I've come to these forums before to get advice on certain things and normally, find the answers I'm looking for without asking; but, this one I couldn't find.

A few months ago I noticed a problem when I shifted into Drive, that I needed a little "finesse" to make the light turn on the drive symbol. I thought nothing of it at first; but, it got progressively worse to the point where the light never turned on anymore. It alarmed me because it sets off both the check engine ant AT lights, so I took it to my mechanic.

My mechanic found the problem to be my shift cable; however, none of his suppliers had it in stock and his trans. place couldn't find one either, so he proceeded to hit up the dealers. The problem is that, after calling three different dealers in the Philly area, they all told him that the part was no longer produced by Mazda. This baffled both of us, as my 6 is only a 2004 model. My mechanic actually asked his supplier for a shift cable for a 1982 car and they actually had it! I went on the internet and, after striking out on rock auto, mosied on over to Ebay, where I found a fabricator in Washington state who had it.

just curious if anyone, whether they work for Mazda or not, would have any insight on why they would halt production on a part like that for a relatively young model.

 

That is not good news. Mazda is a bit in a tough situation. Ford sold its stake in Mazda to save their own corporate life. Mazda is on its own. it seems ever since there has been a decline in quality (rust) and now you hit on a parts supply issue (service). All that is of course just opinion based on casual observation.

Your 6 is very closely related to the Ford Fusion. Ask the mechanic if he could compare the shift cable of your 6 with any of fusion. Hopefully he can make it work.

Next, go to junk yards. http://www.car-part.com/