10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,687 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2001 Mazda Tribute electrical problems

electrical problem

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2001 Mazda Tribute Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #25

Apr 012015

Tribute

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car stalls alot and the oil and battery light flashes when coming to a stop then U drive again and it goes off. It will do it for a couple of days then stop then start up again. Has to be some type of wiring issue had the oil change so thats fine and the battery tested and thats all good.

- Lawrenceburg, IN, USA

problem #24

Nov 032014

Tribute

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. When the vehicle was stopped at a red light, it completely shut off. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

- Bristol, CT, USA

problem #23

Apr 152011

Tribute

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. While driving approximately 50 mph the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact was able to maneuver the vehicle onto the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home. The dealer was contacted and advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The contact also stated there was difficulty when the vehicle was started. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

- Kenner, LA, USA

problem #22

May 082010

Tribute

  • 79,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Drivers side front door handle stopped working, window needs to be down in order to open door. If in an accident or fire driver will need assistance in exiting car. This is proven by all other complaints to be common with this vehicle and in hazardous situations potentially fatal unless government steps in and demands recall. Dealer wants $300+ to fix, have already spent $3000+ at dealer on computer failures and left side driver door window assembly failure.

- Hayward, CA, USA

problem #21

Apr 102009

Tribute

  • 102,548 miles
Individual coil over pack failure. This will be the 3rd coil pack failure in 3 years. Symptoms are missing or bad idle at low RPM.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #20

Mar 012008

Tribute 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5 miles
Very rough running motor, loss of power. Replaced egr valve 3 times. Found letter from Mazda stating extended warranty on egr valve sensor up to 75K miles. 101,000 on our Tribute. Mazda should of recalled the sensor!

- Gahanna, OH, USA

problem #19

Oct 082007

Tribute 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 73,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. The vehicle caught fire under the hood after being parked for approximately two hours. As of October 9, 2007, the dealer or manufacturer had not inspected the vehicle. The contact stated that the electrical system caused the fire. There were no injuries or property damage. The current and failure mileages were 73,000. A police report was filed. Charleston police report. Updated 10/31/07

- Montgomery Village, MD, USA

problem #18

Jul 032007

Tribute 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. While driving 45 mph uphill, the vehicle suddenly lost power. The exterior and interior lights remained illuminated, but there was no engine power. The contact was able to pull off the road. There were no warning lights present. The local mechanic was unable to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to a Mazda dealer and they stated that the computer failed and needed to be replaced. The mileage information was unavailable.

- Alpine, UT, USA

problem #17

Jul 032006

Tribute 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
On July 3, the ignition, steering wheel, and wheels of our 2001 Mazda Tribute froze when we tried to start the car. The car was towed to senator imports, on florin road, in sacramento, California. On July 7, although the dealership said that the car was fixed, they couldn't get the car to work when we tried to pick it up. On the evening of July 12, we started the car. The light illuminating the gear selection was until, so we couldn't see what gear we were in. On Thursday evening, July 13, we started the car and the battery was totally dead. We re-charged the battery, but it was dead again in 2 hours. We took the car in to have the battery professionally charged. The battery was purchased in April of 2005. On Thursday, July 20, the car was running and just stopped dead. We again jumped it and took it to our private mechanic. On Friday, July 21, our mechanic did a diagnostic test on the car. It came up with a diagnostic test code error that said that the key program code was entered in error. Our mechanic rebooted the computer, to ensure that the problem was not related to a technical service bulletin about the Tribute just shutting off. When he tried to restart the car, the car would not start. (long story short, the dealer lost our spare key. We had to come back for it on July 11, and they reprogrammed both our keys to the new ignition.) our mechanic suggested that we have the car towed to the dealership, as he considered it unsafe to drive. Today, July 22, the dealership said that all they could find wrong with the car was a dead battery. We are beginning to lose confidence that they actually know how to fix the vehicle.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

problem #16

Feb 122005

Tribute 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 62,000 miles
(1)events leading to failure: During normal driving, pressing the brake pedal, rolling down a window, or using turn signal. (2)failure: Engine dies, loss of power steering, power brakes, etc... (3)vehicle has been brought to dealer several times, issue has not been improved/corrected.

- Chickamauga, GA, USA

problem #15

Jun 282001

Tribute 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This vehicle has stalled on numerous ocassions when being driven, this usually occurs when being driven below 35 miles per hour driving down a hill. Each time the vehicle has stalled it has caused my husband and I to have no control of the vehicle at all.

- Indian Trail, NC, USA

problem #14

Jan 122003

Tribute 4WD

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Electrical system is dangerous. Key ignition problem - back twice to dealer to fix this. Stalled during a turn - whole car died, had to use the emergency break to stop and then put into neutral to restart. PCM died totally and had to be replaced - had to be towed from my driveway (thank god or I might be dead) to nearest dealer - I am awaiting response on full correction to problem. I believe the NHTSA would be doing a disservice to american consumers for not pressing the manufacturer to recall, due to the life threatening situations regarding the electrical system of the 2001 Tribute. Does someone have to have a 10 car pile up on a freeway or hwy before they believe the urgency of this problem?

- Woodlyn, PA, USA

problem #13

Oct 202003

Tribute 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 19,200 miles
The madza Tribute 2001 stalls without warning, at varying speeds. Both the brakes and the steering system are inoperable. The car starts again after this occurs. This has happened 5 times! luckily, my son who drives this car hasn't been injured. But what about the next time" what if he is driving on the expressway at 55 or 65 miles an hour? can Mazda assure me that he won't be seriously injured or killed? the service department has offered several explanations after verifying that this is a on going problem with this vehicle. We have been told that the air intake valve sticks when carbon builds up on it. Now we are told it is a flaw in the computer. Clearly there is a serious design flaw which the service departments have been unable to repair. This car is a disaster waiting to happen! how can I possibly allow my son to drive this vehicle"!!

- Smyrna, GA, USA

problem #12

Sep 252003

Tribute 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 29,000 miles
Mazda tirbute esv6 has lost all power under normal driving conditions; no power steering or brakes and all indicator lights came on. Which is very difficult to steer out of oncoming traffic to get out to safety. The mechanic from jim ellis Mazda at marietta, ga told that this case already happened twice (one from a different car). In addition, it was reported that the valve gets "carbed up." This occurs when a driver is coasting between accelerating and braking. Also, the transmission and electrical systems are already going haywire on this vehicle with no wipers, airbag light constantly on or blinking, transmission slipping and grinding.

- Decatur, GA, USA

problem #11

Aug 292003

Tribute 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 16,370 miles
On August 29th, 2003 I was driving in my 2001 Mazda Tribute. As I slowed down to make a turn, the car suddenly had a total loss of power. I had no steering and no brakes and I was quickly headed into oncoming traffic with no control of the car. Luckily I was able to react in time and pull up the emergency brake. Once I regained my composure, I was able to put the car into neutral and then restart the car. The only time I have driven it since is to take into the dealership. They were very sympathetic to my situation and later advised me that a technical bulletin had been issued for this issue and they were able to fix it. They explained there was no recall issued for this situation. On September 5th, 2003 I called Mazda customer care and explained what had happened. They informed me that Mazda is aware of the situation and they do not feel it is a safety issue. They also indicated it only happens in less than 1% of all of their vehicles and they did not want to cause "panic" amongst their car owners. I feel I was lucky to escape without injury or without getting into a serious accident. I feel other Mazda owners should be aware of this situation. Thank you for your time. Lewis paskin.

- Long Branch, NJ, USA

problem #10

Aug 262003

Tribute

  • miles
All power cuts off when coasting down a hill. Loss of brakes and steering results. This is the second time this has happened.

- Buckley, WA, USA

problem #9

Aug 192003

Tribute 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45 miles
Due to a computer failure, the vehicle shuts itself off while driving. I was told by the service department at quirk Mazda in quincy, MA that they have seen "at least a half dozen" of this problem, Mazda knows about it, however there has been no recall. I was driving along I-93 in boston at rush hour at approximately 45 mph when the car died. After a few attempts it started back up but did not register a 'check engine' light on the dashboard. The computer did not detect that there was ever a problem. Quirk Mazda's solution was to "reprogram PCM" and install updated software. Luckily I was not only going 45 mph, or I could have been seriously injured. Please demand that Mazda issues a recall for this safety hazard.

- Winthrop, MA, USA

problem #8

Jun 182003

Tribute 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 26,000 miles
My 2001 Tribute 4X4 has stalled twice while in motion going downhill. This has resulted in very difficult braking and steering making for a dangerous situation.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #7

Apr 022003

Tribute

  • miles
2001 Mazda Tribute, died while driving at 35 miles per hour. No breaks, no steering, no control. This is the 3rd time and clearly the most dangerous as it was life threatening. Mazda is unresponsive and not honoring my buy back request. They said the problem has been fixed, but they said they fixed it previously and it wasn't so I have no faith I am not willing to risk my life again. Why hasn't there been a recall? I have seen dozen of others with the same problem.

- Alexandria, KY, USA

problem #6

Feb 032003

Tribute

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Vehicle stalled while driving, no steering. Everything electrical stopped working. This is the second time this incident has taken place. Any suggestions on how to resolve this problem? is Ford/Mazda going to recall these vehicles (escape/Tribute) and fix them?

- Fort Wright, KY, USA

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