IllustrationTHE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN MY CAR IS BROKEN. *JB
2001 Mazda 626
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most 626 years
Owner complaints for the 2001 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
2525–50K
3250–75K
3575–100K
34100–150K
4150K+
140 reports with mileage · 48 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 139 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
10 crash reports4 fire reports11 injury reports
What owners actually said
188 reportsHARD SHIFTING FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS. HAD A BLOW OUT SAME NIGHT TRANSMISSION MESSED UP. WON'T GO INTO GEAR UNTIL IT PAST 2.5 RPM'S. TOOK TO TRANSMISSION SPEC. SAID IT WAS OVER HEATING ALSO NEED A NEW TORQUE CONVERTER, NEED TO INSTALL TRANSMISSION COOLER. *TR
2001 MAZDA 626, WOULDN'T SHIFT INTO GEAR, HAD THE LINKAGE CABLE REPAIRED TWICE. NOW AT 149,000 MILES THE CAR WON'T SHIFT INTO REVERSE AND THE OD LIGHT KEEPS FLASHING ON AND OFF. WE ARE HAVING IT TOWED (THIS IS THE 2ND TOW BILL) TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP TOMORROW AND HAVING THE TRANSMISSION REPAIRED. IT WILL COST BETWEEN 1500 & 170…
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2001 MAZDA 626, WOULDN'T SHIFT INTO GEAR, HAD THE LINKAGE CABLE REPAIRED TWICE. NOW AT 149,000 MILES THE CAR WON'T SHIFT INTO REVERSE AND THE OD LIGHT KEEPS FLASHING ON AND OFF. WE ARE HAVING IT TOWED (THIS IS THE 2ND TOW BILL) TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP TOMORROW AND HAVING THE TRANSMISSION REPAIRED. IT WILL COST BETWEEN 1500 & 1700 TO REPAIR. *JB UPDATED 12-12-07. *KB UPDATED *JB
THE TRANSMISSION FAILED 2 TIMES BOTH TIMES REPLACED...*JB
MY 2001 MAZDA 626 LX WOULD JERK EXTREMELY HARD WHEN STARTING OFF UNTIL SPEEDS REACHED AROUND 25+MPH THIS HAPPENED SINCE THE DAY THE CAR WAS PURCHASED EVEN AFTER TAKING THE CAR TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIRS THE CAR STILL JERKED WHEN INCREASING SPEEDS. JUST RECENTLY WHILE GOING TO WORK THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE IN REVERSE AND BARLEY MOVE…
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MY 2001 MAZDA 626 LX WOULD JERK EXTREMELY HARD WHEN STARTING OFF UNTIL SPEEDS REACHED AROUND 25+MPH THIS HAPPENED SINCE THE DAY THE CAR WAS PURCHASED EVEN AFTER TAKING THE CAR TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIRS THE CAR STILL JERKED WHEN INCREASING SPEEDS. JUST RECENTLY WHILE GOING TO WORK THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE IN REVERSE AND BARLEY MOVE IN DRIVE AFTER GETTING HALF WAY TO WORK I STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN AND THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE ONLY REV UP THAT'S WHEN I CALLED A TOWING SERVICE TO DROP MY CAR OFF TO A GARAGE AFTER THE MECHANICS HEARD MY PROBLEM THEY GAVE ME SOME STARTLING NEWS THAT MOST OF THE 4CYCLE MAZDA 626S HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH TRANSMISSIONS PART I HAD TO GET WAS A NEW TRANSMISSION. *TR
2001 MAZDA 626 TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 113,000 MILES AND ATTEMPT TO CONTACT MAZDA THROUGH CUSTOMER SERVICES LINE RESULTED IN LONG WAIT AND NO SATISFACTORY ANSWER. *TR
TWO TRANSMISSION FAILURES. FIRST AT 76,000, 2ND AT 101,000 MILES. HAD TRANSMISSION REBUILT BOTH TIMES. THERE WE 2 OTHER 626'S IN TRANSMISSION SHOP AT THE SAME TIME. *TR
MAZDA 626 YEAR 2001 TRANSMISSION FAILURE, RPMS WENT TO 4000 BY ITSELF ODOMETER LIGHT CAME ON AND FLASHED ON DASHBOARD INSTRUMENT PANEL AND CAR JERKED BADLY. HAD TO HAVE VEHICLE TOWED ON 7/6/2007, AND HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGED. SERVICE TECHNICIAN FOUND NOTHING WRONG. THEN ON 7/9/2007 CAR WA S DOING EXACTLY THE…
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MAZDA 626 YEAR 2001 TRANSMISSION FAILURE, RPMS WENT TO 4000 BY ITSELF ODOMETER LIGHT CAME ON AND FLASHED ON DASHBOARD INSTRUMENT PANEL AND CAR JERKED BADLY. HAD TO HAVE VEHICLE TOWED ON 7/6/2007, AND HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGED. SERVICE TECHNICIAN FOUND NOTHING WRONG. THEN ON 7/9/2007 CAR WA S DOING EXACTLY THE SAME THING. HAD TO HAVE TOWED AGAIN TO A DIFFERENT SERVICE INSTITUTION AWAITING RESULTS OF ESTIMATE. *AK
AUTO TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. *TR
TRANSMISSION FAILED TWICE. FIRST TIME, JUST DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND THE SECOND TIME AFTER AN HOUR HIGHWAY DRIVE. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
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.