The real question is, what didn't go wrong? Even the CD player broke down! Where do I start? Here is the long list!
- Water pump (very costly on 6 cylinders)
- Timing belt tensioner (often not replaced, creating loud tapping noises, which then means going back in as if to replace the water pump again!)
- Distributor (common in all models, and sometimes replaced more than 3 times in 1 year! - due to poor regenerated parts)
- Power window button broken or stuck
- Air filter box leaks with weak holding brackets
- Head gasket replacement (after 10,000 miles of water pump replacement! already leaking coolant!)
- Boot gas struts are dead on all models after 30,000 miles)
- Sunroof was more of a manual version, you must use two hands, therefore you must stop vehicle first)
- Rear calipers seized more often than not, you'd find yourself with a hand brake that didn't work, and the vehicle not able to roll, wasting brake pads and fuel!)
- Fuel went from excellent to terrible due to anything from rear calipers seizing to different fuel from different petrol station.
- Water leaking into boot!
- Power steering rack was leaking massively, had to be replaced
- Oxygen sensors died
- Ignition leads died out due to high output of the coil, which lead to distributor dying.
- CD player died
- Turning on the A/C system made the idle terrible
- VRIS 2 (stands for Variable Resonance Induction System) died out on most models
- last, but not least, engine tapping! Loud!
That's about it, and no I didn't abuse the car, I drove it very carefully, as it was the most expensive car I've owned. I thought it was just the water pump, but I was wrong! After replacing that, I thought I could get away with a year of trouble-free, I was WRONG! It cost me well over 4000 dollars to repair. One fault after the other, I went to the MX6.com forum, asking for help, it seemed that A lot of other people had the exact same problem. It had dawned on me that I had bought a problem-prone car, and perhaps the problems I had were already fixed before me, or I was the first to fix them, but I doubt that.
It surprises me, how many people in this review of the MX6 have excellent reviews for it, despite saying things like, caliper seizing, etc. I know a lot of people have respect for it, whether it'd be because of its looks, which by the way, caught me off guard (don't let looks fool you), or because of its athletic abilities, or maybe they're just too embarrass to admit that they had bought one of Mazda's most problematic vehicle in its history! that's why it had stopped production in 1997! The vehicle when new, had a lot of issues, as shown on receipts of previous owner.
Anyone interesting in buying an MX6? DON'T, I promise you, you WILL regret it. All models share the similar faults and defects, go to MX6.com, you'll discover what I mean, and that this is not a one-off gripe session.
Don't buy an MX-6, it WILL cost you more to repair it, than buy it.
The most expensive lemon in Mazda's history. They knew it, and disguised it under a sporty theme. People who back it up classify it as a luxury vehicle. Manufacturer marketed it as a sports car.
Under its gorgeous outlook is a shell of cheap parts (rear calipers, engine tapping, weak gas struts, faulty electric sunroof, etc.) and bad engineering (engine overheats in most models)
I only have one comment: you didn't buy this car new so how do you know it wasn't wrecked, repaired cheaply and sold off? I've had an mx6 for 3 years now (97 model, bought at 40 000kms) which has just done 110 000kms and nothing has gone wrong at all. Not once.
Agreed with the last comment, I have an mx6 also, I abuse the car and still have no major problems, the engine has 135,000 miles on and is still strong, OK I did replaced the cv boots, brake pads etc.. but that's normal for any vehicle. Some of the parts are cheap and some are expensive, but that goes for any vehicle.
I drove a '93 Mx-6 with 150,000mi for about a year without a single problem and to be honest, I drove it very hard constantly. I held even with a '96 RX-7 and I was completely stock. My girlfriend also drove a '93 model MX-6 with well over 160,000 for over 2 years. She had no problems except CV joints and it had no problem leaving a 300ZX over 5 car links behind (yes, he was definately racing givin that he peeled out at the start and kinda cherped going into 2nd). The only expense was to add a new thermostat which was like 60 dollars. You say that the MX-6 is the biggest lemmon Mazda ever produced, but it sounds like you let someone trick you into buying a trashed out car that was falling apart for reasons you were unaware of. Good job buddy. Notice you have the only negative review. Coencidence... NO. I gaurantee if you buy an MX-6, you will be more satisfied than you expect unless you don't check it out first like an idiot.
I have to disagree with the negative comments. I purchased a 1993 MX-6 when it first became available in late '96. And now--$166,000 miles later--I consider it to be my smartest automotive purchase. Although there have been a few tiny problems, it has provided me with reliable transportation, nice performance and after 12 years I STILL love the way it looks. I finally bought another vehicle (an Infiniti G35 Sedan), but find myself driving the MX-6 more often. It's more nimble, gets better gas mileage and actually receives more comments than the G35!
I sympathize with you that you somehow bought a lemon when you purchased your car, but I cannot empathize, since my own MX6 LS (1993) has been virtually problem-free. I bought it as a demo back in 1994 with 9,000 km on the odometer, which now reads 180,000 km. All I've had to do outside of regular maintenance has been to replace two sets of spark plug cables, replace a valve cover seal, a pair of struts and a power window switch. I've owned many cars in my life, but have seldom come across a more reliable one. Up to 1994, I used to change cars once every 2 years on average, but my MX6 has kept me "faithful" for over a decade. I hope you won't give up on the MX6 and buy another one after yours meets its rightful end. Lightning has never struck the same person twice, that I know of.
I agree with the reviewer, I too bought a Mazda MX-6 (1992 model) it it was a heap of junk. It had a full mechanical inspection done before I bought it and no faults were found.
Within 1 month of purchasing it, things started going wrong. First it was the ignition leads (rather expensive too at A$180 per set). Then the heater stopped working, but no-one (including my local Mazda dealer) could work out why! Then I had the problem with rough idling, again which the dealer couldn't fix, did all the online diagnostics etc and found nothing wrong. A few times the car even stalled and refused to restart for several minutes. The shift quality (it was an auto. transmission) was very poor, even though the trans had been recently serviced. And I also had the problem with the handbrake locking up.
I couldn't afford the ongoing repairs so I sold the car after 6 months and lost about $5000 on it (not counting all the repairs I had done).
The MX-6 is like a woman, even though it was a pain I still want another one, it is like I am irresistibly attracted to them for some reason, but fortunately so far my head has overruled my heart in this matter and allowed me to stay away. I would strongly advise anyone considering this car to reconsider, they really are a heap of junk.
I bought my MX6 18 months ago. I was the fourth owner so although it had full service history with it I had no way of knowing how hard it has been driven. I bought it with 40,000 miles on the clock so I took a gamble that it had never been thrashed as the mileage was so low for a 10 year old car. Over the last 12 months I have used it for work every day and put an additional 40,000 miles on the clock. I have only had one problem with it (apart from the normal wear and tear that you would expect from doing that kind of mileage) and that was solved by replacing the distributor. Used a reconditioned unit which was not expensive and it has run as sweet as a nut ever since. Every car manufacturer has the odd Friday afternoon special, but I think if you gave had a bad MX6 you have either bought one that has been run into the ground (which no car will tolerate) or you have been really unlucky.
I purchased a 1993 Mx6 for seven hundred dollars two years ago not. I figured for that price something got to be wrong. Turned out I was wrong. Yeah I had to replace the timing belt, thermostat, and radiator, but for the complements
I get on the car with it being still primer yellow I'll take the bad along with the good.
I bought my mazda mx6 with 185,000km on it, 93 model. Though I floor my car from time to time I never had major problems. I would think my car would last longer though I floor it from tmie to time and know how to look after my car like very little things that can make a big differnce for exmapl: when you start up ur car in the morning leaving it running for 5 minutes to get the oil in ur engine warm, driving off straight away could really damage and wear out your engine easily. When you ignite your car don't start it straight away wait for a click from the engine, that's the fuel running through the hose through your engine only takes 5 second then start it up. If you start it up straight away you will find it sometimes have a hard time trying to start, it will start, but it will sound like a rough start. Change oil every 5,000km, always flush out your coolant every 2 years, this goes to all other cars, but if you know what needs to be change like spark plugs on a yearly bases you won't have a problem. Mx6 is a real pleassure to drive.
I am also disagreeing, I own 3 mx-6's one in the US, 2 in england, one j-spec and one e-spec, I've been driving the mx-6 since I was 16 still have not givin the name up. best car ever in my opinion. I do in fact do a lot of street racing and drag racing. I also have mod'd my mx-6 and it has been the best to me. in fact you did end up with a LEMON. it happens from time to time. but again, the best car in the world... and I will NEVER give the 6 up...
I have a 93 MX-6 two door and love it! But I think that I have a bad one that blows up distributors. When it runs it runs like a charm. People think it's a brand new car! But when it blows up (distributor) it blows bad. Everytime I get a dignostic check, it's the distributor. Rats! I just love my car and I'm just not ready to give it up!.
I have both feelings about the Mx6.
I bought a '93 Mazda Mx6 in June of 2002 with 115K miles on it. It was my first car. I had it inspected right after I bought it, and it needed a full brake job. Rear calipers and all. A week after I bought it, the a/c quit working. I had it recharged with negative results. I was then told that my high/low sensor was bad. So I bought one from the dealer for $50 bucks. Swapped it out, got it recharged... still no a/c. Took it to an a/c shop and they told me my compressor was bad. A new one would mean switching the entire system over to the new Freon (since 93's support the old stuff) which would end up costing around a grand. I said forget it and have lived without a/c ever since. Later that summer my distributor went out along with a few other things.
Then in Nov. of 2002, I traveled the hour and a half to the college I'd be attending and on the way back, my alternator died. I had to have it towed to the nearest dealer, leave it there, my dad come get me, buy another alternator, drive back and have them install it.
In Feb. of 2003 I was heading home for the funeral of my grandfather and my engine threw a rod in the middle of Salem on I-5. I got to leave the car on the side of the highway and tow it home the next day. Four months later in June, I installed a new engine (klze) and it has been running ever since. Thank the Lord. Oh, I forgot, earlier this year (2005) my alternator belt broke while driving down I-5. Had to tow it 100 miles back home and never did make it to my destination. A few small things have stopped working on the car as well such as the antenna (no longer goes up or down, so it remains in the up position all the time), the trunk shocks are about shot (they no longer pop the trunk open and barely keep the lid up), the LED light on the trunk fin has since gone out…etc.
Aside from the very loud clunking noises that come from somewhere in the suspension every time I take a corner (both sides), the extremely loud tapping noises, an engine that leaks oil from just about every orifice and no a/c...it's been a joy to drive. I love the black leather interior, and the setup of the dash. I love having all automatic abilities in yet a 12 yr old car. It’s quite luxurious, but very sporty for a sedan sized car. Unfortunately I’ve spent more money in maintaining this car than I paid for it, which was $3350. But until I have the money to buy a second car so I can sell this one and get a better 6, this one will have to do. And I’m OK with that, because I love my car. =)
Thanks for reading
-M.
I've been the proud owner of a Mazda MX6 (1992 Model) for three years now. It's clocked up over 200.000 km & I've never had a problem with it. No major repair bills, and the only mechanical problem I've experienced is broken boot gas struts. I couldn't disagree with the reviewer more strongly. The MX6 is a classic, and easily the best car I've ever purchased.
I just got a used 1990 mx6 for free and got it to run.
I learned to love that weird little car. I got the down- grade but everything works and the car is fun to drive and gets great gas mileage.
It helps to be a mechanic.
I just bought a 1994 Mazda MX6, great looking car with 180,000kms. 2 day later it left me on the side of the road after giving it lots of gas, had to wait about 10 minutes before I could start it again?? Would be very helpful if someone knew why this happened or has had the same experience in the past. Thanks.