NHTSA Complaint #721664 — 1997 MAZDA 626

THIS CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FIVE TIMES FOR THE SAME SYMPTOMS, THE CAR RUNS VERY ROUGH, STALLS, NO ACCELERATION ETC. IN NOVEMBER, 1998 (25,657 MILES), JIM ELLIS MAZDA IN ATLANTA DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS BEING A DEFECTIVE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE. THIS PART WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. AT 63,000 MILES, THE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE GOES BAD AGAIN. HOWEVER, THIS TIME, THE DEALER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AS WELL AS THE "MAZDA" REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT THE REASON THE PART WAS BAD WAS DUE TO ME SPILLING A DRINK ON IT AND THUS BREAKING IT. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE PART HAS AN 80,000 MILE WARRANTY, WHICH BECOMES AND VOID IF THE PART IS DAMAGED THROUGH OWNER NEGLIGENCE. TO MY ASTONISHMENT, THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THAT THE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE IS LOCATED DIRECTLY UNDER THE DRINK HOLDER NEAR THE GEAR SHIFT. THE UNPROTECTED LOCATION OF THIS CRITICAL PART UNDER A DRINK HOLDER IS EXCEEDING HAZARDOUS TO HUMAN LIFE BECAUSE WHEN THE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE BREAKS DOWN, THE CAR DOES NOT RUN. LOCATING THIS CRITICAL ELECTONIC PART UNDER A DRINK HOLDER IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND IN MY OPINION REQUIRES AN INVESTIGATION BY THE NHTSA. IMAGINE IF SOME OF MY GRANDCHILDEN SPILLED A DRINK ON THE INTERSTATE? IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE MAZDA REPRESENTIVES ACKNOWLEDGED TO ME THAT THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW, BUT, IN MY CASE, SINCE I SPILLED A DRINK ON THE CONTROL MODULE, IT INVALIDATED THE WARRANTY. HOWEVER, THEY WERE GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO RELEASE MY CAR TO ME BY ME PAYING 1/2 OF THE REPAIR COSTS AS A GESTURE OF GOODWILL. SINCE A REPRESENTATIVE WITH MAZDA ACKNOLWEDGED THAT THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW, I WOULD HAVE TO ASSUME THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT AND THAT MAZDA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. PLEASE TAKE THIS MATTER SERIOUSLY AND INVESTIGATE THIS COMPLAINT. THE CAR BARELY RUNS WITH A DEFECTIVE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE. WITH THIS PART BEING SO EASILY SUSCEPTIBLE TO "DRINK" DAMAGE, THIS IS A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. *AK