1st Feb 2005, 09:22

I have had a 1995 for 8 years now. I had my first transmission go at 95000 miles I am now at 159,000 I change the tranny fluid after every other oil change and have had good luck. I go through front brake pads about every nine months and new tires about every 30000 miles. My car has been a great car for the most part.

1st Mar 2005, 12:32

Howdy!

I have an 89 626 that was built in Japan, and have had a great experience with the car. I bought it in 1992 with 25,000 miles on it, and now it has 367,000 miles. Never had any engine work; I just replace wearable parts, timing belt, struts, tune-ups, etc...

Still running great, and this is my primary car. I also have a badass 78 Jeep CJ5, 304 V8, w/33-in Mud Kings.

My sister bought an American-made 94 626, that always seemed to have problems, and it seemed to be made with cheaper parts.

Anyway, the Mazda has been a great car to me. I'm sure I will hit 500,000 with this engine. This spring I will be swapping out the motor mounts.

Anybody else have a high-mileage experience with the 626?

Drop me a note: jgrover@coin.org.

Peace!

19th Mar 2005, 19:47

I have had my 1995 Mazda 626 LX for about 3 years now. It was originally my brothers car, and he blew out the engine and transmission. We put a used motor and trans in, works flawlessly. Its at +143000 miles and working great.

13th Apr 2005, 22:24

My family bought a '95 626 brand new and have had very few problems with it. The automatic transmission failed within 2 years of the car being new, and since being replaced under warranty we have seen no major problems with it. The key to these cars seems to be maintenance, and if you can change the fluids, filters, and belts when you're supposed to, the car will last forever. Ours has 125,000 miles on it and has been the first car for 4 teenage drivers now (i.e., abused) and still runs strong. The most significant repairs have been more routine considering the mileage (cv joints, MAP sensor, mass airflow sensor, throttle body, 02 sensor). No doubt this car has its quirks, as it loves to stall periodically for no reason, and overheat from time to time, even in the winter.

Even with the most abusive drivers (kids), our Mazda has survived many miles, and with this shows its build quality and craftsmanship. When this one dies in a few hundred thousand more miles, maybe another one will be in order. Maybe the new Mazda 6? :-)

17th Jun 2005, 03:42

I have a 2000 Mazda 626 with 70,000 miles on it. I feel lucky after reading all these posts that it actually still works, however I've experienced MANY problems with it over the past few years... the worst of which, can you guess...that's right! The O/D light started blinking, car started lurching and finally the transmission had a meltdown in the middle of the desert resulting in a $4000 overhaul at AAMCO. I picked the car up a week later, got 20 miles out of town and... what do you know... it happened again. I'm dumping more money into this car than it's worth. I had heard about a class-action suit a few years ago, but I haven't heard much about it lately. I think the whole thing was probably dropped, but I definitely believe companies should be held responsible for the quality of products they sell. I will NEVER buy another Mazda again! If anyone knows of a class-action suit or knows of anyone willing to pay me for the parts, please let me know. I just want to pay off this bucket and get a nice GM product. ;)

17th Jun 2005, 09:36

I called the law firm that's working on the lawsuit (Roy, Schecter, and Vocht) and yes, they're still pursuing it. However, the woman on the phone couldn't tell me how many people have signed up for it so far.

The transmission on my 2001 Mazda 626 went out just recently after 78,000 miles, and it cost over $2600 to fix. Before that, the most expensive problem it had was with the catalytic converter, but that was covered under my warranty.

6th Jul 2005, 09:49

I just bought a mazda 626 95' and it drives fine on the road, but when I get on the high way it doesn't shift after I think third gear or fourth gear (65mph.) does any body know what could this be maybe something with the over drive?

8th Jul 2005, 22:43

Hi, I have a 96 Mazda 626 LX. I bought it in 2004 at 89000 miles on it. I have already spent $1300 on it for a new rack and pinion, and the transmission fluid pump.

Now at 99500, I am having the same problem as others; the O/D light is blinking and the transmission is shifting pretty hard, and the check engine light in also on. I tried turning off the car immediately when it happened the first time, and waited for about five minutes. It was alright for a while, but then it starts blinking again. This is going on for about a month now.

I also have the vibration problem. The mechanic said it is because of the engine mounts. I am not driving the car more than 25 miles from home. I don't know when it's going to totally bust out on me. I searched the web about this problem and found this website.

I thank all of the people for their input in this website to help me understand about the problem. I am going to file a complaint with the NHTSA, and I'm planning to call the lawyers and talk about the law suit. I recommend everybody to notify the problem to the right authorities, and make Mazda pay for it. NO MORE MAZDA for me.

This is the link for filing a complaint with NHTSA: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/

7th Sep 2005, 21:42

I have been searching for a small used import car, and today I found a 1995 Mazda 626 with the auto trans with 112,000 miles on it. Deciding to do some research first like always, I luckily found this site.

However I still like the car, and seeing how many people are having the same problems, I dug deep into the Internet looking for solutions. I hope these may help some of you solve your problems, because obviously Mazda isn't.

It appears overheating is the #1 cause of the transmissions failing on these cars. For one, the transmission service interval is about twice as long as the life of ATF fluid, as it breaks down each time it is heated.

So the transmission fluid should be changed at the latest it seems every 12,000 miles.

Also I found a place http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_catalog/transmissions_automatics/problem_solving_and_prevention_kits.html that sells a $55 valve kit that is supposed to fix the problems with these transmissions, which it lists as "Runaway line pressure and the parts breakage which results. Fixes converter slip, bushing wear & planet burnup. Fixes code 628 and low lube condition." Which from my searching falls right into the problems these transmissions are having, from those who actually get a mechanic, who will go through and check everything. Most mechanic will just slap a new one in time after time, without actually trying to discover what caused the original to go down in the first place.

So there is a fix kit out there, and at $55 vs a new transmission after transmission, it's worth a shot. I mean if you are about to put a 3rd transmission in it, what's an extra $55 that might actually fix the problem.

Also, somebody suggested earlier in the thread to install an aftermarket transmission cooler, which can only help ANY automatic transmission. From the comments of those who got the stick shift manual transmission, it's a bullet proof car. It seems 99% of its problems result from this transmission, which is obviously poorly designed.

Anyway to sum it up...

Get the $55 fix kit, and if possible buy high performance parts for the rebuild to increase reliability. Since obviously the stock transmission in any form just stinks.

Add a transmission cooler, as they cost WAY less than a new transmission. Typically they are used on off-road and performance cars to keep the transmission cool. Since overheating is the cause for 9 out of 10 automatic transmission failures.

Also I looked around, and if it's eating tires up in 30,000 miles, you should check the rear sway bar out, as well as the struts. Those are two other areas that seem to be weak from the manufacturer.

I hope that helps you all and me, because I am planning on getting the car. However I am going to have the $55 valve kit installed, and will install a transmission cooler ASAP. Which is no big deal, since I found it for a song and a dance.

Also hard running in drive at idle seems to be an engine mount problem, which Mazda has updated improved replacement mounts to solve.