I have a 1996 Mazda 626 2.0 Automatic. It runs

check the oil and if it looks milky he probly needs a new head gasket. If the oil looks normal you probably nee to check the thermostate and get a mechanic to give your radiator a pressure test to check for leaks

Have tranny rebuilt. Sounds like it gummed up.

It depends on how and where you drive but you should get around 30 mpg if you don't hot foot it too much.

change the bank 1 and 2 o2 sensors

he may need to replace the ignition coil... when its hot it gets faulty its more likely to give a bad run then you have to wait for it to get cold to have a good run

sounds like the head or head gasket is blown. your cylinders may be getting coolant in them which will not only cause the motor to lockup, but also cause bent rods and valves. check your oil dipstick and transmission dipstick to see if it looks like water or coolant is presant, also check the coolant to see if it smells like gas or has any kind of oil in it, if so, your head is likely blown.

Have same problem. smacking it worked for a while and now i have to leve a spare key in the little keyhole by the shifter.

if its reving high then shifting then your trannys going

Not a solution, but definitely bad news.

Unfortunately, your symptoms are all too typical of 1997 626's with the automatic transmission, especially those with the V6 engines. Owners have been reporting OD lights flashing and hard shifting as early as 20,000 miles, and total transmission failure as early as 40,000-60,000.

There are also many reports of owners having the transmissions rebuilt only to have them fail again in 12,000 to 20,000 miles.

This transmission, actually a Ford CD4E, was installed in many mid to late 90's Mazda's. NHTSA has over two hundred complaints on the 1997 626 alone.

Conversely, Mazda used a 5 speed manual transmission of their own design in these same model year 626's, and it is not unusual for them to go well beyond 200,000 miles without so much as a hiccup.

There are many Mazda forums out there over the years where people have attempted to launch a class-action lawsuit against Mazda to force them to announce a recall for the automatic transmission.

Mazda North America Operations claims that there were never enough complaints lodged with them to justify a recall. It appears they managed to avoid recall by instructing their delears to tell customers these symptoms were "typical of Mazda transmissions" and to document these concerns as complaints.

Unfortunately, once you start experiencing the type of problems you have, you can only expect it to get worse. If it's any consolation, it's nothing that you have done to the car, or could have been prevented, its poor design and ECM programming. Don't let a dealer or transmission shop try to tell you differently.

Try Googling, "1997 Mazda Transmission Complaints", and you'll get sick over the number of hits you get.

Here's a link to an article that's sure to get your blood boiling:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/23810/before_you_buy_that_used_mazda_626.html?cat=27

low idle speed...or the need of a tune-up