Overdrive Light On problems of the 1996 Mazda 626 - part 1

1996 Mazda 626 o/d light flashing and transmission not shifting.

Hi I have a 1996 Mazda 626 lx and the o/d light just went off at 167,000 miles. I read several forums online and they all said its most likely a an electrical problem in the transmission. This can be very dangerous to us drivers as well as drivers next to us on the road. I advice to please have Mazda recall all models with this problem and reimburse us or fix our transmissions at no cost. Thank you very much for reading my post.

Hi I have a 1996 Mazda 626 lx and the o/d light just went off at 176,000 miles. I read several forums online and they all said its most likely a an electrical problem in the transmission. This can b very dangerous to us drivers as well as drivers next to us on the road. I advice to please have Mazda recall all models with this problem and reimburse us or fix our transmissions at no cost. Thank you very much for reading my post.

The o/d off light on vehicle flashes. I now understand that this is a common problem that is known to Mazda. Mazda should take responsibility and recall the transmission in these vehicles. This vehicle is used by my kids for transportation to and from school. They are at risk.

I purchased my 626 in 2003. I wish I would have done research beforehand. I installed a transmission oil cooler the same week. I'm also religious about changing the fluid. I only drive in town, less than 10 miles per day. My o/d light started blinking as I was driving at 25 mph. I stopped at a light to make a turn and my car would not drive. The transmission would not allow the car to move forward. I shut the car off hoping that when I started it again that it would go. Thankfully it went this time and I made it home. The light has blinked before but always turned off, now its on steadily. I have been feeling the transmission slipping very frequently over the past few months. With all the problems, why is there not a recall?.

Over drive light keeps blinking, replaced transmission two time and car o/d light still blinks, transmission about to go out again!!!!.

Transmission had to be rebuilt. Check engine light was on and the o/d light flashed.

1996 Mazda 626 overdrive light began flashing and transmission began shifting very rough. Turning car off and restarting cleared the problem temporarily, but it keeps recurring. A web search reveals this to be a very common problem that leads shortly to complete transmission failure. *.

For the fifth time in three years the transmission o/d light began to flash, within one minute the transmission when in drive would skip first gear. If you start in first gear and manually shift the car appears ok. Just out of 2 year warranty with less then 10,000 miles between last repair. Transmission shop said that because of failure history on Mazda 626 and Ford probes they could no longer service in good conscience. Recommended I bring to dealer. At this time I can not afford a 2500- 3000 dollar repair.

1996 Mazda 626 4 cyl with cd4e auto transmission & 110,000 miles. The trans o/d lock light will start to blink. The trans will start to upshift hard and downshift for no reason. The dealer advised the transmission must be replaced.

1996 Mazda 626 transmission went out. The o/d light flashed and I immediatedly turned my vehicle off and on and the problem cleared up for a few minutes. Then the transmission stopped working as I was comimng down a steep hill. The event was very frightening but no one was hurt.

After buying the car (used) a year ago I first had to replace the 02 sensor, then while driving the o/d light would start flashing and the rpms went crazy between gears, after a restart it would go away only to do it again. This only lasted 2 days, so I thought it must not have been a big deal. Then this past weekend up in the mountains, it was driving fine until I came to a stop light, and the car would not go forward, I put it in the auto 1st gear then 2nd and it lurched forward only to go a mile before never moving again. It will cost $3,000 to replace.

O/d light flashing on vehicle; indicative of a transmission problem. History of transmission problems on pre-98 626s. Hard shifting into drive/reverse during cold engine; slippage of engine.

Everytime I drive the overdrive light comes on and while driving it hesitste on freeyway I check to the mechenic he say its transmission problem and it is the problem with mazada 626 and never been corrected and they didnt buil t it correctly so I think mazada should bring them back.

The overdrive light kept coming on indicating that the transmission malfunctioned. However, the warranty expired. Therefore, the consumertook the vehicle to an independent transmission dealer, who diagnosed the problem. The automatic transmission went out three times.

I bought a 1996 Mazda 626 with 85,000 miles on it. I had a transmission tune-up done within a month of the purchase. Now, at 94,000m the transmission had to be repaired at costs exceeding $1500! the problem was said to be overheating of the transmission. Also, the o/d lights continue to flash after 15-20 of driving around.

Overdrive light flashes, engine light is on. . . All of it is linked to the transmission. It has already been rebuilt once and was told it will need rebuilt again. Also the car idles very rough.

O/d light flashes and the transmission fails to work properly. Have been using Mazda for the last 8 years. My o/d light has started blinking about a year ago. I took it to a local repair shop and got it fixed. The light has blinked continually every month. I have already spent a lot of money on issues with maza. After reading complaints on the net I discovered that there are 1000's of people with the same issue. I think Mazda should recall the cars and fix this issue. I will think twice before buying aznother Mazda.

My car has 79,170 miles on it. I borrowed money & worked 2 jobs to make the pymt. I was okay with that b/c I thought I purchased a dependable & reliable car. Two years ago w/o warning, while sitting at a stoplight, my car lunged forward. I called my dealership, & had the car serviced. It wasnt diagnosed that I had trans. Problems til I was traveling down a busy hwy. In early morning rush hour traffic, that my car lunged forward again & lost almost 50% of its power. In an instant my car went from traveling at 70+ miles per hour to 40 miles per hour. I lost my entire trans. At 57,000 miles. Mazda corp. Helped that time. I paid $700 for labor, Mazda picked up the rest. Note  I had already paid @ $1300 in other repairs. Two years & 22,000 miles later I am facing the same problem again. I was traveling for the christmas holiday. About an hour into my trip, my overdrive light flashed off & my car downshifted by 20 miles. When I returned home, I took it to the dealership again. After the 2nd visit & my persistence to dig for the true problem, the news from Mazda corp. Is trans. Failure & its my problem. As I listen to other non- Mazda car owners, saying their cars have close to 200,000 miles on them with little or no problems, I am hurt, disappointed & frustrated to know my car will never make it. I am being forced to buy another vehicle that I had no plans to buy for a few more years. I am now going have to take a hard financial hit b/c Mazda corp. Built a car with repeated trans. Failures, & they will not help their cust. When it fails more than one time. They should replace the trans. Free of charge; labor included, & tell the cust. The fix will not last. I trusted Mazda corp. To build a reliable, dependable & safe vehicle. What I have is a car with trans. Failures that has nearly cost me my life, & is putting in me in debt. This has got to be legally wrong, & I know its morally wrong. I want monetary restitution for this unnecessary burden.

1996 Mazda 626 78,000 o/d light blink after app 30 minutes of driving car starts to slip. Check engene light comes on after app 45 minutes. Gas pedal sticks on take off usually lossens up when driving. Was told repairs will top 3,000 cant afford!.

I have a 1996 Mazda 626 lx. With in three or four months of having this car I had to have the transmission rebuilt. Now seven months later my overdrive light has starting flashing and it doesnt want to go. . My car is in the shop now having transmission fixed again . . This time something is wrong with second gear. I have read thousands of the same problem with the same type of car . Something must be done about this I feel a recall is needed on these transmissions.

1996 Mazda 626 lx was purchased used in 8/99 as certified pre-owned vehicle with 32k miles. Vehicle was in accelent condition, and came with a 3 month, 3k warranty. Vehicle meticulously maintained by (me) current owner with all suggested service done at Mazda dealership. I have put only 20k miles on it in 3 years, mostly intercity driving. On 6/06/02 with only 53k miles on it, the transmission failed- absolutely no warning. Car towed to aaa certified repair shop. Diagnosis: (obviously) failed transmission. Repairs not covered by warranty; madza USA c. S. Indifferent, unsympathetic, scripted response. At cost of $2,900 transmission replaced (6/7/02). Driving car back from repair shop (6/16/02), transmission failed again, complete with flashing o/d light. Now need to replace the 'replacement' (2nd) transmission. All research on web indicates this transmission (Ford cd4e ) is chronically failing. Replacement transmissions flashing o/d light, and failure to shift is common, chronic reported problem. High volume of failure at relatively low mileage. Numerous cases of 2nd and 3rd rebuild failing as well. Transmissions obviously defective. Transmission should not be failing at such low mileage. Manufacturer is aware of problem. Manufacturer recall should be aggressively pursued.

Transmission failed on my 1996 Mazda 626 at 72,000 miles. Right after reparis, o/d light flashes on extended trips. Will drop out of od causing car to dangerously slow down. Dealer is encouraging another transmission rebuild for another $2,500. This is absurd!.

Overdrive light flashed. Took vehicle to dealer, and they stated that transmission failed. Please provide any further information.

After repeated attempts to get the transmission checked it finally failed. Every previous attempt resulted in no problems diagnosed. It was always a sensor or a connector. The problem with the o/d light was brought to the attention of the dealer and everytime the car came back in two to three days the light would come back on. The problems started in the summer of 2001 and the service was in August. Now the transmission is gone and needs to be replaced after being diagnosed o. K. . In 3 1/2 months a perfectly good transmission goes bad?.

While driving the vehicle on the highway, the o/d was blinking on and off. In addition, the car became very sluggish and would not accelerate properly causing the car to slow down below normal highway speeds. We took the car and the dealer said they would flush the transmission and the problem might go away. They said if it re-occurred the transmission would have to be changed out. The o/d light started blinking again after another several thousand miles. We have had several transmission shops say the transmision will have to be rebuilt or replaced. They, including a Mazda dealer, have confirmed that cars with this transmission (e. G. Mazda 626 and Ford contour) frequently have this problem and that it will likely re-occur after the transmission is rebuilt/repaired. It is completely unsatisfactory that these tranmissions fail as early and frequently as they do. I contacted a dealership as well as the Mazda customer assistance hotline and was told Mazda would do nothing about this problem as it is out of warranty. Why isn't anything being done about this with Mazda?.

Transmission failed at traffic signal. O/d light flashing, transmission locked up and will not go back into any gear.

I have a 96 Mazda 626 and the car had 25,000 miles when it was purchased. I have had the transmission replaced 4 times totaling about 8,200 dollars. It is the notorious cd43 trans. The o/d light comes on then the transmission goes out. I always make sure that it has a trans. Services done around 22,000 miles but this doesn't seem to matter. I would like for the Mazda/Ford corp. To fix this problem and recall this transmission so I will not have to pay this ridiculous price again. I really love this car and nothing else has ever went wrong with this car.

Engine warning light-service 3 times, transmission jerks-o/d light comes on, cannot locate problem-transmission is going out-must be replaced.

Last Friday my transmission failed on my 1996 Mazda 626 at 55mph on the taconic state parkway. While I was driving and pressingon the gas pedal, the engine did nothing but rev, the o/d light began flashing and I the car slowly came to a stop. I was able to pull over to the side of the road, and I tried putting the car in reverse, 1st and 2nd gear and still nothing, it was just like the car was in neutral. I called a tow truck and was towed to the nearest service station where I was informed that the transmission was "gone". The car has only 83,000 miles and has been serviced regularly at the Mazda dealer, the car now needs a new transmission. The car has only 83,000 miles and has been serviced regularly at the Mazda dealer since1996, I am the orignal owner. I have heard that this is a common problem with the 4 cylinder transmission and think that Mazda should be forced to do something about it. One Mazda dealer wanted $2500 to replace the transmission, another wanted $4300. I found an auto repair shop that will do it for $1800. I need the car so I am forced to pay this now as I have no other mode of transportation. I hope that this complaint adds to the ammunition of forcing Mazda to realize that this tranmission should have been recalled a while back and that they should reimburse those who have been forced to hand over $2000 to fix something that should not fail on a car this young with less than 100,000 miles. Anything that you can do to assist me witht his problem will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, jennifer pace.

While driving vehicle start jerking over 50 mph and speed could drop on the freeway where transmission/overdrive light will start flashing.

I had many problems with this 626, Mazda from the day I drove it off the lot and I tried to get the company to take it back and they would give me lots of excuses and were not helpful. In the end I was told the air flow sensor was gone & I paid 300. 00 for repairs. 2 days later the car started having the same problem and had it towed in and the transmission was gone, catalytic converter needed replacing again and another part. I asked for a refund on the mass air flow sensor telling them that the o/d light had been coming on and I think that was the problem, but would not refund me for the cost. They then wanted 6000. 00 for it all and I told them, I have replaced so many parts on this car and tried to get you to take it back and they refused. I also asked if they would give me a credit towards another vehicle, since I was sold a lemon. They refused. I had to turn the car back in to the loan company. I could not afford to pay 6000. 00 for repairs and pay 350. 00 monthly . I was ahead on my payments too. Turned it in to the loan company and now my credit has been affected. Because of all the costly repairs that I had to do and make payments along with it all. I want some help and restiution in this situation.

Overdrive light came on, and engine check light came on. This is the second time that the engine check light has come on, causing me to return the car to the dealer. The current problem is transmission.

The vehicle overdrive light was blinking and the service engine light on, due to transmission failure.

In December, 1998 our check engine light came on and the overdrive light started to flash after our 626 was driven at 65+ mph for 10-15 minutes. After the check engine light came on, the transmission started shifting erratically at low speeds. The problem was mis-identified by a service technician as dirty transmission fluid and subsequently diagnosed as having a faulty transmission. The transmission had to be replaced. We originally purchased the vehicle at polar Mazda in white bear lake, mn where the automatic transmission was replaced.