Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Mazda MPV owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I have a lemon 2002 Mazda MPV. We have taken the van in for several attempts to fix the transmission problem, only to be told that there was no indication that the transmission was going bad. I also experienced the nasty rotton egg smell in my van only to assume it was the area I was in (sewer). On April 1, 2004 I was driving on a highway with my three children in the van when my van stopped working. I pulled over onto the snowy highway to try to restart the car but failed. After sitting on the highway for 2 hours, waiting for a tow, I came to find out that the transmission went bad in my van. They replaced my transmission over a period of 8 days. The very next day after receiving my van back, it would not start in the mornings and began to backfire and stall. I took the van in the night before the service day only to be with out it for another week. I just got my van back on April 23. …
Driving along with my 2 1/2 year old daughter on the freeway in very fast and very busy traffic conditions the van suddenly and without warning lost all power transfer to the wheels. The red lines raced up into the red, but the van would not be propelled any further by engine power. I had to coast nearly a mile or more on shoulder less rush hour highway, all the while transitioned lanes to the first exit I could access, then as momentum decreased I had to step out of the car into extremely heavy traffic and push a further 30 yards to the first turn-off, drivers door open, baby screaming with 55 mile an hour traffic screeching and swerving around me and the blind corner I was hidden behind. The van has 54,000 miles on it and is well looked after May I add. Now Mazda says "not their problem" but look at all the other people on here with the exact same story! …
I was driving our 2002 Mazda MPV, with only 59000 miles on it. We purchased the vehicle new in 2002. In this incident, I suddenly found that while driving at about 38 MPH, I tried to accelerate (to 40 MPH), and the vehicle decelerated instead. I repeatedly tried this, and the vehicle kept slowing instead of accelerating. We turned the car off, changed drivers in the shoulder, and repeated the same problem. There were no warning lights, just worsening of the problem, with extreme slowing. We managed to get the van to a service station. We were just informed that the transmission needs to be replaced. Something apparently snapped in the transmission, with no warning. The car will go in reverse, but will not go forward. We were headed for the highway that day, and are fortunate this happened where it did, not on a highway, but on a smaller road right near a service station. …
My 2002 MPV suffered a complete transmission failure at about 75K miles, stalling out in morning traffic and needing to be pushed from the road. The transmission occasionally kicked when shifting since the car was new. I called Mazda, which refused to pay anything toward the repair, saying it had relinquished liability for a vehicle several years past warranty. Despite what I see in NHTSA's complaint log and elsewhere on the net, Mazda told me that it does not agree that the transmission on the 2002 MPV is unusually prone to failure. In the past seven months, this MPV has needed several other expensive engine repairs, some of which also repeatedly show up on the NHTSA complaint log: 3 ignition coils, a pcv hose, an idle control valve, and an oxygen sensor. This is quite a string of expensive failures for a car less than 7 years old. …
O/d light flashing and harsh shift. My family and I was planning to take a trip to williamsburg va, and when I start the van, I discovered the o/d (over drive) light is flashing and harsh shifts. I took the van to amoco and ask to check my transmission. The service tech told me everything is normal, however we noticed your gears are not shifting smoothly. They could get any code of what causing. I left their shop and stopped by cottman transmission. They also scanned and couldn't get any code; they also test drive the van and also noticed same thing that amoco has told me. The tech has asked me to take to the dealer and give this bulletin # 05-001/04 (harsh shifts - reflash PCM). I dropped the car to the dealer over night and mention what have happened and also mentioned the bulletin number. I have received a call the following morning from the dealer service department. …
The transmission on my 2002 Mazda MPV failed with just 53,000 miles on it. I had noticed some problems shifting on hills and freeways. The repair man called it "flash shifting" when I took it in to be checked out. Dealer diagnosed the problem and performed a "reflash" of the transmission control module. 3 days later, the car lost the upper gears. Lost the others the next day. I had it towed to another repair shop as every time I take the car to the dealer, I'm back 2 months later with a more expensive repair. The transmission has now been pulled out 4 times in 6 weeks to be rebuilt, replace solenoids, etc. I have heard that many other Mazda MPV owners have had to replace transmissions on vehicles with even lower mileage than mine. I believe that this car is dangerous. I'm afraid to drive it with my 3 young sons. …
While driving on the freeway, the transmission began to not transfer power when automatically shifting out of overdrive when the accelerator was pressed. After getting off the freeway and coming through a busy intersection, the transmission failed completely (zero power transfer) nearly causing an accident in the intersection as the vehicle coasted to a stop. The "check engine light" did not illuminate until after the transmission had completely failed. The vehicle had only 57K miles on the odometer and all service had been done by the dealer up to that point. The vehicle was brought to the Mazda dealer and diagnosed as total transmission failure. The fault code was p0752, shift solenoid circuit stuck on. Despite the vehicle being past the 3 year/50K mile warranty period, Mazda offered to replace the transmission with a factory rebuilt unit. …
My husband and I own a 2002 Mazda MPV lx. Last week on Saturday, October 31, 2009, the transmission failed while my husband was driving on the walt whitman bridge coming to philadelphia. Although our van is 7 years old, it only has a little over 40,000 miles on it and we keep it in great condition. After having it towed to 2 different mechanics, it is now costing us between $2400-$2600 to have the transmission rebuilt. The Mazda dealer where we purchased the van told us it would cost $4,189.00 to rebuild the transmission. We are not in a financial position to purchase a new or used vehicle, so we are borrowing the money to pay for this costly problem. After reading hundreds of complaints regarding transmission failure (I'm sure there are a lot more) without warning on the 2002 Mazda MPV, especially at low mileage, I believe a recall of this vehicle is in order. …
Tl contact owns a 2002 Mazda MPV. As soon as the warranty expired, the contact experienced failures with her vehicle. The dealer stated that the vehicle had major engine failure. Since the summer of 2007, the entire vehicle vibrates when driving 40-50 MPH and stalls when approaching a stop. The vehicle is able to be restarted. The dealer stated that cylinder three was misfiring and informed the contact that newer models have been upgraded. When the vehicle stalled, the check engine light illuminated, but there was no brake or steering failure. The contact also smelled rotten eggs in the passenger compartment. The transmission was repaired and the catalytic converter was replaced, in addition to other small failures. The vehicle began rusting within the first year of being purchased. …
I own a 2002 Mazda MPV. It has about 94,000 miles on it. Recently while driving the car, I was trying to increase speed but the car would not go faster, instead the car began to redline and decrease in speed. When I applied pressure to the gas pedal the car was running but did not move. I had to pull over on the shoulder of the highway, luckily I was in the slow lane otherwise I May have caused a severe accident. There was no indication the car had any problems, no warning light or system failure light at all. The car was towed to a local shop and I was told the transmission was shot. Cost to repair $2,600. After researching this problem I found that there seems to have been a recall Mazda of Japan for 81,000 vehicles. Also it is the number one problem cited for Mazda MPV vans some with far less mileage than mine. …
Transmission complaints in other MPV years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2002 Mazda MPV?
NHTSA has 66 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2002 Mazda MPV, 53% of the model year's 124 complaints. The component named most often is automatic transmission (53 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Mazda MPV transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 2002 Mazda MPV, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2002 Mazda MPV transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 67,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.