Reliable and economical family hauler, nice little SUV
Power steering pressure switch.
Fuel pump started making noises, but replaced before it failed; $90 and easy access for replacement under the back seat.
Reliable, economical, low running costs, comfortable, not very fast, no ABS.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 23rd May, 2016
Excellent value; lots of car for the money
Something that holds the clutch cable in place broke twice, and the gear linkage was always noisy when shifting, but honestly no big deal. Also, the accelerator plate was sticky in the gas pedal. Needed occasional lubricating.
Also, quite noisy inside (road noise), and the gas mileage wasn't as good as smaller 4 cylinder cars (obviously), but really acceptable considering you have an SUV that would normally be a heavy 6 cylinder gas guzzler.
Overall, was a really decent car. Good space, great ride, decent pep and pull. Comfortable seating, no blind spots. Was very happy with it during the time I owned it. And great in the snow with the AWD.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd April, 2011
Mazda? Never Again...!
Transmission failed at 80,000 miles, and the car would not move at all.
My wife was stranded 50 miles from home. Had to tow it to a shop and rebuild the transmission for $3100.00.
I purchased this Tribute 4WD new from the dealer. And 30K miles after the warranty expired, the transmission disintegrated with no warning at all.
The transmission shop said the tranny was full of metal shavings when they took it apart. They rebuilt it, replacing the torque converter, solenoid pack, and added a valve body upgrade said to address the durability problems with this inferior transmission.
Now I am learning from others with a similar experience, that many Tributes suffer from this well known and often experienced transmission design defect.
No more Mazdas for my family...
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 26th September, 2009
During the birthing of the Tribute, Mazda had no choice but to do as Ford dictated, because FORD OWNED 1/3 of Mazda at the time.
It's an intelligent strategy that seems common to many other American corporate companies. Where they become a major shareholder of a company with a competing product, they lay the seeds of turning a previously good and lasting product (and company), into one that is more aligned with a consumerist product that does not last. Once they have laid the ground work, they dump the shares, as Ford did with MOST of their Mazda shares in 2008 to 2010. Now about 3% ownership.
A similar scenario happened with Subaru. They used to make good cars in the nineties, but GM laid their grubby paws on them in a similar fashion. Ford seem to have a specialty with great gearboxes (being sarcastic of course), but GM were more calculating in other areas of the car.
So please don't go thinking it's Mazda, but the greater truth is that the people are being affected by the result of corporates serving their own interests, that is NOT ALIGNED with the interests of the people.
Good car, horrid gearbox
Underbody wash got into transmission electronics and totally destroyed it. It was replaced with one from the wreckers.
Aerial broke, was replaced with semi-working aerial from wreckers.
Chrome grill fell off, plastic protector held it in place.
Many Coolant leaks of varying intensity since 2003.
Mazda's parts are ridiculous. They suggested twelve thousand dollars to replace one of the worst gearbox's ever made.
Transmission is a piece of JUNK. Very high first gear, low second gear, MASSIVE jump to third gear, and ridiculously high fourth gear (despite terrible fuel economy anyway). This means the transmission hunts between third and fourth at any speed over 60 constantly, and shifting into second at highway speeds is violent and very very loud. First gear makes acceleration slow as well.
The car weighs 1600kg (200-300 less than competitors) and other applications of the engine, and still manages much worse fuel economy (12-14 litres/100km). Bad gearbox.
The engine has an amazing exhaust note, should be in a sports car. Rev's beautifully throughout the rev range and always has power.
Suspension is tight but comfortable, but the car still tends to roll as it's an SUV. Better than other SUVs though.
Interior is practical and comfortable, but not particularly stylish.
Column shift amazing, the later model floor shifts are hard to reach and eat into leg space.
Back seats impossibly uncomfortable. Front seats a bit hard but leather makes them nice.
On-demand 4WD nicely done, takes care of front-spin on gravel roads very quickly.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 30th July, 2009
27th Sep 2009, 15:43
The problem with the Tribute is that it's really a Ford Escape with the Mazda nameplate. It's too bad Mazda compromised their otherwise solid reputation by putting their name on a crappy Ford product. Just remember Mazda didn't build it, Ford did. Maybe do a little more research before buying.
Watch out for the Mazda B-Series truck too, after '92 it became nothing but an overpriced FORD RANGER (still is). My sister has an '07 Mazda3 and she loves it, very reliable car and it's actually made by MAZDA not Ford.