For the first time for a Mazda, the 626 began manufacturing in the US at Flat Rock, Michigan on 1 September 1992 for the 1993 model year. The car was originally known as the "626 Cronos" in Canada, but dropped the Cronos for the 1996 model year. Mazda's 2.5-liter V6 engine debuted to rave reviews. Though the 626's manual transmission was highly regarded,The Spokesman-Review, Page D3, 17 August 1996 U.S.-built four-cylinder 626s from 1994 onwards used the widely used Ford CD4E automatic transmission (designated by Mazda as LA4A-EL), which replaced the 1993 model's Japanese sourced transmission, which continued on in the V6 model. The CD4E was manufactured in Batavia, Ohio under ZF Batavia, a joint venture between Ford and ZF Friedrichshafen AG. In service in the Mazda 626, the transmission was reputed to have a higher failure rate than in other applications. It is widely known to transmission specialists that the CD4E overheats due to a poorly designed valve body and torque converter. Mazda issued relevant Technical Service Bulletins (0400502, 01598, 003/97K, 006/95) regarding the transmission and torque converter. The CD4E was produced until 2008 at Batavia and was never officially recalled in any application. In 1994, a passenger side airbag was added, whilst some models of the 1994 and 1995 Mazda 626 2.0L automatics were outfitted with Ford's EEC-IV diagnostic system. In North America, the V6 spread to the LX trim in addition to the leather ES trim. New for 1996 and 1997 models were a redesigned hood (raised center portion), chrome grille fairing (attached to the hood), and the introduction of the on Board Diagnostics II revision (OBD-II).
