10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
97,342 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 engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2001 Mazda Tribute:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2001 Mazda Tribute Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #28

Dec 142020

Tribute

  • miles

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

The gas pedal is the issue that I have with my 2001 Mazda Tribute you can hardly push the gas pedal and it accelerates very hard. It is very non safe. What can be done. This should be a recall on this problem.

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

problem #27

May 012019

Tribute

  • 230,000 miles
The throttle will stick open. It happens typically in the winter when it's really cold but lately, it has been happening when it's warm out. In order for me to get control of the vehicle I have to quickly shift it into neutral and power off the vehicle and coast to a stop. If I do not shut the power off the motor races and sounds like it is going to blow up.

- Akron, IA, USA

problem #26

Jul 232018

Tribute 4-cyl

  • 150,000 miles
I bought this car from a guy in July of this year and he said "the gas pedal gets stuck sometimes but if you just pump the pedal several times it should stop". well the gas pedal doesn't get stuck sometimes, it gets stuck all the time. It gets stuck and either causes the car not to start or it causes the engine to rev. When I am driving it'll get stuck and accelerate the car when I'm not even pressing the gas pedal and sometimes it causes the brakes to not work either. The only reason I haven't gotten in an accident yet is because it is a stick shift and I'm able to pull it out of gear but it still causes the engine to rev and isn't safe at all. A few weeks ago I was doing some research and found out that there is a speed/throttle cable recall on 2001-2005 Mazda Tributes because of the exact issues described above but when I searched my VIN number on the recall list/called the dealership they said my car isn't on it and I 100% believe it should be because it matches the exact same year/make/model and issue on the recall. I don't want to pay to get this fixed because it's not my fault this was improperly manufactured (and I can't afford it) but I also don't know how much longer the car will run like this before the engine is blown or I get in a car accident. Is there any way my car can be added to their recall list?

- Pleasant Grove, UT, USA

problem #25

May 292015

Tribute

  • 135,000 miles

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

I was at a red light making a right turn. The light turned green I proceeded to drive the vehicle speed went from 25 mph to 40 mph and breaks failed. I was able to stop the vehicle and then put it in park. The engine was still racing and I shut the car off waited about 5 min turned the car on engine was still racing and then all went back to normal including the breaks.

- Staten Island, NY, USA

problem #24

Feb 112015

Tribute

  • 161,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The brake pedal was applied and traveled to the floorboard. The contact crashed the vehicle into a snow bank in order to stop. A police report was not filed and there where no injuries reported. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the throttle was stuck and that the speed control servo needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 00V210002 (vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was 161,000.

- Shorewood, WI, USA

problem #23

Sep 102014

Tribute 6-cyl

  • 109,500 miles
Moved from center turn lane into eastbound lane of rush hour traffic at 5:30pm. Suddenly noticed the car was speeding. Took foot off accelerator but car continued to accelerate. Managed to pull into a right turn lane into a gas station while standing on brake to no effect. As I swerved into the gas station, I put the car in neutral and turned engine off. Car stopped about 10 feet away from gas pumps. Turned engine on and it raced. Shortly after that the accelerator pedal dropped to the floor and no longer worked. This car was taken in to rick case Mazda, duluth, ga on 10/10/12 for the 2012 Mazda recall due to cruise control and supposedly "fixed" using part #1 F01-10-218 stud. Service station who repaired my car following the 9/10/143 incident said the cruise control cable had once again caused the sudden acceleration and removed and replaced the cruise control cable. I am constantly worried now that the car will do it again.

- Peachtree Corners , GA, USA

problem #22

Jun 012013

Tribute

  • 199,900 miles

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

The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph and braking for a traffic stop, the vehicle accelerated with a rapid increase in engine rpms. After repeated attempts, the vehicle came to a stop. The contact would experience the failure sporadically and without warning. The vehicle was recently repaired under NHTSA campaign id number 12V357000 (engine and engine cooling, speed control). The malfunction happened after the recall remedy repair was performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 199,900.

- Enfield, NC, USA

problem #21

Apr 022013

Tribute 6-cyl

  • 67,200 miles
Just started noticing that when I let my foot off the gas, the car does not "naturally" de-celerate/slow down, it keeps going! have to press the brake to slow down from anywhere from 30-45 mph. I see there was a recall August 2000, this was before car was purchased in November 2000 by my boyfriend, who later gave me the car in 2009, how would we have known such a defect existed prior to purchase" what is the dealer/manufacturers obligation to fix it before it was sold to an individual" haven't taken the car to dealer yet, but we plan to. This is a highly unsafe condition. I do not feel I should have to bear the expense to have it repaired.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #20

Jan 042013

Tribute

  • 147,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the contact accelerated and the accelerator pedal seized causing the vehicle to erroneously accelerate. The vehicle was not taken to a mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 12V357000 (vehicle speed control:cables). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 147,000.

- Longville, MN, USA

problem #19

Sep 282012

Tribute

  • 148,260 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 00V210002 (vehicle speed control) and took the vehicle to the dealer for repairs. The contact stated that the cruise control light no longer illuminated when activated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 148,260 and the current mileage was 148,293.

- San Gabriele, CA, USA

problem #18

Jul 032012

Tribute 6-cyl

  • 130,100 miles

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

The vehicle present several problems when driving, gear shift more than three time and the broken eg valve more than four time, shaking engine, stop and discontinue working, ,,,,,,

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #17

May 042009

Tribute 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 103,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph the accelerator pedal was abnormally depressed into the floorboard and became stuck, causing the vehicle to accelerate rapidly. The contact had to shift into neutral in order to stop the vehicle. The contact discovered the throttle cable had become lodged between the engine motor plate. The contact pulled the plate off and corrected the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000 and the current mileage was 150,000. Updated 09/05/12 updated 09/05/12

- Allen, TX, USA

problem #16

Jul 302011

Tribute 6-cyl

  • 180,000 miles
2001 Mazda Tribute V6. Pulled out pushed the gas pedal to the floor got up to speed of about 35-40 let off the gas and the car was still at wide open throttle put the car in neutral applied brakes which didn't help because brakes do not work then the engine is revving, also slammed on the gas pedal a few times hoping to un-jam the throttle cable. I knew it wasn't a stuck pedal because the pedal returned. Turned the key back one notch to only kill the engine and still allow me to steer hoping to get a little better braking also pulled up slowly on the handbrake at this time to help me stop and pulled over. Tried to start the car again and it was still at wide open throttle so with the engine off I popped the hood and while trying to reach the throttle linkage I lifted the engine cover and the throttle slammed shut so I had my girlfriend push the throttle to the floor to verify that it did infact get caught on the engine cover so I moved it out of the way and drove home making sure to not go wide open throttle I then removed the engine cover when I got home and the car has been able to go wide open throttle ever since with no incidents. I do not know what speed I reached before it was over but had there been traffic sitting at the next intersection I would have ran into them or had to ditch it.

- Canal Winchester, OH, USA

problem #15

May 292010

Tribute

  • 103,642 miles
Picked up my Mazda from having new brakes installed to take boat out on memorial weekend. Luckily I was towing my boat as the drag slowed me from going any faster as I approached the on ramp to interstate I-69 and my acceleration wasn't under my control. I was told at the time from Firestone that it was caused by the poor design and location of the cruise control cable. I have learned this week that there is a petition 49 cfr part 552;557 on this matter. I am bothered that steps were not taken to notify current owners of this problem, and that this incident could have endangered my life. I consider myself lucky of the circumstances that I mentioned and I wasn't yet on the interstate when this occurred!! this could have been addressed within the recall time frame of my aging, but still reliable tribby!

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #14

May 092009

Tribute

  • 210,000 miles
2001 Tribute was in cruise control cresting a hill when traffic slowed, I applied the brakes but soon realized that not only was the car still in cruise, but that the engine was beginning to race and I was having to brake hard. I was able to get to the shoulder and placed the car into neutral whereupon the engine revved so high that it shut itself down. I had it towed to my mechanic who was unable to find anything wrong with the car. I feared the worst but some system shut the engine down before it self-destructed.

- Santa Barbara, CA, USA

problem #13

May 242009

Tribute

  • 120,000 miles
My Tribute has started to accelerate by itself. It scares me anymore to drive it. When I start it sometimes the pedal goes straight down by itself and reverse up the motor and just the other day I was slowly backing out of a parking space and when I put my foot on the brake the accelerator pedal went to the floor and jerk me back fast I was lucky I had my foot on the brake. I just pushed the brake to the floor and it stopped. This is happening alot lately and getting worst. My car should not accelerate by itself. Now after reading that there are alot of Tribute owners having the same problem I am really scared to drive mine.

- Big Clifty, KY, USA

problem #12

Dec 212008

Tribute

  • 83,000 miles
On Sunday 12/21/08, while driving my 2001 Mazda Tribute on local freeway at approximately 55 mph, in close to 0 degree Fahrenheit weather, I experienced stuck throttle. Gas pedal and the portion of associated linkage visible from passenger compartment were not obstructed in any way. All efforts to return engine to idle speed, including rapidly depressing gas pedal to near the floor and then rapidly releasing it, were unsuccessful. Throttle was stuck at 4000 RPM. Had to put transmission into neutral and then coast to a stop on an offramp. Once stopped, I turned off and then restarted engine several times. At restart, engine would immediately race up to and stay at 4000 RPM, even though I did not even touch the gas pedal. Wound up having to get vehicle towed to a Mazda dealer repair facility, which was closed at the time due to it being Sunday. The dealership representative told me that, upon restarting the vehicle the next day, the throttle was no longer stuck. Said the linkage "probably froze up" due to the previous day's cold weather but had "thawed out". he recommended lubricating it, which I authorized. On 1/1/09, I dropped the vehicle at a different Mazda repair facility because of an unrelated problem. The dealer representative told me that, when he drove the vehicle into the garage from outside (where it had sat overnight in near zero weather), the throttle stuck. The throttle stuck a few times last winter in 10 degree or below weather but only momentarily. I noted today, according to your website, that there was a recall on 2001mazda Tributes equipped with "speed control" because of a defect that caused throttles to stick. I am not sure what "speed control" is. My Tribute, which I purchased used, does not have "cruise control." Whether it originally had "cruise control", which may have been removed by someone prior to my purchase, I do not know.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #11

Aug 232008

Tribute

  • 97,200 miles
After starting my 2001 Mazda Tribute recently, the engine revved to 4000rpm. This happened more than once. Drove to mechanic and he indicated that the throttle cable was sticking. This presents a serious safety issue. Went online to look at recalls. Found out that 121,000 Tributes made between 2002-2004 have nhsta recalls for sticking throttle control cables. Mazda North America indicated my vehicle was not included in a recall campaign for the throttle cable based on the VIN.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #10

Jan 212008

Tribute 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 112,779 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Mazda Tribute. While idling at a red light, the vehicle accelerated and increased to 4 RPM's on its own. The vehicle would not return to idle. The vehicle had to be turned off and was towed to the dealer. The dealer currently has the vehicle and it has not been diagnosed. NHTSA campaign id number 00V210002 (vehicle speed control) was referenced. The current mileage was 112,781 and failure mileage was 112,779.

- Holt, MI, USA

problem #9

Oct 022003

Tribute 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100,000 miles
In the past 30 days I have had 5 incidents where upon exiting from the highway the rpms on my 2001 Mazda Tribute failed to come down to idle speed when I was trying to stop. This caused the vehicle to pull and I had to apply the breaks hard. I tried putting the vehicle into neutral and when I did the vehicle's rpms increased to over 4000. I was able to pull over and shut the vehicle off. It takes about 20 minutes of the vehicle being off before I am able to restart and resume normal operation. I have taken the vehicle into the dealership but they were unable to find anything wrong when they ran their diagnostics an they were unable to recreate the problem. I contacted Mazda after seeing a description of a similar problem in NHTSA campaign id: 00V210002, but was told that there was no recall and they refused to acknowledge that there were any investigations or recalls for the 2001 Tributes.

- Houston, TX, USA

Read the next 8 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?