1999 Mazda 626: jerking or lurching

Filed Oct 5, 2012 · Brakes, Engine · MS

My gas pedal get stuck, car jerks when driven & make noisy, car sakes brakes problems & more.

Filed Aug 18, 2012 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · VA

Catastrophic jerking of the transmission while accelerating causing extremely slow acceleration and dangerous conditions in heavy traffic.

Filed Apr 28, 2011 · Transmission · 65,000 miles · TX

I had the transmission replaced at about 65,000 miles. The replacement transmission is very jerky and shifts very hard, and I would not be surprised if it failed again at some point in the future. Apparently, the automatic transmission for this model has a high rate of failure. Transmission problems can be potentially dangerous and very costly to repair; mazda should issue a recall.

Filed Apr 13, 2010 · Transmission · 164,000 miles · FL

I purchased a 1999 mazda 626 automatic 4 cylinder vehicle. After driving the car for approximately 10 minutes the vehicle starts to jerk and the tachometer gets very erratic as is the shifting. The vehicle now uses excessive gas and the jerking motion has continued. It is my understanding (after going online to check this problem) that mazda is aware there is a problem with this transmission but won't issue a recall or provide any assistance for the problem.

Filed Aug 16, 2007 · Transmission · 72,162 miles · CA

Our mazda 626 1999 was well maintained. At 72,134 miles I took it to a transmission place for a transmission flush. I drove home for 5 miles and in the evening on the freeway. The mazda now felt a bit jerky at 55-60 MPH. (I never noticed that before.) after 23 miles the mazda suddenly lost power and stopped. I was lucky to get to the side of the freeway without accident. I was stranded on the freeway in darkness and heavy traffic for 1 1/2 hours. Scary!!!! There was a long trail of transmission fluid behind the car, a puddle under the car, also under the hood and along the driver's side doors. The towing service noticed a disconnected transmission hose under the hood. I was towed home and the next morning to the mazda dealer. They say I need a new transmission for $3225. The dealer says the 30a egi inj fuse is burnt. Fluid level of trans was at least 3 qts over full, was dark brown and had severe burnt smell. Fluid appears to have leaked out of cooler line and valve body pan due to high pressure. (I never saw a leak on our garage floor.) transmission is stuck in reverse. (I don't know how it got into reverse from my driving on the freeway???) this is costing us big bucks and aggravation: new transmission, three times towing charges, diagnostic by dealer, transmission flush, rental car, loss of work... And no guarantee that things will be made good! After reading all the complaints about bad mazda transmissions, I am not sure whether the fault here lies in a bad product (transmission) or bad workmanship with the transmission flush. Now the mazda is back at the transmission service place that originally did the transmission flush, in hopes that they will make good. I could have been road kill! Can somebody investigate and help?

Filed Jul 31, 2006 · Transmission · 132,400 miles · FL

(1) jerking motion of vehicle when driving. Mazda dealership informed me that was normal for mazda transmissions. (2) transmission failure. (3) rebuilt transmission $1600.00. 1 year later, it failed again, due to over heating. Needs to be rebuilt again. I had no knowledge that there was a tsb on the transmission for this vehicle requiring a cooling unit to avoid overheating. Now, I have to pay for more repairs to the transmission, with no end in sight. This is not fair. Had I known about these problems, I would never have purchased the vehicle (brand new) in the first place. This is just not fair.

Filed May 3, 2006 · Transmission · 20 miles · NC

The chain in the transmission is "breaking" off the teeth of the sprockets. Car sputtering and jerking. Makes a clicking/popping sound. Have contacted mazda only to be told I would have to have the transmission rebuilt.

Filed Feb 20, 2006 · Transmission · 87,000 miles · IN

Refer to odi 10150361. Want to clarify that purchased vehicle new 6-28-99. Trans went out at 87000 miles. Had rebuilt. Never shifted correctly when new. Even worse after rebuild. Reverse shifted very roughly after very apparent pause. Called mazda dealership purchased from, they didn't care. Said nothing was wrong with it. Had rebuilt 23 months ago. Already went out at christmas 2005. Had rebuilt. Lasted two days - returned to trans shop. Went back to the shop today for the 5th time since was "rebuilt" again at christmas. No one drove the car/sat in driveway after picked up the last time. Decided to take through car wash today, and didn't make it out of the driveway - so no car wash. Wanted to get it ready to trade off, and trans started slipping and jerking again. O/d light flashing, check engine light on again. Won't shift into reverse. Same thing again. I certainly wish I was a millionaire and I would pursue a lawsuit against ford and mazda for their "expensive junk" cars! My car has always had regular maintenance, oil changes, tune-ups, etc. It has never been abused and still looks like brand new inside and out. Too bad it's not reliable. Just like everyone else has said here, word of mouth, saying they will never purchase another mazda or ford again. The same definitely goes for me. So, in the last two years I've spent over $4000 for transmission repairs, and it still won't run correctly! I'm just fed up!

Filed Feb 15, 2006 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · IN

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle began jerking, and then the reverse would not engage. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop, were the transmission was rebuilt. Less than two years later, the overdrive light illuminated intermittently and the reverse failed again. The transmission was rebuilt a second time. The overdrive light illuminated and the vehicle began jerking less than a week later.

Filed Dec 16, 2005 · Transmission · TN

Dt: the contact stated the vehicle jerked while driving. He took the vehicle to a mechanic, and they were unable to diagnose the problem. Also, noticed the check engine light and the odometer light flickered on and off. At one point, the vehicle would barely move while attempting to accelerate. In addition, the contact smelled something burning. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic. After the diagnostic test they found that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact traded the vehicle in and no longer owned it. *ak updated 03/28/06.

Filed Aug 11, 2005 · Transmission · 101,000 miles · CA

Dt: transmission quit working while the consumer was driving. She was less than mile from home when this occurred. The consumer had the transmission replaced by her mechanic. The new transmission was purchased from mazda. The new transmission has slipped twice. The vehicle jerked while trying to accelerate. The consumer took vehicle to a dealership and they ran a diagnostic test. They found nothing, and that there should be a warning light coming on if anything was working. There were no other problems with the vehicle at this time.

Filed Aug 3, 2005 · Transmission · 67,300 miles · DE

My car is mazda 626 lx 1999 with 66k miles. This car has bad transmission. 1. From 30k miles. This car sometimes had transmission jerking 2. One day my wife drive this car. The she put shift on reverse, but the car was forward on flat parking lot. She shifted back on park then shifted on reverse again, the car was still forward. So she turned off the engine, then started the engine, the car worked fine. 3. July 30,2005. After driving one and half hours. The o/d off light came out, then the transmission began jumping and the car lost power. I took exit right away. I stop the car and took a look. I found white smoking and a lot transmission oil already spilled out. The transmission was overheated. For this car I took all maintenance service since I bought this car. Actually I found the transmission fluid leaked many times. I let mechanic guy checked. They didn't found anything wrong because I didn't drive the car more than one hour before checking.