1997 Mazda 626 problems
Owners have filed 451 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Mazda 626. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 51% of complaints. Next are engine (9%) and air bags (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 451 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 51% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 22 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 35 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 91,000 miles 187 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 12 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 13 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 41 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 51 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 33 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 12 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 187 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 91,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 91,000 miles (132 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 22 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 35 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Mazda 626 with enough data (204 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While driving front air bags deployed without being in an accident, causing minor injuries to driver, and major injuries to front and back passenger.
Airbags deployed while driving on a surface street without braking. Driving 30 miles and hour and the bags exploded with no impact of any kind. I was burned and brused. Mazda will not take responsibility for this and insists that I have my insurance pay for repair. The bags were on fire.
Vehicle was involved in a frontal collision. Impact was on left and right front of vehicle. Upon impact, airbags did not deploy, resulting in minor injuries. The vehicl's sensor system failed. The transmission was rebuilt. The vehicle had been in accident by the previous owner and dealer refused to take it back.
Transmission failure had to be replaced, overdrive light constantly flashing, dealers stated was oxygen sensor replaced both sensors, problem not solved, replaced transmission replaced several days later with another, first replacement was defective.
First incident: 9/2/04: had to have transmission completely rebuilt after it failed on @ 61,360 miles. Replaced master o/h kit, torque converter, direct housing, shift kit, hub, chain, band, oil filter, oil. $ 2,062.70.