2002 Mazda 626 power train problems
70 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the power train on the 2002 Mazda 626 — 80% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“Without any warning the transmission started slipping out of forward gear while at a traffic light after releasing the brakes and gently pressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle didnt move. Manually shifting into 1st gear was the car able to move but causing a very harsh lurching forward causing…”
filed Feb 2, 2020
“My car was driving fine and then one day as I was leaving work my car started acting as though it wanted to shut off. I made it all the way home and was going to go to the store and my car would not shift into gear I tried to add transmission fluids but it sounds not move.”
filed Sep 17, 2016
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related service bulletins
This Service Alert supersedes the previously issued SA listed below: The changes are noted in Red. SA-011/24 02/12/24, 06/06/24, 07/29/24 DESCRIPTION Mazda has developed factory recommended scheduled maintenance…
SA-029-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 21, 2026
Power Train problems in other 626 years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 626 | 139 | 74% |
| 2000 626 | 160 | 74% |
| 1999 626 | 233 | 73% |
| 1998 626 | 313 | 72% |
| 1997 626 | 233 | 65% |
| 1996 626 | 239 | 67% |
| 1995 626 | 337 | 69% |
| 1994 626 | 177 | 63% |
| 1993 626 | 42 | 34% |
| 1992 626 | 5 | 26% |
| 1991 626 | 11 | 18% |
| 1990 626 | 4 | 9% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2002 Mazda 626
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.