IllustrationREPLACED 1999 MAZDA 626 TRANSMISSION THREE TIMES IN 100,000 MILES. *NM
1999 Mazda 626
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most 626 years
Owner complaints for the 1999 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
100–25K
1325–50K
6150–75K
6475–100K
49100–150K
12150K+
209 reports with mileage · 109 unknown
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 233 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 48 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
11 crash reports3 fire reports4 injury reports
Power Train complaints
233 reportsDT: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE JERKED WHILE DRIVING. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC, AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ALSO, NOTICED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND THE ODOMETER LIGHT FLICKERED ON AND OFF. AT ONE POINT, THE VEHICLE WOULD BARELY MOVE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT SME…
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DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE JERKED WHILE DRIVING. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC, AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ALSO, NOTICED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND THE ODOMETER LIGHT FLICKERED ON AND OFF. AT ONE POINT, THE VEHICLE WOULD BARELY MOVE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A MECHANIC. AFTER THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST THEY FOUND THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT TRADED THE VEHICLE IN AND NO LONGER OWNED IT. *AK UPDATED 03/28/06. *JB
AT APPROXIMATELY 65,000 MILES, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED, WITH FLUID SPRAYING THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR WITH FLUID, SHORTING SEVERAL FUSES. THE FAMILY (ONE BABY, ONE TODDLER AND 2 PARENTS) WERE STRANDED 300 MILES AWAY FROM HOME AND NEEDED AN EXPENSIVE TOW AND REPAIR. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH A RE-BUILD. *JB
HAVE A 1999 626 WITH 72000 MILES ON IT AND TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT WITH 626 OWNERS. *NM
IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION, THAT MANY OTHER MAZDA 626 OWNERS HAVE HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. MY 1999 MAZDA 626 STARTED TO RUN VERY ROUGHLY ON THE WAY HOME. WHEN MY WIFE PARKED THE VEHICLE IN THE GARAGE, IT COULD NOT BE MOVED AFTER PARKING. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP, WHERE IT WAS FOUND TO HAVE A DEFECTIVE TRANSMIS…
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IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION, THAT MANY OTHER MAZDA 626 OWNERS HAVE HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. MY 1999 MAZDA 626 STARTED TO RUN VERY ROUGHLY ON THE WAY HOME. WHEN MY WIFE PARKED THE VEHICLE IN THE GARAGE, IT COULD NOT BE MOVED AFTER PARKING. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP, WHERE IT WAS FOUND TO HAVE A DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION. IT WAS REBUILT AT A COST OF $2800.00. THE CAR HAD 73,693 MILES ON IT, AND HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSHED AT 51280 MILES. *JB
I OWN A MAZDA 626LX (4CYL) YEAR 1999. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN ANY KIND OF ACCIDENTS OR ANY HARSH CONDITIONS. IT CURRENTLY HAS 102,000 MILES ON IT. I JUST HAD A MAJOR TRANSMISSION FAILURE RIGHT ON THE STATE HIGHWAY WHILE DRIVING IN THE RIGHT LANE. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND WOULD NOT EVEN PICK-UP A FIRST GEAR. I HAD TO CALL A…
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I OWN A MAZDA 626LX (4CYL) YEAR 1999. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN ANY KIND OF ACCIDENTS OR ANY HARSH CONDITIONS. IT CURRENTLY HAS 102,000 MILES ON IT. I JUST HAD A MAJOR TRANSMISSION FAILURE RIGHT ON THE STATE HIGHWAY WHILE DRIVING IN THE RIGHT LANE. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND WOULD NOT EVEN PICK-UP A FIRST GEAR. I HAD TO CALL A TOWING TRUCK AND NOW I AM FACING A MAJOR REPAIR BILL. I FILED AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT WITH MAZDA CUSTOMER SERVICE, HOWEVER THAT IS ALL THEY COULD DO FOR ME. I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT, THAT HONDA HAS A FIRST TUNE-UP AT 100,000 MILES, NOT A MAJOR REPAIR! I THINK THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.*JB
DT: THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE ACCELERATING THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED. THERE WAS A SLIGHT CHATTERING NOISE. ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS IN GEAR IT WORKED CORRECTLY. A LOCAL MECHANIC CHANGED THE SPARK PLUGS AND THE WIRES. ALSO, CHECKED THE CV JOINTS AND THEY WERE FINE. THE MECHANIC HAD NOT LOOKED AT THE TRANSMISSION. HE ELIMINATED…
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DT: THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE ACCELERATING THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED. THERE WAS A SLIGHT CHATTERING NOISE. ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS IN GEAR IT WORKED CORRECTLY. A LOCAL MECHANIC CHANGED THE SPARK PLUGS AND THE WIRES. ALSO, CHECKED THE CV JOINTS AND THEY WERE FINE. THE MECHANIC HAD NOT LOOKED AT THE TRANSMISSION. HE ELIMINATED ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS FIRST. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR ABOUT THREE OR FOUR MONTHS. *AK (11/17/05) THE MECHANIC SUGGESTED THAT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS THE PROBLEM. *SC
DT: THE CONTACT COMPLAINED ABOUT VEHICLE PROBLEMS ON FEBRUARY 27, 2001, WHEN DRIVING AT 60 MPH THE VEHICLE SHOOK. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE DEALER REPLACED IT. THE CONTACT STATED ON MARC…
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DT: THE CONTACT COMPLAINED ABOUT VEHICLE PROBLEMS ON FEBRUARY 27, 2001, WHEN DRIVING AT 60 MPH THE VEHICLE SHOOK. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE DEALER REPLACED IT. THE CONTACT STATED ON MARCH 15, 2005 THE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT WAS RUNNING HOT, THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED BY A LOCAL MECHANIC. THERE WAS NO WARNING AND NO NOISE.*AK THE HEAD GASKET AND ALTERNATOR FAILED. UPDATED 11/16/05. *JB
MY CAR FAILED THE LAST WEEK OF JANUARY 2005. IT WOULD STOP GOING INTO GEAR. I HAD THE SPARK PLUGS REPLACED, TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGED, BUT STILL NO CHANGE. FINALLY IT GOT SO BAD I STOPPED DRIVING. I HAVE YET FOUND ANYONE WHO REALLY WANTS TO FIX THE CAR BECAUSE THEY ALL SAY IT IS A PIECE OF JUNK AND NOT WORTH FIXING. *NM
TRANSMISSION BLEW OUT TWICE. ONCE THE DAY AFTER WE BOUGHT IT ON AUGUST 21, 2004 AND AGAIN ON OCTOBER 5, 2005. *JB
Official recalls
200V134000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine
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.
00V074000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:master Cylinder
Mar 7, 2000
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. CERTAIN RESERVOIR TANK CAPS ON THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER WERE PRODUCED WITH A WORN OUT DIE AND LACK VENTILATION HOLES. AS A RESULT, THE PRESSURE IN THE RESERVOIR TANK CAN DROP GRADUALLY AS THE BRAKE PAD OR SHOE WEARS AND AMBIENT TEMPERATURE DROPS. ALSO, THE PRESSURE COULD REACH A POINT THAT THE BRAKE CALIPER AND DRUM CYLINDER ARE PULLED BACK BY THE VACUUM IN THE RESERVOIR TANK WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PARKED FOR A LONG TIME.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE REDUCED BRAKE EFFICIENCY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE RESERVOIR CAP AND REPLACE IT, IF NECESSARY.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.