Problems with 2002 Mazda MPV POWER TRAIN

Dt*: the contact stated while accelerating or decelerating, the transmission has shifted hard since purchase. the dealership has performed multiple software upgrades, but the problem remained. the transmission downshifted while traveling up a hill at 75 mph, and the rpm's revved above the red line. the vehicle was pulled over and towed to the dealership who determined the transmission failed and replaced the transmission.

Transmission failure: if you read other complaints about the mpv you will see many problems w/ shifting in the transmission. i had the same problems and was told the same story by the dealer; that the software needed upgrade, change the trans-fluid. at 55,000 miles my transmission died while i was going 75 mph on a freeway. i was nearly hit by a semi trying to pull my car off the road. i was 5,000 miles and 3 months past the warranty of the vehicle. mazda did negotiate w/ me to replace the transmission at a reduced cost because i had repair history with a mazda dealer. the cost went from 3,500 dollars (i did receive 3 quotes from different companies) to 600 dollars. like many of you i purchased this vehicle because of the consumer report ratings. i am very disappointed in this vehicle and no longer trust it. by the way i have not had the rotten egg problem that i have read in many past complaints.

(1) 2002 mazda mpv required two transmission repairs under warranty: one module, then a second module installed as part of recall, then third module mistakenly installed when a burned-out coil was the actual problem. (2) at 68,490 miles and age of 41 months, with warranty expired, transmission failed dec. 13, 2005. diagnosis was failed seals. (3) lee myles transmissions installed rebuilt transmission with updated parts designed to fix weaknesses in original transmission at cost of $4632.10. *nm

The vehicle began to have a hard time shifting gears. the rough shifting began very intermittently at about 45,000 miles. at 51,000 the shifting was so hard that the tires actually screeched when the van shifted gears. problem caused by defective solenoids. 2 of the 8 solenoids plus the torque converter had to be replaced to fix the transmission. dealership would not cover the cost of the repair since we did not get the van to the service department prior the 50,000 mile mark. the torque was available as 'rebuilt". *nm

While waiting at an intersection vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. however, consumer was able to apply the brakes and vehicle stopped completely. mechanic inspected the vehicle and determined that transmission control module needed to be upgraded. however, the problem recurred. *ak

Shifting was "clunky" since we bought the car in march of 2002. had dealer look at problem in oct 2004 and they "reflashed" (rewrote the computer code) on the tcm: transmission control module. this seemed to help for a day, then the abrupt shifting returned. on nov 10, 2004, the transmission failed completely, unable to go into gear at all. i was traveling at 55 mph on a highway, it shifted out of gear, and would not go back in. i was left without power to the wheels in the middle of the road. dealership replacing transmission under waarranty. *jb

I have a lemon 2002 mazda mpv. we have taken the van in for several attempts to fix the transmission problem, only to be told that there was no indication that the transmission was going bad. i also experienced the nasty rotton egg smell in my van only to assume it was the area i was in (sewer). on april 1, 2004 i was driving on a highway with my three children in the van when my van stopped working. i pulled over onto the snowy highway to try to restart the car but failed. after sitting on the highway for 2 hours, waiting for a tow, i came to find out that the transmission went bad in my van. they replaced my transmission over a period of 8 days. the very next day after receiving my van back, it would not start in the mornings and began to backfire and stall. i took the van in the night before the service day only to be with out it for another week. i just got my van back on april 23. it still does not start in the mornings or after it sits for several hours!!!! so if you are experiencing the bucking, kicking, hesitation shifting gears.....your transmission may fail!!!!! i have found out that my car is a lemon under ohio's state laws. i am getting my money back!!! we picked mazda for their known reliability and satisfaction. i sure hope mazda will make this right with us. good luck to all of you

I bought a mazda 2002 mpv lx used with 9k miles on it. it has a transmission problem similar to those i have reviewed on your site, intermittent hard shifting between first and second in the automatic transmission. took it to the dealer and they found a code reference an electrical adjustment. supossedly fixed, not! took it back and was told the 2002 mpv has hard shifting. so does my old police baton! i am taking it back and talking to the owner to get the trans fixed or replaced. if they will not do that then i will go to 3 reputable transmission repair stores and get it in writing and file a consumer fraud complaint with the state of fl. can you look into this being that there are more than one transmission complaint listed and all are similar and we get brushed off?

Automatic transmission "bucks" or otherwise shifts violently into the next gear (any gear, pick one). my mpv currently has 26,000 on it. we have been experiencing this problem for over a year, but haven't had the time to take it in. finally took it in to the dealer. service manager stated (with a straight face) to me that the brakes (calipers) were creating "drag" and the violent shift would occur when reaching the threshold of power to go into the next gear. he recommended that we have the brake pads replaced and the rotors "turned" (for $250). we did not have the work done, but picked up the car. the shifting was a lot better when we picked up the car. that lasted about a week. now it is starting that jolting again. we took the car to big o for oil change, tire rotation and specifically asked them to check the brakes. rotors and calipers are fine and the brake pads only have 25% wear on them. now, i am blonde, but it seems to me that if the brakes were creating "drag" there would be a much higher percentage of wear on the pads, or there would be something indicating that the calipers were malfunctioning, especially after 26,000 miles. in fact, the big o manager thought my husband was a little daft in asking about brakes having any such affect on gear shifting. *jb

Extremely rough upshift and downshift which the dealer says there is no fix for. i have taken it in three times in the past year to two different dealers to correct the transmission and it is still not fixed. absolutely ridiculous. *la

I have had trouble with the mazda mpv transmission of my car since i purchased it in september of 2002. the transmission has intermittent rough shifts/jolts. the dealer has tried to make adjustments and also changed the transmission fluid at 20,000 miles (which i was charged for), but the problem continues. this is the worst-feeling automatic transmission i have ever felt, so i purchased an extended warranty because i do not believe that the transmission will last to 100,000 miles.*ak

Gear shift detent at drive is too easy to miss when shifting from park - lever skips drive and goes into higher (less powerful) gear. when at rest and pulling into traffic, there is insufficient power to accelerate as expected, so oncoming traffic gets dangerously close before you realize the gear shift is not in drive. need warning that car is not in lowest gear when shifting from park or reverse. *nlm

This is about a potential safety hazard and a couple of near accidents. i love everything about my new mpv except for the incredibly poorly designed steering column mounted shifter. it is unnecessarily long and interferes with access to and view of the climate and audio controls. i have knocked it out of gear more than once (including once when i was driving down the steep downhill grade of the i-5 grapevine) reaching to turn on or off the radio, and i hopped a shoulder once on the freeway when trying to look around it to find the a/c button. my husband also knocked the shifter into neutral when reaching to turn the radio on. the problem is the brace on my right wrist, which i wear when driving due to a recently broken/severely sprained wrist . *jb i asked the dealer's service manager if they could replace, shorten or bend the handle and he refused. (my husband would even try to bend the handle, but we're concerned about damaging the shifter and/or voiding the warranty) i have serious concerns about the potential for accidents posed by this poorly thought out lever (the only bad design on this wonderful van). i hope that you can convince mazda to correct it.

When shifting the indicator will intermittantly not show what gear vehicle is in. overdrive light will begin to blink. vehicle has been at dealer for a total of 9 days for testing. problem is not remedied. nlm

The transmission "bucks" when shifting out of first gear. this happens mainly after accelerating, letting your foot off the gas, and then re-accelerating. the car has been in several times for the same issue, and it continures to occur. the dealership does not consider this a warranty issue, though we have had the same problem with the car since we the 2nd week we owned the vehicle. it should be noted that there have been a number of transmission "updates" that the vehicle has gone through as part of service. in addition there is a sulfur smell emitted by the exhaust system. we were told to change to "good gas" which we did and we continue to have the smell. we were then told that mazda would not look at this problem again until the vehicle had 10k miles on.