2002 Mazda 626 problems
Owners have filed 99 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Mazda 626. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 59% of complaints. Next are drivetrain & axles (12%) and electrical system (4%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 99 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 59% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 73,000 miles 64 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 | 7 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 17 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 12 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 64 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 73,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 69,000 miles (45 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 6 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Mazda 626 with enough data (61 complaints in that window).
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 40-45 MPH and making a left hand turn consumer's vehicle was hit by another vehicle. Upon impact, air bags did not deploy. There were injuries. Consumer was pregnant, and hit her head and chest on the steering wheel. There was also a thirteen year old in the vehicle that was injured. Both consumer and the passenger were wearing seat belts. Vehicle was salvaged.
Without any warning the transmission started slipping out of forward gear while at a traffic light after releasing the brakes and gently pressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle didnt move. Manually shifting into 1st gear was the car able to move but causing a very harsh lurching forward causing a loud "clunking" noise. I was able to limp the car 3 miles to my home. I was involved in a rear end accident at the next traffic light.
Dt: consumer states she had an accident on 7-8-05. She was hit on the front end of her car by someone traveling west. The air bags did not deploy and as a result the consumer was injured. She has not talked to the dealer or the manufacturer. She does not know how fast the person who hit her was going. The consumer was going approx. 55-60 MPH. There had been no previous air bag problems. The air bag warning light had not come on. She did apply her brakes prior to impact. She was wearing her seat belt.
I own a 1992 4cyl automatic mazda 626. In aug 2005 - the transmission had to be replaced. I believe at the time the mileage was around 60k. I researched online and found that this was a common problem amongst mazda 626's but mazda was not owning up to the problem. Now, nov 2006 - 15 months later, the car started to run rough, and then the o/d light started blinking.
On acceleration from being stopped the transmission would make a series of popping sounds. I took it to a mechanic and it was diagnosed to be a stretched drive chain in the transmission. Instances of high torque would cause the chain to skip past teeth, causing the popping noise. Due to the significant amount if problems that plague the CD4e transmission the entire unit was replaced.