NHTSA Complaint #10222060 — 2001 MAZDA 626

I HAVE A 2001 MAZDA 626 AUTO TRANS WITH 80,000 MILES ON IT. FOR THE MOST PART MY COMMUTES WOULD BE AN AVERAGE 10 MILES EACH WAY DAILY. LAST SIX MONTHS THE COMMUTE WAS ABOUT 25 MILES EACH WAY WITH A COMBINATION OF HIGHWAY AND CITY DRIVING. ON THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE INCIDENT, THE CAR SEEMED TO JERK INTO THE HIGHER GEARS - THAT WAS THE FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE. ON THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT, IT STARTED UP FINE BUT WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD WHEN GEARS ARE ENGAGED IN "DRIVE" MODE. IT WOULD MOVE A LITTLE IN THE FIRST GEAR IF I PRESSED DOWN THE ACCELERATOR BUT NEVER SHIFTED INTO THE HIGHER GEAR. I DID NOT WANT TO BURN OUT MY ENGINE - SO I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE REPAIR SHOP. THE MECHANIC CHECKED IT OUT AND SAID THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO REBUILD MY TRANSMISSION OR REPLACE IT WITH A REMANUFACTURED PIECE. HE ALSO STATED THAT IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO GET A GOOD WORKING TRANSMISSION FROM ANOTHER CAR AS THIS TRANSMISSION (LA4A-EL BY MAZDA OR ITS EQUIVALENT CD4E BY FORD) HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO HAVE PROBLEMS. SO NOW I AM LOOKING AT A HIGH REPAIR BILL AND SINCE THIS IS A ONE CAR FAMILY, AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF HAVING TO ARRANGE ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION. THIS IS THE THIRD MAZDA (929, MX6 AND NOW 626) IN THE FAMILY. NEVER HAD ISSUES WITH THE PREVIOUS CARS. *TR