The 1988 Mazda 626 has 6 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 408,768 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 58 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts. Last updated July 5, 2026.
RESIN MOLDED FRONT HANDLES FAIL AT THE DOOR LATCH ACTUATING ROD ATTACHMENT, FREEING THE ROD TO FALL INSIDE THE DOOR FRAME. SUBSEQUENT LOWERING OF THE ASSOCIATED WINDOW MAY FORCE THE ACTUATING ROD DOWNWARD AND RELEASE THE DOOR LATCH.
INADVERTENT ACTUATION OF THE DOOR LATCH CAUSES THE DOORTO OPEN UNEXPECTEDLY WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN OCCUPANT FALLING OUT OF THEVEHICLE.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DOOR HANDLE/LATCH ASSEMBLY.
THE DRIVE SPRING THAT DRIVES THE AUTOMATIC BELT MAY BREAK.
THIS WOULD PREVENT FULL FORWARD MOVEMENT OF THE SEAT BELTANCHORAGE FROM THE LOCK POSITION WHEN THE DOOR IS OPENED.
REPLACE AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELT.
AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURES BELOW 0 DEGREE F, FROST MAY ACCUMULATE WITHIN THE THROTTLE BODY UNDER EXTENDED CONSTANT SPEED OPERATION.
FROST ACCUMULATION ON THE THROTTLE VALVE MAY PREVENT THEVALVE FROM RETURNING SMOOTHLY.
INSTALL A NEW TYPE THERMOSTAT DESIGNED TO RAISE THE COOLANT TEMPERATURE AND WARM THE THROTTLE BODY TO A LEVEL ABOVE FREEZING.
VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH REAR BRAKE DRUMS TRANSPORTED BY TRAIN MAY EXPERIENCE SEPARATION OF THE BRAKE SHOE FROM THE WHEEL BRAKE CYLINDER PISTON.
SHOULD SEPARATION OCCUR, REPEATED BRAKE OPERATION MAYDAMAGE THE WHEEL BRAKE CYLINDER DUST BOOT, ALLOWING WATER OR DUST INTRUSION ANDSUBSEQUENT PISTON CONTAMINATION.
ALL VEHICLES WILL BE INSPECTED AND IF NO SEPARATION IS FOUND GREASE WILL BE APPLIED TO THE COMPONENT INTERFACE TO LOWER FRICTION AND AVOID SUBSEQUENT RELATIVE MOTION. IF SEPARATION IS FOUND THE WHEEL BRAKE CYLINDER DUST BOOT WILL BE REPLACED.
FUEL TANK FIXING BAND RETENTION IS NOT SUFFICIENT, ALLOWING THE BAND TO RUB AGAINST THE FUEL TANK BY VEHICLE VIBRATIONS.
THIS COULD WEAR A HOLE IN THE FUEL TANK WHICH COULDRESULT IN FUEL LEAKAGE.
REPAIR FUEL FIXING BAND BY INSTALLING A RUBBER SHEET.
FLOOR MAT COULD INTERFERE WITH RELEASE OF ACCELERATOR PEDAL DUE TO IMPROPER SHAPE OF MAT.
THIS COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF ACCELERATOR CONTROL ANDCREATE POTENTIAL FOR AN ACCIDENT.
REMOVE PRESENT MAT AND REPLACE WITH NEW IMPROVED MAT.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“1. Bought a 1998 mazda 626 lx. 2. At 56000 miles, engine needed a new header. 3. At 57000 miles, starter motor failed. 3. At 60000 miles, transmission failed. 4. Currently at 70000 miles, need new exhaust system”
“1. Bought a 1998 mazda 626 lx. 2. At 56000 miles, engine needed a new header. 3. At 57000 miles, starter motor failed. 3. At 60000 miles, transmission failed. 4. Currently at 70000 miles, need new exhaust system”
“1. Bought a 1998 mazda 626 lx. 2. At 56000 miles, engine needed a new header. 3. At 57000 miles, starter motor failed. 3. At 60000 miles, transmission failed. 4. Currently at 70000 miles, need new exhaust system”
“1. Bought a 1998 mazda 626 lx. 2. At 56000 miles, engine needed a new header. 3. At 57000 miles, starter motor failed. 3. At 60000 miles, transmission failed. 4. Currently at 70000 miles, need new exhaust system”
“1. Bought a 1998 mazda 626 lx. 2. At 56000 miles, engine needed a new header. 3. At 57000 miles, starter motor failed. 3. At 60000 miles, transmission failed. 4. Currently at 70000 miles, need new exhaust system”
“1. Bought a 1998 mazda 626 lx. 2. At 56000 miles, engine needed a new header. 3. At 57000 miles, starter motor failed. 3. At 60000 miles, transmission failed. 4. Currently at 70000 miles, need new exhaust system”
“1. Bought a 1998 mazda 626 lx. 2. At 56000 miles, engine needed a new header. 3. At 57000 miles, starter motor failed. 3. At 60000 miles, transmission failed. 4. Currently at 70000 miles, need new exhaust system”
“Defective tailpipe caused carbon monoxide to enter vehicle's interior cabin resulting in consumer contracting carbon monoxide poisoning. Dealer diagnosed several holes along top of tailpipe between the catalytic converter and the muffler. Ph top seam of exhaust pipe had rotten out between…”
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1988 Mazda 626 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.