Transmission Failure problems of the 1996 Mazda 626 - part 1

Second time automatic transmission failed!!!.

The automatic transmission in my 1996 Mazda 626 failed. As I did research I found that the transmission had failed once before with a previous owner. Further research has shown me that the "cd4e" transmission in my car is a "known" defective part among owners of this particular car. I only had enough money to have it replaced with a used transmission that was the same "cd4e" and can only hope that this one will hold up for awhile. The total cost was about $1200 and I still have the old transmission just in case I need to have it rebuilt. This particular transmission is very hard to find due to its unreliability, meaning they are in great demand because they fail frequently. Thank you for your time.

Transmission failed on 1996 Mazda 626. Replaced with used transmission that also failed within 3 months.

I have a 96 Mazda 626 that is having constant problems with the transmission. I had it checked out and am being told that it was the catalytic converter that would cost well over $400 because I needed the Mazda branded one from a dealership. Also the transmission switch is faulty. Which the guy I had looking at the car, had no idea what that was and had never heard of it. When you start driving it's fine then about 15 minutes in to it starts jumping like as if I am pressing on the gas to go 50 from 15. It has done this on several occasions and every time I try to fix it something else comes up. I was told by another person that the transmission is failing and that Mazda 626's have a faulty transmission from years 95-00.

Automatic transmission failure - driving my car on the highway and the transmission starts bucking and almost caused me to be hit in the back by another vehicle.

I bought a 1996 Mazda 626 lx at approximately 82,000 miles the automatic transmission failed. I had rebuilt and now it is failing again. I cannot afford to keep fixing this problem that should have never been a problem to start with. The car has been well maintained under normal driving. I understand things will wear out but I have never had this problem with another car. I look on the internet for answers and find there are alot of people with the same complaint. Mazda needs to offer some responsibility to this. People work hard for their money. No one can afford to keep fixing this problem. Mazda should have never put a Ford transmission in this car that couldn't last.

2nd transmission failure of car. Happens at freeway speeds. In this case in traffic.

Faulty component causes low pump volume in transmission, which ultimately leads to overheating and transmission failure. Vehicle has literally come to a stop on the interstate, causing drivers to evade hitting my car.

Transmission failed at 98k miles. Neede to be replaced.

1996 Mazda 626 with automatic transmission. The car has had what I consider early transmission failure. From what I have found out this is very common on this model and year Mazda and was advised to file this complaint.

Transmission is failing. This is the second transmission put in this vehicle. It causes the car to hesitate in traffic and overheats. This is the second 626 I have owned. Transmission went in first one as well, causing the car to stall in the middle of traffic. . Read more...

Transmission failure.

My 1996 Mazda 626 had transmission failure, it failed without warning, while driving. I contacted Mazda and Ford and was told that transmission failure was common with that model transmission and vehicle. I was also told that any repair of the transmission would be at my expense. I had the transmission repaired, to be correct it was rebuilt. My concern is that if Ford and Mazda know that there or problems with these transmissions why don't they extend warranties and inform there customers. Secondly why hasn't the federal government stepped in and forced them to take corrective action. My parents on a Honda accord, Honda has admitted that they have a problem with their v6 transmissions, my parents car had problems after 50,000 miles. Honda replaced their transmission with and updated one and extended the transmission warranty for an additional 100,000 mile after the repair. I feel that Ford and Mazda should do the same thing. With your help I hope that will happen.

I purchased this car used in November of 2002 with approximately 90,000 miles, transmission failed me in traffic in October of 2004, it presently has 131,000 miles. Transmission would seem to engage and then disengage very rapidly until it finally completely failed, and no longer would engage. I was just able to get off the street. Transmission shops est. Cost to be between $1200. 00 and $2500. 00 dollars to repair. I have not had it repaired yet. I have no knowledge of prior failures or complaints. I have since searched the internet and discovered that this is a common problem for this car and other cars such as the Ford probe, which uses the same transmission.

At 120k miles on my highly maintained 1996 Mazda 626 my transmission failed. I did some research and many other customers have encountered the same situation with the same model car. Repairs will end up costing me $4000. 00. As a college student it is going to be hard to come up with that type of money. I would suggest if there are as many failures as I have seen in the research a recall should be issued by Mazda corp. Design flaws should be fixed by the designer or company, not by the consumer.

I have a Mazda 1996 626 lx sedan 2. 0 liter engine with automatic transmission, 4 cylinder, front wheel drive. I bought it from a private party about 3 months ago at 93400 miles. I now have only about 96000 mikes and my transmission failed today. I was not able to get it out of the overnight parking spot in my apartment complex. I had it towed to a mechanic(a very reliable one), who after an extensive checkup, determined that the transmission had "broken down" and that it had to be replaced. He informed that a new transmission replacement inclusive of installation charges would cost about $2500 to $3000, which is extremely expensive for a full-time graduate student like me. I performed my research on the advice of the mechanic and came across a lot of people who have had problems with the automatic transmissions of Mazda 626 manufactured between 93-97. This is frustrating because, Ford (Ford probe is the transmission used in the above said vehicles) and Mazda are aware of this matter and have never found it so much as being responsible to make their customers aware of these problems. I want justice to be done and I would very much love Ford and Mazda for being so askance in this matter. I also want all the owners of the Mazda vehicles involved in changing theor transmissions to be compensated adequately. But more than that, I want federal agencies to be aware of these evasive tactics of Mazda and Ford and punitive damages arising from federal case to be so inhibitive as to almost shut off their operations.

Problems with the automatic transmission. Original transmission started to fail at 45,000. Finally was unable to drive the car at 84,000. Mazda dealer replaced transmission with rebuilt transmission which failed at 86,000 (only two months in service). Next transmission has 11,000 miles on it and it is beginning to fail. I will be bringing it back to Mazda in June 2005 (still in warranty 12k/12 months).

October 2003 79,500 miles od light blinking, rough idle, sticky hard gas pedal, remedy : new transmission, idle control valve 80,000 miles transmission failure no warning lost 2nd, 3rd,4th gear. Remedy: rebuilt transmission was told part failed. Picked up car on Feb 17th drove car for 5 miles 2nd and 3rd, gear blown again.

Check engine light came on. Transmission hesitates between 1st and 2nd. Diagnosed as transmission failure by Mazda dealer. Dealer suggests replacing with rebuilt transmission for $2800. Am currently researching other alternatives.

Transmission failed without warning. It was replaced three times; however, the problem still exists.

Transmission failed prematurely. Vehicle had been repaired three times; however, problem still exists.

My 1996 Mazda 626 transmission burned up approximately 100 miles into a road trip to houston. The transmission had been rebuilt in Dec 2001 and only had 11,000 miles put on since the repair. I brought the car to a mechanic in houston who said the transmission would have to be replaced, at around $2200. I called my dealer in austin and was told to bring the car back to them and if the transmission was failing we would contact Mazda and maybe they would work with me on the cost. I had the car towed back to austin and left it at the dealer. The next morning the service writer calls to tell me all my transmission needed was a "cooler" installed and I would be good to go. Although I felt this could not be anything but a band-aid, I paid for the repair and went on my way. I decided to do some research and found countless stories similar to mine on the internet. Mazda was aware of this transmission problem when the transmission was rebuilt and should have offered me the cooler then. I did complain to the general manager of the dealer and he reimbursed me for the cooler. My purpose in filing this complaint is just to get the word out there about these crummy transmissions. I used to believe Mazdas were reliable, safe cars but my confidence has been shaken. I plan to sell the car and buy another kind of vehicle just for peace of mind.

Mazda 1996 626 automatic transmission horror story here! why is the NHTSA. Dot not forcing Mazda to recall or pay damages to the hundreds and hundreds of folks like me who are out thousands for repeated transmission failures? bought used car from transmission shop owner 2 years ago now. He warranted transmission (claimed "new") one year. This itself shows transmission was failed and replaced once already. Brought it in twice under warranty, told me "he didn't know what work was done because mechanic was not in that day". For all I know, he did nothing and waited until warranty lapsed on purpose. Now after warranty on transmission completely failed. Fluid was black sign of burning. Only 2nd year from purchase now, expensive price. Unmatching Ford transmission has different liquid/pressure specs which do not match Mazda engine specs. This is how Mazda is selling it, the two parts don't work together. This is why even the "rebuilds" and "replacements" still fail 1-2 years. . Read more...

Transmission failure.

Transmission failure due to overheating under normal driving conditions.

Transmission problem with 1996 Mazda 626-I bought the car (a demonstrator) from allentown Mazda in allentown PA. On may15, 1997 with 10,000 miles on it. I stopped at a light 2 miles before I was about to get onto onto the ne extension of the PA turnpike. As I pulled out, the car barely picked up enough speed to make the turn and I pulled to the side of the road. Although the engine revved, the car wouldn't move. I had the car towed to a garage where they told me the transmission had failed - at 56,000 miles! I had a rebuilt transmission put into it for $2000. There is now 86,000 on the car and I am having trouble with the car shifting into 2nd and 3rd gear and I am afraid, after reading about everyone else's problems with this car that it is the transmission again. My engine light has also been on continuously, almost from the time I bought it. No one has been able to fix it. I understand this has also been a common problem with this model and year and would like to add my name to the list of dis-satisfied Mazda owners who would like to make Mazda accountable in some way for these expensive, dangerous, and chronic problems.

Am the owner of Mazda 626, VIN 1yvge22c3t5518155. I bought this vehicle new in August 1996 from the rosenthal Nissan Mazda dealership located in mclean, va. Since the purchase I have had 3 failures of the automatic transmission system. First failure occurred at ~38,000 miles. The second at ~49,000 miles and the third at ~86000 miles. First two transmissions were replaced by the dealership. Presently I am looking for Mazda to replace the current transmission free of cost to me and provide me a 5 year warranty on the transmission system. I feel that my car has an inherent manufacturing defect which is causing the automatic transmission to fail repeatedly. Such failures of transmission can be very risky while driving on highways. My recent transmission failure occurred while I was on the highway at 65 mph. I felt a sudden jerk and the car slowed down extremely rapidly. The car in the back almost hit me. I had to react very quickly and had to quickly move to the left side of the highway - as with this rapid and sudden deceleration I did not even have time to go the right side. Mazda's continuing inefficiency in this matter has created a public safety hazard. I would like some assurance that this will be taken care of appropriately.

Transmission failure.

Transmission failed at 63,000 miles just finding out how common this problem is with these vehicles. You might as well throw all your hard earned money into a fire pit and light it up, if you purchase one of these cars.

Consumer states transmission failed twiced while under warranty. Dealer replaced transmission assembly 2 times.

There is an extremely high rate of transmission failure on the 4 cyl 626 and Mazda needs to take care of their problem.

My transmission failed and was told by the dealer that it would cost $2,500 to fix the problems with the transmission. The diagnostic codes reported to me were p 1744 (tcc performance), p0741 (tcc stuck) and p0303 (#3 misfire). I have researched this problem on the internet and found that many have had the same problem and Mazda does not accept blame for faulty transmissions. I was also told Mazda did not rebuild transmissions but have read that some of the owners had them rebuilt. Also, some had new ones put in but only to fail again and Mazda did not cover the replacement part. It seems Mazda should take responsibility for their faulty transmissions. I took mine to the dealer in the town in which I live - gary force Mazda in bowling green, kentucky.

I thought I was the only one to complain about the 1996 Mazda 626 transmission to fail on me, but I am not the only, many people have complained about it and nothing has been done. This is not fair that Mazda know about this problem, but fails to do a recall. People should be able to buy cars without their trasnmission dying on them at only 50,000. Please do whatever you can. Mazda is stealing from the public.

Transmission prematurely failed. Also there was no maintenance schedule for transmission, and no warning instructions written in owners manual about what to do when overdrive button illuminates.

While driving had transmission failure. Unable drive vehicle. Replaced transmission 4 times.