Faults:

Fuel Pump replacement, Coolant reservoir replacement, CV Boots replacement.

General Comments:

This car is a perfect example of what regular maintence will do for you. The oil is changed every 3000 miles, top grade synthetic is used, transmission flushed and adjusted once, 3rd set of plug wires, always use Bosch +2 Plat. plugs, just replaced the struts with Monroes (to save a buck) and a K&N air filter. You get out of any car what you are willing to put into it... This car looks brand new, handles like a dream.

Faults:

Every thing on my car was fine minus the hard shifting in the transmission, until it hit the 77,000 mile mark. the check engine light came on had the fuel filter replaced along with a new cover gasket. Then at 79,000 miles I went ahead and changed out both belts along with the water pump and also got a fuel injection cleaning and tune up, needless to say this was not cheap. I thought my car would be good to go after this of course with regular oil changes. wrong. I know have 83,000 miles on this car and am totally pissed. I was on my way to work when all of a sudden the car began to sputter and shake really hard. when I got to the stop light the check engine light came on and began blinking, and when I pulled off the car took forever to get up to speed. I took it to the dealer they said two of the cylinders 1 and 4 are misfiring. they had the car for three weeks and can't figure it out they have replaced spark plugs, wires, the coil pack and even a cam shaft censor. nothing has fixed the problem I finally gave up and demanded my car back. so now I am riding around with a great looking piece of crap that scares the hell out of me whenever I get to a stop light or try to accelerate from one.

General Comments:

The a/c blowers are OK. and the brakes are good.

Faults:

After two years, the automatic radio antenna started making a loud grinding noise while the antenna was retracting/raising, I disconnected it. The noise sounds like a plastic gear stripped out inside the motor housing.

After three years, the trunk started filling with water. It turned out to be a broken clip on the trunk pressure relief valve located in the wheel well. How this broke, I'll never know, but a little RTV sealant and it was good as new. Too bad I had to cut the carpeting out of the trunk to find the leak.

Also in the third year: The rear passenger side electric lock quit working and the door could not be opened because it was stuck in the locked position. I cut into the door panel to try and release it, but no luck. Six months after that, it started working again, but buzzed loudly. I took off the door panel and disconnected the solonoid. The door has to be manually locked and unlocked now.

Again in the third year: The plastic engine coolant reservoir developed several cracks and leaked. The engine almost overheated. Replacement cost $65.00.

In the fourth year: The plastic engine coolant reservoir developed several cracks and leaked AGAIN. Replacement cost $75.00.

In the fifth year: Yep you guessed it, the engine coolant reservoir AGAIN. Replacement cost - we demanded a new one free--and got it. Mazda is aware of this issue yet continues to sell these things.

Somewhere between the 2nd and third year, the dash lights quit working.

Just this year (#6), the engine developed a rough idle at about 55k miles.

General Comments:

I bought this car brand new for my wife. The engine is peppy, the four wheel disk brakes are awesome, and it corners quite well. I don't think it's very comfortable, but my wife does and that's fine since I don't have to drive it.

As far as reliability, it doesn't get high marks, but could have been a lot worse. This thing really has me worried and I hope to see it gone from the driveway very soon. After reading other reviews, I am really glad we bought the 5-speed and not the automatic.

I will *never* buy another Mazda again. Next stop Toyota, I wish I had never left.