAZDA 626. MAZDA CONTINUED TO USE TRANSMISSIONS THEY KNEW WOULD FAIL, INSTEAD OF FIXING THEIR PROBLEM, THEY PASSED THE COST ALONG TO THE CONSUMER. *NM
NHTSA ODI #10165058
Official recalls
4Oct 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.
May 9, 2000
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. AN EXTERNAL SPRING IN THE TIMING BELT TENSIONER COULD BREAK.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THE BROKEN SPRING MAY GET CAUGHT IN THE TIMING BELT, RESULTING POSSIBLE ENGINE STALLING.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL CHECK THE TENSIONER INSTALLED AND REPLACE IT IF THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH THE AFFECTED TENSIONER.
Oct 2, 1998
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: IF THE VEHICLE IS OPERATED IN A HOT, HUMID ENVIRONMENT WITH THE WINDOW OPEN AND AIR CONDITIONER RUNNING, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR CONDENSATION TO ENTER THE AUDIO UNIT AND CAUSE A SHORT CIRCUIT.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF THE SHORT CIRCUIT OCCURS AT ONE SPECIFIC SET OF TERMINALS, THE SPEAKER CAN OVERHEAT AND IN SOME CASES, CATCH FIRE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL AFFIX ALUMINUM TAPE OVER THE AUDIO UNIT TO PREVENT WATER FROM ENTERING.
Dec 17, 1997
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. DUE TO A PROGRAMMING ERROR, THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) INSTALLED CAN, UNDER CERTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS, TRIGGER A SHIFT IN AIR-FUEL RATIO TO AN OVERLEAN CONDITION.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THIS CONDITION CAN RESULT IN AN ENGINE STALL, WHICH COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AND/OR A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE PCM WITH THE CORRECT ENGINE CONTROL LOGIC.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
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