Three problems related to transmission slip out of gear have been reported for the 2002 Mazda 626. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Mazda 626 based on all problems reported for the 2002 626.
Without any warning the transmission started slipping out of forward gear while at a traffic light after releasing the brakes and gently pressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle didnt move. Manually shifting into 1st gear was the car able to move but causing a very harsh lurching forward causing a loud "clunking" noise. I was able to limp the car 3 miles to my home. I was involved in a rear end accident at the next traffic light. While the vehicle was in 1st gear and having the brakes applied the transmission caught in gear and lunged forward causing me to contact the car in front of me. Both myself and the occupant of the vehicle I hit sustained minor injuries and well as property damage to the front of my vehicle and the back of theirs.
My car will move fine until it warms up but then slips out of all gears and wont move until the next day.
For the past week I have been having trouble with my vehicle's automatic transmission. I own a Mazda 626 2002 4 cyl. My vehicle has 63,642 miles and for the past week while driving my vehicle would shift out of gear into a lower gear. It would stay in the same gear and not shift (this occurs mainly in the lower gears when the vehicle is in drive). The o/d off light would blink on and off after this occurs and the check engine light came on when the problems began. Yesterday after parking the car I am unable to put the car in reverse. The vehicle will not go backwards. I looked online and there are apparently numerous documented issues of Mazda 626s having transmission failure. . I called the Mazda customer support center and was told that there is no powertrain warranty offered and my vehicle is out of the manufacturers 3 year/50000 mile warranty.