2003 Mazda MAZDA6 acceleration problems

Filed Aug 3, 2020 · Acceleration, Brakes · 159,185 miles · IN

When I take my foot off the gas it stays at the same speed or it speeds up on its own. When I press on the break sometimes it feels like it's not going to stop and just keep going or it jerks forward when I stop. This happens when I am driving on the road and the cruise control is not on when this happens.

Filed Aug 21, 2017 · Acceleration, Engine · CA

2003 mazda6 model cars were built with faulty throttle bodies. Unaware of this, I bought one of these vehicles and immediately began experiencing issues with it. When driving very slowly, under 15 MPH, the car will suddenly throttle, accelerating it in bursts even when applying the brakes. That issue is problematic but relatively minor; however, there is a much more dangerous issue the faulty throttle body creates. When driving at any speed, the faulty throttle body can cause the engine to cut out without warning. My wife was driving with our kids in the car the first time we had the engine cut out while driving (soon after purchasing the car). Luckily, she was driving in a residential area at 25 MPH. The engine has cut out on me while driving 65 MPH on the freeway. I was forced to coast through freeway traffic to the shoulder in order to stop the car and restart the engine. The engine has cut out, without warning, at several speeds. There is no rhyme to when it will cut out and no indication it's going to cut out ahead of time. I spent over $500 trying to solve the problem with mechanics unsure what was wrong. Then a mechanic happened to have an old service bulletin (sb), dated 5/18/2006, from mazda that stated throttle bodies with the markings aa, ab, or ba at the end of their serial numbers (as is the case with the one in my car) are "no good". Because the part is labeled "no good" under mazda letterhead, I figured there must have been a recall issued before I owned the car that the previous owner somehow missed. I took the car in to a mazda dealership where I was assured no recall has ever been issued on the part and in order to replace it, the cost will be over $1,000. A recall must be made on this extremely dangerous and faulty, by mazda's own admission, part before unsuspecting people are injured or killed, if that hasn't happened already.

Filed Oct 14, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · DE

My vehicle has been having an issue with the throttle position sensor. As well as the PCM, usually connected as noted by my mechanic. 3 things can come from this he said. I could be having an issue with the gas pedal, the computer, or I need a new throttle body. From my understanding so far the issue causes the computer to incorrectly read, causing the check engine light as well as a few others to abruptly turn on while car is in full motion, for me this is typically at 55 MPH. The car then looses the ability to properly accelerate, or decelerate. I have to quickly pull my car to the shoulder, put in park while the car seems to be lurching forward, and turn off the engine. If I do not do this quick enough the engine begins to rev high and low continuously. My RPM gauge bounces around as it is doing so. After leaving the car off for a few moments I can then restart. My check engine light will now stay on for about 50 miles and turn itself off. Once the light has gone off usually within 15 miles my car will do it all over again. After calling my dealer, because I still owe 2 more years of payment on the car, I am told that they can fix it if I have my warranty intact. Unfortunately it has run out as of july. The part alone from the dealership is $700. Why is there no recall on this issue if so many people are having it?

Filed May 11, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 107,000 miles · OR

Was at a stop sign to make a left turn half way thru the car stalled and all lights came on, vehicle behind me almost ran into us. Barely got pulled over to the side of the road had to turn car off and then back on the check engine light remained on but vehicle would drive, after about 5 starts the light came off had the car checked, was told it was the throttle body. One week later same thing wet to pull onto a busy street and car stalled almost causing another wreck, tried to drive it home and stopped at the grocery store, when I went to pull in the car stalled again in the middle of the street, blocking on coming traffic. Called mazda to see how much it would cost to be fixed, the lady told me that if it was still under warranty it would be free but that expired in 2011. I have seen many of the same complaints about this, mazda has admitted to it being a problem but has not recalled it. We have two kids and thank god nothing serious has happened with us in the car. This problem could very easily cause injury or deaths to any drivers on the road.

Filed Dec 29, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 155,000 miles · MT

While driving home the car seemed to have lost all power, but was still running. I was able to coast to my house but then tried to stop and the car surged. I had to pull the emergency brake to stop. I was quite shaken at that point. The engine light came on. I was able to drive it back to town to have the car checked, no error codes showed up on the computer. The engine light did go off, the car ran fine for about 3 months then proceeded to do the same thing. The car lost power but I was able to coast to my place of work. However even though there seemed to be no power again when I tried to brake the car surged and the car almost jumped the curb, which would have put me in my office. I again had the vehicle checked, no errors. After researching it seems this may be due to the automatic throttle sensor. Question with all the complaints, cars stalling at high speeds and the surging of vehicles why is there no recall. You recall for a stupid lights, over spraying of a clear coat, but no recall on something that is putting people in danger?? I don't understand.

Filed Nov 16, 2013 · Acceleration · 110,000 miles · KY

I was driving on the interstate in ga going a little over 70mph in the fast lane and all of a sudden it kicked in to limp mode to about 10mph. I almost had a semi rear end me but was lucky enough to get out of the way just in time. I could turn the car off and it would reset it for awhile and then do it again. Then it finally got to the point it was doing it way too much. It turned out to be the throttle body. I learned that they know about it but wont recall it. Its been sitting for a year because they want $900.00 to fix it. I feel like I should drive it and let somebody hit me just to make it a recall so all the 1000s if not 10 of thousands of people who have the same problem will be able to get it fixed. Clearly that is a huge safety issue and should be a recall.

Filed Oct 10, 2011 · Acceleration, Engine · 148,000 miles · MN

Traveling at speeds of 30-60 MPH during any type of traffic (stop and go, freeway speeds, etc), my 2003 mazda6 will suddenly go into a "safe or limp" mode characterized by abrupt loss of power with no ability to accelerate. The rpms drop to between 1000 and 1300 and fluctuate quickly between the two numbers. I have had to quickly press the clutch, turn the car off and back on to regain normal function. When taken to a mechanic, the root cause was determined to be a defective throttle body. Upon more research (including this site), this does not appear to be an uncommon issue for this model of mazda.

Filed Sep 23, 2011 · Acceleration · 125,000 miles · KS

The vehicle acceleration cuts off and the dash board lights are all on. You will have to shut off the car and turn it back on before it will work correctly. Dealer said their diagnostic did not show any throttle sensor errors but my scan tool did.

Filed Sep 7, 2011 · Acceleration · 70,200 miles · NY

Car experienced unintended acceleration in stop-and-go traffic (0-30 MPH) on 9/4/11 and 9/7/11. Tachometer needle was bouncing between 1 and 3. Car accelerated, and rpms increased, while on a level surface, without the gas pedal applied. Car fought against my efforts to slow down by breaking. Car stabilized upon reaching 40 MPH. On 9/7/11, the mazda dealership attempted to correct the problem by cleaning the throttle body, but the intervention failed to correct the problem and it recurred on 9/7. This is a serious complaint with a high risk of injuries or death. Mazda owner internet message boards describe this problem repeatedly. Please investigate and mandate that mazda identify an immediate correction to this dangerous problem.

Filed Jul 28, 2011 · Acceleration, Engine · 98,000 miles · OR

Traveling at freeway speeds in ca on the san francisco bay bridge during evening traffic, my 2003 mazda6 suddenly went into "safe or limp" mode. This caused abrupt loss of power with no ability to accelerate, which almost caused a multi vehicle accident. When taken to a mechanic, the root cause was a code dtc p2135 for a defective throttle body. Mazda admits 3 (three) versions of their throttle body for that vehicle defective with automatic discard if there is a mil with dtc p2135(per technical service bulletin no. 01-016/06 issued 05/18/2006 by mazda north american operations), and throttle body markings "aa","ab","ba". Mine is an "aa". Obviously mazda admits that these are defective, but only replaced them under warranty and my vehicle is not under warranty any longer. They call the new part an "upgraded version". My vehicle has done this (safe mode) several times, so now it is parked until I can get it fixed (quoted price for repair is $714 from mazda dealer). These incidents creates an extremely dangerous situation and I feel very lucky that I was not involved in an accident when this happened to me, and luckily no one was injured, it could have been a very dangerous situation. I feel mazda has made a technical service bulletin admitting that this part is defective and it can cause danger and possibly loss of life. Mazda needs to be forced to make a recall and replace these parts at no cost to the consumer. Defective part - throttle body with markings "aa", "ab", "ba" mine is "aa"