Over time, the clutch in my manual transmission 2004 Mazda 6 V6 hatchback has been getting noisy, difficult to modulate with surprising sloppy movement in a sideways motion when being depressed, and has been greatly worrying me. Upon investigation, I discovered cracks in the formed and welded steel frame that holds the clutch pedal where the whole assembly bolts to the firewall. I've adjusted my clutch linkage, bled the hydraulic line and attempted to bend the frame back to square, but eventually this frame is going to fail and I will be unable to push the clutch and change gears. If this happens while driving, I could crash and be injured or killed. In addition, the clutch pedal frame, as it bends to the left with every shift, makes contact with an electrical/cpu box mounting frame next to the clutch, which is additionally worrisome. This welded steel frame is made from surprisingly light gauge metal and should have been designed to last the life of the car. This is a grave safety concern for all Mazda 6S made in the Ford auto alliance factory in flat rock, Michigan. This component should be recalled!

- Hanover, MA, USA

Driving normally, transmission gets struck in 1st, 2nd, 3rd or fourth gear. Sometimes transmission will downshift very, very hard.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Re: Mazda 6 V6 made in the Ford/Mazda auto alliance factory in flat rock, mi. The miles/speed I listed are actually N/a - this is an ongoing problem that has existed for most of the 10 years I've owned this car. I complained about smelling burning oil coming into the car's cabin since the car was only 1 year old, but the Mazda repair techs appeared to "never notice the smell". it was more than a year or so after my warranty ended - despite a dozen instances of complaining to Mazda dealers of this smell - that I realized my problem was oil leaking from my V6 motor's timing chain cover. The oil leaks down the side & bottom of the motor & drips (only while driving, never while resting) onto the top of one of the exhaust system's catalytic converters. The intense heat of the converter vaporizes the oil, the result of which enters the car's cabin through the HVAC system. I have been adding a quart of oil almost every two months for years now, breathing this carcinogenic vapor and worrying about an engine fire for the better part of a decade now. Leading up to discovering the leak, I had replaced my valve cover gaskets & oil pan & gaskets at great cost. The proper repair for this would likely require removing my car's engine & a 12 hour repair at $100 per hour, and that's just the labor. When researching this problem, it appears in online forums to be a consistent problem for hundreds (likely thousands) of owners, and variations of this Ford-made V6 engine are installed in a dozen Ford and Mazda cars. I firmly believe that over the years Ford - knowing this was a consistent problem - advised it's dealer network to keep hush-hush and pretend to not understand or notice the problem in an effort to avoid a costly recall campaign. I feel that the time has come for Ford, not Mazda, to pay the piper, and I would like my car repaired without a financial hardship placed upon me.

- Hanover, MA, USA

Car just unexpectedly down shifts from 4th to 3rd gear.. transmission revs. Have to stop the car. Can not take interstate because it may cause a wreck.. alternator light and check engine light comes on.. have to turn the car off and restart the car to reset gears..

- Charleston, SC, USA

While driving back home the car started to slow down the speed, when I tried to shifted to get more speed because I was on the expressway, it just died, I took a tow truck to my mechanic and he told me that the engine transmission wiring harness burned.

- Davie, FL, USA

Kept put its self in gear which is a safety mode !!! so I went to change the battery and smelled something burning and the fuse for the radio was blown and every time I went to change the fuse it would blow.so I took it to the shop to see what was wrong and they had to replace the radio some wiring alternator was putting out 17 volts and burned out the wiring!!! this is a common problem with this car and should be covered!!!

- Calhoun, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that there was a recurring failure with the transmission. The transmission wiring had burned out, causing the fourth gear to fail. The vehicle was repaired twice for the same failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 130,000.

- Panama City, FL, USA

I purchased my car used in October 2011. My car frequently stalls on the highway and I have to either pull off to the side of the highway to restart it or put it in neutral and restart it while coasting on the highway. This also happens at slow speeds but is clearly a safety issue at highway speeds. Mazda put out a service bulletin on the throttle body in 2006. I have been trying to purchase a replacement throttle body since July 2012 and have found it impossible to find the part and have been told the part is on a national back order. Obviously Mazda knows there is a problem with the part or they wouldn't have put a service bulletin out. I feel Mazda is putting lives at risk by not making the replacement part available.

- Sun Prairie, WI, USA

Transmission problems....it wont reverse, it's making scary noises and it's jerking none stop. Mechanic said I have to get it rebuild, I had over 20 quotes for a price to get it rebuild but I cant afford it..please recall the 3.0 automatic transmission...I looked on the internet and I saw that hundreds and hundreds of people are complaining about the same problem with Mazda 6 2004 transmissions and we cant afford it. The lowest price was starting at 1500 not including labor. Im a single mom with two toddlers, im working and I cant even get it fixed.

- Ocoee, FL, USA