I have a 2002 Protege. A little background on it - the trans went after only 30,000 miles and was replaced under warranty. Second trans recently went at 90,000. No longer under warranty so Mazda didn't want anything to do with it. I took it to an independent trans guy who turned out to be horrible (doesn't return phone calls, can't give me a price for anything up front, can't get anything done in the time promised). All that aside, he rebuilt the trans and when I picked it up the first time there wasa vacuum hose loose which caused the car to almost stall out when I drove it away. This is the exact time my O/D Off light started flashing. Shortly after, the check engine light came one. Took the car right back to him. He has since had my car on 4 different occasions. Each time he has tried something different. He replaced the solenoid and just recently took it back in to re-replace the torque converter. He cannot figure out what the problem is. He test drives it every time and it's fine for him but after I get it home it usually only takes an hour or so for the lights to come back on again. Also, I have noticed that now the car shifts out of park VERY hard so that it almost jumps. This happens mostly when I'm shifting into reverse. I have read a number of forums and see a lot about sensors, so my next step is to suggest that to him. I would love to just take it to someone else because this guy is just not working out for me. Unfortunately I spent over $2000 for him to fix my problem and I have a warranty on this new trans. So any new work done by him will be covered under the warranty. I can't afford to take it to someone else where I'll have to pay for god knows what else. Any help would be appreciated (I've been having issues since he started my car 3 months ago!)

 

it just sounds to me like you are going to the wrong tranny guy. there are a lot of them out there that will just "tape things together" so to speak. they do this to be able to get you out of warranty so that they don't have to pay for the work again. i have a friend that has a tranny shop and he said that almost half of his business comes from other shops just making things work for a little while.

 

Take it to another shop and pay them to diagnose the problem. Then go back to this guy and tell him what you expect repaired, and ask him to give you the used parts afterwards. If he gives youa hardtime, get a lawyer.

Bottom line, from what you are saying, you've either got a shifter alignment problem or another junk tranny. How much do you want spend on a 5-6 year old car. You see these on dealer lots with alot less mileage for $6000-$7000USD. Might want to see what your options are.

 

Do you recommend the well known trans shops such as Aamco or Cottman? I took it to this guy thinking I would be better off and not get screwed out of a bunch of money but it seems I made the wrong choice. I want to make sure I go to someone with a decent reputation.

 

Unfortunately, good tranny shops are like body shops. They are only as good as the technicians they hire. The Cottman shop in my area sucks, but I've heard good things about some of their other shops. I would start at the dealer. I know they are going to be more expensive, but they should be able to trouble shoot it better and have technician access to the MAZDA tech support. Alot of guys do not want to toucha Ford (yeah yours is probably made by Ford)Tranny because it is almost impossible to rebuild them right.

 

+1

the clutch plates in your tranny have to be perfectly flat and sealed on a Fazda tranny. most people will get them delivered to their shop bent and install them anyways and the fliud never seals up right. i would go to the "old man down the road" or equivelant in your area. i have a guy that i always recommend in my area and about half of his business is just fixing everyone elses mess ups

 

Haha, this guy was the old man down the road. That's why I went to him. I guess I'll have to cough up more money and hope for the best. Thanks.