Traveling at speeds of 30-60 mph during any type of traffic (stop and go, freeway speeds, etc), my 2003 Mazda6 will suddenly go into a "safe or limp" mode characterized by abrupt loss of power with no ability to accelerate. The rpms drop to between 1000 and 1300 and fluctuate quickly between the two numbers. I have had to quickly press the clutch, turn the car off and back on to regain normal function. When taken to a mechanic, the root cause was determined to be a defective throttle body. Upon more research (including this site), this does not appear to be an uncommon issue for this model of Mazda.

- St. Paul, MN, USA

Went to store pushed in clutch went to the floor parked the car and when I came out I could not start the car. The safety thing would not engage to allow me. Had the car towed to a mechanic he told me it was the clutch assembly, the car has been back three times in two years because it's tough to shift clutch real spongy. Today it went to the floor again and stalled, can't start the car in the middle of an intersection had to have it pushed out of the way then towed home. The motor was replaced at 32K. The first time the whole clutch was replaced at 40K and it, S never been right since.

- Chicopee, MA, USA

My wife was driving our 2003 Mazda 6 with 56,000 miles to school on Thursday morning on a busy 2-lane highway. She shifted (likely to 4th), and the manual transmission locked-up. Fortunately, she is an experienced driver and was able to disengage the clutch and coast the car to the shoulder without incident. If she had been inexperienced, or if a shoulder had not been available, or if the car behind her had been closer, the outcome could have been tragic. Regarding, the transmission, it had been maintained with all of the recommended fluid changes, and it was locked-up and damaged beyond economical repair. A used transmission was installed by the local Mazda dealer at a cost of over $2,000.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

: the contact stated there were several problems with the vehicle. The first problem involved the brake pads that were worn out and had to be replaced after 20,000 miles. The second problem dealt with manual transmission. Sometimes the manual transmission shifted roughly. Third problem, in cold weather, the engine surged and revved high for three seconds. The dealership told the contact the brake wear was normal. The dealership could not duplicate the other problems.

- Toledo, OH, USA

I have a Mazda 6I.at 8500 miles after having my car I had the clutch go out. When I took it to the dealer I was severly stereotyped as a street racer which I am in no way, if that were the case I would have bought the 6S. They wanted to charge me $800 to fix the problem, which I immediately disputed and was treated as a child.eventually they fixed it and I quote "not under warranty but fixed out of kindness" and that was the end of that. Now at 13000 miles my manual transmission would not shift into 1st or 2nd gear I took it in and the first response I got from the service clerk was " whats wrong with the car?" and that if they find I caused the problem it would be estimated $1000 to fix it if it wasn't covered by the warranty. I feel that because my age I am discriminated against even though I purchased the car myself in my name at 18. I am currently waiting for a response from the dealer as to what is going to happen with the transmission replacement.

- Patterson, CA, USA

In early June my Mazda 6 mtx began to experience a problem with the transmission. Whenever I would accelerate the rpms would increase by 1K then decrease by about the same amount before the transmission would catch and the power would be distributed to the wheels. Now a little over a month later my clutch is almost completely worn out. I'm taking my car in to get this checked out, but the car shouldn't be experiencing any problems with the clutch/transmission when it's still under 26,000 miles. The car is not in stop-and-go traffic nor is it under any heavy load.

- Peachtree City, GA, USA

2003 Mazda6(s) manual transmission developed shudder when letting out the clutch in 1'rst gear. Seems to occur when the drive train has warmed up. Took it to the dealer who attributed it to the traction control being on. When I turned the tc off the problem was the same. I will take it back again and request the dealership ride with me to experience the problem. The problem did not develop until 13K miles (500 miles ago).

- Cary, IL, USA