1996 Mazda 626 LX review from North America
"It is a nice car that has not required too many repairs, though more than I'd like."
What things have gone wrong with the car?
I had to have a valve job on the engine at about 90,000 miles including a new head gasket after I was losing power and overheating.
My overdrive light does flash and has been for three years as other owners of this car describe, but I don't have erratic shifting or any of the transmission problems they describe. So in my case the light has not meant imminent transmission failure. My mechanic said that it is a computer sensor malfunction and should not affect the performance of the car and so far he has been right.
General comments?
I wanted to post here because my experience with the 626 overdrive light is a bit less severe than others have described it here. I have not had any trouble with the transmission, but rather with the engine.
I have also never experienced any alignment issues as some 626 drivers have described. I get my tires aligned and rotated (or new) every three years, which seems reasonable.
In general I have really enjoyed this car and if the transmission fails at 130,000 miles I would consider that a pretty long life for it, considering my last car, a Ford Taurus experienced transmission failure at 60,000 miles. I will probably never buy a ford associated car again however.
Recommended reviews
| Relatively inexpensive, reliable and comfortable car, if bought with manual transmission |
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| A single mom's financial nightmare |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 1996 |
| Year of manufacture | 1995 |
| First year of ownership | 1996 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | Automatic |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 7 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 9 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 40000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 110000 miles |
| Previous car | Ford Taurus |
| Date of Entry | 31st August, 2005 |