2016 MAZDA MX-5 Power Train Problems

6 speed manual transmission failure at 59,000 miles Started not shifting into 3rd, then shortly after, the transmission locked up in a intersection. Which stalled the vehicle out. Was able to move the vehicle by hand, out of heavy traffic. Since this effects all ND1, ND2 and ND3 manual transmissions. I dropped and changed it for a used one. While I rebuild the original. As I am also outside of warranty.

On December 7, 2023 at approximately 10:30pm, I was traveling west bound on [XXX] . Suddenly, there was a loud thumping noise from under the passenger seat. After about 10 seconds, it escalated to an extremely loud banging and the smell of oil. Not a single warning light appeared on my dashboard. I immediately attempted to pull off the road. This area is in the middle of a mesa with no streetlights and a speed of a 65mph road. I immediately put on my hazard lights and was stranded. The dangerousness of this situation was insurmountable. I was in a 2 seated convertible, partially on the road with no streetlights as cars and trucks flew by me at speeds above 65mph. Had I been hit from behind; I would have been killed instantaneously. I contacted AAA for emergency towing. The tow truck was deployed. In the meantime, I sat there helplessly. A passerby stopped to try to help but was unable to get the car to roll to a safe area off the road. Time passed. About an hour later, I called AAA again stating the dire need for assistance and the call was elevated to emergency. At this time a police officer drove by. I explained the situation and he parked behind me with lights on, potentially stopping a fatal situation. The tow truck finally arrived, and my car was towed to the address on my warranty above. I contacted Southern Automotive in Rio Rancho and was placed on a wait list for the car to be seen. I contacted CareGuard and they stated I could take the car to any automotive place for repair that was qualified to work on a Mazda. I confirmed this with Southern Automotive. They are AAA qualified, and service qualified for Mazda. They were not able to get the car in until 12/18/23. The car sat in my garage. On 12/18/23, Southern Automotive sent a tow truck to pick up the car. On Tuesday, 12/19/23, I received a call from Cody at Southern Automotive. The car had had a “catastrophic event in the rear differential” INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552

6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION, VEHICLE STATIONARY AND DOESN'T WANT TO GO INTO 1ST GEAR AND YOU SOMETIMES MUST SHOVE IT IN, INTERMITTENT ISSUE. ALSO A TON OF GEAR WHINE UNDER MODERATE THROTTLE IN 3RD AND 4TH GEAR. FAILURE MILEAGE IS 41,118 MILES. FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION IN GEAR AT SPEED COULD RESULT IN A CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT DUE TO LOSS OF FORWARD PROPULSION. MAZDA HAS RELEASED A TSB ON THIS REF IS R083/16B AND 05-007/16 YET ARE BASICALLY TELLING ME IT'S UP TO THE NHTSA TO RECALL IT OR THERE'S NOTHING THEY WILL DO UNTIL IT COMPLETELY GRENADES AND POTENTIALLY CAUSES AN ACCIDENT. THIS IS NOT A SMALL ISSUE AFFECTING A SMALL BATCH OF CARS, THIS IS A FAIRLY WIDESPREAD ISSUE AFFECTING A LARGE SPAN IN PRODUCTION. FROM INTERNAL SOURCES I'VE LEARNED MAZDA IS ON THE FOURTH SEPARATE REVISION OF THE 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION IN THE 4TH GENERATION MX-5 AND EVEN SOME 3RD REVISION TRANSMISSIONS HAVE SHOWN WEAKNESS. IN SHORT, THE 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR THE 2.0L ENGINE IN THE U.S MODEL, INSTEAD WAS ONLY INTENDED TO BE USED WITH THE LESS TORQUEY 1.5L IN THE EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE MODEL. MAZDA USA PUSHED FOR THE 2.0L LAST MINUTE IN PRODUCTION FOR MORE POWER IN THE U.S MARKET DESPITE NOT HAVING A SUITABLE MANUAL TRANSMISSION AVAILABLE. THE DIFFERENCE IN MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES HAS LED TO SEVERAL INSTANCES OF COMPLETE GEAR FAILURE IN STOCK COMPLETELY UNMODIFIED CARS AND IS AN ACCEPTED DESIGN FLAW BY MAZDA AND WHY THEY HAVE HAD SO MANY COMPLETE TRANSMISSION OVERHAULS IN A SHORT SPAN. IN SHORT EVERY MANUAL MX-5 THAT WAS PRODUCED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 6TH 2016 HAS A TRANSMISSION THAT'S A TICKING TIME BOMB. MINE IS SEPTEMBER 2015 PRODUCTION DATE. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS TSB SHOULD BE REFERENCED AND THESE TRANSMISSION RECALLED. A WEIRD COINCIDENCE IS THIS VERY CAR ALSO HAD AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION RECALL. I HAVE ATTACHED THE REFERENCED TSB BELOW. PLEASE RECALL. *TR

Mileage: 40,000

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MAZDA MX-5. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH ACROSS AN INTERSECTION, THE VEHICLE DECELERATED. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. ANOTHER VEHICLE TRAVELING ACROSS THE INTERSECTION COLIDED WITH THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE. POLICE REPORT NUMBER: 2019643494 WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A BODY SHOP AND REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,000.

Mileage: 49,000

WHILE DRIVING ON A PUBLIC 2-LANE ROAD AND UPSHIFTING INTO 3RD GEAR AT ABOUT 6,500 RPM MY TRANSMISSION FAILED. I IMMEDIATELY SLOWED FROM ABOUT 65 MPH AND COASTED TO A STOP. I WAS LUCKY THAT THERE WAS A JUST ADEQUATE SHOULDER, AND I WAS ABLE TO AVOID BEING REAR-ENDED BY FASTER TRAFFIC. I PULLED AS FAR TO THE RIGHT AS I COULD, STILL WITHING 4 FEET OF THE PAVEMENT. I DETERMINED THAT I COULD STILL DRIVE IN 1ST GEAR AND, DRIVING ONLY ON THE SHOULDER, DROVE THE CAR TO A WIDER, SAFER SPOT. A FRIEND CAME BY LATER WITH HIS TRUCK AND TRAILER TO TAKE MY CAR TO MY HOME. I THEREUPON HAD IT TOWED TO A MAZDA DEALER THE NEXT DAY. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED A MANUAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE, 3RD GEAR SPECIFICALLY, AND TOLD ME I WAS LUCKY THE GEARBOX DIDN'T SIEZE AND CAUSE A LACK OF CONTROL. THEY REPLACED THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION AT NO COST TO ME.

Mileage: 19,658

I OWN THE 2016 MX-5 ND GT WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND IT HAS ABOUT 35,000 ISH MILES ON IT, BUT IT'S STARTING TO HAVE TRANSMISSION AND GEAR SHIFT PROBLEMS. 1) THE CAR HAS ISSUES WITH ACCELERATION DELAY FROM GEAR 1 & 2, THE TORQUE, HP, NONE OF IT FEEL THE SAME AS WHEN I BOUGHT IT. 2) THE CAR WILL START HAVING RATTLING NOISE ISSUES COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, I SUSPECT FROM THE HEAT SHIELD WHICH IS MADE FROM THIN ALUMINUM MATERIAL. ALSO RATTLING FROM INSIDE, ALL THE PLASTIC PARTS FROM WITHIN THE CABIN, SEAT, DASHBOARD, ETC 3) THE GEAR BOX IS NOT SMOOTH AND SOMETIMES WOULD HAVE HARD TIME SHIFTING. IN MY CASE, I HAVE ISSUES FROM 5 TO 6. I LITERALLY HAVE TO GIVE IT 1 OR 2 SEC DELAY AFTER SHIFTING HALF WAY SO THAT IT WILL EASE ITSELF IN. ALSO SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR, THE TRANSMISSION JERKS 4.) WHEN MOVING OR TURNING FROM STATIONARY, THE CAR MAKES GRINDING NOISE FROM UNDER THE CAR

TRANSMISSION IS MADE OF WEAK GRADE MATERIALS AND RUNNING AT HIGH TEMPS CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING. I AM ON MY SECOND TRANSMISSION AND MAZDA FAILS TO HELP OR ADDRESS THE CONCERN. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN PROVEN BY MANY SHOPS AT THIS POINT AND MOST IMPORTANTLY BY A MAZDA ENGINEER ON A YOUTUBE VIDEO. THIS MAZDA ENGINEER SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT WEAK TOLERANCES ARE CAUSING MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS TO SHEAR TEETH UNDER LOAD. BOTH TIMES MY TRANSMISSIONS PARTS EXPLODED I WAS AT SPEED. THE FIRST TIME WAS ON A CITY STREET, THE SECOND TIME WAS ON A VERY BUSY HIGHWAY DURING RUSH HOUR. THE FIRST TIME, NO GEARS WERE USABLE AND I HAD TO BE TOWED HOME AFTER COASTING MY CAR TO A STOP IN NEUTRAL. THE SECOND TIME I COULD ONLY USE 4TH GEAR AND HAD TO LIMP HOME.

Mileage: 80,000

VEHICLE SPONTANEOUSLY JUMPS OUT OF 4TH GEAR INTO NEUTRAL AT HIGHWAYS SPEED. THIS WILL TYPICALLY HAPPEN ON A MODERATELY STEEP DOWNWARD GRADE (E.G. CALIFORNIA HIGHYWAY 17 BETWEEN SUGARLOAF ROAD AND GLENWOOD CUTOFF HEADING TOWARDS SAN JOSE, OR THE CURVE KNOWN AS THE "VALLEY SURPRISE" JUST PAST SUMMIT ROAD AND HIGHWAY 17 INTERSECTION) AS THE VEHICLE SLOWS AND ENGINE BRAKING KICKS IN. STEPS TO REPRODUCE: PLACE VEHICLE IN 4TH GEAR. DRIVE AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES PER HOUR. ON DOWNHILL GRADE BACK OFF ACCELERATOR AS ENGINE BRAKING BEGINS THE VEHICLE SPONTANEOUSLY JUMPS INTO NEUTRAL. THIS HAPPENS REPEATEDLY AND REPRODUCIBLY. VEHICLE IS UNDER MAZDA WARRANTY. DATE IS JUST AN INDICATION. THE FAULT OCCURS DAILY.

Mileage: 39,000

THE CAR WAS STATIONARY, IN NEUTRAL WITH THE PARKING BRAKE IN PLACE WHEN I HEARD A LOUD BANG AND THEN THE NEXT DAY, THE TRANSMISSION WAS MAKING AN UNUSUAL WHINING NOISE IN THIRD GEAR WHILE DRIVING ON THE CITY AND IN THE HIGHWAY (DURING TRAFFIC) AT AROUND 30-35 MPH. THIS LED ME TO SUSPECT THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS HAVING ISSUES AND BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER A FEW DAYS LATER. EVEN THOUGH THE LOUD BANG COULDN'T BE REPLICATED, THE WHINING NOISE WAS STILL THERE AND SURELY ENOUGH THE TRANSMISSION WAS ACTING FUNNY. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THAT THE 2016 MAZDA MX-5 IS NOTORIOUS FOR EATING UP SECOND AND THIRD GEAR AND MAZDA HASN'T REALLY CONSIDERED PUTTING OUT A RECALL. THEY HAVE TO PUT A RECALL OUT, THEY NEED TO FIX THESE CARS BECAUSE THERE ARE REPORTS OF CARS WITH TRANSMISSIONS FAILING WHILE IN NEUTRAL OR WHEN DRIVING IN GEARS OUTSIDE OF SECOND THE THIRD (THE TWO GEARS THAT LIKE TO SELF DESTRUCT). *TR

Mileage: 2,360

WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A TRAFFIC LIGHT THE TRANSMISSION STOPPED WORKING AND I LOST ACCELERATION IN A BUSY ROAD. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED IN A BUSY INTERSECTION.

Mileage: 24,000

WHILE ACCELERATING MY TRANSMISSION GEARS HAVE DISINTEGRATED TWICE LEAVING CAR WITH NO WAY TO USE POWER. ONCE WAS A SIDE STREET, OTHER TIME I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN IN AN INTERSECTION.

Mileage: 10,000