30th May 2003, 18:30

I bought my 1995 Mazda 626 in 1996. I now have 122,000 Km on it. Recently the O/D light started blinking. The car jumps in out of gear and jumps. My mechanic referred me to a reputable transmission shop. I have been told that a rebuilt transmission will cost me $2,400 while a new one will run $5,000! Needless to say this is the last Mazda I will ever own.

1st Jun 2003, 14:23

I bought a new 1995 Mazda 4 cylinder in April 1996. Replaced rear struts at 50,000 miles-no big deal. Very pleased with car until I had to replace transmission at 78,000 miles (Dec 2001). Transmission was overheating and O/D light blinking. Dealer technical response was "something inside the transmission is causing it to overheat." New transmission (they said it was new) cost me $2400. I started to research 626 problems on the web and was surprised to find all the problems with the transmission and that Mazda was well-aware of problems, but doing nothing for the 626 victims. Now, at 94,500 miles, my O/D function has ceased to work, but transmission seems to be working well otherwise. I hope this is an electrical connection problem, I just can't afford to keep pumping money into poorly-designed transmissions. This will be my last Mazda (or Ford, for that matter-guilt by association).

1st Jun 2003, 19:42

TO ALL MAZDA 626 WITH TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS--

You should find out if your 626 has a transmission cooler. A cooler looks almost like a small radiator. If not then you should try to get one installed.

Transmissions fail in automatic because they do not have a cooler so the fluid gets too hot and overheats and ruins the transmission.

9th Jun 2003, 10:09

Ditto with all the transmission problems. I have a '97 626 with 124,000 kilometers on it. Dealer says there's a problem with the torque converter and my only choice is to replace the transmission.

So I'm just going to drive it till it won't go anymore.

No more Mazda's for me.

17th Jun 2003, 17:06

I just had the transmission in my 1996 Mazda 626 replaced. on my way home the overdrive light started flashing. does anybody know what the problem might be?

26th Jun 2003, 11:10

Everyone with a Mazda 626 - GET RID OF IT NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!! I have spent over $1500 fixing my 1994 626 in the two short years that I have had it. After spending $700 in the past few months, the o/d light began flashing and the mechanic told me the transmission was going out. I still have $2000 left to pay on the vehicle and now I have to buy another car. I filed a complaint with Mazda, Consumer Affairs, NHTSA, and the dealership where I bought the car. I have read over 400 testimonials of the same exact problem with various years of the same car. Anyone else who has experienced this terrible problem needs to file a complaint with NHTSA and make Mazda responsible for their faulty products!

11th Jul 2003, 08:33

Good Morning--

I, too, am the unfortunate owner of a 1995 Mazda 626. As I say often, my oil changes cost in excess of $1,000 each as every 3,000 miles or so I have major problems.

My latest happened on Sunday. My car stopped almost at the top of an overpass--a very dangerous position. I had the car towed and was told that the fuse that controlled the fuel injectors had blown. Unfortunately, the repair shop could not tell me why the fuse had blown. They kept the car for three days and test drove it, but could not find a problem. Therefore, they have informed me, it could happen again. This is quite frightening.

Has anyone else had similar problems and do you know the source of the problems.

Thanks.

E. C., Louisiana.

29th Aug 2003, 14:57

My sister has a Mazda 1991 model 626 here in Phoenix Arizona. It often has a problem starting up and running. The car will start reliably, but as soon as the key switch is released back to the Run position, the engine dies instantly. Often she can get it to start by the fourth try. Once when she could not, she had it towed to the dealership. The dealer kept it for about 3 days, but was not able to reproduce the problem at all. Although the car has so-far not stalled once it has been running, I worry that it could stall unexpectedly on the freeway or during a left turn. I am also afraid it might not start if the engine is turned off, and leave her stranded somewhere in this hot desert.

I am looking for suggestions about how to reproduce/diagnose/fix this problem.

4th Sep 2003, 00:01

I own a 96 Mazda 626, bought it with 80,035 miles on it. The o/d light started flashing. I was told by a mechanic it was the torque converter. I also had that repaired. Without the warranty it would have cost $2300. The car was working for another 20000 miles then the O2 sensors went out. The cost was unreasonable at $129( thank God for universal sensors- $59). The O2 sensors were changed then the engine began having multiple misfires. I fixed that problem then the o/d light once again started flashing. While accelerating from low speeds, the tranny pops into gear.. my advice to people.. leave the Mazda in the garbage.

12th Sep 2003, 06:24

I have a 96 Mazda 626. At 80K miles the spring that keeps tension on the timing belt broke. It is a very thin spring that is far too undersized for the job. It worked its way about a quarter inch into the tension arm it attaches to.

No I have an intermittent problem with the transmission shuttering while at any speed. At the same time the OD light will flash. I always buy Japanese cars. Little did I know this was really a FORD.

28th Sep 2003, 11:45

I own a MAZDA 626 4C Engine, 185,000. The previous owner said he had the transmission replaced. I took the car in a few weeks ago to a mechanic and had him check out everything for me. He said it only looked like I needed a tune up and to have my brake fluid flushed. I thought this was cool, that there was nothing major wrong with it.

A week later I started having problems with the car. For some reason the wire that goes from the distributor to some kind of black box kept coming off when I would drive the car, I had to use a pair of pliers to squeeze it tight enough to make it stay on. Then a week later my 0/D light started to flash and my car would seem to have trouble changing gears. Now it's to the point where the O/D light just flashes and the car does not shift into any gear at all. The engine sounds fine, and everything else seems to be working OK, but my transmission seems to have gone bye bye. So now I have two choices, pay to get it looked at and possibly pay a high price for a new transmission or trade it in as is and get myself a different car.

If you have any comments, please post them.

Ben.