2002 Mazda MPV: complete transmission failure

Filed Jan 16, 2014 · Transmission · 49,079 miles · AZ

Transmission failed, completely disengaged. No warning. Had to be towed. Required a $2500.00 complete overhaul. Very low miles on this vehicle, always properly maintained.

Filed Mar 16, 2012 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · NC

Transmission failed in 2008, had it replaced and it failed again in two weeks. Van drove fine until summer 2011, when I noticed transmission problems again. Took the van to a dealership to have it fixed again, but was told there was nothing wrong with it. Finally, on 14 march 2012, the transmission stopped pulling and will not engage past 2nd gear. This is the third transmission at a cost of $2700 each, puts a big strain on a family. This issue needs to be recalled and mazda needs to be held accountable.

Filed Oct 22, 2010 · Transmission · 91,650 miles · CA

I was driving my 2002 mazda mpv minivan with 91,000 miles on it on the freeway and when I tried to accelerate, it would not shift into higher gear. It seemed to go into neutral and I began loosing speed. I have done all maintenance as was suggested in the handbook by mazda. In fact, mazda has done all of the maintenance. This was incredibly dangerous as there were no warning signs. I was told by mazda that it needed a new transmission and mazda refused to accept any responsibility for this even though it is a known issue with this model and year.

Filed Jun 3, 2010 · Transmission · 104,000 miles · MD

We have a 2002 mazda mpv (first owners) with 104k; followed all manufacturers recommendations for maintenance. Died on the way to work this morning, had to be towed to shop. They want 6000$ to replace transmission (with a rebuilt one). I'm shopping around. The car isn't worth 1/2 that for trade-in. We have had the trans module replaced about 3 years ago.

Filed May 15, 2010 · Transmission · 67,000 miles · CO

Complete transmission failure at 67,000 miles in our 2002 mazda mpv2. All routine maintenance had been performed. I was driving on the highway (thankfully close to home) at the start of rush hour and was unable to maintain 40mph - the car would not shift down, the revs increased, but I had no acceleration. I was able to get most of the way home before the transmission started audibly whining and came to a complete stop. My 10 year old and I pushed it into the side of the road. We had the car towed to the local transmission shop who said we would need the transmission replaced. Mazda would not consider any out-of-warranty help unless we had the vehicle towed to a mazda dealership (at a cost of $100 for us) and diagnosed there (another $100). Having done this, they said no help would be made available. They said this was at the discretion of the area service manager, but refused to give his contact details so we could not discuss this with him. We have researched this problem on this website, looking at problems listed under automatic transmission. The numbers of complete transmission failures needing replacement are as follows for the specific years: 2000 = 1 probable failure; 2001 = 1 probable failure; 2002 = 40 complete failures; 2003 = 1 failure; 2004 = 2 failures; 2005 = 0 failures; 2006 = 0 failures. It seems clear to us that there is a problem with the 2002 mazda mpv transmission. People should realize that mazda are not standing behind their product when there is an obvious problem like this. What will it take to get mazda to accept some responsibility? It looks like this will cost nearly $4000 to fix. I don't think we'll be buying another mazda ..ever.

Filed May 10, 2010 · Transmission · 117,694 miles · WA

Transmission failure with no warning, all scheduled maintenance completed.

Filed Apr 5, 2010 · Transmission · 39,000 miles · IL

2002 mazda mpv with 39,000 miles. Transmission totally failed on us55 halfway between bloomington, il and chicago. Had to have car towed back to chicago. Transmission has to be replaced. This is my second one. When I bought car in 2002 transmission failed in 1st week of ownership and had to be replaced.

Filed Feb 8, 2010 · Transmission · 111,000 miles · TN

Transmission failed in my 2002 mazda mpv at 111k miles. After reading several stories online that sound identical to mine, I felt compelled to file a complaint. I was travelling on a major interstate with 5 cubscouts and the transmission completely failed, leaving us stranded on the side of the road. Transmission gave no warning that it was about to fail, other than a few rough shifts from time to time. Mechanic checked fluid levels and pressure of transmission and all checked out okay after incident. This was not driver or maintenance error. The transmission will not engage at all in drive, low gears or reverse.

Filed Jan 6, 2010 · Transmission · 42,000 miles · CA

On the freeway, my transmission failed and has to be replaced. My car only has 42,000 miles.

Filed Dec 2, 2009 · Transmission · 53,583 miles · WA

The transmission on my 2002 mazda mpv failed with just 53,000 miles on it. I had noticed some problems shifting on hills and freeways. The repair man called it "flash shifting" when I took it in to be checked out. Dealer diagnosed the problem and performed a "reflash" of the transmission control module. 3 days later, the car lost the upper gears. Lost the others the next day. I had it towed to another repair shop as every time I take the car to the dealer, I'm back 2 months later with a more expensive repair. The transmission has now been pulled out 4 times in 6 weeks to be rebuilt, replace solenoids, etc. I have heard that many other mazda mpv owners have had to replace transmissions on vehicles with even lower mileage than mine. I believe that this car is dangerous. I'm afraid to drive it with my 3 young sons. I'm so grateful that this happened in a parking lot at a soccer game and not on the freeway on the way to that soccer game. The results could have been disastrous. Mazda should be held responsible for selling cars with faulty transmissions. We are still waiting to get our car back from the third repair. Maybe it's finally fixed, maybe not.

Filed Nov 10, 2009 · Transmission · 40,800 miles · PA

My husband and I own a 2002 mazda mpv lx. Last week on saturday, october 31, 2009, the transmission failed while my husband was driving on the walt whitman bridge coming to philadelphia. Although our van is 7 years old, it only has a little over 40,000 miles on it and we keep it in great condition. After having it towed to 2 different mechanics, it is now costing us between $2400-$2600 to have the transmission rebuilt. The mazda dealer where we purchased the van told us it would cost $4,189.00 to rebuild the transmission. We are not in a financial position to purchase a new or used vehicle, so we are borrowing the money to pay for this costly problem. After reading hundreds of complaints regarding transmission failure (I'm sure there are a lot more) without warning on the 2002 mazda mpv, especially at low mileage, I believe a recall of this vehicle is in order. I also believe the 2002 model of the mazda mpv has a defective transmission. It is extremely dangerous to have this happen without any warning. Thank god the transmission failure did not cause an accident and that our children were not in the vehicle.

Filed Sep 11, 2009 · Transmission · 58,000 miles · KY

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mazda mvp. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH on an incline, the transmission failed without any prior warnings. The contact shifted the vehicle into neutral in order to prevent himself from being rear-ended, he had to push the vehicle to a parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and a technician concluded that the transmission pump was design defectively; however, upon notifying the manufacturer he was not provided any assistance. No repairs have been made. The current and failure mileages were 58,000. Updated 12/07/09 *bf updated 12/09/09.