Comments: 1-15, 16-22
While driving the car on the expressway or anywhere for that matter the car engine light comes on and the "over drive off" light begins to blink and my overdrive does turn off. I usually have to pull over to the shoulder or at a red light and turn the car off and back on to fix it. This is very unsafe and annoying because it happens almost everyday. I have to do this during rush hour on I-294 in Chicago. I'm reluctant to take it to Mazda repair because they charge $100 just to take the car in the shop and they try to find little ways to slap on a bigger bill. I had them change my transmission fluid and a week later it leaked and they told me there was a hole in the transmission. Apparently it wasn't there before the transmission fluid change and they didn't notice it during. So I had them just refill it and I added sealant from Auto-zone. I check my transmission fluid weekly and its just fine. Engine light comes and goes at will. There seems to be a problem with the computer chip or something which is Mazda's fault and I should not have to pay to replace or fix. Everything on the car is stocked and I maintain the car better than Mazda suggests. I check all fluids, oil change every 2000 miles, etc... I know that many people (thousands of them) that have the same problems with the engine lights and the "Over drive off" light blinking.
The computer chip for the Mazda 626 is malfunctioning.
The "Over drive off" light blinks after driving for about an hour and a half.
I usually have to pull over and turn the engine off and back on after pulling over to the shoulder.
I bought a 1994 Mazda 626 in April 2002 that had 137,000 miles. A couple of months ago, the "Hold" light (which is the overdrive feature on the 94 model) started blinking on and off. It didn't hurt anything other than it was annoying for it to be in overdrive at a stoplight and start off in 2nd gear!
Then about two weeks ago, the gears started shifting from 3rd to 1st, and bouncing around between all 3 gears with "Hold" still blinking. I just knew the transmission would have to be replaced. My husband took it to a local transmission shop and had them run a diagnostic test. Turns out, it was a bad sensor on the transmission that controls gear shifting. This car has a Mazda 4 cylinder engine and a Ford automatic transmission.
My husband bought the sensor at the local Ford dealership and installed it himself. The part cost $28. I have driven the car all week and everything is fine! I wonder how many people have been told they need their transmission replaced when all they really need is a $28 part?
My lesson and advice is, take your car to a place you can trust and have a complete diagnostic run to find the real problem. You always take a chance when buying a used vehicle and sometimes a maker produces a new car that is a true lemon.
My Mazda now has over 155,550 miles and I look forward to driving it many, many more. I know this is possible because my manager had a 626 that he put over 250,000 miles on. He traded it for a Mazda MPV when his 4th child was born. I am going to think positive and hope I have the same luck!
I bought my 1996 Mazda 626 used in ‘99 with 59,000 miles. The check engine light was on and took it to a dealer. I had bought an extended warranty thank God, as it needed a transmission. Around 2001 the check engine light came on again so I had diagnostic ran again @ a Mazda dealer, “it’s the catalytic converter, nothing detrimental to the performance of the car, $500 to fix it.” “No way.” So now the check engine light stays on, goes off, stays on etc., quite a bit,...just recently the “OD off” light is flashing! I felt it slightly shift down as I was on a slight incline over a river bridge. I take it now to a Mazda mechanic that has done some other work on it such as, CV boots, automatic transmission cooler he suggested, and a month ago, brake pads replaced, but mainly because of the OD light. Well I did not ask him to run diagnostic on it, so he justs takes it for a spin and no “OD Off” light comes on. It has a come on quite often since then. I am just waiting for the last 3,000 miles of the 59,000 the Ford transmission seems to get :o (
I have a 1999 Mazda Protege with the same overdrive light blinking & the engine light coming on problem. Been having this problem after the 36k miles. (it is now 86K) I disconnect the negative battery pole for five minutes, the computer is reset and the lights are off. However, it last for 4-6 weeks. I took it to the transmission shop and the diagnostic is to replace the overdrive solenoid part # P00771. However, the shop is telling me that other than that the transmission does not really shows any mechanical problem.
Same issues as most of the comments on this page.
Engine works perfect, performs well, but I also have the same issue with the transmission with fluid lost and the "over drive off" blinking, need to pull over and turn off the car to fix it.
I purchased a 1996 mazda 626 4 cyl. w/automatic and had the same notorious blinking o/d light with slipping 3rd and overdrive gears. this transmission is a major defect from factory. mazda believes they finally corrected the problem after modifying 4 times by changing input /output and speed sensors and remodifying valve-body at a cost to the consumer of $2300.00.
I have a 1997 Mazda Protege, with 105k miles on the odometer and the same overdrive light blinking & the engine light coming on problem. The problem started in a hot day of the past summer, then happened every 2-3 days and now almost every day.
I have a 1999 protege and about two years ago the overdrive light started to flash when my son was on a road trip to see a concert. He pulled the car over,shut it off, restarted and everything was OK for the next two years and 25000 km. Two weeks ago the car sat for a week. When I started driving the check engine light came on and the overdrive light started flashing, when I shut the car off and restart the flashing o/d light goes out, but the check engine light stays on. Everything seems OK until the overdrive light starts flashing again, then the transmission seems to drop down to 2end gear and stay there. When I shut the car off and restart it resets again, but now happens several times a day. My Mazda dealer said it was the torque converter lock up sticking. Does anybody have other thoughts about this.
I know this is a 626 area. but the problem described is exactly what has happened with my 1999 Protege.
One day my transmission did about half of a downshift, then the O/D light started blinking and the Check Engine light came on.
I took it to the dealer who told me my tranny fluid needed changing and that "my transmission was going to fail." I got the fluid changed and they did something to the car that made the lights go off.
After that, the light would come on periodically, but shutting the car off and restarting it would "clear" it until it happened again. This problem always happened at highway speed.
Now the overdrive light is blinking again, and this time shutting off the car does not "clear" it. Looks like the time has run out on my "fix" and I am supposed to go back to the dealer so they can try to sell me a new transmission again.
I have a Mazda MPV, and the O/D off light keeps coming on. When it does, it will feel like it bucks as it shifts. If I then put the car in 2nd, shift into 3rd manually, and then Drive manually when I get up to speed the light does not come on and it drives smoothly. So far the light has not come back on, but I took it to the dealer and they want to replace the entire transmission (for $3600.00!), because they say they don't fix transmissions.
I am used to driving a manual transmission so I would not recommend the shifting above, but for now it has helped me.
The sensor problem or electronic problem with the shifting does seem to be from the factory, because we are very gentle drivers -- it's a minivan! Only used for transporting kids etc.. So I am still going to take it to a transmission shop to see if something reasonable can be done (like changing the sensor).
I had the bad luck to buy one, and I am very upset with this damn car. I'm always having transmission problems, and overheating trouble.
You should be aware of a Technical Service Bulletin from Mazda for a wiring problem. There is a problem with the transmission temperature sensor wiring being damaged and shorting to ground on the metal clips that guide the wiring. The result of this type of failure will cause the check engine light to turn on and the transmission’s overdrive on/off light to flash. The transmission will not shift correctly and it will shift hard.
2001 mazda 626,just recently bought the car and for the first two days it did fine, but I noticed a like dead plug wire or it shifting funny.. well as of yesterday I took a trip to atlanta around a 200 mile round trip and about two miles from my house the check engine light came on.. as of that day it has not went off.. anyone have a clue.. car has only 100043 miles on it..
My daughter has a 1999 Mazda. Three years ago she had to have the engine replaced due to overheating, but the car did not show it was overheating. Two days ago her car stopped and was found that her engine had overheated and cracked the block again. The mechanic (along the highway) said there was a problem with the water pump getting stuck and water not going through the engine. Has anyone had this problem - the overheating without notification??
I have a 1999 Mazda Protege LX 1.6 with the same problems that some of you have mentioned. The check engine light comes on periodically and the o/d light flashes. The car will not shift out of second gear. I replaced the mass air flow sensor and the throttle position sensor and the front 02 sensor and the car will not shift out of second gear. I had the transmission replaced about 3 years ago because the car would not excellerate. Now this. Anyone have a fix for this yet?
I bought my 626 2 months ago and have the same problem... OD GOES ON and OFF, and the check engine light comes on and off as well. The transmission was having a hard time switching gears every time after one hour and a half, or going from 3rd to 2nd gear. Manufactures should give more confidence when it comes to have a reliable car, it's been such a headache since I couldn't fix this manufacture problem by myself; it's not fair for customers having cars made out of different manufacturer's parts that are not going to work properly!