2002 Mazda MPV problems
Owners have filed 143 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Mazda MPV. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 41% of complaints. Next are engine (19%) and exhaust system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 143 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 41% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 63,000 miles 104 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 | 21 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 20 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 24 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 104 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 63,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 67,000 miles (51 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 7 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Mazda MPV with enough data (91 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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, the consumer's vehicle was involved in a collision at 35 MPH. The consumer's vehicle hit the other vehicle in the driver's side. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy. The consumer was injured.
My wife was driving mazda mpv van which is 2002 model. She was driving at about 20-25 MPH and tried to apply the brakes when she saw another car approaching the road; the brakes did not engage and she started hearing some heavy sound coming from engine. The van continued to accelerate and she had to take wide turn to go right on another road. My wife tried to apply brakes several times but van was still accelerating and reached about 35-40 MPH or higher.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mazda mpv. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH a pedestrian advised the contact that the left front bumper was on fire. The contact pulled over and called the fire department. The vehicle was towed to the contacts residence and then to the insurance company. The dealer was informed about the failure and stated that they would not address the problem.
I was driving my 2002 mazda mpv minivan with 91,000 miles on it on the freeway and when I tried to accelerate, it would not shift into higher gear. It seemed to go into neutral and I began loosing speed. I have done all maintenance as was suggested in the handbook by mazda. In fact, mazda has done all of the maintenance. This was incredibly dangerous as there were no warning signs.