After less than 40,000 miles the clutch in my 2004 Mazda 3 failed completely and required replacement. The repair bill cost me $1,100.

- Abington, MA, USA

Letter from congressman van hollen on behalf of constituent re safety problems (random stalling) with his 2004 Mazda3 the consumer went to sears to purchase a battery thinking that was the cause of the random stalling, but was told the battery was fine and it appeared there was an electrical problem, but they were unable to figure out what it was. The consumer then went to the dealer and was told different things were wrong with the vehicle, which was causing it to stall. The consumer paid for the repairs, but weeks later the vehicle stalled again. The consumer also stated the clutch and transmission was replaced.

- Bethesda, MD, USA

I went to a dealership on May 2, 2004 and purchased a 2004 Mazda 3. it had 16 miles on it. Drove fine for a week! on May 9th, my familiy and I were driving and the car would not change gears. Would not go in reverse. We slowly made it home in 1st gear. The dealership picked it up on Monday May 10th and has said it is the transmission. The full transmission is being replaced at 250 miles. It has been there for 4 days now. I have no idea when it will be repaired.

- Valrico, FL, USA

While driving the vehicle the transmission became increasingly difficult to shift between 1, 2 and 3 gears. The other gears shifted smoothly without problem and the transmission made no abnormal noises. The vehicle eventually became stuck in first gear and I was only able to get out of it with great effort. It feels like the transmission is filled with concrete. Being unable to shift causes a problem in operating the vehicle safely. The dealer doesn't know what the problem is and is balking at replacing the transmission. The vehicle has only 500 miles on it.

- Naperville, IL, USA