There was a recall on the rack and pinion? Was the for all 2002 Tribs? I never heard of this. I paid for mine when it bad.

 

17300 on 2001 Tribute. I'm building a new car, one part at a time.

 

175000 and building a new Tribute one part at a time.

 

Final update... 225K miles and the end is near... I've actually had to spend some decent money over the last couple of months on repairs... had to replace my front catalytic converter and my main catalytic converter, blown out EGR valve, couple of o2 sensors and a vacuum line... within the past few weeks my passenger side rear wheel well rotted away along with the shock mount... not going to fix it and no way will it pass inspection as is... hope my next vehicle treats me as well as my tribute has...

 

Great Thread and gives me some hope that I can squeeze more life out of my 05 Tribute s awd w/105K miles.

I purchased new and have paid $7,327 for everything - with approx. $2k coming in the last year. I have been hunting for other owners and their experiences.

replaced battery (twice)
two recalls (wheel sensor & cruise control)
Brakes (twice)
Spark Plugs, Sway Bar, Stabilizer? @ 75K
Minor electrical issues with headlamp
Exhaust Repair @ 80K
Wheel sensor @ 84k
Right Axle @ 89K
Tie Rod & Ball Joint @ 95K
Rear Hatch Glass failed on the worst possible day (I was moving) that was a design flaw as it corrodes @ 98K
100K Service incl. coolant flush
Brake Rotors / Rear Caliper @ 102K
Alternator @ 103K
Tires (twice)
Trans fluid, rear diff fluid and exhaust repair @ 104k

Currently - the vehicle has a rough idle when in drive and stopped. Less so / minimal when parked. I'm worried that it won't pass inspection next month but bought some Techron fuel additive to hopefully 'clean' the engine pistons or whatever it does as a $15 hail mary fix for that issue.

The rear glass latch doesn't lock

I notice rust is starting to creep into the rear wheel wells mainly - not as bad as some photos I have seen online.

I would like to get more out of the car and some posts gave me hope but I probably wouldn't put another $1k into the car either.

Torn on Mazda in the future as I liked the idea of assembled in the USA which the Tribute was in 2005. I do like the look of the CX-5 however and reviews appear pretty good. Just amazes me how the prices have gone up as the Tribute was way less than $25k (I don't recall my exact purchase price) but it seems the CX-5 are going well over $25K up to the $30-32k range.

 

I started having most of my problems after 50k miles. My 2002 4x4 required full brake service about every 25k miles including new rotors though, even when brakes were babied. It was explained that the heavy SUV body on a car chassis and the rotors were such that they couldn't be rotated. Expensive "maintenance."

 

Update on my rough idle - it turned out it was the motor mounts. Tribute still hanging in there.

 

Standard wear and maintenance...
Regular oil changes, tires(rotation and balance), break pads, etc.
300,000 today!

 

I have a 2004 Tribute 3.0 engine with 162000 miles on it. Besides the usual maintenance, I have not had to do anything to it. But Now I'm having an issue with the gas mileage fluctuating. I used to get 19 MPG. Now It changes every tank full. On one tank full I will get 19 MPG, then the next I will get 15 MPG, then 13 MPG, Then 10 MPG, then 15 MPG, Then 19 MPG, and so on.

Does anyone know what can cause this?

 

just bought a used 2006 Tribute, 2.3 4 cyl.
140k miles...
it's in good shape considered the mileage...