I was on a hiking trip to Utah. First day of the trip and the car suddenly downshifted hard going up a hill. Next day, the sudden shifting was worse and the car had a gravel sound coming from the front. I took it to a local mechanic who saw no leaks. I drove the car only 10 miles or so that day. Next morning, I drove 4 miles and at a stop sign the car lurched and would not continue in drive or reverse.

I had to have it towed for $1800 all the way back to Albuquerque. The dealer is assessing but I got the impression that they are looking for a reason not to cover it under warranty. I am looking at about $5000 to repair out of pocket when they deny warranty coverage.

Update from Apr 21, 2021: The dealer got back to me on Monday and it was the transmission. It is covered by warranty. Luckily, I had 58000 miles on a 60000 warranty. At least it is not out of pocket other than the fortune for towing.

This is my third Mazda 3 in eight years. I loved Mazda up until this. It only takes one bad incident to ruin a brand for me. I will never, never buy a Mazda again. The service rep said that the transmission basically fell apart internally.