1999 Mazda 626

I BOUGHT MY 1999 MAZDA 626LX USED IN JUNE OF 1999 WITH 39,000 MILES ON IT AND THROUGHOUT THE TWO YEARS THAT I HAD IT I'VE GOTTEN SERVICED MORE TIMES THAN I CAN EVEN COUNT. OVER THE PAST 8 MONTHS THE PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR HAVE BEEN GETTING WORSE. INITALLY THE CAR WAS SHUTTING OFF OCCASIONALLY WHENEVER I CAME TO A STOP. THAT ALONE SCARED ME AND I FEARED DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE BECAUSE OF THIS. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT MY SPARK PLUGS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED SO I DID THAT BUT THE SAME DAY THAT I GOT IT FIXED THE SAME THING HAPPENED AND CAR STARTED DRIVING VERY ROUGH. ALTHOUGH THE CAR HAS NOT SHUT OFF ON ME LATELY IT HAS DONE SOME VERY WEIRD THINGS LIKE DRIVING WHILE THE CAR IS IN REVERSE. I PARKED THE CAR ONE DAY IN AN AWKWARD WAY SO I WANTED TO CORRECT MYSELF AND WHEN I TRIED TO REVERSE THE CAR KEPT ON DRIVING FORWARD (I'M LUCKY THERE WASN'T ANOTHER CAR IN FRONT OF ME) AND IT WAS HARD TO SHIFT INTO PARK WHEN I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO DO THAT I TURNED TO CAR OFF BUT THEN COULDN'T GET IT TO COME BACK ON SO I HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE SHIFT INTERLOCK GEAR. SINCE I 'VE GOTTEN MY CAR BACK IT DRIVES WORSE THAN EVER BEFORE THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS, I CAN ONLY DRIVE IN OVERDRIVE, THE CAR SHAKES WHEN IT SHIFTS GEARS AND AT CERTAIN SPEEDS IT THRUSTS FORWARD WITH SO MUCH FORCE THAT I IT FEELS LIKE I'VE JUST BEEN REAR-ENDED. FORTUNATELY, I HAVEN'T HAD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION BUT AFTER READING OTHER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS CAR I FEAR THAT THE TIME MAYBE COMING SOON ESPECIALLY SINCE I JUST REACHED 83,000+ MILES. WITH ALL THE COMPLAINTS ON THIS PROBLEM MAZDA SHOULD REALLY TAKE ACTION ON THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THESE CARS ARE UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND PERSONALLY I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MAZDA AGAIN. *AK

METAL BAR INSIDE VEHICLE HEAD RESTS SEPARATES FROM THE FOAM. DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE HEAD RESTS WILL CAUSE THE METAL BAR TO PUSH THROUGH THE HEAD REST FOAM. THE RESULT IS A HARD METAL BAR PROTRUDING FROM THE HEAD REST. IN AN ACCIDENT THE PASSENGER'S / DRIVER'S HEADS WILL HIT A RIGID STEEL BAR, RATHER THAN A PADDED SUPPORT. *NLM

THE TRANSMISSION IN MY 1999 MAZDA 626 BURNED UP AT 51, 590 MILES. TWO DELAER MECHANICS SAID THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO DRIVING AT SPEEDS OVER 70MPH FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. ONE OF THEM SAID HE HAS SEEN A LOT OF THIS IN THE 626S FOR A FEW YEARS . OF COURSE, MAZDA NO LONGER MAKES THE 626. I WAS DRIVING BETWEEN 75 AND 80MPH FOR APPROXIMATELY 2.5 HOURS. IT TURNS OUT MAZDA DID NOT INSTALL TRANSMISSION COOLERS ON THE 626 FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE COOLER, ACCORDING TO MAZDA, IS AN AFTER FACTORY PART. UNFORTUNATELY, THE CONSUMER IS NOT TOLD THAT THEIR CAR DOES NOT HAVE THIS AND THAT IF THEY DRIVE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME THEY MAY FACE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN REPAIRS. THE COOLER, WHICH MAZDA DOES NOT MAKE, COSTS AROUND $100.00 DEPENDING ON LABOR, ETC. MY CAR HAD JUST GONE OUT OF WARRANTY, AND I HAD THE TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE CHECKED WHILE UNDER WARRANTY TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS SAFE AND WELL-WORKING. I HAD TAKEN IT IT FOR THE CHECK JUST MONTHS BEFORE, AND THE MECHANIC SAID EVERYTHING WAS FINE. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH MAZDA USA (1-800-222-5500) AND THEY CALIM LITTLE RESPONSIBILITY, BUT DID OFFER TO PAY FOR PARTS (THANK YOU). THE BEST BET FOR ANYONE WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS, ISSUES IS TO CALL MAZDA, PLACE YOUR COMPLAINT WITH THE NHTSA, CARREVIEW.COM, SAFETYALERTS.COM, MSNAUTOS, AND WHOEVER ELSE YOU CONSIDER PERTINENT. MY INTENT IS TO INFORM DRIVERS; I WISH I HAD BEEN. IT WOULD HAVE SAVED ME A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY, AND I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE MADE IT TO THE GOOD FRIEND'S WEDDING I MISSED THAT DAY.