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That was the point I made earlier when I mentioned that I traded in a somewhat problematic Saturn for a very problematic Volkswagen. At least Mazda gives you a loaner, VW would just strand me, and I would have to arrange for friends to pick me up and take me to the dealer.
If you feel like your Tribute is unreliable and is causing you this much grief, then maybe you should trade it in. But like you mentioned, you are finding problems with every SUV out there, and believe me there are. The question is, what is the dealer doing about it if there is a problem. To your dealers credit they are trying to fix the problem and they offered you a loaner car.. Not sure how buying a Honda or a Toyota is going to be any different. My other car (aside from an 05 Tribute) is a 2002 Nissan Altima which has had 3 recalls and two other warranty covered problems but I am not complaining. I love the car and the dealer has resolved the issues and the only inconveinence has been dropping off my car and picking up a loaner.
You might be the perfect candidate to lease a new car every 2-3 years so you do not have to worry about warranty issues or resale.
I am a member of several other Tribute and Escape boards, and truth be told, while there have been other reports of transmission failures, this only seems to affect a very small minority of owners. One of the common themes that keeps popping up with the users who have had transmission problems is that the wrong transmission fluid was being used (Mercon V vs. Mercon).
I did not lease my Tribute, but before my warranty runs out, I will need to decide whether or not I need to purchase an extended warranty, get a new car, or keep the car and do nothing else. So far (4700 miles), I have had no major issues to date.
Thanks, buying in next 2 weeks.
I own a 2002 Tribute ES V-6, with 30,000 miles.
It is hard to write such negative information, about such a fun vehicle (...though thirsty!).
I have owned about 40 vehicles, in the last 25 years; including a 1980 RX-7, a 1989 MPV 4x4, and my daughter's 1999 Protege ES.
I have had nothing less than incredible service, and treatment...and all but the RX-7 were purchased at Foothill's Mazda, in Spokane, WA. My sales rep has been the same...and incredible...and my service advisor has been helpful, and very understanding of my dealing with Multiple Sclerosis.
Now, to the bad news...
The dealership has "lost" all of my service records. Fortunately, I keep EVERYTHING!! Unfortunately, I do not have the service advisor's notes...
Beside a couple of recalls, and a new one pending...my rear hatch glass still rattles; the transmission, when in cruise control mode, shifts down...but refuses to shift up, without my manual shifting of the column shifter, or "re-setting" the overdrive. The dealer has not been able to "duplicate" the malady...and I had hoped, a previous recall, would have identified, and solved the problem! Silly me! Hmmm...I wonder if this has anything to do with the transmission fluid issues to be discussed soon?!
The column shifter often fails to "fall" into the park detente position, and I must position it, with deliberate manual placement.
I do drive fast, and on curvy, paved back roads...but the car is serviced every 2500 miles; and tires rotated every 5000 miles...plus I always follow factory recommendedations, in regard to other service; with the exception, that I never go more than 25,000 miles between transmission flushes, and fluid replacement (more if towing often). I have towed a 2000# fishing skiff, approximately 1500 miles.
Back to the issues at hand! I reported, what I considered to be a "ticking" in the valve train, at 2500 miles...and the good news is, the service advisor "finally" heard it; and scheduled the car to be checked, while the passenger side windshield washer was being fixed, for the second time, in a month...
After the tech removed the head covers, and whatever else; the factory service people, indicated the cams needed to be adjusted?!
The noise is finally gone (...though I still occasionally hear the "tick!!" ...but ever so slightly!). I wonder how much "damage" was done, over the 29,000 miles; that the noise was only noticeable to me...well, and one other person, soon to be mentioned!!
I hit a deer this summer, with essentially no real damage to my vehicle...other than breaking the bug deflector. I did however, and am embarrassed to admit it, finally, myself, did a thorough inspection of the car. I noticed the inside edges of the Continental tires, on the front, were "shot;" and the rears were close behind!! I, also for the first time, noticed the "knock-kneed" appearence of the suspension. The vehicle, other than what I reported as "high rolling resistance," never showed any indication of misalignment?!
I took the car in for service, and was told the tires must be replaced, and the wheels , re-aligned.
My transmission fluid was "tarnished," and the brake fluid was "corroded?!"
It was then, in July, 2004, I noticed that at my most recent service, in May, 2004...the tech had indicated my tires were at 50%+!!
I had worn out my tires, in about 2000 miles?!
I was upset with the dealership; so I took the vehicle, to my friends/clients, Perfection Tire.
They mounted the new tires; and aligned the vehicle (minor adjustments to "toe in/out," and caster), but indicated all four wheels exhibited "severe" negative camber...and could not be adjusted.
They suggested the vehicle was overloaded...it is very full of fishing gear, and my dog's supplies; but it is all bulk, and no weight. The vehicle weighs far below the GCVW!!
The tech also pointed out, "you have an unusual 'tick' in the valve train!" What great news...I was not hallucinating!!
They had no explanation of how the transmission fluid, and brake fluid could be so "tainted;" but they did flush the systems, and change the fluids.
The dealership said brake fluid could go bad, because of condensation, etc., or that I was hard on the brakes...though the pads, rotors, drums, and shoes, are all indicating 50%+.
I took the vehicle to another Mazda dealer for service, about 6 weeks later...and had them check the alignment. They found as the tire dealer had...the negative camber of the wheels was excessive; and could not be adjusted to factory specification...though I could not get from them; after three requests, their final readings. Hmmm...
A week later, I took the car to Foothills Mazda, and paid for my THIRD alignment, in less than two months...and their brand new, state-of-the-art machine, "released" the vehicle as "acceptable!!"
It was odd to see their adjustments had been very slight, in comparison to the tire shop...and that they had made NO, or NEGLIGIBLE changes to the camber!!
I am having the tire shop rotate the tires, and check for excess wear this week...though they will only have to rotate the passenger side...as the Foothill's tech rotated the driver's side tires, mistakenly, last month; after they had adjusted the camshaft, and valve train...
I forgot!! It was, previously encouraging, when they determinded the battery to have failed (...replacing it, at "no charge!")!! I had started complaining about the charging system, at 15,000 miles?! Again, I was happy to find, I was not "imagining it;" however, AGIAN, hmmm....
It was just an oversight, during his "general vehicle inspection," I guess, that I drove away that day...with a bad headlight?!
It was good, that I happened to notice it(...via my reflection in the dealership window) as I left the service department!
It was also good that the service advisor came out to help me install the new headlamp; and just happened to finally "hear" the valve train noise! Isn't it great, how things "happen for a reason?!"
There have been several other minor problems...but I am being told so far, that the tire issues was normal wear, and tear; and that the suspension is "fine."
I was also assured, no abnormal wear and tear, had occured in the "maladjusted" valve train!! I am very confident!! ;-)
Mazda online, has said they must stand behind the dealer...and their judgment.
I must reiterate, my service advisor, and sales rep; have been exemplary, in their outward attitude...but I am feeling as if, either they think I am "nuts," or "Ford's mentality," has firmly been implanted into the "Mazda Psyche?!"
I would love to hear what anyone out there, thinks?!
My 36 months of warranty (...remember, only 30,000 miles on the vehicle!!) expires tomorrow...and I am trying to "brace myself," for the total, "vehicular collapse," I feel "lurks" in my future?!
I am afraid...very afraid!!
Thanks,
Joe Guske
Looks like a lemon to me, although they appear to be fairly helpful. If the vehicle is in such good shape see what they will give you on trade in. My guess is less then expected. I have not purchased my new vehcle yet but will in the next 2 weeks. I have been reading posts between the Escape and the Tribute to help my decision. The only way the dealership loses your paperwork is if the entire computer system goes bad or if they remove it.
sad
I have the same vehicle and am at 64,000 miles, I need a new transmission and they are denying my claim. The %@#!'s are hiding behind the warranty of 50,000 as it is written, rather than make the morally right decision and satisfy a loyal customer. My wife's 626 had similiar problems, it was in and out of the shop constantly. If I were you I would be afraid as well!!!
At 1500 miles, I noticed oil in my coolant overflow. Engine needed replacement.
Brought back 2 more times to have radiator flushed as oil kept reappearing in overflow. Finally got disgusted and flushed system myself.
At 12K had problem with radio and power port taking 2 to 5 minutes after starting car to come on. All relays replaced by dealer twice.
At 15K the cigarette lighter popped into the dash.
At 28K miles transmission died (fluid was never low or changed).
No more major problems till 74K miles. Both exhaust manifolds needed replacement. 1 had broken flange. The other had a cracked flange. Cost me $1750.
Had multiple alignments and usually tires would start wearing 4 to 6K miles after alignments.
At 84K miles needed another Exhaust manifold with 1 broken and 1 cracked flange. Cost me $850.
Between 84K and 89K had to replace two taillights, a headlight (connector was seriously corroded out), another cigarette lighter that popped into the dash, a delay relay for radio power, an ignition coil, the rear manifold is making noise again (haven't replaced it yet) and tire growl getting loud enough to cause concern.
Today (89600 miles) needed BOTH front hubs replaced for burnt bearings, brake rotors replaced (warped), and a rear hub bearing replaced. By bye to $700
Still has bearing growl on left side. Dealer says either new left hub they installed is defective or a transmission bearing is toast and would require transmission replacement at a 3500+ cost. They are going to try replacing the hub again tomorrow.
I have NEVER owned a vehicle that has needed so much repair and even trivial repairs like replacing a water hose can cost $200 or more.
If my current problem is the transmission then I will be saying goodbye Ford and hello Dodge.
If you are as stupid as I was to buy a new Escape, please purchase the 100,000 mile warranty as you will need it.
The dealership told me I needed a new transmission which would start around $3400. They would not work with me on this price. (although I have referred 3 new Tribute owners to them!)
When I found a $1200 quote from a transmission shop I was advised from my dealership that it would be a wise decision for me to take it elsewhere!!
I have just picked it up from the transmission shop with a $1400 bill. They knocked off $400 from the total bill since it was more than they had originally anticipated!! (and they dont know me from Adam!)
They also had to replace the Torque Converter, which had gone bad and in turn burned out the transmission. The dealership had not even quoted or diagnosed the Torque Converter! So this leads me to believe that they would have either charged me much more than quoted ...or not fixed it and I would have run into the same problem with the new transmission!
I have always loved my Tribute but now have to question the credibility of the entire scenario.
I wish you luck in getting satisfaction for your situation. I have been sitting here on line this evening and reading many similar situations with Tributes. I was truly hoping that I had just gotten a lemon and considered just trading it in for a new one. After reading the letters tonight, I am reconsidering!
Being a woman, I already feel that I am at a disadvantage when dealing with car repairs. I do, however, feel very strongly that although I dont possess a great knowledge of cars, I can be safe in thinking that this should have not happened to a well maintained vehicle with only 64k miles!
Good luck in finding an answer to yours! I wish much less frustration for you than I have experienced!
Diane
boatfloyd
How To Do It
1. Turn your Tribute or Escapes key on and then turn on the windshield wipers. Turn the key off when the wipers reach their full 'up' position. This allows you to get to some screws a little easier.
2. Along the base of the windshield on the passenger side you'll see some plastic caps that cover phillips type screws. Remove the plastic caps using something like an eyeglass screwdriver or pointy object. Be careful you don't let these caps fall into the engine compartment.
3. Remove the screws under the caps and pop the hood
4. Along the front of the plastic cover you just removed the rear screws from you'll find half a dozen more screws. Remove them by pressing 'up' from the bottom while turning with a phillips type screwdriver. You can use a flat bladed screwdriver to do the pushing. Once the screws are removed just pull up the keepers and stash everything in a safe spot.
5. Remove the cover. Under the cover you'll notice another good sized black box. This is the air box. Slide the top cover of the box forward and remove it. Now you're on target. This is where the filter will go.
6. Insert the filter with the 'large' side facing down. It will be a nice snug perfect fit. With the filter in place slide the cover back on, install all other parts in the reverse of the way you took them apart.
7. You might want to make a note someplace in your maintenance records to check the filter in a year and see if it needs replacing. In some parts of the country these things collect all kinds of pollen, seeds and other things that float through the air. Off roaders will probably collect a lot of dirt. Many of us will be able to use the same filter for years.
I have the extended warranty and now they don't want to pay for my rental car that they provided since they can't find the problem. I am fighting that at this time.
At present I've logged ~66K miles. Other than the standard recalls and some TSB issues I've not had any of the major symptoms of tranny failure, tie-rods, surging, etc. I don't know, I may be one the few (so far) who haven't posted a lot of problems on this board. Could be my problems may be starting down the road yet.... hard to say. First-off, I'm no mechanic by any stretch, but am interested in how things work, who makes them, etc.. I do know that a modified modified CD4E is in use in the Escape/Tribute. Originally, Mazda made this trans. and there have been numerous, documented complaints about trans. failure from
60K-90K mileage in mostly Mazda 626's. Ford supposedly enhanced the CD4E for placement in the Escape/Trib., maybe not enough it seems.
My issue is that my dipstick says Mercon V while the owners manual says Mercon. So, I changed out with Mercon V with a complete flush, being informed that the dipstick has the final word. Maybe not too. One complete flush later to complete Mobil 1 synthetic ATF and seems to be no problems so far. I am flushing my AT system on average every 22K. As there is no problem manifesting itself now, I may be able to get by.
My advice is simply to flush the A/T every 20-25K. All of the other flushes can be done at 30K.
So far so good, but we'll see down the road...
thanks
Matt
included). Before you buy new, just make sure it's mostly what she wants or needs in vehicle. For instance, my wife thinks that my Escape is 'too big' while her RAv4 is just right, though both vehicles are roughly the same size inside with minor differences in size on the outside.
If buying new, do a thorough test-drive or better yet ask if you can keep the car overnight for a better feel. If buying used spend the ~$100+ and have it checked over with a fine-toothed comb by a trusted mechanic. A thorough check should take at least a couple of hours.