NHTSA Complaint #10286081 — 2001 MAZDA TRIBUTE

ON JULY 9, 2007, I PAID TO HAVE MY TRANSMISSION REBUILT AFTER A TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN OUR 2001 MAZDA TRIBUTE, (ES-V6 4WD), RESULTED IN STRANDING MY WIFE AND YOUNG DAUGHTER ON A BUSY ROADSIDE, 45 MILES FROM HOME, IN SAN LEANDRO. AT THE TIME OF THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE THE CAR HAD 93,782 MILES ON IT. I PURCHASED THE MAZDA NEW IN 2001 FROM THE ALMADEN MAZDA DEALERSHIP IN SAN JOSE. (NOW CAPITOL MAZDA). THE TRANSMISSION REPAIR INVOLVED TOWING THE CAR TO A SHOP AND REBUILDING THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE REBUILD INCLUDED REPLACING THE TORQUE CONVERTER, SOLENOIDS, DIRECT DRUM, SHELL, PISTONS, AND A VALVE BODY UPGRADE AMONG OTHER PARTS. THE REPAIR COST WAS $3085.00 PLUS TOWING CHARGES. THE INCIDENT ALSO RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF USE OF THE CAR FOR 1 WEEK. AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE THE CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, AND I CONSIDERED MYSELF AN UNFORTUNATE VICTIM OF UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES. HOWEVER, SINCE THAT TIME I'VE LEARNED THAT TRANSMISSION FAILURES IN THE 2001 MAZDA TRIBUTE AND THE CD4E AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ARE AN ALL TOO COMMON OCCURRENCE AND THAT MY EXPERIENCE IS NOT RARE AT ALL. IN FACT, REPORTS ON THE INTERNET SUGGEST THAT THE OCCURRENCE OF SIMILAR TRANSMISSION FAILURES AT RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE, BETWEEN 50,000 AND 100,000 MILES, IS ALARMINGLY COMMON IN THE MAZDA TRIBUTE. *TR