Questions and Answers

Mazda 626 Transmission Put On HOLD Q. Hallo I read in your web site that problems with automatic transmission could be electric. I have a 1990 Mazda 626 2.0i. There is a HOLD switch on the gear shifter and this work fine when everything's normal. Very often the HOLD lamp is blinking on the dashboard and then the transmission don't go longer then second gear.

If I go fast like 120 km/h, third and fourth gear comes in, but when I slow down to 70 km/h, first it go to neutral and then second gear again. When the lamp don't blink everything's okay. It gears slowly all four gears before 70 km/h, 1,500 rpm. And when I press HOLD switch rpm goes up 300 rpm, or it goes to neutral and second gear again, just like I interrupt something.

The car has run 161,000 kilometers. When it runs nice I sometimes can feel like some small "jumps" like some electric fault. I have talked to different companies here in Norway, and they say it looses pressure and have to be opened and overhauled.

Mazda dealer in my place say I have an electronic transmission its old and most probably I have to change it. To get my transmission overhauled would cost me 2,500 Euro (2,931.02 USD) plus labor. I gave 2,000 Euro (2,344.77 USD) for the car.

What I was hoping was if maybe you could tell me it could be an electric problem, because I don't think the Mazda dealer here knows what they talk about. And they don't have the tools to find out or help me.

Thanks in advance...

A. The HOLD light is telling you the Transmission Control Module (TCM) has detected a problem and has stored a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC).

Unfortunately there is no way to access the stored codes in the TCM without a scan tool. The Mazda Dealer should do this before condemning the transmission. Give them a chance to do the scan and if they still insist on replacing the transmission without the scan, I would call Mazda and file a complaint.

The fact that it comes and goes would tend to make me believe the problem is electrical in nature.