Used 2005 Mazda Tribute Consumer Reviews
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Nice but too many issues
mitc1109, 05/20/2009
2005 Mazda Tribute s Fwd 4dr SUV (3.0L 6cyl 4A)
18 of 21 people found this review helpful
Bought it new off the lot in 2005. Got a great deal so I can't complain all that much. However, I have never been able to keep rotors on it. Have had them replaced three times!! When stopping, the vibrations are ridiculous! Props to the dealership though who has replaced the rotors every time under warranty. Just a hassle. Gas mileage is not great but it's pretty good in the New England snow for a FWD vehicle. I still like it a lot better than the Ford Escape (someone else in my family has one of those). Fun to drive and the 6 cylinder has some good pickup.
Cream of the Crop
srambus, 11/30/2004
2005 Mazda Tribute i Fwd 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl 4A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
My 16yr old son and I spent a good month of his summer vacation test driving and researching smaller SUV's. After extensive research and many many test drives, the Tribute clearly rose to the top. Best combination of gas mileage and style and comfort. When a KILLER deal came up in the local paper I jumped on it. I love the fact that the interior gives me the feeling of driving a much larger SUV, yet the actual driving and handling are definately carlike and peppy. The steering wheel has a nice grip and texture to it. In other SUVs I felt a roll or tipping sensation going around corners, but in the Tribute it's practically non- existant. All in all, Zoom Zoom for sure!
Its old, so what do expect?
Uncle Jon, 12/27/2018
2005 Mazda Tribute s AWD 4dr SUV (3.0L 6cyl 4A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
When buying any 10+ year vehicle with over 150K miles, realize the engine is due for an overhaul and a lot things start going bad. I owned this vehicle since it was new and preferred a Luxury model such as this. The leather seats were very cheaply made and wore through after 5 years. Gas mileage was always abysmal, but that is always true of the larger Ford engines. Very few repairs in the early years except for an early replacement of the coil set (2 times). Engine light stayed lit for 3 years and we could not figure out why. I guess that dashboard light was well made.
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2005 Mazda tribute s v6
ericvlewis, 08/02/2013
2005 Mazda Tribute s Fwd 4dr SUV (3.0L 6cyl 4A)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
Driving strong at 255K miles only 2000 in maintenance since I bought it in 2006 phenomenal vehicle
Terrible build quality
Ryan, 03/17/2016
2005 Mazda Tribute s AWD 4dr SUV (3.0L 6cyl 4A)
19 of 24 people found this review helpful
I've owned this car since 2005 and treated it pretty well. Only 125,000 miles on it, and it's totaled now. Mazda won't recall an inherent flaw causing passenger wheel well to rust out prematurely around strut mount. It's a $3000+ repair. I've already put $3000 into damages when the ecm caused engine misfires on one side of engine at 82,000 miles, destroying 2 of the 3 catalytic converters in the process, and another $1000 or so in random parts like alternator, starter control arms etc. Stay away from this dumpster fire of a vehicle, and it's twins the Ford escape and mercury mariner which feature the same flaws.
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