Problems with 2001 Mazda Tribute ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

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?

Total system failure engine died and all systems shut down. loss of power steering and brakes on onramp. loss of control was very scary on the ramp. luckily not on the interstate at the time. *ak *additional information: consumer states the vehicle stalled again during normal operation on november 2, 2001 while traveling approximately 35 to 40 mph. (entered 11-dec-2001)

While driving at 55 mph, vehicle will suddenly die, it happens right in middle of traffic or on highway, in one situation there was only 2 ways to go, and that was into a ditch or be hit by oncoming traffic, luckily another driver saw consumer coming and cleared the way.*ak consumer stated vehicle can not be restartd.*slc

Vehicle has stalled twice unexpectedly while traveling at 35 and 60 mph. dealership has not examined the vehicle to determine a cause for this problem. please provide any additional information / attachments.*ak

Vehicle would wander while driving at any speed, a loud squealing sound would come from steering wheel or column when making a turn, on cold mornings, there is an exhaust leak noticed from the underside center, continental tires size #16, dot #a3084531901, wearing on the inside edges. dealer notified. *ak dealer replaced the steering rack, however steering continues to be loose. *yd

Vehicle was parked and without prior warning oil was leaking from underneath the vehicle. the dealership is aware of the problem.*ak

While traveling at any speed vehicle would stall without any indication.*ak *slc

Engine stalled after going down a hill at 35-40 mph. no engine warning light came on. was able to restart without further problems.*ak

3.0l engine, at 45mph vehicle stalled without warning, dealer has inspected vehicle and could not duplicate or correct the problem. *ak the vehicle would not start but after it was started, it would hesitate while driving (2694 miles). *nlm

The engine stalled while the truck was being driven on a flat, dry road at about 40 mph. when that happened, the power steering and the power brakes stopped working, so the truck was very hard to steer and to stop. the driver pulled over and then was able to start the engine again. this has only happened once to us but this is still very serious. we think this should be considered a safety hazard for this truck. *ak

I was driving approximately 40 miles per hour when the engine stalled, losing power steering, brakes, and clutch. could not restart, so the dealership picked me up. dealership stated the clip on the clutch had broken. this problem has only happened that one time, however on several other occasions the vehicle's idling has gone crazy and jumped and the vehicle acted as if it were going to cut off. this lasted several minutes and subsided. i was four months pregnant when this occurred and was almost hit by several vehicles because i had not been able to get the vehicle completely off the road. i am now driving around with a six week old child. i bought this vehicle because i thought it would be a "safe" vehicle for my son. i would like to know that it is!*ak

Our engine just shuts off when you least expect it as you are driving down the road. this results in a loss of brakes and steering. the only way to regain control is to put it in neutral and try to get it started again. per your customer complaint database and other web sites i have researched, there are a lot of tributes and escapes doing this. this is a serious safety problem! how many times does this have to be reported before something is done? mazda continues to make excuses for months now, telling owners, like myself, that they can't duplicate the problem and they can't fix it. they often refuse to give customers copies of repair paperwork when they pick up their vehicle. does someone have to get killed before this is resolved? my husband almost crashed last week going downhill when this happened the last time. do something to help tribute and escape owners!*ak

Vehicle stalled, lost all power and almost caused an accident. contacted dealer. cannot duplicate problem.*ak consumer stated the dealer replaced an egr valve and boost sensor, however the vehicle continues to stall, also the check engine light illuminated.*jb

While traveling between 30 and 40 mph engine stalled, causing a loss of power assisted components. dealership was in possession of vehicle for two weeks, and could not reproduce problem. *ak *jb

I were driving down a hill when my car engine dies while driving on the highway, the (radio dies, a.c., engine, and steering wheel tighens. this is the second mazda tribute i owned in a year with the same problem that the company can't fix. the other s are not as major. i feel this is a( lemon and a recall) if the company can't the problem. safety play a big part in this case when the engine dies for no reason. this is a highway safety issue. *ak

Vehicle will stall when coming to a complete stop while traveling at 5 mph. contacted dealer, and the dealer was not willing to do anything.*ak consumer stated the dealer is unable to find the cause, vehicle stalls in the same spot virtually each time.*slc

While traveling on a down grade at 35 to 40 mph engine will stall intermittently. dealership has examined vehicle prior to last incident, and replaced eec relay which failed to correct the problem. *ak *et

Consumer states while driving without warning the engine light came on and the vehicle stalled resulting in loss of power steering and brakes manufacturer has been notified about problem however found no solution. nlm dealer replaced pcm and relay. however problem still exist. dealer will contact service manager to advise consumer of a recall for the windshield wipers that disengages when in use. *tt

Vehicle will just die at 55 mph. this is very dangerous because steering/electrical system and brakes go out.*ak consumer states that the vehicle can not be restarted after it stalls. *jb

Engine has stalled three times when driving between 35 and 40 mph, and going downhill on 25-jun-2001, 01-oct-2001, and 30-jan-2002. dealership has examined vehice and replaced air intake manifold which failed to remedy the problem. reference investigation: pe 01-043. please provide any additional information / documentation.*ak

I had the tribute to the dealership twice for a so called fix, but i feel the engine shutting off while driving will happen again. the reason i feel this way is, because when it was in the second time for a fix they did the same thing as the first time.*ak

I purchased a 2001 tribute on sunday 6/17/01with 420 miles on it. two days later tuesday 6/19/01 the engine completly locked up on me twice in the same day. it now has only 562 miles on it. luckily both times i was able to avoid a wreck. the engine totally shuts down, meaning no steering, no braking. i was able to stop by using the emergancy brake after stoppping i had to put the car into park in which it then restarted. this all came if no warning at all. i immmediately took the car back. the dealership said they had not had any problems like this before or any others. i now see they must of been mistaken, because it seems to me that this is not the first time!! i will take as much of this info. with me back to the dealership and hope for the best.*ak

While driving through a big puddle of water, water was too high and it went into vehicle's air filter and caused hydro locking to engine, causing engine to die. consumer feels like a sports utility vehicle should be able to go through water with out stalling out. there's a recall on ford explorer's engine for fan being too low to the ground. consumer's vehicle engine was made by ford and should be recalled also. consumer has contacted the dealer. please provide any further information. *ak

While driving at any speed vehicle could just shut down. consumer loses all power, like power steering and abs, and few other items in vehicle.*ak dealer diagnosed for electrical problem, but could not duplicate customer concern. *tt

Vehicle stalls intermittently around 40 mph. vehicle has been taken to dealer 3 times, cannot find cause.*jb

While driving an applying the brakes vehicle will stall. problem is intermittent.*ak

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

Vehicle stalled at 30 mph, this happened once. vehicle at dealer's at this time. *ak

While driving the steering wheel locked up and engine shuts off. the dealer was notified. *ak this problem occurred intermittently and the dealer has not been able to correct the problem. *scc *nlm

While traveling and without any indication vehicle would stall. dealer has been contacted.*ak *jb

At 30-50 mph traveling down hill engine stalled twice. consumer lost complete control of the steering which made it difficult to pull over to the side of the road. the engine and oil light was illuminated. dealer was not contacted at the time of this call.ph *tt

Intermittently vehicle will stall while driving 35-40 mph. vehicle has been into dealer for repaires on 4 occasions, and the problem is reoccurring. *ak *yh

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

There is a leakage from center area of exhaust pipe. dealer was notified, and problem is reoccurring. feel free to provide any further information concerning this matter.*ak

Whenever vehicle has been started can smell fumes inside vehicle. had not taken vehicle to dealership.*ak

Vehicle has stalled three times, after first time taken to dealer who repaired it. vehicle at dealer. *ak *slc

Engine shuts down while in rush hour traffic - same location, same speed - has happened 20+ times. car has been taken to the dealership and i have called several times. dealership does not know how to correct problem. i have almost been involved in a rear-end collision 3 times because of this problem. there are other mazda tributes in my area having the same problem according to the dealership.

My 2001 mazda tribute stalls suddenly while driving. this has occurred 4 times since i purchased the vehicle in november 2000. my tribute is currently at the dealer for the third time for this "stalling" problem. i was contacted by an individual with the mazda north american technical headquarters april 12. the mazda representative asked a battery of questions pertaining to the vehicle stalling. fortunatley, no one has been injured at this time due to this problem which seems to have no resolution.*ak

Gasoline smell is coming from vents. after starting fumes smell is pumped into vehicle. it doesn't happen unless temperture reaches 60 degrees. dealership states that engine manifold could be the problem. *ak

When coasting down hill at 30-40 mph and slightly appling brakes, engine dies, and the vehicle becomes inoperable. this problem has occurred 10 times, and the vehicle has been in the dealer's shop twice with the problem. the first time, the dealer had not heard of, nor could fix the problem. several months later, the dealer had heard of the problem, but still had no fix. mazda was contacted, knew of the problem, but had not released the fix. i contacted mazda, and was told that both mazda and ford engineers were working on the solution, and the dealers would be notified of the fix when available. if the solution is not resolved, i will persue a buy back under the lemon law. this vehicle is driven by our sixteen year old son who carries his younger sister also to school. we are greatly concerned for their safety. *ak

Consistantly vehicle would begin to stall. dealer has had vehicle on numerous occasions, but has not been able to provide remedy.*ak

While operating vehicle engine has stalled three times. dealership has examined vehicle, and could not determine a reason for problem. please provide any additional information/attachments - sign & return this form.*ak

The vehicle shuts down without warning while driving down hill leaving the driver with no brakes or steering. nlm

While driving, vehicle will stall, the steering and brakes lock and consumer has not control, dealer has made repairs to the ignition switch and tapped new relay, however stalling still occurs. *slc

Vehicle stalled 3 times around 30 mph. consumer was able to return vehicle under lemon law.*ak

Fuel smell inside and outside of vehicle from leaking manifold gaskets know of many others that have same problem. *ak

While driving 30 to 40 mph downhill vehicle stalls without warning. also, vehicle loses all power. vehicle usually starts back up again. this happens like once a month. please add vin #. *ak

When the car engine is driven for more than 10 min and then shut off, when you restart the engine you get a strong fuel vapor from the vents in the car. also when the car is colling down like in the garage you get a strong fuel vapor from the passenger side of the engine. i brought the car back to the dealer for service and they said there is no fuel leaks and that it must be a new engine burn off smell. i have spoke to at least 12 people on edmunds .com who have the same problem with no solution. i hope you can help because i feel this could be dangerous. *ak

Vehicle will automatically shut off while the consumer is driving, there is no warning signs regarding that problem. contacted dealer who was not willing to do anything.*ak the dealer informed consumer that mazda knows of the problem, they just dont know what is causing the problem. this defect creates a potentially dangerous situation because the vehicle loses power steering, it must be stopped completely and shifted into park before it can be restarted. *jg

Vehicle will die at high speeds. vehicle was towed to dealer, and it remained at dealer. please provide any further information. *ak