general problems of the 2002 Mazda Tribute

Tl- the contact owns a 2002 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that the rear window latch failed to lock. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer stated the VIN was not affected by NHTSA campaign number: 04v605000 (latches/locks/linkages). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 220,000. Pam.

The contact owns a 2002 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that she was unable to open the door to exit the vehicle. He contact had to open the window and stick her arm out the window to unlock the door from the exterior door handle. In addition, the rear lift gate would not remain closed or locked and would sporadically open while the vehicle was in motion. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 04v605000 (latches/ locks/ linkages: hatchback/ liftgate: lock) but was advised by the dealer that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current mileage was unknown and the failure mileage was 120,000.

Drivers side door handle broke under normal use. Cannot open door from inside vehicle. An alarming safety problem. When I took the panel off I found a small piece of plastic had broken off from the assembly. The door handle is constructed from ridiculously cheap plastic. This also affected the alarm system working properly as it would engage while inside the vehicle and go off when exiting the vehicle.

Driver side door handle stopped operating. Drivers door will not open from inside. . . . Outside handle works ok. It stopped working without warning. I am not able to open this door unless I put the window down and operate the outside door handle. Nothing occurred other than normal daily use prior to breaking. Vehicle is driven only by adults.

Inner door handles broken from regular use. Driver side door handles actually broke in half. Passenger front door handle broke as well internally. Neither door handle opens from inside. As for driver side door handle I replaced it with back passenger door handle as I did not feel I should have to pay for a defect like this. Front passenger door handle remains to be fixed. We all need to call Mazda and report this problem. This has been a huge problem with many of these vehicles. Mazda needs to know about it. 1800-222-5500.

Interior driver door handle disengaged (broken cable attachment), handle no longer opens door. Must lower window and open door from exterior handle, not safe in cases where passengers (driver) need rapid egress. Weak door handle assembly at point of cable attachment seems like a design flaw/shortcut. This issue was common on the web-based repair sites with over 50 owners reporting issues on 1 site alone. Factory certified repair is $350! consequently a work around has been posted on the internet that is dangerous. Involves drilling a hole in the handle base and rerouting the cable to this new (less efficient) location. The poor design, weak break-strength and critical nature of the component (door handle assembly) almost ensures this component will fail. The outrageous cost to replace almost guarantees a steady reliable source of income for Mazda dealer rare dept. The fact that this component failure degrades the rapid egress in the event of an accident, it seems like an important issue for your agency to address.

2002 Mazda Tribute inner door handle broke. Very poor plastic design. Seems to be a common problem with these vehicles. Dealer wants over $100. 00 for the cheap plastic replacement.

Driver's door can no longer be opened from the inside. The interior handle no longer actuates the latch. One has to roll down the window and use the exterior handle. In the event of an emergency, this could be a safety issue - especially with electric windows. It is my understanding that this can only be fixed by replacing the interior handle unit where a plastic part has broken.

Interior door handle on driver's side is broken. Have had to open the window to get out of the car, (open by exterior handle). Repair costs over $150. 00 due to manual labor involved. Also, steering became very noisy with screeching on turning at slow speeds. The outer tie, tye (spelling?) rods had to be replaced because the one's on there could not be re-greased. Cost: $210. 00.

2002 Mazda Tribute inner door handle broke. Very poor plastic design and from reading the internet a very common problem with these vehicles. Dealer wants over $100. 00 for the cheap plastic replacement. Also had plastic radio knob crack dealers wants almost $20 for spare part.