1998 Mazda Millenia S Miller Cycle DOHC V6

Summary:

By and large, a nice decent sedan

Faults:

Our power door locks have seemingly "misfired" in a number of ways. Suffice it to say that we don't dare to leave the keys in the car when we simply shut the door, whether the key is in the ignition or just lying on the seat. We don't trust it, because the doors seem to lock on their own.

Now, the power locks have a feature that if we unlock the doors remotely but we do not open a door, the doors will lock themselves again. So I am guessing that that feature gets confused or something, and locks even though we leave the car after removing the keys, opening the door, close the door and not lock it.

I am wondering if I removed the fuse (# 29) in the fuse box inside of the car on the driver's side (labeled 'power door lock' in the user manual), would we be able to simply manually lock the doors? I might be simpler. Please advise.

General Comments:

The style is timeless, more so than most, I think.

The steering radius is surprisingly wide, causing maneuvering problems often.

The Miller engine and transmission is sublime - we have clearly been luckier than many owners.

The Pearl white color is still nice 10 years later. But the front seats are the most uncomfortable for long trips that we have ever had in any car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th November, 2008

1998 Mazda Millenia S

Summary:

Good car, over priced

Faults:

I have a 1998 Mazda Millenia S and while it proves to be a smooth riding car with some power behind it, I ran into some problems since day 1 of ownership that weren't resolved. The "rotten egg" smell appeared, which most-likely is a cat. converter problem. I brought it in a few times and they said everything was fine. At 60K+ miles my check engine light went on and they told me it was a cat. converter code, stating it might need to be replaced. By law, I have no case because the warranty expires at 60K miles.

That was one problem and now I face another. My car won't move in reverse or L1. L2 and drive is sluggish and the car doesn't have the pep it use to and you can't feel that snapping action when it shifts into second gear - as I use to feel. Any idea what the transmission problem could be? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

General Comments:

Overall, the car is a good car. The catalytic converter code that came up after 60k miles makes me question the Mazda Dealership I purchased the car from and had it serviced at. I would like to believe that Mazda would not allow any of their service departments to do anything unethical... but I feel that I was misled since I questioned the rotten egg odor the first month I owned the car and then the error was detected after 60K miles. Maybe it's a coincident, but the odor is still there and the timing of the error being detected seems fixed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 7th November, 2004

29th Nov 2004, 07:24

I have a 1998 S bought from dealer with 41,000 original miles in Oct. 2003.

Replaced 4 ball joints 5 months later.

Was told by dealer service I needed a new transmission.

Hesitation from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th gears.

Engine light came on at 43,000---fortunately it was catalytic converter which was still covered by Mazda.

Rotten egg smell only when I'm driving up steep hills in 3rd gear.

Have asked around about the transmission situation and basically can live with it---the hesitation is more pronounced in cold weather, but smooths out after the car warms up. I only paid $12,000 for this car, and had previous 1996 626LX which was trouble-free. I suspect as cars get more gadgetry on them and technology gets more advanced that having these so called "sophisticated" cars repaired will only get worse. Also what really is annoying is that Mazda will only warranty a rebuilt transmission from the factory for 12 months at a cost of $3,200. When I bought this car the dealer offered an extended warranty for an additional $1,800 for 3 years---I laughed at him because my previous experience with my 626 was so good. Now I wonder if I shouldn't have taken him up on it.