1993 Mazda 626 ES from North America - Comments

The moon roof motor went bad - covered by warranty.

Factory-installed radio did not work properly - covered by warranty.

Door seals cracked and broke - covered by warranty.

More doors seals cracked and broke - NOT covered by warranty.

Both rear brake calipers "went bad" after I owned the car for 37 months and had 34,000 miles - NOT covered by warranty.

Dashboard covering around the passenger-side airbag has bubbled up - not covered by warranty.

The engine started to miss when idling at about 42000 miles - Mazda mechanics are mystified. It still misses to this day.

The paint has deteriorated dramatically in the last six to nine months. Quote from the body shop guy I trust - "They (Mazda) probably didn't spend as much money on their paint as they should have".

I believe I have taken very good care of this car. It has the dark green metallic paint with a leather interior. It is eight years old this month and friends say that from the side it looks like new. From above it looks like it's been sitting in the junkyard for a couple of years.

The brake problem at 34000 miles was infuriating. I spent $550 to fix a car that had 34000 miles on it. I took it to a "non-authorized" mechanic to have the work done. The Mazda mechanic warned me - "They aren't going to use genuine Mazda parts!" To which I replied - "You mean the genuine parts that failed within 34000 miles and you won't replace under warranty?", "Why in the world do you think I'd want any of those parts?".

My advice to everyone - I owned a Toyota Camry before purchasing this vehicle, and believe me, this is no Toyota.

I previously owned a 1994 Mazda 626ES, and experienced similar shortcomings. The green metallic paint crazed on the hood and the trunk lid, and the only fix would have been to repaint the entire car. The 2.5L V6 engine has a notorious reputation for oil leaks at the valve cover gaskets, and the repair is significant because of all of the plumbing around the valve covers. My moon roof motor also failed. The steering rack became sloppy over time, and needed replacement at 100,000 miles. Most aggravating of all was the transaxle/differential, which required replacement of both drive axles by the time the car had 100,000 miles on it, and it still leaked fluid around the seals. The car had some virtues, however; the leather interior was plush and comfortable with great lower back support in the power driver's seat, the air conditioner was powerful, and all the glass resulted in a very small blind spot on the right side of the car.

I have a 1993 Mazda 626 ES. The first problem was the brakes, the dealer said there wasn't anything wrong with them. Guess What! When the warranty was up I needed new brakes. Major engine repair done under warranty, transmission replaced just before the extended warranty was up, only because I insisted there was a problem did they agree that it was bad. The airbag light is blinking, dealer said it was the fuse inside, cost of repair $250.00, just left it broken. Power antenna has broken twice. And the green paint was bad and I had to have it painted, which now brings down the trade in value. Now the Moon roof leaks. Needless to say I will not buy another Mazda.

Good points-comfortable ride, good gas mileage especially for a V6.

Finally, others who have had the same problems! I have the dark green metallic paint on my 1993 Mazda 626LX. The paint is also badly oxidized. My real test was having body work done years later and part of the car getting repainted and in a couple of years it all looked the same--bad. I live in Phoenix, so that makes it worse--but we have seen many recently. Also, my airbag has the blinking light that blinks a code and is the fuse that costs more than it's worth to fix--wonder if it works. Also, have the antenna motor that makes noise, but doesn't work. This is my third and last Mazda--I used to be so loyal. Contact us we want to put together a list of green paint issue people cvasos@aol.com. My car was one of the first off the line, with your VIN# we can determine where/when yours was made. Great car inside, it also saved me in an accident.

I have a Mazda 626es. I bought it used,but these are his and my comments. The motor to the antenna is out, left rear window motor is out, and whats new the PAINT ON THE HOOD, WHICH IS GREY IS JUST FLAKING OFF.

I have a 1993 mazda 626 es I love my mazda, but I think that give too many problems I have replace breaks about 3 times in a year the motor for the antenna is out I have this problem with a whistling sound when I get on the highway its not good in raining weather the chanpagne color is good, but I hate that color the moonroof is wonderful, but I'm thankful I never had to replace my transmission nor motor and the car now is @ 150,000 miles if I had to rate the car from a scale from 1-10 ill give it a 8.5.

I bought a used 1993 Mazda 626 ES last year. I also have an antenna that makes a lot of noise, but does not go up nor down. I have a significant oil leak that will not go away no matter how many times I get it fixed. Every time I get the leak fixed in one spot, it leaks in another. My power window motor has also gone out and my airbag light blinks every 5 seconds. But one up side is that I have a white paint job that is original and it has not faded or peeled. Overall it is a good car with the exception of oil leaking all over my driveway!

I recently bought a used 93' Mazda ES V6 4 door. Brakes went bad. Water pump went bad, timing belt and pulleys went bad with in two weeks of having it. It skips when RPM's go up quick. Black pain is chipping off the hood as well.