MAZDA 626 · model year

2002 MAZDA 626

99 NHTSA complaints, 7 crash reports for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2002MAZDA626 carries 99 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 7 crashes, 0 fires, 6 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2002 626 is power train:automatic transmission with 56 filings, followed by power train (10) and electrical system (3). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 21 investigation files overlapping the 2002 626, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

99
Complaints
7
Crashes
0
Fires
6
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

99 filings

Crashes Reported

7 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION56
POWER TRAIN10
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM3
SUSPENSION:FRONT:WHEEL BEARING2
SEAT BELTS2
SUSPENSION:FRONT2
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL2
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING2
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER1
TIRES:TREAD/BELT1
STEERING:COLUMN1
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY1
POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT:SEAL1
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS1

Recent Complaints

20200202CrashPOWER TRAIN

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 A LOUD "CLUNKING" NOISE. I WAS ABLE TO LIMP THE CAR 3 MILES TO MY HOME. I WAS INVOLVED IN A REAR END ACCIDENT AT THE NEXT TRAFFIC LIGHT. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN 1ST GEAR AND HAVING THE BRAKES APPLIED THE TRANSMISSION CAUGHT IN GEAR AND LUNGED FORWARD CAUSING ME TO CONTACT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. BOTH MYSELF AND THE OCCUPANT OF THE VEHICLE I HIT SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES AND WELL AS PROPERTY DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF MY VEHICLE AND THE BACK OF THEIRS.

Mileage: 85,000

20170607ENGINE

THE TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE NOW. EVEN AFTER WE GET IT FIXED IT STILLS JERKS AND SOUNDS LIKE THE ENGINE IS GOING TO FALL OUT. IT HAS A TERRIBLE TIME SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND AND SOMETIMES WHEN YOU PUT IT IN REVERSE IT JUMPS AND SOUNDS LIKE IT IS GOING TO FALL OUT. MY DAD IS 94 YEARS OLD AND NEEDS THIS CAR TO WORK. HE DOESN'T NEED TO GO OUT AND BUY ANOTHER ONE OR SPEND ANOTHER $1800 OR SO TO GET THIS ONE FIXED. I HAVE READ A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS CAR AND THE TRANSMISSION AND I FEEL MAZDA NEEDS TO MAKE IT RIGHT.

20161202POWER TRAIN

TAMARA RECALL

20160917CrashPOWER TRAIN

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.

Mileage: 214,000

20160828POWER TRAIN

TRANSMISSION JERKS-HARD KICKING FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISION/DEFECTIVE TRANSMISION ON THIS MODEL NO MATTER WHAT I DO TO TRY TO FIX THE PROBLEM.(FLUID FILTER SPEED SENSOR ETC)STILL HAS THE SAME PROBLEM...THIS PROBLEM IS WELL KNOWN ON ALL THE MAZDA VEHICLES WITH THIS TYPE OF TRANSMISSION

20151219ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

THE CAR STARTED TO NOT WANT TO CRANK IT WOULD CRANK SOMETIMES THEN ONE DAY WE WENT TO THE STORE THEN WHEN WE WENT TO LEAVE THE STORE IT FINALLY JUST STOPPED TRYING TO CRANK ONLY MAKING A CLICKING SOUND AND WHILE TRYING TO CRANK IT THE STEERING COLUMN STARTED SMOKING AND ALMOST CAUGHT ON FIRE I BELIEVE IT IS THE IGNITION SWITCH

Mileage: 100,000

20151219UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THE CAR STARTED TO NOT WANT TO CRANK IT WOULD CRANK SOMETIMES THEN ONE DAY WE WENT TO THE STORE THEN WHEN WE WENT TO LEAVE THE STORE IT FINALLY JUST STOPPED TRYING TO CRANK ONLY MAKING A CLICKING SOUND AND WHILE TRYING TO CRANK IT THE STEERING COLUMN STARTED SMOKING AND ALMOST CAUGHT ON FIRE I BELIEVE IT IS THE IGNITION SWITCH

Mileage: 100,000

20141027POWER TRAIN

TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE ON HIGHWAY. TRANSMISSION FAILED AT APPROXIMATELY 45,000 MILES. REPAIR ENDED UP COSTING APPROXIMATELY $3,000 FOR A REBUILT TRANSMISSION. I HAD OWNED THE CAR FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS AT TIME OF TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND HAD PUT LESS THAN 10,000 MILES ON IT PERSONALLY. CAR WAS PURCHASED USED BUT IN GOOD CONDITION. *TR

Mileage: 45,000

20140716POWER TRAIN

MY CAR WILL MOVE FINE UNTIL IT WARMS UP BUT THEN SLIPS OUT OF ALL GEARS AND WONT MOVE UNTIL THE NEXT DAY. *TR

Mileage: 129,000

20130527POWER TRAIN

TRANSMISSION MAKING POPPING NOISES AND LAGGING WHEN MAKING TURNS SOUNDS HORRIBLE TOOK TO A MECHANIC HE SAYS HE CAN FIX IT FOR 1700.00 THE TRANSMISSION IS BAD. AT A LITTLE OVER A 100 THOUSAND MILES IT SHOULDN'T NEED REPLACED. FORD SHOULD HAVE TO FIX IT. *TR

Mileage: 110,000

20121203POWER TRAIN

ON ACCELERATION FROM BEING STOPPED THE TRANSMISSION WOULD MAKE A SERIES OF POPPING SOUNDS. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC AND IT WAS DIAGNOSED TO BE A STRETCHED DRIVE CHAIN IN THE TRANSMISSION. INSTANCES OF HIGH TORQUE WOULD CAUSE THE CHAIN TO SKIP PAST TEETH, CAUSING THE POPPING NOISE. DUE TO THE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT IF PROBLEMS THAT PLAGUE THE CD4E TRANSMISSION THE ENTIRE UNIT WAS REPLACED. *TR

Mileage: 148,000

20121104POWER TRAIN

HAD TRANSMISSION REPLACED IN 2010 AFTER HARD SHIFTING AND SKIPPING GEARS, SAME PROBLEM AGAIN STARTED IN SEPTEMBER 2012. SHOULD NOT BE REPLACING A TRANSMISSION EVERY TWO YEARS. *TR

Mileage: 120,000

20120308ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

SMOKE CAME FROM AROUND THE STEERING COLUMN. *TR

20101013POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTED WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. WHILE TRYING TO MAINTAIN SPEED TO EXIT THE FREEWAY, THE ENGINE STARTED TO OVERHEAT. AS SOON AS I WAS ABLE TO PULL INTO THE LOCAL GAS STATION PARKING SPOT, THE ENGINE DIED. THE TRANSMISSION APPEARS TO NEED A REBUILD. *TR

Mileage: 167,000

20101004POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

2002 MAZDA 626 TRANSMISSION BROKE ON ME AT 107,000 ODO . *TR

Mileage: 107,000

20100925POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *TR

20100828POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

AUTO TRANSMISSION HAS CONSTANT PROBLEMS WITH LEAKING AND SHIFTING. TONS OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE OF PROBLEMS WITH THESE CARS. WHY CANT SOMETHING BE DONE ABOUT THIS LIKE A RECALL? *TR

Mileage: 125,000

20100217POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

FAILURE OF TRANSMISSION, 2002 MAZDA 626, TWICE IN LAST 6 MONTHS. CAR LURCHES, STALLS, WILL NOT SHIFT INTO GEARS, HAVE BEEN STUCK ON BUSY FREEWAY. ALSO FUEL PUMP JUST CUTS OFF AND CAR WILL NOT START. *TR

20100217FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

FAILURE OF TRANSMISSION, 2002 MAZDA 626, TWICE IN LAST 6 MONTHS. CAR LURCHES, STALLS, WILL NOT SHIFT INTO GEARS, HAVE BEEN STUCK ON BUSY FREEWAY. ALSO FUEL PUMP JUST CUTS OFF AND CAR WILL NOT START. *TR

20100117POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

TRANSMISSION FAILURE, 2002 MAZDA 626 4CYL. TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING AND SHIFTING HARD BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GEARS. 97,000 MILES BUT HAD REGULAR "HARSH CONDITIONS" MAINTENANCE AS IT WAS BEING OPERATED IN THE AZ DESERT HEAT. TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILT BUT NOW SHIFTS HARD 1ST TO 2ND IN ADDITION TO 2ND AND 3RD DESPITE BEING SENT BACK. THERE ARE WIDESPREAD FAILURES OF 626 TRANSMISSIONS BUT MAZDA WAS NEVER FORCED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO ISSUE A RECALL. THE TRANSMISSION IS TOO SMALL FOR THE WEIGHT OF THE VEHICLE PER SOME REPORTS. $2,500 FOR REBUILT TRANSMISSION. I'VE NEVER HAD A AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION GO OUT THIS SOON AND I HAVE BEEN DRIVING FOR 35 YEARS. *TR

Mileage: 97,000

Compare 2002MAZDA626 to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2002 MAZDA 626 have?
The 2002 MAZDA 626 has 99 NHTSA complaints, 7 crashes, 0 fires, 6 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2002 MAZDA 626?
The most-complained component for the 2002 MAZDA 626 is POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION with 56 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include POWER TRAIN and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Is the 2002 MAZDA 626 safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.