I have an 06 Tribute, FWD. It has been in the shop for 4 weeks, this time around. Mazda (not the dealership) is refusing to repair it under warranty. The dealership has to get permission from Mazda Tech Line before any repairs can be made.

The car has around 7900+ miles on it. I bought it as a new vehicle in Jan. 07.The transmission was replaced in June of this year. 2500 miles later, the transmission went out again, but in a different way than the first time. Something to do with the cv axle and a bushing/bearing that's either in the c v axle or the transmission that went bad and caused the transmission to fail. The said bearing is more like a really wide wedding band. Mazda is saying that those parts don't wear out and there must have been some abuse to the vehicle. I'm sorry, but I don't abuse my vehicle. The GM, the owner and the technicians at the dealership put the car on the rack and looked under it and told me that it still looks brand new. They even told Mazda that there was no signs of abuse to my car and Mazda is still refusing to repair the car. I am at my wit's end and have already filed a complaint with the BBB. I guess an attorney (lemon law) is my next course of action.

Have any of you had this problem with Mazda and if so, how did you rectify it?

Thanks for your help and ideas.

 

I haven't ever heard of multiple trannies failing on the same vehicle before, especially within 2500 miles of each other....A CV going bad shouldn't damage the transmission, worst case the CV should break causing loss of power to that wheel.

Lemon laws are different in each state, in Michigan, you have to take the vehicle back 4 times for the same concern without resolution of the issue. I'd look online for a lawyer that specializes in Lemon Law and try to see what your options are there. Not sure if lemon laws apply to used vehicles.

Did you get a history report for that vehicle prior to purchase? Was it from a Gulf Coast state? I hate to say it but there are literally thousands of flooded cars on the market that got cleaned up and sold. These vehicles will have water inside of everything that should be lubricated, and while they may run for awhile, they will have massive failures of anything bearing related (CV's, transmissions, differentials, engines, etc.)

 

I worked for Mazda for over 17 years. Proper channels will get it fixed under warranty. The dealer is not who decides whether it is covered under warranty. Call the regional office of Mazda and discuss it with them. Setup an appointment with the area rep at the local dealer. I have seen Mazda warranty transmissions well over 100k miles. You may just be dealing with a jerk. Stay calm and discuss it with them. It looks like the dealer is on your side so thats half the battle. The lemon law is a last resort. If you succeed you will still lose as they do not refund 100% of the money you have in it. If your trans is going out that frequently i would suspect a PCM problem or sensor causing it. I know it is hard to stay calm under this situation but it will get you results.

 

I doubt you will have luck with the Lemon law, bacause as sstlaure already said, you need to take the car back several times for the same problem. However, you may have a claim for breach of contract and breach of warranty. It never hurts to get an attorney involved when you have ploughed as far as you can with the dealership. If you think you can push harder, then do it. If not, get an attorney, or bite the bullet and have a unaffiliated mechanic fix it.

They cant decline warranty service based on an assumption that the car was abused. If there is no evidence of this, they must service it. There is just as strong of a presumtion that the part failed due to manufacturers defect as there is a presumption for abuse, so everytime they throw that your way, you throw the manufacturers defect back at them.

This is not normal for these cars, but that does not help your situation much. Its unfortunate, they are really fantastic little SUVs...too bad your having such a poor experience.
Sorry, and good luck.
-a

 

Ok, I'm going to address some of your concerns.

1. I'm in Tennesee. I bought my Tribute as a new car in Jan. of this year
2. The Tennessee Lemon law states in the shop 3 times for the same repair or over 30 days cumulative for the same repair. It has been in 4 weeks this time and 13 days the last time.
3. From what I understand, the transmission is connected to the driver's side axle somehow. I'll have to ask my husband about that again.
4. The dealership is not who is giving me problems. It's Mazda Corporation that is telling the dealership not to fix it under warranty.
5. It was the Service Manager at the dealership that accused of abuse to the vehicle. I don't know if Mazda Corp told him to say that or if he came up with that on his own
6. I verbally used the manufacturer's defect defensewhen speaking with the General Manager.

Now my question.

Could it be something totally different than the transmission, but is being overlooked by the service department???

Whatever was the cause, it left my 18 year old son stranded on the interstate. It went out while he was driving it. He had to call Mazda Roadside Assistance to have it towed back to the dealership. The car left transmission fluid all over the interstate. My son said that when he was waiting for Roadside Assistance that the car wouldn't hold in Park. When it went out this time the symptoms were totally different than the first time. *SIGH* I hate car problems.

 

Are you sure you're getting the whole story from your son?

I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but when I was a kid, my brother (16 at the time, I was 12)...asked me if I wanted to see something cool....He proceeded to pull over, put the family van in neutral, rev it up and drop it into gear. What he was trying to do was a burnout, what he did was grenade the transmission........just something to think about.

The transmission is connected to both front axle shafts through CV (Constant Velocity) joints. If one of the joints fails, you begin to get a clicking sound, then it is possible that they actually break apart. Very rarely would you have anything occur to the tranny due to a CV failure.

What is the dealer'sproof of abuse?

 

I can tell you this, my son is not a hot rodder. I know that for a fact. He would get in so much trouble and I trust him enough to know that he's not lying to me. I have asked him already about it a lot of times. He was alone when all this happened. He was raised to respect personal property.

When the car started having problems it would sound like I was driving over rumble strips on the interstate even though there weren't any there. Does that make sense?

I don't know what their proof of abuse is now since all the people at the dealership have actually looked at it and said there is no signs of abuse. I need to get that documented. They are saying something about uneven tire wear. What does that have to do with anything? Mazda Corp is saying that from pictures that have been sent to them. The dealership is saying no tire wear.

I called Mazda Customer Assistance and she said she couldn't give me a contact number for a district rep.

 

I'll do a little calling around tomorrow at work and see if I can find you a district contact

 

Thank you so much.

We are going to the dealership when my husband gets home because the dealership is going to send the front tires to Texas. Something about tire wear. Well, I think whoever is in Texas should come here and look at them. We're going to take pictures and ask a lot more questions. Hopefully, we can get some statements in writing.

I've never been so stressed in my life.