Car was great for the first few months, but then developed several problems that Mazda has been unwilling to acknowledge / fix.
Power/performance are way down as is gas mileage.
Stick shift is clunky and rough.
Cold starts are terrible.
Traction control is complete crap in the snow.
Repeated trips to 2 different dealers and, after several months of asking - a regional service rep test drove it - said there's nothing wrong. Mazda has really let me down with the car and the lack of accountability and support.
This is probably one of the worst comments I have ever read on this site. The author of it is clearly biased against Mazda and hates their products, clearly shown in the negative comment based on such tiny defects.
Not sure your comment is fair, the post is just stating that Mazda hasn't been accountable for some issues. I wouldn't be very happy if a car I just dumped 20+K on delivered poor performance. I agree with the critique on the traction control (I find it way too aggressive with throttling down, especially when trying to shift with the M/T). I just drove Ford's 05 'Stang and found their traction control to much more refined (which surprised me, since it was a Ford). The Mazda6 has had quite a few reported problems with the clutch (see mazda6club.com, there are over 2K posts on the topic). I have yet to hear of any admission on Mazda's part regarding their poor clutch. My car has 30+K miles on it and I'm worried my clutch is going. Considering my Honda prelude made it to 170K before the clutch went (altima past 80K when I sold it, toyota tercel at 120K replaced clutch), that is really poor. I should be able to shift into 3rd gear at high RPMs without the pressure plate crapping out on me. While I love my car, I sympathize with the original post. Mazda has lost some reputation with the 6. Even consumer reports has dropped their rating just due to problems with the car. It'd be like buying a Honda Accord, the "most reliable car," just to find it isn't any more reliable than a chevy malibu. Jsut a thought.
Well I don't know if you've been keeping up, but the Accord has dropped considerably. It ISN'T much better than a Malibu anymore.
On the honda note, all of my friends and I have different Honda's (Civic, Accord and Acura MDX) and we are all really dissapointed with them (engine, tranny & body...rust) and our girlfriends & wifes all have mazda's Nissan's and a Pontiac and are 10 times better, except for the sunfire... (duh...old & dead, but still good). I am dissapointed in my accord (2004) it has been in the shop, but my wife's mazda 6 is better looking (a lot) more fun to drive and better overall (except re-sale value)...amazing.
I hope you guys know that Mazda is owned by ford.. on the v6 they use a ford engine and a ford transmission. The 6 has its share of problems just read the issues on www.mazda6club.com with peoples engines dying and transmissions failing and mazda not knowing how to fix it other than replacing the part and then never reporting it to mazda because if you call corporate they scratch their head and are like what? we've never heard of these problems.. it happens all the time. not to mention all the rattles the car has.
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