1988 Mazda 929 from North America - Comments

Timing belt ailed twice in a row.

Various sensors including airflow meter failed.

Carbon fouled plugs repeatedly and in a hurry.

Leakage past valve seals.

Exhaust is loud (leaking)

Fuel leakage near fuel rail.

Water pump went out.

All of the above occurred in the 3000 miles I used the car.

I loved the car... considering it was my first. however, considering it's 10 MPG city or highway, its notorious nature of stranding me in various places with little warning, and it's poor interior condition, I let the car go to a wrecking yard for 100 bucks. considering I got the car for free from my friend, and I got 3000 miles of high school memories out of the car, it has more sentimental value and I wish Mazda could have kept it simple. and it would've been a success.

Just wanted to say 10mpg? My God you should have known the vehicle needed a tune-up. Or the air filter was bad. I could see the gas mileage like that for a big SUV or Truck, but not a car like that.

I believe I am the purchaser of the 1990 Mazda 929S for $100. I am installing the engine and transmission from this car into a 1987 Mazda B2200 extended cab pickup. I disassembled the engine and found hard valve stem seals and one damaged seal. The poor fuel mileage and fuel-fouled plugs were caused by low coolant due to a bad after-market water pump leaking. This also caused cam belt to fail due to water pump over the top of the belt. The exhaust was a poorly installed aftermarket muffler. The technology in this engine is state of the art for its time, and even for today's vehicles. Manufacturers estimated fuel mileage is 18-22 mpg. I like the more complex state-of-the-art technology used in this engine.

Now I purchased a "1988" mazda 929 back in October 1998. It had 80,000 original miles on it, and was in mint condition inside and out! I kept good care of the car since. It reached 214,000 miles now, and still gives me 18 to 20 miles per gallon in fuel. Still runs very quiet, that you can't even tell its running. Hardly put any money into it. This is one of the best cars I have ever had, considering I paid $3450 for it back in 1998! Reliability all goes back to the original owner!

You'll be telling me he asked his friend for a warranty.

I own a 1988 Mazda 929 that I just got off my father-in-law. He was the original owner. The car has only 48,000 original miles. I have a problem. Did anyone ever have a leaky gas tank?