2000 Mazda 626: sudden loss of power

Filed Apr 1, 2010 · Transmission · 77,900 miles · TX

I have a concern with the transmission's on the mazda 626 transmission style cd4e. There are thousands of people (internet searched) who have these vehicles and have been placed in dire straits as I am. I was traveling down the freeway at 65 MPH and from out of nowhere, my od stopped functioning and left the car's tranny slipping out of 4th gear searching for a lower gear as it threw the flashing "od light off" indicator light. I had a woman swerve behind me as I had total loss of power and trying to get my car to grasp any gear. Once I pulled to the side of the road and stopped, the od light stopped flashing and my vehicle was left in a "limp home" mode where I could not get over 45mph. I had the tranny rebuilt to the tune of 1500.00 and guess what? I got into the car to do highway travel one week later, and it happened again. I have read that I am by far the only person this has happened to. This is a 2000 model. My brother bought it in 2002. He has maintained the vehicle for the last 7.5 years and I have had it for 6 months now. The miles are 76k, only! Someone needs to have mazda fix this issue. This is rediculous and thie is by far a major safety concern. The surging and searching the 4th gear does is very hard, jerky and surging. Anyone right on your butt in traffic is going to slam into one of these vehicles. There is also a tsb for this as well......but mazda has offered no amends to this situaution when I called the customer service line. They said they were unaware of this situation. That is simply not possible.

Filed Apr 25, 2009 · Transmission · 93,200 miles · SC

2000 mazda 626dx 4cyl. With 93,200 miles and the automatic transmission failed. Vehicle is maintained exceptionally well and all filters and fluids changed regularly. Transmission slips between shifting gears and erratically shifts from high to low with dramatic loss of power.

Filed May 21, 2008 · Transmission · 108,000 miles · UT

I was driving from california to las vegas and my o/d light started to blink on and off but there were no other signs. All of a sudden my speedometer went to 0 and I was losing power and the engine was smoking. I had to pull over and stop in the middle of nowhere. Come to find out the transmission overheated and went out on me.

Filed May 21, 2008 · Transmission · 108,000 miles · UT

I was on my way to las vegas from california and my o/d light started to blink on and off. My speedometer went to 0 and I started to lose power. My engine was smoking so I pulled over and was stranded in the desert for around 45 min. Come to find out my transmission over heated and went out on me.

Filed Aug 1, 2006 · Transmission · 66,800 miles · CA

Driving down highway 5, over drive light started flashing. No information in manual regarding flashing over drive light, so continued driving. About 50 miles later, lost power and speedometer dropped to zero. Through aamco, found out about tsb regarding problem with at in my model year (2000) that caused it to overheat. Failure caused me to spend extra money on towing, hotel, and rental car. Car took approximately 2 weeks to repair at aamco, which included a rebuilt transmission and a cooling unit added to help prevent future problems.

Filed Jul 7, 2006 · Transmission · 62,240 miles · NJ

The over drive light in my 2000 mazda 626 4 cylinder kept coming on and it would lose power after I drive for about 20 miles on the highway, when I pull over, shut off the engine and start the car,the od light would go off and the car would run normally. The transmission was also hesitating. Finally the over drive light came on and the transmission failed,the car had 79,705 miles. I had the car towed to a garage where it was determined that the direct clutch hub & shell,solenoid assembly,drive chain and forward torque converter failed. The transmission was rebuilt with brand new parts and the radiator was changed. This appeared to resolve the problem.

Filed Feb 7, 2006 · Transmission · 62,000 miles · NJ

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 35 MPH the engine suddenly lost power and the vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where it was determined the transmission failed. It was later towed to a local dealer who confirmed the transmission was the cause of the problem. After some research online the contact discovered other complaints concerning transmission failure with similar vehicles that were used primarily for highway driving. This vehicle was purchased 10 months ago and has been used for highway driving only. After doing some reseach, the consumer discovered the transsmission was too small for the vehicle. Updated 03/03/06.

Filed Jan 7, 2005 · Transmission · 75,000 miles · NC

I have a 2000 mazda 626 lx. I was accelerating onto freeway and suddenly lost all power. I was able to quickly take next exit and was not in a collision. I had vehicle towed to repair shop and was told that a complete rebuild of the automatic transmission was necessary. The mechanic stated that the cause of failure appeared to be a loss of pressure within the transmission and subsequent damage occured. He also stated that there was a known cooling problem with this model transmission. The total cost of repair was $2500. Judging from other complaints I reviewed there seems to be a history of failure in these vehicles. The vehicle had 75000 miles at the time of failure.

Filed Dec 15, 2002 · Engine · 64,250 miles · MI

Vehicle began to make pinging noise, that was only noticeable under heavy acceleration, thus causing me, the driver, to acclerate with gingerly. Approx. One day after the engine made pinging noise no matter how fast or slow the vehicle accelerated, eventually leading up to the following: the car was at a speed of approx 55-60 MPH on the freeway, when all of a sudden the pinging got louder, the engine lost all power, a loud noise occured, something appeared to shoot from underneath the vehicle, and smoke began to pour from under the hood. After the vehicle was towed to a local service station, I was then told that an engine rod blew through the engine block, thus requiring a new engine. Approx 1 1/2 to 2 weeks prior an oil change was performed on the vehicle, and thereafter the car ran with no problems at all up until the pinging occurance. The vehicle is currently under manufacturer extended warrant, but has not been determined whether it covered under warrant at this point or not.

Filed Apr 16, 2001 · Engine · AZ

Engine overheated and lost power and vehicle stalled. Also vehicle was leaking oil.