2014 Mazda 6, got it in 2013 when they came out. 37K miles. First 2 months I had it, mysterious engine light and "check engine" that required trips to the service department. Flash forward to yesterday, thankfully only a 100 yards from arriving home from work, the AT failure comes on...followed by weird noises, then the car with the skid marks light comes on...then the triangle with !, then check engine light....then SCBS needs service light...that's 5 lights total in less than 1 minute.


I call service, and they tell me oops, you have 37,000 miles- and the bumper to bumper is 36,000 miles. I reminded them that a transmission issue would actually be power train warranty, I believe the SCBS is too, so ??? They said have your AAA tow it. I said that's really not the answer I was looking for and called the roadside assistance. Best to probably just do that from the start.


Roadside assistance didn't even ask what lights were going off, they said you have 5 lights, we're sending a tow truck. They came right away and towed to the service department. I was relieved that things seemed to be turning around.


A few hours later, the service crew was able to get my car in rather than wait until Monday. They were apparently as intrigued as me why so many lights were going off. The AT was straight forward. The automatic transmission failed. They needed to replace the parts and ordered them, to be delivered next week. Then the fun part: The mystery of the other lights. They said they couldn't figure out why they were going off. Two "Old"codes were coming up in the analysis. They said it might be a defective ground on a wire in the bumper. Seemed to me it was part of the SCBS issue but they said no, this is not something that would be covered. Again with the 37,000 miles and me missing my warranty by 1,000. They said to take the bumper off and clean the wires would be $200, my dime. That "may " fix it. The lights had turned off while there at the service area, so "maybe" the part that was shorting had moved back into place and Maybe it would not be an issue again. Maybe. I asked if it was a little odd that so many things went wrong exactly at the same time. What are the odds?? They were stumped, but they did want me to replace my cabin and exterior filters while I was there. Thanks, but I will order those direct. At this point my frustration is turning to wondering if I need to keep this car. After all, about 20K more K miles and then no power train warranty. What next? I have visions of tom hanks in the money pit, but now with me and my car.


This leads me to asking if anyone else has had similar issues. I love my car, but I bought it new because I didn't want to deal with electrical issues or parts wearing out in the first few years. Is that too much to expect? I have had other cars, one that I kept to 130k miles and it never had an issue, and it had nav and all the electronic gadgets of the day. Maybe since I have one of the early models (it was the 2014 purchased in January 2013...) that has more bugs that the ones coming off the lines now? I would think that these days they could plug it in and find out exactly what is wrong but it seems to still be not an exact science.

 

I have a 2006 Mazda 6 automatic and tranny blew before yours did.
My advice. 37,000 miles is too long without a tranny flush and new fluid! Do not be fooled by lifetime fluids.
The stock tranny cooloing is done by bottom of rad. Today's coolant temps are regulated by a 195 degree thermostat (approx). That isn't cooling your tranny fluid.
READ: Transmission Fluid Flush Tips | Trucks Plus (don't be turned away from it being from a truck website, as an automatic tranny is an automatic tranny!)
ASAP get an external separate tranny cooler and it will work better. In the future, every 25,000 - 30,000 miles flush and fill your tranny.
READ: Flush it or Forget it | MotorWeek
and Transmission Talk | MotorWeek

Also add more grounds, i did. Put a ground wire from negative terminal to the following: tranny, engine block, throttle body and another to body ground (especially if you have extra tech features, amp).

 

"2014 Mazda 6, got it in 2013 when they came out. 37K miles. First 2 months I had it, mysterious engine light and "check engine" that required trips to the service department. Flash forward to yesterday, thankfully only a 100 yards from arriving home from work, the AT failure comes on...followed by weird noises, then the car with the skid marks light comes on...then the triangle with !, then check engine light....then SCBS needs service light...that's 5 lights total in less than 1 minute."


I'm the original owner of a 05 Mazda 6 with 278K on it, original engine and tranny. Main difference is I have a manual. I replaced the clutch once at about 170K and of course spent $ on other issues but my point is the car was worth keeping because I had no expensive failures, in other words 'it's not a lemon.' I will not sink money into a lemon. I consider engine rebuilds or failed tranny's lemon territory when it occurs at such low mileage. I think the warning light issues are related to the failed tranny and will probably disappear when your warranty work is completed but if not.....?