1994 Mazda 626 from North America - Comments

Gear shifting sensor went bad in transmission.

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 am having the EXACT same problem with my 96 Mazda 626 LX. It is exact to the "T". I have had many problems with mechanics mis-diagnosing it. I am so GLAD that I happened to hop apon this site! I am printing this and showing it to my mechanic! Before he mis-diagnoses it again!

Thank you!

I bought a 1994 Mazda 626 LX from a friend for a total of $650.00 This is my very first car and I am so happy to have it. It's a 5-speed 4-cylinder car. The only problem I had with it was that my clutch went out. I wasn't very surprised considering I had never driven a 5-speed vehicle before. The mechanic said it was only a matter of time before it was going to go out anyway because of the fact that I learned how to drive a clutch in that car, and the girl before me did as well. I have approximately 140,000 miles on the car and I am hoping that it lasts me through college. I am glad to know that I may be able to put another 100,000 miles on it, with possibly a little work here and there, nothing major. I just want everyone to know this is a great little car and I love it very much.

I have a 1994 Mazda 626 that is vibration from what appears to be the rear of the car. I am not sure what the problem is and would like to hear comments from anyone that might have experienced such a problem. I was thinking that it could be the rear bushings, (or struts/shocks etc,). Any comments or advice would be very helpful.