1995 Mazda 626 LX from North America - Comments

I bought a 95 Mazda 626 about a month ago. It had 139,000 or so miles on it. When I took it for a test drive it sounded good, you couldn't even hear that the car was on. I took it home and within a couple of days I started to hear a ticking noise in the engine. When I told my father about it he took a look under the engine and couldn't figure what the problem was and at that he knows a little bit about cars. He went looking on the Internet and he said that my car was what they call a "throw away" car, and the the noise I heard was what they call the lifter tick which happens a lot on the Mazda's. I fixed that problem and went to do an oil change and motor flush and not even a week after that my transmission goes out at 141,000 miles. My car would jerk when I would push on the gas to get on the highway and my O/D light goes on when I'm not even using it. The car would shake when it was parked or when I would be waiting at a light and if I turned on my heater or ac it would also shake bad. I'm a 19 yr old full time student in college and need my car to get to school and back. I have 2 choices either sell it and buy myself another car (which can take awhile) or fix it up and risk having to fix again it later. The car is nice on the outside and inside it looks as if it was brand new, but whats the point of having a beautiful car if what really counts doesn't work. Any suggestions e-mail me at mexicana131988@yahoo.com. Thanks

Hi, my 626 has all the above problems.

Back in 2002 my transmission went bad from the first week. We all know and agree that we have the same problem; why don't we talk about the fix if there is any? If I put in the cooling kit, am I getting transmission problem away or a m I just wasting money? Thanks.

I have a 1993 Mazda 626 2.0L auto... I read a lot of the above comments and LMAO, I'm having the same problems... Check this one; I had my tranny rebuilt. The first time because it was really bad, it was beat and when you put it in gear it just grinded.

So I had the tranny replaced along with the axles at a reputable tranny shop for $2100, it was replaced with 114k. I got 8k miles out of it before I noticed a hard shift between 1st and 2nd gear and a hold light flashing. I called the tranny shop and after numerous attempts... external cooler, adjustments.. etc they said I needed to wait for another tranny rebuild.

So I waited... got it back with a new rebuild (2nd one). No problems whatsoever for a few days (less than 100 miles) BAM! The hold light of death is still blinking and it's shifting bad between 1st and 2nd! The transmission shop insists that I have a computer, sensor, or signal network problem.

Now, after the "jumper wire" diagnosis between the sti and grd, I count the engine light blinks... I come up with a code 68. Does anyone know what a code 68 is... (dealer says if it's the hold light it should be a tranny trouble code) because it's not listed anywhere.

What is going on with these 626's?

Is it the tranny? (The shop insists it's not) A sensor?

A computer signal error?

What is a code 68?

I will never buy the headache of a Mazda again!

This car is no doubt evil incarnate. I also had the tranny replaced about 4 years ago. The car would jump hard from 1st to 2nd and the O/D light would flash. I would recommend a salvage or junk yard I got the tranny replaced for $1100 that way and haven't had problems with it since.

I am however having problems with the IDLING. I've managed to reduce the IDLE SHAKE a lot in this car since when I first got it by replacing the motor mounts, A/C condenser fan, and the IAC Valve (Idle Air Control Valve). After I replaced the IAC the car's idle seemed a lot better. It used to dip under 800rpms while idling at a light with the A/C off. With the A/C on the car would go dangerously low to about 300rpms and sometimes the engine would die. Haven't had that happen since I replaced the IAC valve. However, idling with the AC on the car still vibrates uncomfortably, but without turning off. A mechanic tells me that this may be because of the idle timing being off or I'm thinking after reading these posts the MAF sensor. If I ever get this car to stop idling rough ill post it everywhere I can to help anyone out there.

My last words are that I would not recommend this car to anyone considering buying one. This car has a lot of problems even with regular maintenance and parts are hard to find or very expensive. I'm going through school and working a full time job so I have no other options but to keep it running for as long as I can. Insurance is too expensive even on a used car for anyone under 25..