Faults:

I had to have a valve job on the engine at about 90,000 miles including a new head gasket after I was losing power and overheating.

My overdrive light does flash and has been for three years as other owners of this car describe, but I don't have erratic shifting or any of the transmission problems they describe. So in my case the light has not meant imminent transmission failure. My mechanic said that it is a computer sensor malfunction and should not affect the performance of the car and so far he has been right.

General Comments:

I wanted to post here because my experience with the 626 overdrive light is a bit less severe than others have described it here. I have not had any trouble with the transmission, but rather with the engine.

I have also never experienced any alignment issues as some 626 drivers have described. I get my tires aligned and rotated (or new) every three years, which seems reasonable.

In general I have really enjoyed this car and if the transmission fails at 130,000 miles I would consider that a pretty long life for it, considering my last car, a Ford Taurus experienced transmission failure at 60,000 miles. I will probably never buy a ford associated car again however.

Faults:

My trans-axle boot busted open at 134,000 miles.

The engine started making a ticking sound at 132,000 miles.

The car shakes horribly while at a dead stop.

General Comments:

This car has an inconsistent performance. Sometimes it's fast and sometimes it's slow.

However this car is comfortable and reliable.

Faults:

Had to change the spark plugs, back light.

General Comments:

This car is wonderful. I am impressed with its reliability. It will never fail to start up. I love its handling and its smooth engine. Want a Mazda 6 but don't have enough money for it yet :- (

Faults:

Spark plug wires had to be replaced almost right away.

One of my wheels did not want to run, because it got stuck with the parking brake (was fixed right away).

General Comments:

This is my fourth Mazda, and.. I love it!

It came with a two tone color package and a standard Mazda CD player, which saved me hundreds from buying an aftermarket one.

The car is so comfortable, and the exterior color makes it look kind of "luxury".

It was a good purchase, and I would love to own another Mazda in the future.

Faults:

The previous owner had much work done on the car including transmission work, replacement of alternator, and parts of the exhaust system.

Since I have had the car (about 8 months) I had trouble shifting out of first and second gear (manual transmission), but a quick adjustment of the clutch fixed the problem. A few months later the clutch became very stiff, and I ended up having to completely fix it (not too cheap).

Just this past week, I put in a new battery, and after not being able to start it the third day the new battery was in, I returned it for a new one. Since then, I have had to be jumped twice, and am not looking forward to the possible alternator failure.

General Comments:

Although I have had quite a few problems with it, I LOVE it when it runs the way it is supposed to! I have never owned a car that has wanted to get up and go the way this one has. Merging onto a fast highway is no problem like my last Toyota Corolla. The smooth gear box makes this even more enjoyable.

The seats are comfortable, and have held up well despite the care of the previous owners.

The climate controls are conveniently placed and easy to use.

The CD player is frustrating, however. My car has a single disk CD player, and the place where the disk is put in and taken out is just a few inches above the cup-holders, which is annoying when you have coffee in the morning (it can be dangerous also).