I started my car and the 'check engine' light flashed on-and-off. Thinking it would go away, I drove to route 3 in south shore, ma. Once on the highway, the light did not stop flashing, so I pulled over. Thirty seconds after pulling over in a rest area, white smoke appeared from under the hood. 10 seconds later, black smoke came from the hood which was accompanied with a burning smell. Luckily, someone from massdot was in the rest area and we determined that it was a car fire. We proceeded to step back and call 911 from a safe distance. The engine area of the car was on fire until the fire department was able to put it out.
2002 Mazda Tribute engine complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 130, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The spark plug in my mazda tribute 2002 blew out of the socket causing me to hunt down a valve cover. The mechanic said I didn't tighten it enough which is false I believe there is a equipment defect with the compressing somehow. I purposefully retightinened the remaining two that I could get at and the mechanic said the very next day that they where loose. I used a torque specified wrench to the manuals description is there a problem with that years ford made mazdas. A fire could break out or an explosion.
2002 tribute from the first week there have been problems. 1st the driver side interior door handle stopped working. Plastic piece that allows handle to open the door had broken. Repaired $$$ paid! 2nd the driver side electric windows stopped working. Motor had to be replaced. Repaired $$$ paid! *** we are now faced with the passenger side interior door handle not working, the master cylinder leaking brake fluid, an issue with the 5 and 6 spark plugs falling out for the 3rd time in 4 months, the battery cables staying corroded and slow to start, there is some sort of knocking in the front passenger wheel. I have replaced the rotors and had other similiar issues with this vehical that seem to be very common problems. I have spent the last 4 hours doing my research and see that there are complaints of this same nature on almost every web site. I don't know how long the average person will wait on an 'issue' to become a recall. I don't have the patience to unroll the window every time I want to exit the vehicle. Not to mention having to ask my passenger to let themselves out in the same manner. I am not going to pay another penny on fixing this vehicle. I have paid for so many maintenance issues that now that I think mazda should have fixed. When do these complaints become recall reality? What is my next option? I can't imagine how bad it would be to have my family in the car, the engine fouls out because of the spark plug issue, the brakes won't work because of the master cylinder leak, the battery cables corroded and preventing the windows being able to let down to out. I will contact my dealer tomorrow and work out the recalls I was not aware of, hopefully we can get our door locks fixed too!
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mazda tribute. When the contact started the vehicle, she smelled burning plastic inside the passenger compartment. After driving a short distance and stopping, she noticed smoke underneath the hood. The contact opened the hood and saw flames. The federal safety agency campaign id number 07v157000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock:control unit/module) was referenced. The fire department extinguished the fire and filed a report. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to the towing company's parking lot and has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 68,214.
Dt*: the contact stated while traveling in hot weather, the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle stopped. The vehicle restarted after the transmission was shifted into park, and the ignition was turned off, then turned on. The dealership was unable to determine the problem. The fuel pump and crank shaft position sensor was replaced. Updated 10/30/06.
While driving our 2002 mazda tribute on the highway, a fire started under the car - we suddenly noticed engine started to stutter and then saw smoke coming out of the back of the car and then the exhaust pipe fell out of the rear. Within a minute or so as we were trying to pull over, both the steering wheel and the brake failed. We finally brought the car to stop on the shoulder of the exit ramp close by, by decelerating and using the parking brake. When we got out, we saw active fire under the car toward the back. The fire was put out almost immediately by a person who stopped to help us with a fire extinguisher. All of this took less than 5 minutes. The fire men who arrived at the scene within minutes opened up the hood and said there was no engine oil. The police was present at the scene. The car was purchased new 4 years ago and we've had no major problems for the last 55,000 miles. The engine oil was filled 5 days before that and the car ran fine for the 450 mile trip right up to that point. The low engine oil warning light did not come on until after the vehicle came to a stop. Aaa adjuster suspected an engine problem and his theory was that engine shaft broke and punctured the oil pan from inside but no forensic inspection was carried out by the insurance company. The car was towed to a mazda dealer shop for inspection at our request but the dealership refused to offer a conclusive explanation or carry out a forensic inspection. The car is currently parked there and it has not been fixed (and the old parts are still in the car). Both the insurance company and the mazda are refusing to pay for the engine repair and we're considering our options. We have filed a claim to mazda to no avail.
Egr valve blew out, replaced, replacement valve blew out within 24 hours of repair and within 30 total minutes of vehicle operation from repair.
Dt: contact states the motor mount needs to be replaced. In addition,, having problems with the sway bar on the driver's side. Also, the front lower control arm bushing needs to be replaced.
Dt: vehicle shuts off completely during movement. It also speeds up without the accelerator pedal being depressed. Also, transmission does not change gears.
Approximately a week and a half after having the throttle cable serviced on a recall, was travel at 75 MPH when the vehciles rpms started to revving at a high RPM, but no increase in speed. Vehciles engine shut off and I managed to pull the side of the road. After having the wehcile towed to the dealer, I was told the entire engine needed to be replaced, they could not tell me what caused the problem, vehcile was 4 months out of warrenty, with 34,700 miles. Mazda only helping with a small percentage of the repair bill of approx. $ 5,500.00. Have had no luck in contacting anyone at mazda who can help. I'm convinced that the replaced throttle cable failed or become stuck, but the dealer claims that it had nothing to do with what happened. Until this had no problems with vehicle.
2002 madza tribute with 68,000 needs a new transmission. Just had a value job done on the engine approx. 4 months ago. Madza warranty- including drive train - up at 50,000 miles.
I've owned this vehicle for a little over 2 years and it has been to the dealer for repairs 7 times now. No one can seem to find the reason why the check engine light stays on, why the fuel consumption is so poor, why the vehicle shifts constantly and for no reason at all, or why the vehicle "shudders" when the engine is on. The check fuel cap light has come on twice and the same part replaced twice. The canister close valve and idle air control valve have both failed. I have spent money on a fuel induction service because it was recommended by the service dealer. I had the transmission flushed because of a technical service bulletin for the torque converter - a problem that had to be identified by aamco and told to mazda before they would try to fix the problem. I have called mazda customer service and got anything but customer service. My problems began long before the warranty had expired; however, mazda could care less about their lack of ability to fix ongoing problems. This vehicle is a life-safety hazard and needs to be recalled completely, not part by part. I will never buy a mazda again. This is my third and last. The tribute is by far the worst thing ever manufactured by mazda. They should be embarassed to have this model on the road!
The federal safety agency recall campaign 04v175000; mazda issued an engine stalling recall. This vehicle was included in the recall, but engine would not startr aftere recall repairs.
When driving at an undetermined speed vehicle stalled. This caused consumer to drift to the side of the road. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership on three separate occasions. However, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem.
The vehicle shutdown suddenly while driving 50 MPH. There was no warning and no indicator lights illuminated to indicate a problem. As a result the vehicle had no power steering or no brakes. The driver had to use both feet to apply the brakes so that the vehicle would come to a stop.
While driving 60 MPH vehicle stalled. Consumer managed to pull over and restart the vehicle. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
2002 mazda tribute lx 4wd SUV, 3.0 l engine: my wife's car stalls for no apparent reason periodically while in drive. Returned vehicle to local mazda dealer service shop twice over past two months, and am told that car checks out and is fine. Latest incident happened yesterday.
Vehicle cuts off at low speed (<35) MPH, no engine light. Also vehicle hesitates when accelerator pushed.
While driving @ 50 MPH on interstate @ rush hour traffic my madza tribute 2002 stalled without warning! Caused loss of steering and brakes. Put on emergency flashers and was able to restart engine not before vehicles behind me were hitting brakes and trying to avoid hitting me. One vehicle had to go into median to avoid hitting me. Taken to dealer and he placed what was stated in tech bulletin 01-04-02r, but can't assure me this will resolve problem. Why has not this problem been a recall!!! According to this website this seems to be a major and dangerous problem with the tributes. I have only 26,000 miles on tribute but after reading all the complaints my husband has suggested we trade it in. We have enjoyed our previously mazda's (3) but my next vehicle will not be a mazda due to the fact mazda seems to be indifferent to this defect and recalling all vehicles involved. Will take numerous deaths and lawsuits before mazda fixes this problem?
While driving at 25 MPH the vehicle stalled with no warning which caused the lost of the power steering and braking. Rolled off side of the road. Passengers shaken but not injured. Vehicle was able to be restarted. Dealer notified.
Within months of buying the SUV we had it back to crystal auto mall, green brook, nj the problem...the steering wheel came loose, it would shift around as you drove down the road! This was a quick repair. Starting on sept 18,2002 we took it in to the dealer for the oil pressure light coming on, they replaced the oil sender unit, total $69.52, which was covered by warranty. On oct 14 back for the same problem, they kept it until oct 17, replacing all kinds of parts, oil pump, oil gasket for a total of $924.65, again covered by warranty. My husband was driving it home from this round of repairs and the same problem lit itself up again! He was almost home appox.30 miles from the dealer, he called on his cell phone said he was coming right back, this time they had it from oct 18 to oct 31, 2002. What a surprise when I heard they replaced the entire motor for a total of $4,511.17, again under warranty. Strange thing was that they would not extend the warranty on the new motor beyond the original guarantee for the truck. Now you tell me is this right? That's not the end of it, on june 21, 2003, we brought it in for a noise coming from the front end they kept it over the weekend until june 23 and told us it needs breaks and rotors and wheel alignment which of course is not under warranty!!! Only 24000 miles on this SUV and nothing but headaches
Mazda tribute 2002, had lower engine replaced after 4000 as it totally died on the highway. 20 months later I am having the engine replaced, this time it is out of warranty. The cams weren't getting an oil for some reason and they are shot, the lifters were also broken and the head is warped. Service rep said the engine is in good shape and can see that there is little wear on the engine.
Vehicle has suddenly stalled in traffic several times. Was travelling at approx 35-45mph. This happened twice. Veh was taken to dealer, who re-programmed the computer. Several months have passed without incident, problem has occurred again. Very concerned that when engine stalls, I lose power steering and may not be able to turn off the road before being struck from the rear. Each time this has occurred I have been able to pull into the median or a side street. But I wonder what will happen if I am in the middle lane???
Engine stalls while driving at various speeds. Loss of steering and braking. Very serious and scary situation.
The car is stalling while in motion. This is my second incident in 3 weeks. This almost caused a head on accident in the second incident, because power steering is lost when the car stolls, and I was going around a corner. It was a good thing I drive with 2 hands on the wheel.
While driving approximately 35 MPH, the engine stopped without warning causing a suddent loss of power steering. I pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the engine. This is the second time this has happened.
While driving at any speed and with no warning the vehicle stalled and caused the consumer to pull off the road. The dealer inspected the vehicle and was unable to duplicate the problem. *ak *scc
The vehicle stalled while decelerating. Dealer informed. The dealer reflashed PCM and replaced the following components: air control valve, throttle body and engine sensor.
While driving the vehicle at any speed and without any prior warning vehicle will stall. Consumer made contact with the dealer on four separate occasions, but problem still occurs.
While driving approximately 35-40 MPH the engine stalled, the panel lights to include the check engine light came on and I had difficulty braking and steering my vehicle. After much difficulty I was able to stop the vehicle off the road. I then was unable to turn the vehicle off in order to restart it again. I called the dealer and sent mazda an email and both organizations said they were not aware of anyone else having this problem and if I took it in the dealer might be able to find out what happened but there is no guarantee. This is the 2nd time this has happened. I am afraid to drive the vehicle because it happens without notice and I am afraid of someone hitting me from behind when it stalls.
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