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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2001 Mazda Tribute Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
69about this part
Share
12%of 563 total for the year
Median mileage
44,730miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 69 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2001 Mazda Tribute, 12% of the 563 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 44,730 miles. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Put the car in reverse and could not get it out of reverse. Steering totally locked up. I looked on google and this seems to be happening quite a bit and a few years have already been recalled. I was in a cvs parking lot when this happened. Blocked traffic and people were not happy.”

NHTSA complaint #10849747, filed 2016-03, 130,000 miles

“I have a 2001 Mazda Tribute. Had been faithful in doing regular maintenance of the vehicle. The car had 84,000 currently and had the transmission fluid flushed at 60,000 miles. The transmission fluid was filled every 5,000 miles whenever I had a oil change. All of a sudden on april 30, 2007, the car could not be shifted into rear gear and the dealer indicated I need to replace the transmission.”

NHTSA complaint #10189567, filed 2007-05, 84,000 miles

“I had the 1904-d recall (recalibration of PCM) done on my Mazda Tribute about 1 week ago. Shortly thereafter, my car stalled on the interstate at 75 MPH. We did not have an accident but it could have been pretty severe. After bringing the Tribute back to the Mazda dealer, the PCM had failed. So the recall didn't work on my vehicle. It is currently in the shop to be fixed.”

NHTSA complaint #10074441, filed 2004-05, 65,700 miles

“At speeds around 40 to 50 MPH it feels like the transmission is slipping weather I am accelerating or coasting. I also see the tach needle jump around when this happens. The slipping feels like a vibration in the vehicle and there is a lost power. Past this speed range or before it the vehicle operates normally. Dealer could not fix or reproduce the problem.”

NHTSA complaint #10038898, filed 2003-09, 43,000 miles

“Mazda 2001 Tribute suddenly stopped making a strange noise. Then gear box did not work at all. So, I had to call a towing company to tow the car to a Mazda dealer shop. Oak tree Mazda dealer inspected the car and asked about five thousand dollars to replace whole transmission. At the time, Mazda Tribute recorded only 45k mile. I asked another machine shop to inspect this car. He has never seen this problem before. It seems to be a design problem of Mazda Tribute.”

NHTSA complaint #10178368, filed 2007-01, 45,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
20101333%
200939%
20082512%
20061411%
2005246%
2004149%
20032412%
2002359%
20016912%

Other parts of the 2001 Mazda Tribute

Engine cooling
167 complaintsElectrical system
81 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
59 complaintsBrakes
56 complaintsBody and structure
45 complaintsVehicle speed control
40 complaintsSteering
35 complaintsFuel system
33 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
25 complaintsAir bags
22 complaintsSuspension
19 complaintsOther or unknown
13 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2001 Mazda Tribute

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology