Mazda Protege5

subyaudidude

I just might do that!

I guess, just because of my preferential holding position, the thin shaft/golfball top doesn't work for me. It's only the same from every "angle" if you like having the palm of your hand resting on the surface of the knob itself. For me, I like having my palm wrapped around the shaft, and with the golfball knob top it just doesn't work for me.

bluong1

not holding it at all. According to those who practice car racing, when shift backward, just pull the shaft with the fingers, and when shift forward, push it with the palm of the hand, both with the hand semi opened. I tried it, and it doesn't work well on me. May be I get a bad driving habit. ;-(

Bruno

coastcruiser

Ok, you guys, get this. My local dealer wanted (GASP!) - hold on to your old knobs {grin}- $250!!! for the fresher handle! Pshaw. I'll learn to live with it...It was just whimsy after all...jus' stylin' stuff, ya'know. But I learned something about how others operate the manual tranny. 'subyaudidude', I assume your palm is up when you shift? Or facing left?
Oh My Gawd Ernie

mazdafun

Probably a couple months from now, refresh P5s will start showing up in junkyards. The shift knob should be intact.

[for the P5s]

silver_bullet

... a mail order source for the knob. There are Mazda dealers with parts departments that operate fairly large mail order/online businesses in addition to their walk-in counter business. Most of these outfits offer pretty decent discounts off list price - check around and see if you can't find the knob at a realistic price somewhere else. FWIW, wrecking yards can be a good source for goodies, but keep in mind these guys weren't born yesterday. They have access to price information, so they are usually well aware of retail and wholesale parts prices. Most of the local yards in my area charge about half of retail, depending on the part and how good of a customer you are... you aren't going to get that $250 knob for $5

alternator

in a road test by the Canadian auto magazine "World of Wheels"

See http://www.autonet.ca/wow/stories.cfm?storyID=5134

winlet28

Just curious if anyone has any problems with the black interior of the PR5? Does it collect excessive dust and hair? Is it easy to clean?

Thanks

bluong1

is very easy to clean. I don't see why the black interior would collect more or less dust than other color.

Bruno

bluong1

My understanding is whatever modifications they made, some characteristics of the car could get worse.

1) lower the car doesn't improve the handling.
2) cold air intake may run a risk while driving in high water zone (we know it in Houston).
3) new exhaust will make the car sounds louder.

I think I'll keep my car the way it is (though may be a short shift kit would be nice).

Bruno

wayde

is GREAT!! no, it does not collect excessive dust... in fact it collects less than the black dash of my vw gti (btw, horrible car for reliability!).

mdaffron

First of all I don't know how you can compare dirt-trapping features of a cloth seat and a vinyl dash.

I have two Proteges in my driveway, a 2000 Protege ES with gray upholstery and a 2002 Protege5 with black upholstery. I am the designated car washer/vacuumer/maintainer in the family.

Friends, there is no comparison.

I absolutely HATE the upholstery in my wife's Protege5. Its velour quality is apparent when I slide out of the seat, feeling the upholstery "hanging on" to my pants. It attracts and holds every hair, every little speck of dirt, and every piece of lint it can, and cleaning it is twice as hard as cleaning the upholstery in the 2000 ES. If you'll take a close look at it, the fabric on the Protege5's seats very closely resembles the fabric you'll find on a lint brush, and it works just as well.

Sorry -- these are Proteges three and four for me, and I love these cars, don't get me wrong -- but the upholstery in the Protege5 is a sticky point with me in more ways than one!

Meade

bluong1

mileage might vary... I have no problem whatsoever vacuuming the seats. I have a small Nova-Skotia-duck-tolling-retreiver (well a dog if you like) who loss a lot of her hairs. Now, if we are talking about the trunk carpet is another story.

Bruno

dsm6

Oh, you have a P5, so it is in the hatch. ;-)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

bluong1

so do you trade the gti for a P5?

silver_bullet

If I ever decide to go for the P5, I'm probably going to avoid the seat lint problem by ordering my car with the very reasonably priced factory leather. It is perforated for ventilation, and really dresses up the interior IMO.

bluong1

funny face you. ;-)

wayde

Thank God! It was such a pain. I've had my P5 since November .... NO problems whatsoever - 13000 trouble free, rattle free miles... with lots of fun on the twisties (handles much better than the softly sprung GTI)
My GS-R, GTI, and P5 have all had black interiors - cloth on GS-R and P5. I see no difference in the amount of lint or whatever on my seats.... and i'm not old or blind

taddison

Sticky velour might be annoying to clean, but it's great for holding you in your place when cornering fast!

I have it in my 87 Nissan Sentra Sport Coupe, which has some of the best sport seats in any car I've seen (adjustable lumbar support AND adjustable width side bolsters, sporty yet still very comfortable for 700 mile trips). The cloth is still in almost mint condition after 15 years.

Regarding wind noise, I was looking at P5's this weekend and noticed that the mid-cycle refresh models have a knobby rubber strip glued to the bottom front edge of the front crossbar. My guess is that this is designed to reduce the wind noise that people on this board have been complaining about. I wonder if this strip is available from the parts department for people who own pre-refresh models...

I was actually looking for a silver mid-cycle refresh 5-speed with sunroof and abs/airbags. There are none available (in any color) in the Dallas area, as far as I can tell. I suspect Mazda assumes that people buying 5-speeds are cheapskates and probably don't want any other options. Myself, I want a 5-speed because I prefer it regardless of cost, but I still want the other options. Does anyone have experience special-ordering a P5? How long does it take?

mdaffron

You just admitted you've had black interiors in all your cars, so you don't know what a pain in the butt the black interior really is! It's not as much the color as the surface of the material. Entirely different from the material in the 2000 sedan.

Meade

mdaffron

I saw a couple matching your description (one was blue and the other was white) on my lot here in Richmond, VA last Thursday. Was doing a little snooping around while my 2000 ES (40,000 trouble-free miles) was having its recalled ignition coil replaced. (Dunno why, car was running fine.)

Anyway, they apparently do make the Protege5 outfitted the way you want it -- but maybe it's not too popular in your area. Ask them if they can order it.

Meade

bluong1

P5 is an awesome car isn't it? May be not as powerful as the gti but one can still have a lot of fun driving it.

My soccer mate (who own a bmw 325) car pools with me for the third time and he is still impress by my P5. Last week he asked me if my car have a turbo or not. LOL. Yesterday when I enter fast a right curve, he grabs the handle thinking that I was insane, but soon realizes the the car sucks the road and does not have body roll at all.

Bruno

subyaudidude

the interior of the P5 is sooooo easy to clean. The Passat's interior was like a fur magnet (we had two cats back then). Plus, when it got the fur it was like velcro. I swear the ends of the interior fiber were "hooked" so as to catch and hold as much of it as possible. That is my reference point and I can say, by far, the P5 interior is much much much easier to take care of and keep clean.

Sporin

Meade

My referance is 3 years with a black cloth interior-ed Passat. That stuff was like masking tape and held every spec of lint and hair it could. It was awfull... you couldn't even vaccum it up.

The P5's interior, by contrast, certainly shows the lint, but it vaccums up VERY easily and is gone.

The hatch rug is another story though. I think it's made of Velcro. I put down a generic rubber mat to cover it.

mdaffron

We have two long-haired cats RIGHT NOW, and I'll say that every hair my wife brings into the car on her clothes gets hooked into the fabric in her P5. I've had to resort to one of those tape roller lint picker-uppers they sell at the pet store to get stuff off her upholstery that my 12-amp Eureka won't pull up. And using the brush attachment on the Eureka just rolls up the hair and lint into long strands that STILL stick to the upholstery.

Say what you want -- I ain't lyin'! I've been having fun with this car's upholstery since January 29!

Meade

bluong1

may be Meade's cats have bad and sticky hairs? ;-)

mdaffron

LOL.

Meade

alternator

That Canadian "World of Wheels" web site (I referred to in a recent post) prominently displayed "July 2002" on top each of their web pages, so I thought the material was current. Sorry.

Apparently their road tests were of the 2000 Mazda Protege LX and the 2001 Mazda Protege5. Nice favorable write-ups in any case.

subyaudidude

The web link you posted was current. It's a 2002 Progete5 they're talking about. Actually, they weren't made in 2001 so it has to be a 2002.

bluong1

Ouch, I just realize why Meade wrote about the sedan ignition recall topic on the P5-problems board. He just wanted to shift the bad statistic number on us. ;-)

winlet28

I figured that the PR5's collect hair and lint on the seats due to the fabric. After my test drive I looked at the back seat and saw a bit of it. No big deal but my dalmation sheds like it's snowing.

My 1999.5 Jetta did the same thing. Our dogs were never in the car but it appeared like they lived in the thing. I can get a red with leather/moon 17,000 or blue with the cloth-like seats/moon for 15, 500. Big difference in price for that inexpensive MSRP of leather. Plus the blue comes with the shiny wheels. Go figure.

Thanks for the posts guys.

winlet28

Our 2000 Proto ES cleans up really easy, the seats great.

bluong1

I can vacuum your car for three full year, once every 2 weeks for 1500 bucks.

mustang87

I find it that the p5 interior is easy to clean. i have seat covers up front. i take em off and shove them into the washer. i vacuum everything else, the doors, seats, carpet, hatch area and try to get every crevice. i also covered the floor with plasticy mat from home depot cut to size. i just take those out, spray them and they are done. when they get dirty i throw them away and go spend 10 bucks on another set. i use that lint lifter on the seats and door panels. thus my seats and floor after 20k miles are in better than showroom condition. btw, what do you guys use to clean the dash. i have heard so many people say that armor all is not good. why?

mustang87

my club, intense performance mazda club here south florida is planning a trip to georgia, south and north carolinas. in georgia we plan on visiting atlanta and NOPI show. south carolina we will most likely go through greenville and visit the BMW factory and proving grounds and in north carolina we will attack the blue ridge parkway. We will be planning a route this friday. Is there anybody that wants to join our little tour along the way? Any mazda and year welcome to do so. I'll keep you guys posted.

iamz

CONCLUSION 1: If you don't own pets, the interior stays pretty clean. When you do have to clean, it's easy to vacuum up the lint and dust. The exception is the trunk mat which tenaciously holds on to anything it contacts.

CONCLUSION 2: If you do own pets (especially long haired cats that like to roll around on your breakfast dishes) you will have more of a problem keeping the interior clean.

Is everyone happy? Did I get it right?

bluong1

Sporin

Well, we do let them roll in our syrupy plates after breakfast.
LOL.

Meade

bwahahahahaha!! I almost shot coffee out my nose!!!

mdaffron

"Ouch, I just realize (sic) why Meade wrote about the sedan ignition recall topic on the P5-problems board. He just wanted to shift the bad statistic number on us. ;-)"

BRRRRP!!! Wrong!!!

I posed the question there because I found maltb there -- and as we all know maltb is a Mazda expert. I'd asked the question earlier on the sedans discussion but got no response. So I thought I'd take it to him. So sorry. But I didn't feel so horrible about doing it since the Tribute was also being discussed there.

(BTW, why'd you bring it up HERE? Seems that's the pot calling the kettle black!)

Meade

maltb

maltb is a Mazda expert

When he's not busy posting smar tass responses. Wait he's always busy doing that. There goes that expert theory.

tetonman

I didn't see anything in owner's manual about this topic. Does Mazda start off with a break-in oil or should I change at 1,000 miles to get rid of the metal bits?

Thanks.

bluong1

IMHO, if the manual doesn't say anything specifically, than you shouldn't worry. My first oil change is at 3798 miles. The car runs smooth like silk at 19k miles. But wait the wisdom words (read: smar tass) of our expert maltb. ;-)

Bruno

protege_fan

When I first got my Pro, I asked the same question. The assistant service manager said "no, there is no special break-in oil".

Also, I got my oil changed early...at 5000 km as opposed to the 7500 listed in the manual.

bluong1

"[first oil change at] 7500 listed in the manual."

Isn't that the manual lists several maintenance schedule depending on how hard the car is driven? When I look all the criterias to qualify for a long-interval service schedule (oil change every 7500 miles), it seems unlikely that I can meet all the requirements (hot weather is one thing.) I change the oil every 5k miles.

dsm6

Right, except he's talking km, and you are talking miles.

bluong1

bluong1

I'm probably move to europe (France) very soon. The P5 is so nice that I would like to bring it there. Few concerns though:

1) Is the warranty is still hold in europe.

2) It seems that gas in europe is different than here. Do I need to do modify something on my car? If yes who can do it?

Thanks,

Bruno

protege_fan

I really have no idea, but here's my $.02.

It's hard enough getting a car's warranty to work in the US if the car is boutght from Canada and vice versa. In fact, most companies immediately void the warranty if the car is imported like this. They're called grey-market cars.

Now, when you take the car to France, you're no longer dealing with MNA anymore...it's totally seperate, and I really don't think the warranty would transfer.

In terms of gas, check the manual again. There's normally 2 different methods of octane determination and as long as you use the minimum, you should be ok.

Again, I'm no expert...just what I think

the_big_h

unheard of!

when I was in France 2 years ago (before I bought the Protege), on the street were mostly Citroens and Fiats, with the usual BMW/MB added in. But the surprise car of the whole time I was in Europe, was the little car known as SMART! (the ! is actually part of the name). Those little things are so cool! people park it in motorcycle spaces! wow!

c_mcpeak

2 weeks of happy ownership!

Couple of questions/points:

1.) How easy is it to remove and then replace the roof rack crossbeams? I think they look pretty sharp, plus they're handy for moving stuff around, so I don't want to take them off and store them permanently. Plus I haven't had any issues with wind noise, at least not yet. Anyway, I figure that I would want to take them off before going through the car wash, but if its too much of a production then I might just go ahead and take them off unless I know I'll need them.

2.) I asked the dealer about oil changes, he recommended the first to be at 1500 miles, then follow the usual schedule. Said that the aluminum engines tended to have some metal flakes end up in the oil during the break-in period, so you should flush it out once that is over. I asked about using dino or synthetic oil, and he just gave me what a professor in college (describing us students) called the lizard stare (...blink.....blink....) Hmmm, no help there. I guess it's personal preference.

3.) So far the only problem I've been having is the engine idling too high when I first start the car. I'm assuming it isn't cold temperature-related, since it's August and the mornings haven't been particularly chilly. And it does it whenever I start driving, not just in the morning on the way to work. It isn't running *too* high, but seems to hang around 1500-2000rpm. Then after a little more driving it drops back into a "normal" idle range. Anyone else experience this? I'm not worrying too much, yet, since it might have something to do with the engine breaking in, but it's a little annoying. Especially considering the last straw for my old car was when the throttle starting sticking again (after being replaced twice already).

Anyway, hope everyone is having fun with their cars. I am!

bluong1

under the old name Mazda 323F. The Hatch body is much more popular than the sedan because is more compact to park and more practice to carry stuffs. They have turbo diesel engines (1.6 & 2.0l) and also smaller gas engines (I think 1.3, 1.6l) Japanese cars have never been popular in France because it sold at the price of German cars. From what I read, the maximum speed doesn't seem to be electronically limited (127 mph whereas I think our poor cars are castrated around 115mph, I can only reach 111mph on mine.)

In one of the article, I read that some cars in europe might have different ignition mapping (e.g., earlier spark timing) because of the gas. However, I do not know if it applies to the P5 America vs europe. Therefore I asked the question. It's really suck if I can't ship the car there.

Bruno