2000 Mazda 626 LX review from North America

Two of the auto. door locks failed in 2002;

Another two of the door locks failed in 2003;

Transmission needs to be rebuilt at 49900 miles.

I am a recent victim of notorious Mazda auto transmission.

I bought this car brand-new in June 2000. I had to replace all of the four door locks after 2-3 years. It costs ~$100/each.

The auto. transmission of the Mazda is really a problem. It runs OK except the shift is a little rough from 1st to the second gear until Nov.24, 2004. On 11/24/04, I found the speed couldn't go to more than 40MPH and the rotation is ~4k-5k at 40MPH with big noise. After ~10-15mins driving, the "O/D off" light turned on and I couldn't turn it off. I went to the Mazda dealer and spent $106 for diagnosis. The dealer said there is an internal electrical failure in the transmission and I need a rebuilt transmission which will cost me $3010.00!! My car is only 4.5 years old and only 49900 miles. I am a very mild driver and most of the mileage is highway. I did all of the regular maintenance during the years, but now I need a new transmission!! I searched on the INTERNET about the key words "Mazda O/D off light" and "Mazda transmission problems" and surprisingly to see that there are tons of victims of Mazda's transmission. Most of the victims had the exact problems of what I have and had to spend $2000 to $4000 to repair the transmission. I think Mazda knows this problem very well, but they never admit it is their fault. Now I am going to rebuild the transmission in AAMCO and it will cost me $2500. I will join the lawsuit against Mazda and will never buy any Mazda or Ford (the transmission is from Ford) any more in my life. I will also tell my friends not to buy Mazda. I think the Mazda needs to be punished for their bad quality.