1st Jan 2013, 21:20

I have a 2001 Tribute ES that I bought brand new in March 01. It has been a decent car.

I have had many small issues over the years that reflect other comments in this blog. Broken interior door handle (driver's door - replaced), and now the passenger door is getting "sticky". Both front doors have had the vinyl liner above armrests peel off. I reglued them, this lasted a little while. Finally just duct taped them on. Not very appealing to the eyes, but cheap and has worked well.

Replaced all 6 coil packs over the years.

Probably on my 3rd set of front rotors; had to replace calipers as well last time.

4th set of tires.

Tranny was starting to slip a little. Immediately had it drained and tranny oil changed. Fixed slip issue.

Cable from shifter to transmission linkage popped off a few times. Bought a new compression nut head at Lowes for under $1.00 and hammered it on; still holding!

Will not always shift solidly into Park. I have to get out and "rock" the car a little for it to fully pop into Park probably 20% of the time, otherwise it will not start back up as it is not in Park.

Headlights replaced, new bulbs melt the cheap plastic Mazda connectors, so I have replaced one and need to replace the other (I have to constantly open the hood to wiggle the connection to get the headlight to turn on).

Radio just died. Ordered an aftermarket, waiting on a trim pack before I replace it with a smaller Pioneer (it had the 6 disc CD player).

I have replaced both front sway bars.

Both hinges on rear window rusted in half. Replaced both over time ($50 bucks a pop).

Radio antenna broke off as bolt rusted, cheap fix replaced with small rubber antenna.

I has never gotten good gas mileage.

I just had to have the fuel pump replaced. Easy fix, but it went out while in a store parking lot, so had to have towed to a shop. I could have replaced it, but since they diagnosed the problem and it would not run, what was I going to do... tow it to my house and replace? The shop charged $450; the part at Auto Zone was $200. Seems like gas mileage has even gotten worse since replaced.

I did get hit few years back, and they replaced the front left short axle and misc parts. Transfer case dropped right after I got it back, so the lady's insurance paid for it as well.

Moonroof is risky to open, as takes multiple tries to get it to close.

Hood latch was sticking... lots of WD 40 fixed that.

Never have had to replace/repair rear drum brakes.

Overall that sounds like a lot, but I have had the car 12 years and have put over 174,000 miles on it. I do change the oil every 4000 miles and have flushed the engine twice. I have had it paid off since 2005, so no car payments for the last 7 years. So the $1,300 I dropped in the last 6 months for front rotors, pads and calipers and fuel pump seems worth it. And I could have done them myself for 1/2 that, but I'm getting older and don't mind paying someone else (I did the rotors myself the first 2 times).

In conclusion, I would say my overall satisfaction with the car I would rate as a B. It was not the ideal car I wanted when I bought it, but I wanted an SUV that got good gas mileage, as I was in sales and drove about 500 miles a week. Like I said earlier, it never got great mileage; when I first got it, I think I averaged 18 miles per gallon. Now probably 12-13. But now I only drive 12 miles a day to work and back. I plan on driving it till the wheels fall off or the tranny drops. Hope to get at least to 200k.

20th Jan 2013, 16:11

Sorry for your troubles, as I've had my share with my 2002 Mazda. The latest is the sunroof switch, replaced both front arms and left front wheel axle, and other stuff in the past (ongoing repairs); shift indicator light gone.

The thing I'm hearing here is how everyone wants to dump their vehicle on someone else before anything else happens, but it's not right to pass the trouble to others, since you are already showing your dislike to the car company, for paying for a car you are not happy with.

17th Jun 2015, 20:50

The lower intake manifold gaskets can cause the damp misfire too. Watch the O2 sensors and short term fuel trim to tell you if it is a lean misfire or an electric misfire.

19th Nov 2015, 15:23

Check this link out for info on misfiring of the Mazda, especially in moist weather. If the EGR valve keeps blowing, check catalytic converters, which feed the EGR valve.

EGR Valve Link: http://repairpal.com/failure-of-egr-differential-pressure-sensor-959

Converter Link: http://www.justanswer.com/mazda/7mqih-mazda-tribute-lx-2002-mazda-tribute-lx-v6-4wd-auto.html#re.v/327/