2003 Mazda MPV: hesitation when accelerating

5 of the 113 complaints about the 2003 Mazda MPV describe hesitation when accelerating.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 4%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 10 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Hesitation when accelerating by model year

2005
1
2004
4
2003
5
2002
6
2001
1
2000
1

What owners say

Filed Jun 29, 2009 · Transmission · 42,395 miles · NY

A few weeks ago I had noticed that my 2003 mazda mpv was jerking or hesitating. I only have 42,395 miles on it. I took it to one place and was told it sounds like transmission trouble to them. I brought in to aamco and was told it was the torque converter and they showed me where the metal was etched out>my warranty expired in april 2007 I was told I was lucky to address this problem now before the entire engine seized. I have been a mazda owner since 1993 first I had a protege then the 626 now I own the mpv I am shocked that this would happen so soon with so little mileage/ to replace everything it will cost me $3480 what a shame!!!!

Filed May 8, 2009 · Electrical · 51,000 miles · IL

Significant engine missing on acceleration caused vehicle to hesitate while clearing intersection. Near miss on major accident. Mechanic states that this is a very common problem on the 2003 mpv due to defective ignition coils. Repair is to replace all 6 coils as it is unknown which is causing the misfire.

Filed Feb 17, 2004 · Transmission · 5,600 miles · NC

Transmission between 2nd and 3rd gear- in the last month or so, we have noticed a hesitation and then hard shift into third gear during regular city driving. We spent 2/16/2004 at the dealership for an oil change, tire rotation, and examination of this problem. They performed a reflash of the TCM/ptm and left the dealership satisfied. About 15 minutes later, it started again. We called back and as of this morning, we have scheduled a drive with the transmission mechanic. I have noticed a number of complaints here and on edmunds.com. I really hope this can be solved for an otherwise great minivan.

Filed Feb 15, 2004 · Transmission · 25 miles · CA

The car has a hesitation when its accelerating from 20 MPH to 30 MPH, after the hesitation it has a slight surge in speed and a knocking sound. It happens in an intermittent manner. Dealer knows about the problem from others who had similar complaints but said it's normal. Mechanic knows the conditions of how it occurs but claim in the test drive not to be able to duplicate the problem. The car has only 2,500 miles and was having this problem from 200 miles on.

Filed Jan 2, 2004 · Transmission · NJ

My wife and I purchased a 2003 mazda mpv in august. We are very happy overall with the vehicle. However, about 70% of the time when the van is shifting between 2nd and 3rd gears the tranmission hesitates and shifts hard. The tranmission makes a clunking sound. We brought the vehicle to the crystal auto mall on november 28th and they said that the computer needed to be updated and that it was fixed. After a couple of days we realized that the problem was not fixed. We received a survey from mazda to measure our satisfaction of the repair and it was indicated that the problem was not fixed. We never heard from mazda. We brought the van back to the dealer on december 30th and were told that the technician needed to speak with mazda to fix the transmission. As of today (january 2nd) they still haven't spoken with mazda about the problem. I mentioned to the service manager that a lot of people seem to be having the same problem and he admitted that the problem exists for some mpvs. My wife called mazda to complain about the service taking so long and that this is the 2nd time the van was brought in, but mazda's response was that the dealer was working on the problem. The van has less than 6,000 miles on it, so hopefully the problem will be fixed or we will be looking into invoking our state's lemon law.