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You have to remember that you are going to hear more from the few people that have problems than the thousands of people that have no problems. That's true with any car.
Personally, I've put 38,000 on my 99 LX-V6 automatic and haven't had a single issue. Oil changes is all its had. In my opinion, its the top car in its category. I tried all the others and the 626 is what I liked best.
However, it really depends on what you're looking for. I found the Camry to be a softer ride. To me, that's bad (I prefer the better handling of a stiffer suspension). But, to somebody else, softer may be preferable. I also felt the 626 was quicker. I know the horsepower numbers don't support that statement, but there's more to it than hp numbers.
The biggest difference is price. The 626 is less expensive. And I don't believe that's due to build quality, but rather popularity. The Camry is in higher demand and, therefore, commands a higher price, new or used.
By the by, I just happen to be selling mine.
Like I said, its a great car for its category. I want to change to something smaller and sportier.
Good luck with your decision.
'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
Even if you load that car up on Edmunds (which only shows automatic, A/C, and tape player as options), it comes back with a $3550 trade-in price. And, having an idea that Edmunds is generous on the trade-ins, the seller would probably be looking at around $3K as a trade-in. so, selling it for $3800 on the side doesn't seem all that cheap. Seems to me like that's a fair price for both of you (if its in good shape and everything is mechanically ok, as you suggest).
If it doesn't have the auto, then its even overpriced.
'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
I imagine I have a gasket problem, but what will happen if oil entered the spark plug holes?
It's obviously not running on all cylinders. How bad did I flub up?
P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0301 Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
P0302 Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected
P0303 Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected
P0305 Cylinder 5 Misfire Detected
P0306 Cylinder 6 Misfire Detected
Getting a small amount of oil into a cylinder is irrelevant. Getting foreign material on a plug tip, having a plug gap closed up, cracking the porcelain insulation on a plug during installation (happens regularly), or crossing 2 plug wires will result in a misfire. In any event, a scan tool is required to access/erase the stored diagnostic trouble codes and turn off the CEL. And it'd be a good idea to have the oil leaks repaired while you're at it.
I have a 1994 Mazda 626, Auto, V4, 93,500 miles.
I bought this car from a used-car dealer in Jan 2000 (76000 miles). Till last month, it gave me no problems. I used to get oil-changed every 3000 miles. Since last month, the CEL/MIL flashes on and off. It usually happens when I accelerate.
I took it to a mechanic friend and he recommended some Operations Switch replacement. But when he opened the engine hood, he saw a lot of black-oil sludge deposits. He told me that the previous owner of this vehicle must be pretty irregular with oil-changes. And its a better idea to replace the engine or sell the car. He told me that there is no way he can remove the deposits from the entire engine. And since engine sometimes cannot suck the oil, the CEL/MIL light flashes on for 4-5 seconds.
So I thought of selling my car before the condition worsens. But it was more practical to get it checked from another auto-center and get the problem diagnosed.
So Today I took it to the GoodYear Auto-Center.
They told me that they cannot get the error-code since the CIL/MIL light has to stay-on to pull-up the code. But my car's MIL stays on for 4-5 sec and vanishes. So they advised me to come back when the light stays-on for a longer time so that the computer can store the error code.
I am confused. I don't know what to do !!! I don't want to wait till the condition worsens.
Also I have read in this site that 1994 models have transmission problems creeping up.
Please advise.
Thanks
Harry.
Personally, if I had held out for the 626 ES-V6 with the manual tranny, I wouldn't even be concerned about resale because I wouldn't be selling that car.
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
I had described my problem in #512.
I just went to the dealer and he pulled-up the code. It was code - 181. He tells me that its the air-flow meter which has gone bad.
He gave me an estimate of 394 $ which includes 250 $ part and 144 $ labor (2hours * 75$/hr).
Is it possible that I can get the air-flow meter from outside and get it installed by a local mechanic. In any case, I have seen in this site that 1994 Mazda 626 was the worst vehicle. So I have become paranoid and want to sell this car after fixing the problem. So thats why I don't want to waste any more money on this vehicle.
Please advise me about the Air-Flow meter.
Where will I get the best bargain and how much labor rate should I pay for it ???
Final question: Does this problem need immediate attention...or can I delay it for a few weeks ??
Thanks,
Harry
How about that?
The tranny on my '93 was just fine when I traded it in just shy of 90k.
The Seriously Reworked CD4Es are still mostly too young to have six digits on the odo.
So do not worry your self about the Transmission. I do not think it's the Transmission. Transmission go down because the evil in them wants to act. That Mr. Phily's 1994 Mazda 626's Transmission went down does not mean that yours is going to go down too.
Think about me that has 167,000 miles in mine and still cruzing. OK. As for me, i will cruse my car till the wheels fall off.
But Nomore Mazda for me. Am done with them. Reason is not cause they suck. They are great cars and we've had quite a number of them in my family but the problem is the parts are very costly to buy. Am going to ge myself a BMW once i graduate.
Later for now.
Today I am going to clean the MAF sensor myself because CEL is flashing on/off. Lets see if I can save 400 $. I found a wonderful link on ProbeTalk.com regarding cleaning the MAF sensor.
http://www.geocities.com/adamk01452/MAF2.html
Thanks windowphobe6 for referencing me to this site. I will keep you guys updated.
Regards,
Harry
I do like the idea, though, of Evil Incarnate somehow possessing transmissions. It would certainly explain some of the diagnostic difficulties, and as anyone who saw The Exorcist will remember, fluids are vital.
I can see you now on that podium with your Edmunds statuette in your hand as you shout to all of us: "You like me. You really really like me..." And we do.
Anyway, it's my face and I'll blush if I want to.
On my old Toyota, when the dash started to rattle, I could usually fix the problem by turning panel screws until I hit the right one. Present-day dashboards are mostly bereft of visible fasteners, but there's a screw or two hiding somewhere, and a slight turn might make a substantial difference in the noise levels.
By the way, the vehicle has 85,000 miles on it and is doing pretty well. Timing belt, distributor, cooling water pump, A/C compressor and lots of brake work have been done. Also put in a Mazda OEM CD deck.
I know that 2002 model year will find me with a new 626, but this is my 3rd Mazda with a manual tarns, and I am really nervous about an automatic. I have never owned a car with an auto tarns. Knee surgery is "encouraging" me to go that way, but after reading some of these messages.... any thoughts on the ewer 626 auto tarns?
What usually causes CV joints to fail is cracking and splitting of the rubber boots; this is a common occurrence, but hardly an inevitable one, and rebuilt axles are cheap.
Any feedback on the automatic transmission for the 2001?
The CEL was coming on/off so I took it to the dealer..pulled up a code of 181. and the dealer told me that MAF sensor needs to be changed.
so I took my car to a nearby Auto Service center and got the MAF sensor changed. It cost me around 225 $. But even now the MAF sensor is coming up sometimes although less often.
FYI, I have a 1994 Mazda 626 LX V4,auto, 93000 miles
Do u guys think that 02 Sensors have gone bad as well. Please advise.
Thanks
Harry
I'll keep the Yokos in mind.
I'm a novice and aside from a basic automotives course in college, don't know much. Please excuse my ignorance. Thank you.
I figure I'll have to replace them after the summer, but I've got 38,000 on mine. I've loved them. I may even get another set. When I can take a relatively sharp onramp at 50 and barely get a squeak out of my tires (while my passengers are making more noise than that), I'm fairly impressed. Do I impress too easily?
'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 for the info. on my last post. I had another question. My 626 is approaching 175,000 miles and the last time I replaced the timing belt was at 112,000. My question was: Should I replace the water pump along with the timing belt this time becoz the last time I changed the water pump was less than 2 yrs. ago (whenI last changed the timing belt) ?
So it just seems like a waste of money to do it again so soon. Also would anyone happen to know how much I should pay for a used passenger side door for a 1993 626 ? Thanks again,
jaabs,
P.S. Love this car.
I think we've pretty much exhausted the list of Potential Fourth-Generation 626 Issues; there must be dozens of such posts in this thread alone. The '93 predates all the Ford-transmission stuff, which might be a useful thing to know.
I had that 93 LX checked up by mechanics and they told me that "brake rotator" ??needs to be changed and it would cost $200. According to them , the thin brake rotator would cause the car shaking when braked at the stop sign, Actually , I did notice some shaking when the car stopped at the traffic light, is it caused by that or others ?Another thing is the transmission fluid is dirty but not smelled burnt. Is it OK or should I just do something with it?
By the way, is it kind of suspicious for a 8-year old car with less than 76K(bought from a used car dealer two years back by the current owner, no previous service record except the current owner's and he doesn't even know if the timing belt was changed or not)?Does anybody know how to tell if there is a rollback? I need the information to decide if I should by the car. Thanks!
He probably also never thought about tranny fluid either, which is why it's kind of grey and nasty-looking. Not necessarily a problem, but not a good sign either.
A warped brake rotor would cause some shaking on the way to becoming stopped, but its effect once you're already stopped is quite a bit less. The '93 LX I used to have would quiver a bit under those conditions, which I attribute to less-than-ideal NVH techniques and the laws of physics; the V6 is simply smoother than the four, at some particular RPM things will resonate, and any irregularities in the idle are likely to be excruciatingly obvious.
If you buy this thing, prepare to peel off about $550 right away - for the timing belt that wasn't done, the warped rotor and a transmission flush. If, after adding in that $550, it's still in your price range, buy with a happy heart.
In addition the steering wheel tilts left. Is that normal? I am going to have it checked by mechanics tomorrow morning. Could you give some suggestion on the problems I should be pay attention to? Thanks. This would be my first car and I just read some posts here and learned a lot from you. Thanks a lot.
By "tilt", do you mean that it's not exactly centered or that it's not perpendicular to the steering column?