I have driven this car almost entirely on the highway (easy miles) and done every single service required by Mazda (at the dealer). When the transmission failed, signaled by a persistent whine, the dealer said there was a TSB where Mazda admitted that 8,000 of the 2014 Mazda 6's were built with defective transmissions. The TSB said to replace the transmission under warranty but, because I travel so much on the highway, I was outside of the warranty mileage.

I was initially quoted $5,400 but, due to my diligent servicing of my car (and purchase of three Mazdas in the last six years), Mazda and the dealer agreed to split the cost with me. Total cost, out of pocket, ended up being around $1,500. I am grateful to Mazda for their willingness to cover two thirds of the cost, even at 124,000 miles. But I am disappointed that they did not cover the whole cost since they obviously knew that my car had a transmission that was defective and was going to fail.

Overall this has been a great car, but the experience with the transmission has made me hesitant to purchase another Mazda.

Clearly, I'm not the first, and I probably won't be the last for this to happen. At around 68,000 miles I start to heard the infamous and dreaded high pitched whine at speeds over 40 mph. Brought it into Mazda and I was told it's a defective bearing, which as the tech told me was a known and ongoing issue. The mazda dealer quoted me $4000 for the transmission and $1000 for labor. I was told to call Mazda to bring up this issue with them and I told them that I know this is a known issue, that there has been a TSB out for this for years and many other people with early model 2014 Mazda 6's have had this issue as well, they responded by offering to cover a "portion" of the bill at $3000 out of my pocket.

I understand that I was out of the powertrain coverage at 68,000 miles, but what I don't understand is how Mazda cannot take ownership of a problem this severe. It is obscene to see a TSB regarding a faulty bearing in a transmission where the repair is "Replace Transmission" and deem that as acceptable. This is not a minor fix in any way shape or form.

I am curious to see what happens as the other 2014's age and this problem pop's up more and more often because if there's ever a class action suit I will be first in line. I have never been more disappointed in a car maker and I will make sure everyone I know will hear bout this and stay as far away from this brand as possible. If you're going to buy Japanese stick with Honda and Toyota, don't make my mistake.