1998 Mazda 626 LX review from North America
"A perplexing amount of trouble"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
I replaced both right and left CV joints, RH wheel bearing, jack shaft, sway bar links, rotors, pads, and brake shoes.
The exhaust rotted out, so I cut out the resonator and welded in a straight pipe.
Valve job, intake gasket, coil, wires, 3 sets of plugs, O2 sensor.
Had to unplug the EGR port in the throttle body, replaced all the motor mounts, replaced the injectors, added grounds, cleaned the MAF sensor, the IAC, and after that, it STILL idles crappy, hesitates and now it is using oil at a rapid rate.
It's losing power and dying when under any load, and has developed a ticking noise from the valve train.
All the door gaskets have fallen off and been re-glued, rust is starting all around the windshield, and the left lower control arm was just replaced because the ball joint failed.
The starter is now acting up and will need replaced.
Nice car otherwise.
General comments?
Handles nice, rides great.
Good gas mileage when it runs.
Very poor overall build quality.
Looks sharp and always gets comments, nice factory spoiler.
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| I give it a 6 out of 10. It's a good, reliable, but temporary vehicle |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 1998 |
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 2007 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2008 |
| Engine and transmission | 4 cylinder DOHC Automatic |
| Performance marks | |
| Reliability marks | |
| Comfort marks | |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 98000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 110000 miles |
| Previous car | Saturn VUE |
| Date of Entry | 13th September, 2008 |