Transmission blew out twice. Once the day after we bought it on August 21, 2004 and again on October 5, 2005.

- Mayville, WI, USA

The 1999 Mazda 626 that I purchased had cost me over 4,000 in transmission repair cost and had been the worst mistake of my life.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

Transmission quit working while the consumer was driving. She was less than mile from home when this occurred. The consumer had the transmission replaced by her mechanic. The new transmission was purchased from Mazda. The new transmission has slipped twice. The vehicle jerked while trying to accelerate. The consumer took vehicle to a dealership and they ran a diagnostic test. They found nothing, and that there should be a warning light coming on if anything was working. There were no other problems with the vehicle at this time.

- San Diego, CA, USA

1999 Mazda 626 transmission died I have been informed by reading on the forums about transmission problems on the Mazda 626. I just purchased this car about a year ago with about 110K miles (the car was in excellent shape). I have put about 7K miles and three weeks ago the transmission started to slip. A couple of months ago I took a trip and on the way back home the O/D light came on and it did not turn off until I stopped at a rest stop and the car cooled down. I guess it was a sign the transmission was overheating. Well, I have since taken it to a transmission shop and have been told that it needs to be rebuilt ($1500 min.). I have since tried driving it to another shop and now it runs for a couple of minutes and quits. Will not move at all. I turn if off and wait a couple of minutes to let it cool off and it works again for another couple of minutes. What a crock!! if Mazda new about this issue and reluctantly issued a tech bulletin about the transmission overheating, why did they put this car out to begin with. Motor and tranny are the life of the car, if neither work what is the car good for!

- San Antonio, TX, USA

My car is Mazda 626 LX 1999 with 66K miles. This car has bad transmission. 1. from 30K miles. This car sometimes had transmission jerking 2. one day my wife drive this car. The she put shift on reverse, but the car was forward on flat parking lot. She shifted back on park then shifted on reverse again, the car was still forward. So she turned off the engine, then started the engine, the car worked fine. 3. July 30,2005. After driving one and half hours. The O/D off light came out, then the transmission began jumping and the car lost power. I took exit right away. I stop the car and took a look. I found white smoking and a lot transmission oil already spilled out. The transmission was overheated. For this car I took all maintenance service since I bought this car. Actually I found the transmission fluid leaked many times. I let mechanic guy checked. They didn't found anything wrong because I didn't drive the car more than one hour before checking.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

I bought a 1999 Mazda 626 LX in November of 1998. VIN [xxx] the time the warranty ran out I had taken my car into an oil change franchise. They suggested that I flush and renew the transmission fluid. So I did. That's when all the problems began. I then drove the car from NJ to fl where I lived. It started burning up a lot of oil so I took it into to Mazda. They said that it was well known that my make and model car runs hot. They said they could not see anything wrong with what the oil change franchise did. They recommended that I put a radiator on the transmission to keep it from boiling...which is what it was doing. I believe it is the boiling transmission which has cause my engine to heat up so much that the oil has gunked my engine. Anyway, I took the car to a mechanic and they put in a radiator which seems to help some but now I'm continually having problems with the oil burning up without there being any leaks. I have continually had problems with the vehicle every since. In and out of the shops. No one seems to be able to get the car right. I have seen numerous reports of other Mazda owners having problems of this similar nature on the net. Mazda should take care of these problems and admit publicly that they've got problems with their vehicles and they should make it right. Updated 07/19/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Sunrise, FL, USA

I was driving in my Mazda 626 99 LX on hwy 41 to Chicago and near milwaukee it lost power and slowing down. I pull down to the side.I try to start the car again and found that the car doesn't move. I have to tow the car to nearest Mazda dealer.

- Appleton, WI, USA

Transmission failure - 1999 Mazda 626. Mechanic indicated that transmission overheated causing failure.

- Fairport, NY, USA

Auto transmission has been leaking and shifting poorly since about 40,000 miles. Now at 87000, the O/D light is flashing on and off. Suspect I'll have to have it rebuilt. Found many complains on this transmission, but Mazda and Ford appear to want to do nothing about it.

- Hoover, AL, USA

Normal city driving. Automatic transmission failure. Overheating, catastrophic. Rebuilt.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

Driving for a couple of hours, 1999 Mazda 626 the transmission od light flashes and the transmission overheat and blows the extremly hot transmission fluid out into the envronment and onto the exaust pipe and engine component and could cause a fire. Not very environment friendly if all Mazda and Ford do this, and according to atxprobes.com/cd4E.html and Mazda tsb 05-005/02 this is a common problem. Mazda say to replace the radiator and add a transmission cooler at owners expense. I say you and the epa need to make Mazda and Ford recall and make the repairs.

- Hendersonville, NC, USA

Transmission failure made it impossible for me to move my car, and allowed emergency vehicles to access an mva further ahead in traffic.

- Mesquite, TX, USA

1999 Mazda 626 with 68,000 - according to dealer transmission is failing and requires replacement. Vehicle will not shift out of overdrive and several times od light has begun flashing while driving. Dealer claims code 736 - "improper gear ratio." Dealer explained that she had seen this exact problem "many" times and requires $2900 replacement of transmission.

- High Point, NC, USA

While driving, the vehicle stalls the driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and pull over. The driver tried to restart, but was unable to do so. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The mechanic informed the driver that the transmission needed to be replaced. Please provide additional information.

- Pleasant Grove, UT, USA

Mazda 626 transmission failure with only 69,000 miles in the engine. Bought the car brand new and perform routinely maintanance on it and it still failed.

- Linden, NJ, USA

Driver was accelerating up on a hill and vehicle started decelerating. Then, vehicle jerked uncontrollably. Driver was able to maintain control, pulled over, and turned the vehicle off. Driver was able to restart vehicle, and took the it home. The next day, driver was unable to shift the vehicle in reverse and unable to move it.

- Winston-Salem, NC, USA

I brought a 1999 Mazda 626 at around 64,000 miles. I always got my fluids check and change around every 3,000 miles. It drove fine until recently at 115,000 miles when it had a hard time going into 2nd gear. The check engine light came on and the O/D light also started flashing. It finally got the place where it wouldn't move forward at all. I had to miss a day at work because of it. I had to get the car towed and look at by a mechanic. The mechanic said that it sounded like my 2nd gear was about to go out. He tried to get it to work by changing my transmission fluid and replacing my alternator belt. The car ran good for only one day and on my way home from work the check engine and the O/D light came on. Luckly, my car made it home, but the next day it wouldn't even move forward. It will cost between 1,200 and 2,500 dollars to get it fixed. This is money that I do not have! I still got two years worth of payment to make on it and I have no idea how I'm going to get to work every day. Hopefully I can come up with the my to fix this problem.

- Holt, AL, USA

I have had consistant transmission problems after around 50,000 mile. I have spent thousands of dollars taking the advice of Mazda transmission experts and other techs. I have experienced tranny leaks that would make the car look like it was floating on a cloud caused by the fluid falling on a hot exaust. Now at 104,000 miles right after having my seals changed the transmission apears to heat up within a few minutes and leaves me stuck in first gear hoping I can make it home. This transmission is garbage and has given me nothing but problems. Who ever let this engineering disaster be sold should pay for all the problems they have caused.

- Acton, CA, USA

I have a 1999 Mazda 626 and I have changed the automatic transmission on this vehicle twice. The transmission has overheated twice. I have the regular maintainance on this vehicle and have spent $5000 for both transmission.

- Modesto, CA, USA

Engine and transmission both faulty. Engine did not reverse, soon after engine exploded.

- San Antonio, TX, USA