Faults:

Engine light goes on constantly, mechanic told me it was a faulty oxygen sensor 100000mls.

Brakes replaced at 100000mls.

Alternator replaced at 120000mls.

Small oil leek at back of engine started 130000mls.

Currently have some front end problems that need to be checked out, causes car to jerk to the right every time it downshifts.

General Comments:

I like the look of my car, it's still sharp after being 9 yrs.old.

Generally disappointed with the pick up of the car. I like to be able to go up hill without a long running start. It really sucks when you're getting on a freeway at rush hour, the worst is when you have the air conditioning on, the car really crawls.

I do think the car is great for space and I really like that the back seats fold down so you can put extra long items in the trunk, and the car does have very nice accessories.

Faults:

Rear disk brakes calipers were replaced at 80,000 and 200,000 miles.

Water pump replaced at 140,000.

Tachometer started to fail at 198,000.

General Comments:

Great car! After 200,000 miles still original clutch!

5 speed manual gearbox is superb.

Changing oil every 5,000. Never had to add oil between changes, even after 200,000, despite the fact that often rev the engine over 5,000 rpm. 2,5 V6 is the best V6 I've ever driven.

Will definitely go for Mazda 6, V6, 5 5 speed.

Faults:

My automatic transmission fail at 130,000 miles and the gas mileage is terrible.

General Comments:

It has a Ford transmission on this Mazda 626. I also heard many people were saying bad things about the automatic transmission on the Internet. The dealer knew the problems, but they just don't care.

I highly recommend people out there don't take the risk to purchase any new Mazda, because they don't seem care on recall.

Faults:

Spark Plug Cables 56,000 km

Serpentine belt, 110,000 km

Transmission, 120,000 km

CV boots, 131,000 km

Transmission, 132,000 km

Transmission, 134,000 km.

General Comments:

The car worked fine in the earlier kms, but around the 100,000 km mark, things started to fail, reducing the reliability of this vehicle, especially on long road trips.

The automatic transmission is seriously flawed and Mazda dealers know this and charge their soon-to-be ex-customers accordingly. I regret not paying extra for a Japanese car with a real Japanese transmission. My next car will not be a Mazda or any of the Ford family.

Faults:

Replaced struts under warranty. Replaced radiator under warranty. Had small transmission leak fixed at 100,000 miles. ($150)

General Comments:

Despite all the transmission problems that this year model has had, mine has been great! This has probably been the best car I've owned. I will admit the pickup is not good.

Faults:

Needed new rear struts at 50,000 miles.

The automatic transmission burned out at 78,000 miles and a new one cost me $2400.

At 94500 miles the O/D function ceased to work.

General Comments:

I loved this car, but the automatic transmission is totally unreliable.

From reviewing websites and messages, I see Mazda is well-aware of the problem, but will take no action to help victims of the repeated failures of this poorly-designed transmission.

This will be my last Mazda (and Ford by association).

Faults:

Paint flaking off, 500 miles on odometer;

First transmission stopped working just under 30,000 miles;

Second transmission stopped working just over 65,000 miles;

Third transmission stopped working at 73,000 miles;

Swing vents stopped working, 80,000.

General Comments:

The dealer I use for my vehicle service is well aware of these problems. Mazda is aware of the transmission problems in this vehicle. I spoke to a tech at the dealership who told me that "it's cheaper to replace a bad tranmission than it is to re-engineer it correctly".

I was particularly disappointed with the handling of these issues. I don't believe any customer should have to replace three transmissions on a vehicle with less than 100,000 miles. I was shocked to hear that Mazda only wanted to pay for 1 transmission. I had to pay for the labor costs for the last replacement.