Mazda MPV Transmission Problems

backy · February 2007

If a dealer is putting in the new transmissions, work like that is typically warranted for 1 year/12k miles. Check with the dealer to see what kind of warranty you'll get with it.

louis7 · February 2007

I got 2001 MPV with 112K miles. Yeah, I know it's a lot of miles. I was hoping I could get 250K+ miles out of it, but I guess not. The tranny is beginning to slip from 3rd - 4th gear going about 45 miles. I read some of the tranny posts and it's scary to find that it would cost $3700+ to repair transmission. Anyone out there who has better luck fixing the trasmission w/o paying $3700? Any suggestions as far as getting rid of it or fix it and keep it? Thanks for your advise.

Navy Guy

pkersey · February 2007

We also have a 2002 Mazda MPV with the automatic transmission. We are now getting the transmission replaced for the second time at less than 95,000K. First time was at 73,000, re-flashed computer at 65,000. Lucky we purchased extended warranty for 8 years/160,000k. Started both times with hard shifting, second time also had flashing "O/D off" light. Other than these major repairs, we are generally quite happy with the vehicle.

vamom1001 · February 2007

Ok.. They just replaced the transmission .. I got it back on Monday.. it is Thursday and I am back at the dealer.. it is jerking and burning transmission fluid.. guess what.. they need to put in a new new transmission.. this has to be a record! I am so upset. It is covered under the parts warranty but still.. this is nuts.. I am spending more time at the dealer than at work.. I do not want my dealership to become the place where everyone "knows your name..."

The service guy said that the problem is that Mazda uses reconditioned transmissions.. so who know if it is really fixed when they put it in your car.... I am sorry that is just not at all acceptable. Is this true you cant get new transmissions out there.. they are all these reconditioned pieces of crap.. or are they snowing me and this is their policy? Please let me know if they are just pulling the wool over my eyes and what I can do to get this done right...?

Thanks...

vamom1001 · February 2007

ok..so after telling me that I needed a new new transmission.. they just called me today and said.. they were wrong, the transmission is just fine.. the problem was that the ignition coils needed to be replaced. They have done that and now the car is suposedly fine. I have asked them to make sure they do a decent test drive before returning the car to me as I am tired of getting the car back and discovering something either wasn't done correctly or something was overlooked. He said he would make sure that was done and assured me that my car had been carefully looked at... I am kind of at a point of not knowing if part of the problem is that the service sucks or is it truly all just my car...? Anyone have to replace the ignition coils on their MPV.. can it cause the over reving and jumping feeling I was having (not to mention the burning smell?)

The one thing he did say that I totally agree with is that when I get to within about 1k of the warranty expiring that I should bring the car into him and they will go over it carefully to see if there is anything up on it so they can make sure to do it while under the warranty. I thought it was nice that he suggested that. Still thinking this is the last Mazda I will get for a long time.. shame as my prior 2 .. I loved.

louis7 · April 2007

I got 2001 MPV LX and just had my ignition coil replaced! Cost me $230 parts & labor. I too thought it was transmission and had made appointments to take it to AAMCO, but after reading many posts and a little bit of process of elimination, I felt that it was ignition coil. The engine is rough and idle is very inconsistent. Specially about 30-45 mph, it keeps jerking a little which feels just like transmission slipping. But it's not. I didn't notice any smell, but the constant hesitation and jerking is present. I hope this helps.

sidiggie · April 2007

I had my 2002 MPV tranny done for $3,500. Mazda wanted $3,500 to pop in a new "remanufactured" unit. My local transmission shop did some research and supposedly it is common for that the transmission pump to fail which causes all the clutches in the automatic transmission to burn out. They supposedly installed the upgraded pump that came out in 2004 or 2005. They were shocked at the cost themselves. They told me the MPV has a Jaguar transmission. Check Consumer reports rating on 2001-2003 Jaguar transmission reliability and you can see the extent of the problem. My advice is talk to your dealer and see if Mazda headquarters will work with you at all. If not, trade it in before the tranny goes completely.

backy · April 2007

I thought the 5-speed in the MPV is a Jatco unit??

jipster · April 2007

The Jatco is in the 2002 and up model MPV's. It is built in Japan. It is also used in Jaguars, Ody's... many others I believe.

bookwormri · April 2007

Well, another one bites the dust. My 2002 MPV, 59,000 miles, tranny blew on the highway a month ago. After many phone calls and one episode of standing in a showroom looking angry until someone answered my questions I ended up paying $700 for the replacement. The transmission company paid for the parts and MAZDA USA and the dealer paid for a portion of the labor.

Although my experience was with MAZDA frustrating - it took two weeks to get a call back, I have to say that in the end MAZDA treated me fairly. They paid for a rental for the the last week my car was in the shop (it was in for 3 weeks total).

jipster · April 2007

bookworm... how did you present your case for the discount?
Did dealership go strictly with the your out of warranty, or the you didn't flush your transmission stuff?

awaxx · April 2007

Louis7, So the coil replacment fixed your problem completly?
I have the what sounds to be the problem as you indicate on my 01 LX. Engine stumbles at 2-3k rpm of of idle, and again at the same rpm band in the final drive gear. I too suspect it is a spark issue or even a MAS that had gone south.
A trans failure was in the back of my mind because she's been getting a little sluggesh in first gear and the engine does not exibit the hesitation in park or neutral. It could be because there is not a load on the engine and the engine can rev up quickly.

davehenry · April 2007

Hi:

I've had to replace five out of the six ignition coils so far on my 2003 MPV LX with 120,000 miles. I thought it was the transmission as well (fortunately not since it was replaced at 62,000 miles). Burning smell could be from the coils or the cat converter. They said mine was bearly functional (replacemrnt cost for cat and manifolds will cost $1,800).

Sincerely,

Dave

havrede · June 2007

Hi folks! Just bought an 04 MPV with 36K miles. Checked out beautifully until I switched the AC off with the van in drive and my foot on the brake. (As at a stop sign) Then, to my horror, the van gently swayed forwards and backwards (not side to side) just like a bowl of jello! The swaying stops or is made unnoticable by turning on the AC. Has anyone experienced this?

Mazda is trying to figure it out---seems like it could be the torque converter to me but I don't see any posts about that. One post suggested that transmission "programing" problems ended in early 04 and I'm fairly certain this van was built later. Any info appreciated. There's nothing like buying your wife a late model vehicle and finding something wrong with it, is there?

jipster · June 2007

Never heard about the "The Jello Effect". I beleive March was when the trans programming problems ended. Our 2004 MPV was built in April and it has been fine.(knock on wood) You can get the build date on the inside drivers side door. The good news is that it's still under warranty... doesn't sound like a trans problem to me though.

I had my trans fluid flushed at 25k miles... currently have about 28k. I'm assuming the dealership checked the level and condition of the fluid?

Hope it's an easy fix for you.

robinl1 · June 2007

I replaced my transmission and water pump on my 2002 Mazda MPV at 58,000 miles. I was driving in rush hour traffic and it just died. Luckily, I pulled into a turn lane to get out of all the traffic. Just 2 months later I took it back in because my car was very shaky. I would sit at lights and it would bounce constantly. When I was driving, it would seem to drop out of gear. I was hoping something in the new $4000 transmission and water pump needed adjusting, but I was wrong. It was the first coil and spark plug - another $478.00. The mechanic even had the nerve to tell me that the other coils will probably go in the next few months. According to them, none of this is related to the transmission problems. Mazda customer service has been no help.

dblchin · June 2007

The mechanic, unfortunately is correct. I had the same problem around 44K. I replaced all three of the coils on one side (two had gone bad). I am not happy with the 2002 design. They have modified it in the later models. My dealership has taken very good care of me and has helped me recover expenses for the cost of the coils and replacing my transmission. I'm considering trading it in for the CX-7 while everything is still running well!

rdl67 · August 2007

In Nov. 2005, 3 months after the warranty expired while taking my son and some friends out to celebrate his b-day, the tranny on my 3 year old mpv with less than 25K miles died. UNBELIEVABLE!!! I was fortunate enough that a kind gentlemen stopped and was able to push my car to the side of a major road on long island, ny. Eventually the car made it to a Mazda service station where my husband accepted to pay $800 to have the tranny replaced. While I do understand that this is a great price we should not have had to pay anything - even though the warranty expired. I had many problems with the car including the ignition coils and the manifold, and other problems which I can not recall right now. After reading all of these posts I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do now - I still do not trust the car and am waiting for the tranny to go, again! Any thoughts? Has anybody started a class action suit?

jsperl · August 2007

I like so many others had a failure of the transmission in my 2002 MPV ES at 70030 miles on 7/28/2007 Of course this happened without warning at 65 mph on an interstate carrying wife and three kids under 8. Coasted to an exit ramp but with construction had no place to pull off. So 45 miles from home I needed to find someone to pick up the kids and get a tow truck in the middle of rural PA. Not being a car genius, I have been told by the dealer that the internal pump went stripping out the gears, this will cost around $2800 to replace. I am waiting for a response from Mazda on helping for this dissappointing failure at only 70000 miles. My inital contact resulted in being told basically your warranty is out, sorry. I took it upon myself today to file a compliant with the National Highway, Transportation and Safety Adm. www.nhtsa.gov. I am hoping that others who had the same problem will take the five minutes to do the same. This could force Mazda into a recall or fix for the problem. It seems to be a defect and a safety issue when the transmission goes out without warning. I to think class action could be had with this issue.

zrx1100 · August 2007

After driving 650 km with my family on vacation, my transmission failed with no warning - although I did notice some hard shifts from 4th to 3rd on a few mountain passes. My van is a 2002 with 64,000 km on the odometer.

Luckily, we had already reached our destination and it happened in my friend's driveway. No reverse, no forward - just the engine spinning and a feeling like the clutch was slipping or I had my hand brake on. I had to have the van towed 250 km to the nearest Mazda dealership.

When I arrived at the Mazda dealership, I described the problem to the service manager who was familiar with the problem as he claims to have replaced five similar transmissions so far. One call to Mazda Canada and a replacement transmission was on the way (three days by ground). They didn't even have to put the van up on the hoist to see what was wrong.

I was fortunate that my van is still under the extended warranty (four months left) so the replacement will be at no charge. What I am trying to get right now is reimbursement for a one-week van rental (to continue our vacation and to get back home) and a flight back to the dealership where the van is parked waiting for me to pick it up.

At least the failure didn't occur during our drive on the remote highway with no cell phone service.

zangara01 · August 2007

:sick: Looks like this is a constant issue with the MPV's. I have my van in the shop after 10 months of dealing with the van doing this constant jerking back and forth on either me driving it or at an idle when i'm at a stop sign.

I was just told by a Mazda dealership that it is a bad coil.

Now i'm kind of worried that the transmission is going to go. I have 1 year left on the warranty and almost 100k on the miles. Which means I'll have to either fork over the money on an extended warranty sooner then i want. But it will be better then paying for a new transmission.

I think Mazda should put out a press release at least addressing the issue of bad coils and transmission issues with there MPV and any other vehicle's that were produce from 02-04 it seems. :shades:

jipster · August 2007

I'd find another dealership if your's couldn't diagnose a bad coil within 10 months. From what I've read it's the first thing they should have looked at.

jimhopf · August 2007

My '02 MPV trans is dying, an Aamco dealer wants to replace to the tune of $4400, one certified dealer can't replicate the problem. My MPV is definitely slipping out of gear at highway speeds when I attempt to pass or climb a hill. Not sure what I'm going to do, the certified dealer recommended a full trans flush. Looks like a definitely need to do something seeing all the troubles in this chain.

jimhopf · August 2007

What ever happened with this? Did you get Mazda to cover more than just the transmission? My '02 trans is on the verge of dying and I only have 42k on it. Thanks.

jlhall · August 2007

I have a 2005 MPV, the first day I had it I could feel some weirdness in the shifting around 35-40 mph.. sort of a knock or slip or combination of the two. I have had this car for two years and the transmission has not failed, and I have felt the knock/slip thing several times (especially before the car is warmed-up) though I suspect it may fail around 50,000 miles- that seems to be a recuring number (also why the warranty covers 5 years or 50,000 miles). I do not believe the problem has been addressed in the 2005's I can't speak for later models.

dblchin · August 2007

Mazda covered the transmission replacement on my car. I had always used the same Mazda dealership and they helped me plead my case. I would contact your local Mazda dealer or Mazda America and see what they can do for you.

dblchin · September 2007

I just took my '02 MPV back to Putnam Mazda in Burlingame, CA due to the 4 and 5 coils going bad. Mazda replaced 1,2 and 3 about a year ago at no charge and now the District Service Manager is replacing 4,5 and 6 at no cost also! I just turned 60K miles! As I said in earlier messages, Mazda replaced my Transmission when it went out with 48K miles and a little over 3 years old. I will probably trade this in for the CX-9 in another year, before anything else goes wrong. But I do applaud Mazda for outstanding customer service!

benjamindlewis · September 2007

I have an '03 LX with 69k on it, and I just flushed the transmission fluid. Now I'm feeling seemingly random jerks, little "kicks" when the van is in reverse, drive, and I thought I felt one in park the other day.

1) Can anyone describe the symptoms of a transmission going south?

2) Do we know if there is an official line from Mazda? Do you think I should start talking to them now even though it still drives?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

dblchin · September 2007

If you had a 2002, I would tell you you coils need to be replaced. The "kicks" or jerking is a sympton. Better let the local Mazda dealer take a look at it ASAP.

dblchin · September 2007

Mazda did replace my transmission

zrx1100 · September 2007

Yes, my transmission did this quite badly before the failure.

I don't know what the "official" line from Mazda is. The service manager at the Mazda dealership that replaced my tranny said that mine was the sixth he replaced for the same problem.

Get yours looked at. Fast.

kinko · October 2007

can you give us a update on yours issues? bad coils or transmission?

benjamindlewis · October 2007

So it turns out I had to replace 3 ignition coils, the 3 that are in the rear of the engine, which requires the shop to remove the manifold on top of the engine (which takes forever).

They replaced all 3 due to the long labor involved in removing the manifold. One had a crack in it.

Since then, the engine has been running well, but I do seem to get a consistent forward-jerk in the mornings when going from 1st-2nd (after things warm up it doesn't do that).

bookwormri · October 2007

Well, now that I have had my transmission replaced, the coils are starting to go, I replaced one already, almost $300. I will talk to the dealer about replacing the rest.

To the person who asked how I got mazda to help, it was the dealer who negotiated with mazda and the transmission maker. I ended up paying $700.

I still do not understand why mazda is making its customers jump through hoops on this issue. Although they paid for most of my transmission, I spent too many hours on the phone arguing for it.

Uggh, next car is a honda.

steinpr · October 2007

I bought a 2002 mpv I brought it in to 2 different dealers 2 times (total 4) after 18,500 miles my transmission needed to be replaced (on a Friday evening) Manhattan Mazda was the closest dealer, they kept the car for 3 weeks, they authorized a free rental car. 2 months later the rental car company billed my credit card $600, I contacted Manhattan Mazda, I was reassured it would be taken care of. It never happened. I contacted Mazda North America; their response was it is up to the dealer to issue a rent a car.
I have the paper work to prove it.
Mazda lost me as customer, as well as 5 friends of mine who on my recommendations did not even look at a Mazda. I will continue to tell my story.

backy · October 2007

I can see why you'd never set foot in Manhattan Mazda again, but why shun the entire brand because of the actions of one dealer? It was up to the dealer to take care of the rental car that they promised you, and they didn't do it. How far up the chain did you take this matter with the dealer? To the owner? To the BBB (the dealer is probably a member of it)? Did you challenge the charge with your credit card company? If you tell them the charge is unjustified, they will take it up with the dealer on your behalf.

I had a totally opposite experience with my local dealer, Walser Mazda in Burnsville, MN. I brought my 2002 MPV in to have the fuel sender replaced. It was covered under extended warranty (not a Mazda warranty) and the service rep told me that the warranty company would pay for the rental car (1 day). When I dropped off the rental car, the service rep said that the warranty company reneged on paying for the rental, because the repair was not supposed to take very long. But he said that since he promised that the rental would be reimbursed, the dealership would pay for it. Needless to say, I will take my MPV there again for service.

steinpr · October 2007

well lets see 11.5 mpg city, 15-17 hwy, air bag replaced, front suspension arms replaced, car died on hwy,
yes i denied the credit charge, but they said i singed to cover if they renege

Mazda North America will tell you if the car is in the shop for a defect they will give you a loaner or a rent a car. then they will change their minds and say it is up to the dealers.
I stand by my statement.

kinko · October 2007

I found that Mazda service departments are very generous with the rental car due to warranty services.
For my last three warranty works done by the dealer, they called the rental car company (Enterprise R.A.C.) and the gas were all that I needed to pay for. As a matter of fact, the agent in the rental car company told me that Mazda is the most generous client comparing to Toyota, Nissan, and Hondo. They would pay for the rental even for a half a day warranty work. The cost of rental actually are paid by Mazda, not the dealer.
I am sorry to hear about you tranny problem. I have a 04 and it has been shifting a bit rough all the time. I need to try another MPV to see if it is the same for all.

steinpr · October 2007

can you imagine if they told you "take a car for 3 weeks we would pay for it" 2 months later enterprise charges your card $600. Mazda says "sorry it up to the dealer".

kinko · October 2007

each time I checked out the rental, enterprise took my card for the $50 deposit. They told me that Mazda were going to pay for it.
Wait a minute steinpr, you have a 2002, was it still under warranty for the tranny replacement? The Mazda EPP includes rental.

steinpr · October 2007

yes it was under warranty, but according to Mazda North America it is up to the dealer to honer it, not Mazda the company. Trust me i spent many hours on the phone, to bring the dealer and Mazda corp to court for $600 is not worth it.
it just sucks to be a mazda owner.
ps the Mazda dealer in Brooklyn did give me a rental for 1 day when they had my car but Manhattan Mazda screwed me and Mazda Corp. did nothing.

kinko · October 2007

If you have the Mazda EPP, the rental cost is not on Mazda, but the underwriter of the EPP, the third party that you paid for the EPP. I guess the dealer as the middleman, still needs to bill EPP company for the rental cost. Mazda pays when it is warranty work of the 4 years/50K miles BTB coverage. Your 2002 is obviously under the EPP domain. If you look under the mazdausa.com on MEPP, Mazda corp has no direct role in it. I guess you should go after the company that underwrite the EPP. Do you have any document on the EPP when you purchase it?

steinpr · October 2007

we have a misunderstanding, this happened when my car was 1.5 years old- 18500 miles. I just found this site.

kinko · October 2007

The rental is paid by Mazda if the work is covered by warranty. why should the dealer care about saving Mazda some money on the rental? I believe the dealer who replaced your tranny messed up.

steinpr · October 2007

or maybe the dealer charged Mazda and then screwed me, either way I'm out $600 and Mazda did nothing!

kinko · October 2007

You milage is too low for sure. That means you get about 200 miles per fill-up. I believe mine has a 19-22 average for the past 4 years. I get 300-340 miles per fill-up and I normally wait till the warning light comes on.

I did find out every Mazda service department are different from each other. I guess the skilled people would rather works for big dealer of big brand. But I found that Mazda is modernizing and expending their existing dealerships in US, instead of adding new dealers.

Can you tell us the story on the front suspension arms replacement?

steinpr · October 2007

Sure, I heard a rattling in the right front wheel, at the same time the airbag light went on, I brought it into Mazda, they replaced the air bag for free (safety warranty) but they would not cover the control arms, thank god i have Geico, they offer the extended warranty ($250 deductible) they also covered new rotors all in all I paid 2 $250 deductible $500 total and Geico covered the other $1800.

kinko · October 2007

When you said that Mazda would not cover the control arms, I guess that they did not called that it was a defect. Otherwise, it should be covered by the BTB warranty. The Geico warranty has to be purchased when the car is less than a one years old (under 15K miles), right? I don't believe other insurance companies have the Mechanical Breakdown Insurance. Meanwhile Geico could have called the rotors as wear and tear item.

steinpr · October 2007

I guess so, but for some reason they said the brake pads are wear and tear, but also I had replaced the rotors 1 month before.

kinko · October 2007

When the control arms were bad, did the front end vibrate besides rattling sound from the suspension? did it rattles on rough or smooth road surface? I don't normal keep the windows down, could you hear the front end rattles when the windows were up?
I'd been trying to identify the cause of a mild front end vibration from the front. If taking the tires or aligment out the the equation, it has to be the suspension such as the control arms, structs...

Mazda MPV Transmission Problems

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