My dealer informed me yesterday that my 2014 Mazda6 with 123,600 miles and a whining noise, needs a new transmission. Total cost $5,400. Mazda issued a TSB in 2015 acknowledging a manufacturing defect in certain transmissions, including mine (identified by VIN#), and that they should be replaced under manufacturer’s warranty, which is 5 years and 60,000 miles. I am way over on mileage but all I do is hours and hours of easy highway miles in an area with almost no traffic.
Mazda is offering a three way split of the cost (Mazda, the dealer, and me) so I am on the hook for $1,800. Part of me is grateful since I am so far over the warranty on mileage. But there is an illogical part of me that feels like they should do more, since they KNOW they put a defective unit in my car. Should I stop crying and take my medicine? Or should I press Mazda further for compensation? I don’t want to be a jerk so I am willing to take the consensus here as my guidance.
That’s a tough call. The smart thing for Mazda to do is to replace the transmission, because they know those units were bad and they should stand 100% behind their work so that you buy another Mazda when it’s time to replace it instead of exploring other options.
On the other hand, they did stand behind their work in the form of the warranty, which you were aware of when you bought the car. You were happy at that point to plunk down money on a car that was only guaranteed not to break for 60,000 miles. You’ve gone more than double that, and Mazda is still only charging you 1/3 of the job despite having no legal obligation to discount you even one penny.
Were I in this situation, I think I would take them up on their offer, replace the transmission, then drive the car until the wheels fell off, at which point I’d shop for a new car and exclude Mazda from the candidates list. In today’s world any car that experiences a transmission failure at less than 150,000 miles (assuming of course proper maintenance) is pretty inexcusable, and I wouldn’t want to take the risk that I’d end up having to spend another 2 grand if Mazda screwed up the transmission again.
Update - My share of the bill will be $1,500. Mazda re-manufactures transmissions in Chesterfield, VA at a Mazda facility. They supposedly use the newest components in a recycled transmission shell. They have 10 transmission orders ahead of me and are currently working on the first seven. Estimated wait time is currently over two weeks. Then another week or so for tear-down and installation on my car. At least they are giving me a loaner until the repair is complete.
Sounds to me like Mazda is making a good effort to ease your economic pain and provide transportation. The $1500 seems reasonable, actually quite generous. How do you feel about it?
well, “new” in dealer talk means a different trans? is a 30k mile warranty replacement trans the same as a 125k replacement trans that a customer might pay for out of pocket?
Sorry to dig up an old topic, but I wanted to share. I also have a 2014 Mazda 6 that had the defective transmission, but It happened to me around 67,000 miles and just under 4 years old. I also was initially quoted the same amount of about $5,400, but after talking to mazda, they agreed to only cover $1,500 dollars of it leaving me with a bill of over $3,000 dollars. I really want to know what the difference between me and OP was that I only got half of what they were offered. I have emailed mazda several times now asking for answers and they continue to ignore me.
The difference was my dealer agreed to a three way split of the cost. At 124,000 miles, all services had been done, on schedule, at the dealer. This was also my third Mazda I had purchased from them and they knew I would be coming back in less than two years for another one, potentially.
They never asked me if I had owned Mazda’s prior (which I have) nor did they ask me about my service (which I’ve used the same shop for nearly everything). Sounds like you got a better customer service rep.
I have a close relationship with my Mazda dealer, just as I did with my Toyota dealer before when I was a Toyota owner. I know all of the staff in sales and services, as well as most of the technicians. I didn’t just engage Mazda at the corporate level, I deliberately approached this with the dealer AND corporate. What really helped were the extensive records the dealer had input into Mazda’s system of all my service.
My dealer is awesome and a testament to making sure you buy your car from the right dealer, not the dealer who offers you a deal for a few bucks less. They always make sure I am happy and that is a smart strategy. I bought a 2018 Mazda 6 from them three months ago and I could not be happier (turbo motor).
Yeah, see I know the service manager and I’m acquainted with the Tech who I ask to service my car every time. They tried to talk to Mazda and my behalf and it still didn’t help. I have service records for my 6 and the 3 I had in the early 2000’s. I guess it comes down to how they advocate for you and who on the other end at Mazda reviews your case.
Keep in mind, Mazda Corporate only paid for one third of my transmission. My dealer agreed to the three way split that lowered my cost to $1,500. Mazda Corporate treated us the same, it was your DEALER that cheaped out on you and cost you more money.