Faults:

Gear shifting sensor went bad in transmission.

General Comments:

I bought a 1994 Mazda 626 in April 2002 that had 137,000 miles. A couple of months ago, the "Hold" light (which is the overdrive feature on the 94 model) started blinking on and off. It didn't hurt anything other than it was annoying for it to be in overdrive at a stoplight and start off in 2nd gear!

Then about two weeks ago, the gears started shifting from 3rd to 1st, and bouncing around between all 3 gears with "Hold" still blinking. I just knew the transmission would have to be replaced. My husband took it to a local transmission shop and had them run a diagnostic test. Turns out, it was a bad sensor on the transmission that controls gear shifting. This car has a Mazda 4 cylinder engine and a Ford automatic transmission.

My husband bought the sensor at the local Ford dealership and installed it himself. The part cost $28. I have driven the car all week and everything is fine! I wonder how many people have been told they need their transmission replaced when all they really need is a $28 part?

My lesson and advice is, take your car to a place you can trust and have a complete diagnostic run to find the real problem. You always take a chance when buying a used vehicle and sometimes a maker produces a new car that is a true lemon.

My Mazda now has over 155,550 miles and I look forward to driving it many, many more. I know this is possible because my manager had a 626 that he put over 250,000 miles on. He traded it for a Mazda MPV when his 4th child was born. I am going to think positive and hope I have the same luck!

Faults:

Oil leaks into the head around the number 4 spark plug hole.

Had to replace the mid-pipe on the exhaust.

General Comments:

My Mazda has treated me good in the eight months I've owned it. I haven't had any serious problems with it, and it seems reliable.

Gas mileage on the car is great. I've gotten 33 mpg at the highest. On average I get around 26 and that's all city driving.

In terms of speed, the car isn't super quick, but for a 4-banger, it does alright. Combined with the 5-speed helps this. I've had it up to just over 100 mph and it handles fine, no shakes or rattles.

Replacing the mid-pipe was kind of a pain, but it only cost me about $100. When it was busted off the car sounded really cool. And the oil around the spark plug isn't too big a deal, and I'm not really losing any oil with it.

I wish the handling were tighter on the car, though, it rolls quite a bit through the turns. I think I'll do something about that, maybe some coils or so.

Long trips aren't a problem in this car, it rides nice on the highway, and the seats are quite comfortable for just a base model. The engine is a little loud, but the radio drowns it out OK. Passenger room is decent, and trunk space is great.

Aside from high insurance costs, the car is not really expensive to run. Overall, it's been good to me.