Some friends of ours recently bought a 2002 Mazda MPV used from our local Mazda Dealer. A couple months after their warranty ran out the transmission died. They were very fortunate as the dealership covered the cost and replaced the transmission for them anyways to save face (Gotta love a dealership that does that).

We have some other friends who recently ditched their 2002 Mazda Tribute - same problem, Transmission failed (for the second time). They replaced the vehicle with a Toyota Tundra.

My question is, does mazda have a history of bad transmissions in the MPV & tribute? Both vehicles were 2002, is this just a coincidence?

I ask as my wife and I have had our 2008 5 for nearly a year now, and so far so good, no problems at all, but it is my understanding that it has the same transmission as the Mazda 3 (I may be wrong?) If this is the case, are my odds of not having a problem improved? (We also have the 5spd manual - and from what I understand, manual transmissions tend to live a longer life than Auto's at least if driven properly)