Emission Control Problems of Mazda Tribute

2001 Mazda Tribute lx v-6 engine. Last year (2006) in the colder temps, mostly fall and winter, the engine runs so rough when you start it as if it has a terrible cold. Letting it warm up, I have come outdoors to my car that it is no longer running due to stalling out. As the year progressed, I noticed that it no longer a cold temp issue. . . Now I notice in the summer months that it doesn't like to stay running at stop lights or parked. Yes it has stalled at stop lights waiting and praying the light turns green faster. It seems hesitant to take off after displaying such effort to stay running at stop lights. Help. . . How much is this going to cost me.

See all problems of the 2001 Mazda Tribute.

The steering wheel wandered which caused the vehicle to change lanes at high and low speeds. Ph. The emission light illuminated and the problem was repaired twice. The steering problem was repaired 6 times.

Owned my Tribute for a year before the problems began. On 3/15/02 I took it in because the low coolant light kept coming on. The dealership couldn't find a problem, but I had them do a 30k mile service and check everything from front to back. Had a rental for two days. On 6/10/02 I took it in because it suddenly started stalling dead at stops and yields. I almost wrecked due to this. Cause: internal failure. The dealership replaced the control unit, idle air valve, coolant fan relay. I had a rental for three days. On 8/5/02 it had to be towed because the ignition switch completely locked up and wouldn't turn. Dealership put in a new ignition switch and cylinder. My keys had to be reprogrammed. I had a rental for two days. On 11/13/02 I took it in because the check engine light kept coming on and the engine did not idle smoothly. The dealership could not duplicate the problem and I used their rental for three days. On 12/24/02 the engine light came back, the engine idled rough and the entire vehicle was visibly shaking. The dealership told me that one of the six coils was bad and needs to be replaced or one wrong spark could ruin the whole engine. Looks like I have the rental for at least a week. It just went over 50k miles, so my basic warranty is up, however the emisions conrol system (engine) is warranted until 80k miles. It seems a shame that Mazda would put out such poor quality and problematic vehicles to their loyal customers. Maybe they should add that to their "zoom, zoom" commercials.

Consumer states the cause for the second engine stalling was a mass air flow sensor failure and it was replaced. The third engine failure was caused by throttle body and was replaced. The third replacement was done on 09/23/02 and the mileage was 19247.

Vehicle has stalled out while consumer was driving. Steering wheel locked up, then engine shut down. Consumer has had this problem fixed twice before. Stalling of the vehicle caused brake and steering failures. The vehicle stalled several times. Dealer replaced mass air flow sensor and dpfe after third incident, also consumer stated vehicle was pulling to the right, the dealer perfomed an alignment.

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Engine has stalled out a total of 3 times. The 1st time was on 6/16/02 after completing a 80 degree turn on a 2 lane road. Had no power brakes or power steering. Was able to make it off the road. Engine started immediately. Very scary experience. The 2nd time was on 7/29/02. Took car to the dealership. They ordered some parts. On 8/14/02 took car back to dealership to replace the engine sensor, air flow sensor, and map sensor. On 8/19/02, the car stalled out for the 3rd time. On 8/20/02, took the car to dealership and picked up a loaner car. As of 9/02/02, I have not heard a word as to when my car will be fixed. According to the dealership, they are waiting for Mazda corporation to post new software to correct the stalling problem. Mazda needs to take care of this problem. In the 2001 models, this stalling problem has been going on for almost 2 years. In the 2002 models, it has been almost a year. Mazda needs to recall these cars before someone is seriously injuried or is killed.

There is a fuel odor coming into the cabin of the vehicle through the vents. It seems to get stronger as I run the air or heat and eventually gets to the point of smelling so bad, I have to roll the windows down to get fresh air. I have researched this problem and it seems several people are also experiencing this problem. It occurs everytime I use the vehicle. I have gone by the dealership and reported this issue and they said they can find nothing wrong. They said it might have been caused by taking my vehicle to other places to have the oil changed and they may have spilled oil on the engine. This is not the case. Seems like this is a valid complaint since there are so many others with the same problem. It gets so strong sometimes, I get a headache from the fumes. This can not be good to breathe in these fumes. I hope someone can get this issue resolved soon.