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I changed the fliud by dropping the drain plug every other oil change. Easy to do and cheap about 3.50 a change 3.5 qts.
owned the car since 1999. Paid 13k for the car w/12k miles. Seemed to be a good buy..the car handles well and has a spacious interior and trunk. Dash looks Quality..and it was 3k cheaper than a Camry and 5k cheaper than the Accord.
Mazda went 50/50 on the repairs still came out to $1650. Totally unacceptable. It looks like I'm married to this car. I checked the used market
and one can be had for $7500. Not a good resale value. I wonder if the word is out on dealership trade-ins to avoid this Car. My Plan is to install Transmisson cooler and change the dog out of the fluid. What else can I do?
Thanks.. I have changed air filters before:)
1. He uses factory rebuilds only like you should have had.
2. He installs a transmission cooler -- a more expensive one that can regulate temperature.
3. He changes the transmission fluid every 15,000 miles.
4. He adds Lubegard, or another product called Wear Guard.
He feels that this is adequate, but since you had transmission problems even changing regularly, I would recommend spending the extra and getting synthetic fluid.
I am approaching 60,000 mark on my 98'626 V6-ES and thinking about let the dealer do the 60K service. It costs $450. Fair deal?? Necessary?? Does anyone changed their cars timing belt? I am going to change it, it will cost me $400, ouch!!
Thanks,
Z88
Clean the MAF sensor, retorque the engine and transmission mounting bolts, replace transmission fluid (if automatic, put in synthetic) and filter, replace the following fluids brake, power steering, engine coolant. I recommend Lubegard for the transmission and power steering. it can be found at Napa for about $20.00 for both.
The sound goes away after the car has warmed up. My mechanic says i just have good ears
because he can't hear anything. They even hooked it up to some diagnosic machine and all read good. The car drives well even when it does sputter and i get 32-33mpg consistently.
Please help, this is driving me nuts.
First of all I have a 2000 Mazda 626 ESV6 with about 40,000 miles on it. It goes with out saying that I use it fairly heavily. I have a problem that has been going on on and off for several months. Every thing seems to be fine but the car won't start. As "windowphobe6" suggested earlier (thank you for that) it looks like a problem that the car some how thinks that the gear is on and it won't start. So, whenever this happens I just get down and give the car a push (while in park mode) and I invariably hear an audible click. Then the car starts fine. Is this sign of a major trouble waiting to happen? And also, my car is an auto shift and I noticed some thing concerning. After a long drive, the plate on top of the gear stick .. the one marked with the gear position (sorry for the low tech description) gets hot. I noticed this because I keep my cell plugged into the lighter plug and the cell gets hot too. Is this sign of some kind of trouble? And also, more importantly, my car makes a lot of noise/sound while accelerating from park (at traffic lights.. and I don't press to the floor) and it's definitely not as smooth as a Camry or an Accord. Is this normal for a Mazda 626? Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated.
- A concerned owner.
Heat far away from a duct usually suggests an exhaust pipe too close for comfort, or a heat shield gone away causing same.
The V6 has a distinct growl, although if you want to hear some serious noise, you should hear the four-banger at takeoff. Then again, maybe you shouldn't. Toyota, and to a lesser extent Honda, go to a lot of trouble to tune out manifestations that might make you think your car is some mundane mechanical device. Mazda figures (1) you probably want to Zoom Zoom and (2) if so, why should they spend the extra bucks to hide it under a bushel?
The tranny died on me last week, was able to locate a used one for $350. How much of labour am I looking at ? Is it worth while ?
New tranny is going to cost $2000.00
You have a great engine there. Love my 1991.
My mechanic is a Mazda specialist and he recommends a factory rebuild, installation of a good transmission cooler, and using wearguard, or Lugegard to keep it in better shape.
Even with a used one, I am going to pay more for labour than the cost of the part ! I hate it when I get into such a situation.
Progresive ins said the car was totaled ($5k-7 damage) so I got a check the next day. I had a 97 626LX AT-4cyl, white, nothing extra added on to the LX package. 61K miles. The car was in good condtion according to Edmunds TMV.
Progressive cut me a check for $8.7k!? (this amount included ded which the other guy's ins paid). I was quite happy at that amount. I paid $10.8 for my 626 more than 2 1/2 yrs ago. I figure they gave me close to retail price. It's a good thing I held off on the 60k mile maintenance.
So now I just bought a used, 99 CR-V LX RT4WD. I wanted something different. More room. I feel I am not sitting 4 inches above the road anymore. Road visabilty is quite remarkable in the CR-V
I was a big reader of this board but only posted less than 5x.
This is my first Honda.
But this car is still generally in style and now looks and drives like it was new. We should get at least another 85,000 miles. I like to keep cars to 200,000 miles. I've found over the years that if they are well maintained that it is not only less expensive, but that the cars still remain fun to drive.
I have a 93 ES.
No other problems with the car thus far.
to the general topic.)
I had my beautiful 94 Mazda 626 shipped from
Boston to San Diego recently (great condition
considering its age). Much to my
dismay, when I took delivery, the driver
pointed out several huge gashes/dents and
scratches on the trunk lid. It was totally
their fault, seems like some chains fell and
hit the trunk during transit.
The past couple of weeks I have been dealing
with the trucking company (Appollo, based
in KY, referred by All States). After a
bit of a runaround, they came out and said
they wouldnt pay for a new trunk lid, even though
the two auto body places I went to said it would
be better to replace the lid instead of to
fix it. (Besides the gashes, the lid is a bit
bent, so when closed there is a slightly larger
gap between lid and chassis than before)
The guy claimed that insurance companies don't
pay to replace with new parts any car that
is older than 2 years. I was wondering if
that was true, or is he just trying to
avoid paying a larger amount (860 vs 380).
I don't think even $860 is worth a lawsuit,
but I also don't want to get cheated out of
fair compensation. Any advice much appreciated!
Next time, I'm going to drive cross country!
Robert
I would call your insurance company and speak to someone there. Explain the situation, maybe they can give you some advice on dealing with the trucking company.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
use a po box)
On a slightly different note, can anyone recommend a good auto body shop in San Diego?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Thanks!
I have a 93 626 w/ 183,000 in pretty good shape. The car is running great but in the fifth gear, when I accelerate, there is a knocking sound other than the usual jamboree of sounds. It only happens in the fifth gear when I acclerate.
It is not that loud but it is definitely there. Ijust wanted to know if I should ignore this and keep on driving.
Thanks for all the help.
What can I do to prevent the slipping or any further damage? Warming up the care for a few minutes before starting?
Thanks for any answer.
Also, in reply to ian18, I have a 93 626ES with 133000 miles. Still strong. I did have a few common problems reported by others on this board.
1. valve cover gasket leaking, replacement is very expensive since the intake has to be removed to access the rear bank of cylinders.
2. rear passenger side brake caliper replaced. The parking brake got stuck once after parking on an uphill slope. I drove it for about 2 miles before being able to disengage it. Apparently, this damaged the caliper.
3. timing belt replacement is expensive. I spent over $500 on that plus water pump.
4. O2 sensor needs replacement. The check engine light came on at about 90k but I have been ignoring it for the past 3 years! No effect on fuel economy and emission yet. Still getting 23mpg mixed and over 26 hwy and passed emission test.
Recent problem has been an airbag failure, indicated by dashboard light. Diagnosis has been that the clockspring electrical wire in the steering wheel needs to be replaced at a cost of $500. I have decided not to get it fixed and instead placed a piece of tape over the flashing dashboard light.
Still, a great car to drive and judging from your experience, mine still has many miles left.
I have a 93 626 w/ 184,000, 5 spd. in pretty good shape. I had posted here before about a rattling sound, I think the rattling is the CV joint up front. Sorry jan18, that I did'nt reply earlier but everyhting I have done is pretty routine on this car. Actually I have a great mechanic who is really cheap. ($150, timing belt change).
I recently had the distributor problem crop up cost me $400 to replace. You think Mazda would reimburse me for that, I mean it is a known problem and all ?? Anyway do u guys think I can realistically keep this car for another 100,000 ? Reason I ask is, beacuse my car got into an accident recently so I was just wondering if I should spend the $200 to paint it or just save it up for a new car. Thanks,
Ece3446.
I think you should be happy with the service you've gotten out of the car.
What does "realistically" mean? You mean will you have no more problems with it? No, you'll have problems. Will it be economically sound? Possibly. What's the worst that could happen? I would start saving up and get everything you can out of it. If something catastrophic does happen, THEN go out and get another car. But, as long as its still going, what's the harm in continuing to drive it?
Would I bother getting an 8 year old car with almost 200K miles and suspected mechanical troubles painted? Probably not. But that's me. I'll buy another car at the drop of a hat. Just ask my wife and family.
good luck.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
On the other hand ... it's just a few hundred bucks.
The going dealer rate here in the flyover zone has been officially $250, though it's almost always "on special" for fifty or sixty bucks off.
They swore they had done the job correctly, but I was able to prevail upon them to refund every penny I paid. I promptly took that money and my sputtering car to the Plymouth dealer who told me that the belt was installed with the wrong tension. They installed a new belt and guess what, no problems!!!
So, about a month ago, when my '97 626 V-6 hit the 60,000 mark, guess where I took it? The cost was $285.00 and there have been absolutely no problems with this repair. (Further note: service rep. did not recommend replacing the water pump "just because"....he said unless there was evidence of leakage, they would not recommend that until 120k miles.)
Now, I'm not saying an independent mechanic is not capable of doing a timing belt properly, but the odds are probably a bit better at a dealership that does the same repair several times a day.
Has anyone else had the problem I had with my distributor? I hope not. That was a real mess. Thank for any info.
There is, of course, no excuse for not changing one's oil or coolant, both of which are spelled out quite clearly. I am persuaded, however, that Mazda has been remiss in not recommending transmission service all these years - whether or not people whine about it.
4cyl = 2.5 hrs & $40 belt
6cyl = 4.0 hrs & $60 belt
I'm not sure what area of the country you are in, but it seems that that your dealers labor rate is on the high side. Your best bet is to call 3-4 dealers and see where the prices fall.
My 1991 indicates that the manual can use Automatic or Standard transmission fluid. He always uses the automatic.
With the Automatics he recommends a drain and replacement every 15,000 miles, and also using the additives listed above.
He is adamate that if you follow this schedule, the transmission should last.
I have a 97 626 ES Auto with 61K, and it rides very roughly. The alignment is perfect, no problems there - but the steering wheel vibrates at speed, in fact the left side of the car vibrates at 65 mph and above. Also, the car pitches when going over small bumps and expansion joints. Is it possible that my struts are shot this early on? Could my bearings be shot - causing all the vibrations? Any advice would be great. Thanks for all the help in advance.