The Lemon Index
Transmission complaints owners filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) for each model year, per 100,000 cars sold. A complaint counts when it's filed under the transmission, or under the power train and the owner describes the transmission (shifting, slipping, gears, CVT). It's an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.
What owners describe
Share of this model's transmission complaints that mention each symptom. One complaint can mention several.
In owners' words
The clutch on a standard tramission has gone out and stated to be abused. The clutch has not been abused the car is 15 months old and has 14000 miles on it.
2003 Mazda6 owner · NHTSA complaint
5-speed manual is very difficult to shift in lower gears. Very noticeable when downshifting into 1st or 2nd gear. When very cold, you cannot get into 2nd gear when upshifting. Have taken into dealer 3 times with them not being able to duplicate problem.
2003 Mazda6 owner · NHTSA complaint
Quick answers
Which Mazda6 years have transmission problems?
By transmission complaints filed with NHTSA per car sold, the worst Mazda6 years are 2003, 2006, 2005.
What are common Mazda6 transmission problems?
Owners most often describe hard or jerky shifting, lost power while driving, slipping.
Which Mazda6 years have the fewest transmission complaints?
Since 2010, the Mazda6 years with the fewest transmission complaints per car sold are 2010, 2011, 2017.
See every problem, not just the transmission: Mazda6 reliability by year. How we count