2000 Mazda 626 problems
Owners have filed 280 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000 Mazda 626. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 54% of complaints. Next are engine (7%) and brakes (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 280 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 54% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 183 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 | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 38 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 37 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 43 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 27 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 183 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 82,000 miles (115 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2000 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Mazda 626 with enough data (147 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
2000 mazda 626 was involved in a front end accident (30 MPH) which resulted in totaled car. Aig bag deployment was faulty and delayed. A stream of dark fumes sprayed onto drivers arm. Bag deployed in stages ,and was not in full deployment until after driver was out of car!
While driving at 65 MPH vehicle bogged down on the consumer. Then, consumer lost control of the vehicle, and was struck on the driver's side by a 18 wheeler. Consumer sustained major injuries to the lumbar region of the torso. While driving in the right lane the consumer heard a loud thump. After the noise was heard the rear end and steering wheel locked up. As a result the vehicle traveled to the left across the lanes and in the front of an 18 wheeler.
Rear end collision caused the frame to snap, puncture through the back seat, and pinned my 6yr old son's head to the back of the front passenger seat. It crushed his head, causing severe traumatic brain injury, and he's still in coma. This car is a total loss.
While driving to work on 01/25/2005 had overdrive switch off, and as the transmission got hot, the overdrive off switch light started flashing. The car started making jurking movements like it was going to stall and proceeded on to work.
Transmission already went out in my 2000 mazda 626. After researching the problem online, I found out this is a very common problem in mazda 4cyl engines from this time period. I think it is unacceptable that the transmissions life is this short.