1998 Mazda 626: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 499 complaints
499
Total Complaints
88,368mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
15
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

72,500 25th Percentile
88,368 Median Mileage
110,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
278
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
42
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
14
POWER TRAIN
13
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
12
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
11
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
10
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
9
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
8

Severity Assessment

15
Crashes
6
Fires
18
Injuries
10
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER EXPERIENCED ENGINE FAILURES PRIOR TO RECALL NOTICE."
"WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION WENT. THE VEHICLE IS AT DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. *AK"
"FRONT AXLE PULLS OUT OF THE TRANSMISSION AND THE STEERING WHEEL WOBBLES. COULD LOSE CONTROL IF DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS ON HIGHWAYS, ALSO, WHEN MAKING A TURN, CANNOT DRIVE. THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT PROBLEM WILL OCCUR WHEN MAKING A TURN. THE DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THEY WILL..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28