2001 Mazda 626

TRANSMISSION FAILURE OCCURRED AT 80,000 MILES. REBUILDER STATED THE PLATES WERE BURNED AND INSTALLED STANDARD SOFT PARTS KIT WITH STEEL PLATES. LESS THAN 2000 MILES AND 2 MONTHS LATER THE TRANSMISSION HAD A SPONTANEOUS FAILURE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED IN THE INTERSECTION OF TWO 45MPH STREETS IN LAS VEGAS HAZARDING OTHER DRIVERS. *TR

I BOUGHT A BRAND NEW MAZDA 626. AT ABOUT 13,000 MILES, THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT. I REPORTED THE PROBLEM AND MAZDA REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION WITH A NEW ONE. AT ABOUT 33,000 MILES, THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AGAIN, AND THEY REPLACED IT WITH A NEW TRANSMISSION. AT ABOUT 55,000 MILES, THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AGAIN, AND MAZDA TOLD ME THAT IT WAS NO LONGER THEIR PROBLEM SINCE THE TRANSMISSION WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THEY SAID THAT SINCE THEY REPLACED MY TRANSMISSION, IT WAS ONLY WARRANTED FOR ONE YEAR, AND SINCE MY ORIGINAL WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED, THERE WAS NOTHING THAT THEY WOULD DO. *TR

CALLED THE LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP, AND TALKED TO THE REPAIR CENTER FOR A GOOD FEW MINUTES. TOLD HIM ABOUT THIS WEBSITE AND HOW MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION THERE ARE, AND HE SAID THAT ITS NOT THEIR FAULT. THAT THEY DON'T OFFER ANY DISCOUNTS OR ANYTHING FOR REPAIRS LIKE THIS. ALSO, HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A MISFIRE IN MY CAR. ALL AFTER GETTING A NEW 1200 DEALER ONLY PART. DO THEY CARE THAT THEY BUILT A VERY HORRIBLE MADE CAR? NO. I REALLY THINK THAT THEY SHOULD BE FORCED INTO ATLEAST CUTTING THE PRICE DOWN TO HALF. ITS JUST NORMAL DRIVING THAT IS CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL, AND THE MISFIRE. I HAVEN'T GOTTEN IT FIXED FOR I SPENT 6GRAND TO GET THE CAR, AND NOW I HAVE ALMOST PUT IN 6GRAND TO KEEP IT RUNNING. REALLY WISHED I HAD NEVER GOTTEN THIS CAR. *TR

AS WELL AS OTHER 626'S MY TRANSMISSION HAS BLOWN. WAS DRIVING IT, DOWN THE ROAD, THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHED ABOUT 7 TIMES, AND IT REVVED, THEN WENT DOWN AND REVVED WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. TOOK IT TO AAMCO TRANSMISSIONS AND THEY DROVE IT AND LOOKED AND TOLD ME THAT ITS SHOT. OF COURSE THIS ALL HAPPENS AFTER SPENDING $1200 FOR A DEALER ONLY CATALYTIC CONVERTER. WHY WOULD ANYONE BUY THIS CAR KNOWING THAT THEY FALL APART, AND HAVE DEALER ONLY PARTS!? *TR

AFTER TWO HOURS OF HIGHWAY DRIVING, MY 2001 MAZDA 626 O/D OFF LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING, AS MY TRANSMISSION FLUID OVER-HEATED. I CHECKED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL, WHICH WAS OK. MY ENGINE OIL LEVEL WAS 2 QTS. LOW. THIS DID NOT MAKE ANY SENSE SINCE I HAD JUST HAD MY OIL CHANGED TWO WEEKS PRIOR AND CHECKED THE OIL LEVEL AFTER THE WORK WAS COMPLETED. I CALLED THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD TO BRING THE CAR IN TO HAVE IT EVALUATED. THE CAR REGISTERED A P1783 CODE DURING DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN RECOMMENDING THAT AN ATF COOLING KIT BE INSTALLED TO REDUCE THE ATF TEMPERATURE, PREVENTING OVER-HEATING. THE SERVICE MANAGER RECOMMENDED THAT I NOT HAVE THE ATF COOLING KIT INSTALLED AT A COST OF $1,100 SINCE MY TRANSMISSION MAY POSSIBLY FAIL WITHIN A FEW MONTHS. AFTER READING TSB 634465 AND REALIZING THAT THE TRANSMISSION DESIGN IS UNDER-SIZED FOR THE 2001 626, I RECOMMEND THAT MAZDA RECALL THE 626 TRANSMISSIONS INSTALLING THE REQUIRED ATF COOLING KIT TO PREVENT PREMATURE FAILURE OF MAZDA'S UNDER-SIZED TRANSMISSION DESIGN FOR THE 626 MODEL. *JB