Problems with 2001 Mazda Tribute ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Travelling on major highway at the height of rush hour traffice when vehicle lost all power. could not restart for 10-15 minutes. dealer could not find the problem, so they called in a "special" technician from mazda who claimed the problem was with the pcm or "computer" of the vehicle, this part was replaced. the vehicle stalled again 4 days later. funny how there are so many complaints about the exact same problem yet mazda claims to know nothing about the problem! does someone have to die before they will admit that this problem with the tributes is dangerous and potentially deadly?

I purchased the car on 8/12/01 from brown's mazda in alexandria, va. the car currently has 3000 miles on it and has stalled twice while driving. the car stalls on a decline between 30-40 mph. when the car stalls, the stereo is still on, but the engine goes out and the power steering and power brakes go out, which makes the car hard to drive. to fix this, you have to put the car in neutral and restart the engine (all while you are moving). i contacted the dealer and they are aware of the problem, they have said that the majority of tribute's and ford escape's have this problem and they do not have a fix for the car. originally, they did not even want me to bring the car in because they said there's nothing they can do until mazda comes up with a "fix". i called the mazda usa hotline and they called the dealership and informed them they have to look at the car. the car is now at the dealership (to be picked up today), but when dropping the car off, they informed me again that there is nothing they can do for me and i shouldn't have brought the car in. the dealership would also not comment on if they thought this was a "safety" issue and said that they are waiting to hear back from their "representative". i have had the car for less than two months, does this qualify as a lemon since it is unsafe to drive? am i entitled to my money back (i know the dealer will not give me my money back because they say it is a mazda issue)?*ak

Vehicle stopped & could not accelerate. dash panel lights all came on. i was going slightly downhill & also car would not brake, so had to pull the emergency brake when i managed to pull to the right/side in order to stop vehicle.*ak

This is the second time the car has died on me when i was driving; the first time was on april 20 right after i purchased the car.*ak

Vehicle stalled without warning when accelerating from a stop sign. the next failure occured when traveling at 40 mph accelerating on an entrance ramp. third failure occurred when decelerating to a stop sign. all dash lights come on and steering goes out, however, the vehicle will immediately start after placed in neutral. this vehicle has been to the dealer one time but the service department was unable to duplicate problem. dealer has been notified of the current failure but can offer no solutions. dealer has advised will contact their service rep.*ak

The tribute loss all power coming down a mountain pass, i stopped it on side of road turned off, checked oil, it was ok, so i started it up and drove to the mazda dealer. they put it in for service, when i picked it up they said there was nothing wrong with it. there was no paperwork. this happened coming down a mountain pass which is has several sharp turns. i travel this pass often and feel this is a safty issue that should be addressed. i could have been on a turn when this happened. thank you for your time. judy & bill whitney. *ak

Vehicle stalled 1x going down hill at 40 mph. difficult to steer and brake to stop. *ak

While driving vehicle stalls and i lose power/steering. after safely getting my car to the side of the road i am able to restart the car. the dealer has seen my car twice now and finds nothing wrong with it, and expects me to drive the defective vehicle. this stalling has happened twice now.*ak

Vehicle going uphill, engine stopped, brakes were used to stop vehicle from rolling downhill, engine light, battery light and oil light came on. no components working inside of the car except the windows. car remained stationary for 20 minutes waiting on help and then started after several tries. slight shimmy while driving to the dealer, along with tachometer jumping about on at a steady speed. *ak

Car caught on fire and burned to the point of it being totaled. *ak

Driving at approx 40-45 mph and entire suv shutdown mechanically and eletrically. coasted to stop could not re-start again, until 10-15 minutes later. this is the second occurrence and the same symptom/s. *ak

This vehicle has stalled on numerous ocassions when being driven, this usually occurs when being driven below 35 miles per hour driving down a hill. each time the vehicle has stalled it has caused my husband and i to have no control of the vehicle at all. *ak

This is a second failure, the first occurring on 05/30/01. the engine quit while crossing railroad tracks with two passengers. i coasted almost clear of tracks, stopped the vehicle, put it in park and restarted the engine after two or three attempts. this same type of failure occurred, at the same location, when my wife was driving the vehicle about a little more than a week earlier.*ak

Engine suddenly cuts off, leaving driver with no power steering. remedied by putting car into neutral while still driving and turning ignition on. however, somewhat scary if it happens while cornering. occurs about once a month. *nlm

When driving at highway speeds speedometer goes up and down. when driving and letting up on accelerator pedal, vehicle shifts into lower gear. feels like brakes were applied very hard. vehicle taken to dealer 3 times, cannot find cause of problem. *ak consumer states the cluster gauges are erratic, then the transmission shifts long or slow, on three different occasions, the transmission shifted from over drive to first, when letting up on the gas pedal it felt like the brakes were applied very hard, dealer stated the transmission was replaced. vehicle has been worked on for water intrusion, carpet had to be replaced, dealer removed and resealed the windshield and repaired the rust in the windshield frame, rust also formed on the mounting brackets under the dash due to water leak, dealer removed and refit the left front fender to gain access to water leakage through the missed body seam and wiring harness. dealer replaced the fuse box to repair the radio and cluster gauges. turn signals are inoperable. consumer states the only repair completed was the replacement of the carpet. *slc

The coolant indicator lamp illuminated, the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they found that the coolant sensor was defective, the consumer later found out that the vehicles coolant sensor had aleady been replaced dec 2000 prior to purchase, this information was never disclosed to the consumer. nlm

Steering shut down, car die out at 45mph and car stalled. *ak

Vehicle has stalled four times, mazda north america contacted by my atty after the third incident. we have received no response. car stalls when coasting down hill going 20 to 30 miles per hour. according to last work order from dealership on 1/28/02: program p.c.m. as per tech line. *ak

Vehicle has stalled 5 times, always around 30-40 mph. taken to dealer 4 times, replaced ignition switch once. cannot remedy.*ak

While driving steering locked up with little prior warning. consumer pulled over and waited which allowed steering to comeback. on april 26, 2001 began having problems starting up. dealer has had vehicle for about a week, and has not been able to provide remedy. *ak

While driving and making a left hand turn vehicle suddenly died, no prior warning. there was not steering or braking. consumer had to stop vehicle with emergency brake. vehicle was stuck in traffic. consumer had vehicle towed to dealer ,and dealer replaced electrical relay system. however, problem reoccurred on july 3, 2001 while traveling at 45 mph on a decline vehicle died, and emergency brake would not stop vehicle. eventually emergency brake kicked in and stopped vehicle. consumer stated that when trying to start again, there were no transmission lights, and would not go into gear. consumer had vehicle towed to dealer, and they could not duplicate problem. please provide any further information.*ak

Air bag light stays on. when taken to dealer, dealer replaced air bag module three times already. also, replaced the wire harness . problem still occurs*ak.

Vehicle feels sluggish while accelerating, transmission is not catching when the gears should change, dealer can not remedy problem and has offered consumer the option to return the vehicle and accept the rollover amount. *slc

Vehicle stalled out and died without warning, causing loss of steering and brakes. dealer has inspected vehicle, and was not able to duplicate or correct the problem.*ak

Vehicle dies while driving. this occurred 3 times; mazda agreed to repurchase vehicle after 4th inspection, and they cannot locate the problem. therefore, they can't fix it. this is a serious safety hazard. my neighbor told me this week that this exact same stalling problem has happened to her two times. i feel this is more than a coincidence and that there is a severe stalling problem and a recall has yet to be done by mazda. *ak

While driving at about 50 mph and coming to a fork in the road, as soon as consumer merged to right steering wheel got very stiff. then, whole dash lit up. consumer put on brakes/ put in park, and went to a mazda dealer. dealer could not find anything. at another day while driving at 60 mph consumer was bearing over, steering wheel got tight again, and vehicle cut off.*ak