Bought new in 2004, now has 245,000 miles
kaiserdr, 07/01/2015
LX 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
46 of 46 people found this review helpful
I rarely give anything five stars but the service I have had on this vehicle deserves it. I bought my MPV brand new from the dealer and only had routine problems. My vehicle is approaching 245,000 miles and runs perfectly. We have maintained the exterior and interior of this vehicle. I was recently at the dealer to have the air-bag replaced and a mechanic there said several owners bring their MPVs in for maintenance and have more than 250,000 miles on them. The only unexpected failure I had on this vehicle was 2016 when the sunroof leaked ($100 repair) and the power driver's seat failed. 2018 Update: This vehicle now has 215,000 miles. The vehicle overheated in 2017 due to a radiator failure. Note, a local mechanic tried to rip-me-off, wanted $1,200 for a radiator from Mazda and suggested it might need other parts and a head gasket. I replaced the entire cooling system with re-manufactured parts from JC Whitney for $200 and a local mechanic installed them for $200--it has now run another 30,000 miles with no problem. 2020 update: This vehicle now has 245,000 miles. I got a notice from Mazda last week saying that although they already replaced the air bags, they need to do more work on them. 01/02/2021, not driving much due to COVID, this vehicle is now around 250,000 and still going strong.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Great, but need some help
Sm00ve, 10/15/2009
ES 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
17 of 17 people found this review helpful
My van is my baby (I loves my dog [Wuff]). The biggest problem I have is that I can't find a maintenance manual for the body. She's at 100K miles, but I can't change the rear brakes because I can't adjust them out far enough to accommodate new shoes (they're pretty tricky for rear disc brakes). Other than that, she's great. I even figured out how to change the spark plugs without having to drop the main harness or the engine (not the easiest thing to do, but it's doable).
Multiple problems with coils in engine
Lorf, 11/16/2010
ES 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
21 of 22 people found this review helpful
Bought the vehicle used in 2008 with about 40,000 miles. Loved it at first, rode smoothly, feels like a car, looks great for a minivan and love that the sliding door windows roll down. Fast forward to about 75,000 miles. The first engine coil goes. 90,000 two more blow. Now at 101,000 miles, the 4th coil is being replaced tomorrow. There is a design defect in the coil placement in this MPV that allows water to enter the coils, and shorten the live considerably. Some other little things here and there, but the engine is the big issue. Trading it in for a more reliable vehicle right after the repair is done.
91K and need new engine
L Reynolds, 07/24/2010
ES 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
The 2004 Mazda MPV was reliable until about 65K when I started having trouble with numerous ignition coils. The last straw was last week - replaced all three rear coils - #3 kept misfiring and dealership recommended to replace them all. Then ck eng. light came on again and they cleaned fuel injectors. Light came on again, they turned it off because it said #3 coil again and it was just replaced. Last Friday started and it shook like a go cart - had it towed - now I am told the engine is blown. They want $7K to replace and $3300 for a rebuilt with 1 yr warranty. So frustrating - used to love this van but now am afraid of all its problems - don't know whether to fix - worth $500. now!
Stay away from the 2004 Mazda MPV
rvgray13, 06/30/2015
ES 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
18 of 21 people found this review helpful
I bought this van used from a dealer. It didn't have a lot of miles on it (less than 50K, I think). It has been nothing but problems, coil packs go out regularly (I've replaced at least 6 times), shift shock, front end control arms, hub bearings, tie rods. Terrible gas mileage. I have contacted Mazda corporate several times and they pretend they haven't heard of the issues. Funny how the complaints are all over the web. I think the transmission just went out and I am leaning towards junking it and getting else.
Best mini van I ever owened!
emsoccermom, 09/18/2012
ES 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
17 of 20 people found this review helpful
I bought this all most new it had 6000 miles on it. I have 230,000 miles on it. The miles were split between stop and go and highway miles. I have only had minor things brake like the drivers side window motor. I have had nothing mojor, knock on wood.
Loved this Van
rose74, 01/17/2013
LX 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
I never had much wrong with my mazda mpv. I drove it for almost 8 yrs. It only had alittle over 100,000 miles on it. I replaced all my coil packs, vacum hose, and brakes. it ran as smoothe as it did the day I bought it. I was in an accident and they totaled it. I looked for another one but none close to me. I like my other van now but miss my Mazda Alot.
Great scores but.....
PatrickInAlabama, 02/03/2010
LX 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
The issue is once we approached 5 years/80K miles, the engine light came on. It's been downhill ever since. After 8 visits to 5 different shops including the dealer, we paid $3K to fix the catalytic converter. The final straw is 1 day after forking over $3,000, the light comes on again and the transmission shifts all over the place. The dealer has no clue. If you ever are told you have to replace the catalytic converter ....don't. Time to go shopping. We were told we need to spend another $300 for some assembly and the guy wasn't sure this would fix the problem.
2004 Mazda MPV - only get the rare ES!!
Tyler, 11/25/2007
ES 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
I had a 2003 MPV LX and loved it but then I decided to go for some new technology like the 2004 has. I looked at Odyssey and Sienna but they are really too bulky and wide which makes them unsafe to manuever out of someone's way. I loved the 2004 MPV (the new body style) but had to order an ES. ESes are very rare since they are the top model and I also wanted all the options and packages, DVD, sport package - very rare, sunroof.
7 seater Sport-Car !!!
Raymond Wong, 09/15/2003
LX 4dr Minivan (3.0L 6cyl 5A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Got my mpv two days ago. It's accleration surprised me. Also, the 7 seater effortlessly zoomed uphill, it also stopped with precision since the ABS and electronic brake force distribution helped tremendrously. The handling is top-notch in the minivan category. The look of the GFX package is handsome. A must-have minivan for fun driving.