Mazda Protegé

regfootball · July 2003

which road will i see you cruising the TC on? and what color is your six?

if you see a wave from a green Taurus SLO or a white Diamante on 494 that'd be me.

oskwi · July 2003

"...but I find there's a lot of overlap between these two groups."

Come to Wisconsin some time to see the epitome of clueless (both pedestrian and driver). Here are some examples:
1. If you are turning left on a green light, it is not uncommon to have the oncoming traffic stop dead and wave you on, even though they have the right of way.

2. It is common for pedestrains to cross against the traffic lights and cause near accidents. On one occasion, a father and small boy were crossing against the light and almost got clipped by the front of my car when the left arrow turned green because they were actually hiding in front of a huge SUV in the left hand lane on my right. (His light was green too, so they were actually holding up that lane of traffic!) I guess they thought they would cross after my light switched knowing that they were in a blind spot! Not to mention, why would someone stop crossing in the middle of the road?? Thank God I never gun it at the lights!!

If the tornadoes don't get you, a clueless driver will!!

vocus · July 2003

The hold up for my car seems to be parts coming in right now, not mechanical problems.

newcar31 · July 2003

I live in Eden Prairie and work in downtown, so you'll see me on crosstown, 169, and 394. It's a silver 6 without the sport package and with the 16 inch alloys. I try to avoid 494 near my house because the traffic is really bad.

regfootball · July 2003

chanhassen, so i know what you mean. lots of cops hang on 5 and 212. I'll watch your silver tail. I'll tell my leadfoot wife to run interference for you. She's 7 mos. prego and I figure that should keep her from getting speeding tickets for the next few weeks even if they pull her over.

you buy at morries?, there are some BABES working there. Reason enough to buy the car there, IMHO. Hard to concentrate on negotiating a decent deal on the car with such distracting scenery. And thing is, its a classy joint. The guys that sell there too are real good to talk cars with too.

mdaffron · July 2003

You'd better be right about your tires.

After seeing how the ONLY OEM-size replacement tires for Tammy's Protege5 were the same Dumflops that came on the car (and only lasted 20,000 miles), I bit the bullet and took your advice.

I just got off the phone at tires.com after spending $320 on a set of four Falken ZE-512s in 205/50-16. They should be here by Monday and I'll be getting Costco to install them for $9 a tire.

(Chose these guys over TireRack because (a) TireRack doesn't sell the Falken line, and (b) tires.com has FREE SHIPPING on all its tires!)

Meade
Waitin' for new rubber to show up at my door

P.S. The BFG Touring T/A VR4s are doing just fine on the Protege after about 5,000 miles. I've had them rotated already.

mdaffron · July 2003

Mazda's rated higher than Chrysler.

http://www.jdpower.com/presspass/pr/images/2003050bfull.gif

Meade

meinrad · July 2003

Well not really the ONLY tire. The Proxes TPT does come in OEM, but at $30(counting shipping) per tire more than the Falken's I just didn't think it was worth it.

But so far so good for me, Ashu is safe for now.

newcar31 · July 2003

I bought at Walser. The internet lady at Morries told me that "Mazda doesn't build the Mazda6 without options" Funny, then why are they called options if they're not optional. Maybe it's because you didn't have one on your lot?

It was like pulling teeth to get her to talk about any numbers via e-mail. She took forever to respond to e-mails. She quoted me some monthly payment that was about $40 higher a month (or $2400 more) than what I had calculated. First, she lied to me, then she tried to rip me off. I'm done with Morries. I went to Walser and bought the same car she was trying to sell me for the price I wanted to pay for one with no options.

gee35coupe · July 2003

http://www.jdpower.com/presspass/pr/images/2003050bfull.gif

Is that bragging? It's less than 7 points and both are "below average". I woulda kept that link secret.

the_big_h · July 2003

i also have the falken ze-512's, per ashu's recommendation :-)

so far it's been excellent, wet traction has been outstanding, save for my attempts to drive over deep water puddles at 50+ mph(!)

Paul got a PT???? are you kidding me??? show me the thread!

meinrad · July 2003

Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't you forget about me
Will you stand above me
Look my way, never love me.....

ohhhhh sorry, got carried away.

Anyway Hank, check the PT Croozer thread.

And I thought Ashu bought on your recommendation. So now Ashu has 3 of us after him if these tires go bad after 10k miles.

newcar31 · July 2003

They have Porsche above Toyota. Lincoln, Buick, and Cadillac above Honda. There are GM divisions all over the place on that list. Buick at the top, and Pontiac and Oldsmobile below average. They can't be that different.

I thought I saw some recent report that had Mazda right below Honda/Acura and Toyota/Lexus. Was that CR? How could the results be so different?

the_big_h · July 2003

if any of our falkens fail within 10k....

(evil grin) muahahaha

ashutoshsm · July 2003

Trust me, at least for the first 9K+ (around 10K really) miles you WILL be happy

That said, I may never find out how much longer the tires last, although if visible treadwear is any indication, they SHOULD exceed the 30K mile warranty

Of course, if something goes wrong with any of your tires in the near future and you come to me - I'll just say "What Protege? What Falkens?"

ashutoshsm · July 2003

... I flirted with the idea of selling my Michelin MXH4 205/60-16's off my Premium Package Mazda6 wheels with no wear (only 1K miles) and using the money to get some Falken ZIEX ZE-512 in the same size or a slightly lower profile (215/55-16 or 225/50-16, both of which *should* fit Mazda's traditionally thin rims). I haven't decided yet, but with every day (and mile) that passes - I'm growing 'satisfied' with the Michelins. They drift very easily with very little warning, but are quiet enough, and good in the rain I've had so far, although no better than my Pro (which is saying a lot for the Falkens' abilities, considering they're narrower and have less weight from the Pro planting them in those deep puddles at 50+mph!)

mdaffron · July 2003

I wasn't really concerned about the point spread or the proximity of the two makes on that survey.

This was a real chance to get back at Vocus for all those "Protege resale sucks" comments he made when he traded his Protege for the Jetta a year and a half ago.

I just wanted to add a little icing to the irony cake.

Meade

meinrad · July 2003

Over the past weekend some of my cousins were in from the Baltimore area.

One of their boyfriends was driving a 01 EX. Geek that I am, I looked at his tires. They were original Poortenza's with 40k miles on them. When I asked about his wet performance he said he has hydroplaned a few times.

I pretty much told him to get new tires ASAP. He agreed, noting that he needed to be veeeeeeeeery careful in the wet.

Anyway, he was pretty enthusiastic about the car so I put him on some of the places he could hook up for meets and things.

mdaffron · July 2003

You mean a Civic, or was he driving a Protege ES?

meinrad · July 2003

get technical on me.

Protege of course.

ashutoshsm · July 2003

The Mazda numbers include (unfortunately) the badly built Ford trucks and SUV resold, respectively, as the Mazda B Series and the Mazda Tribute. Leave those aside, and consider only Mazda's sedans (the Protege and the 626, then the 6) and you have ratings WELL below industry average. I wouldn't be surprised if they were better (ratings for just those 3 models) than most other supposedly better manufacturers'.

mdaffron · July 2003

You mean well ABOVE?

Why am I Discussion Editor this morning???

Wordman

ashutoshsm · July 2003

LOWER numbers are better, when what you're measuring is problems reported per unit (whatever).

Get Falkens for Zoomster, rid yourself of the slow (larger diameter!) BFGs. You'll get back up to speed and more satisfactorily discharge your pro-bono duties as self-appointed Discussion Editor

anonymousposts · July 2003

ashu: The Tribue and B-series are still Mazdas and should be counted against them much as the Passport and SLX were still counted against Honda/Acura. And even if you only want to count their cars you have to consider the Protege is 5 years old, the 626 has been made since 1998, and the Miata is essentially unchanged since it's introduction in 1991. Other higher-rated brands have had several new models introduced in the last couple of years and are still ranked highly.

Basically, you can't take the models whose quality ratings you like and say those are the cars which the manufacturer should be judged by.

mdaffron · July 2003

For every turn of my axle, I'm going farther -- they're FASTER!

And the wider footprint means they corner better (well, theoretically, all else being equal which it isn't).

How'd that Pontiac ad go? "LA HOOLA OOOOLAAAHHHH!!!!"

Meade

mdaffron · July 2003

Mazda's presence under some Ford hoods probably saved Ford from the Kia end of the list too.

Meade

ashutoshsm · July 2003

... explain yourself in a bit more detail.

So - they're 5 years old. So what? They've won or been in the top 3 of every comparo ever since they were introduced.

And the Passport built by Isuzu isn't nearly as bad as the problems the Ford truck lines seem to have that creep into everything.

SLX - what's that?

anonymousposts · July 2003

How do I need to explain myself in more detail?

Even if you only look at the Mazda cars such as the Protege, 626, and Miata you must realize that none of them are new models so they should no longer be plagued by "first year jitters". Other higher-ranking brands have had several new models introduced which might have a couple of first year bugs which would lower their score.

Regardless, you can't look at a couple of models that rank highly and say you should only look at those and disgregard their lower-ranking models.

"So - they're 5 years old. So what? They've won or been in the top 3 of every comparo ever since they were introduced."

What was the last comparison test a 626 won? Even the 6 has had only 1 win in a comparison test and that was against a Jetta and an Altima, not against the real heavy-hitters in the mid-size sedan category. Or maybe you are talking about the Protege...could you explain yourself in more detail?

So Ford is worse than Isuzu? Isn't Ford helping with the new Protege (poor Protege)? And isn't the Mazda V6 a Ford-based engine? Hmmm... sounds like you shoulda bought something else if your opinion of Ford is that low.

The SLX was a rebadged Trooper but became extinct when the MDX came out.

mdaffron · July 2003

Seems kinda dead horse material to me ... but since you brought it up ...

I don't really put much stock in those quality surveys because of their limited scope. I go by personal experience. Here's mine:

1992 Protege - flawless until it got totaled at 28,000 miles.

1992 Protege No. 2 - flawless. Traded for Mazda B2300 pickup (aka "Ford Ranger") at 83,000 miles.

1994 B2300 pickup -- I have a stack of about 50 service receipts that aren't routine maintenance. I'm not exaggerating and I'll show 'em to you sometime. Met with Mazda NA regional service manager three times; Mazda wound up paying for most of the trouble and rental cars but that's not saying anything about the inconvenience of having to visit the shop and car rental places nearly every month during the 4-1/2 years I put up with this miserable example of Ford Quality.

2000 Mazda Protege - Flawless. 59,000 miles on it now.

Wife's 2002 Mazda Protege5 - Flawless. Wife has 20,000 miles on it now.

Just speaking from my personal experience; YMMV.

Meade

anonymousposts · July 2003

Almost bought a new F150 the other day but Ford's quality scared us off, especially if we are going to pay $20,000 or so. Might as well buy an Element.

To save ourselves about $15000 vs. a new F150 or an Element we are about to buy a 1997 Dakota V6 club cab to satisfy our need for a Home Depot-mobile and something to get our bikes to the local trail. A little scared of it too but it's cheap so if it's a piece we will sell it .. QUICK.

I have no doubts the Protege is a reliable car. My only argument is that you can't say that you should only judge Mazda by cars you think do well in quality tests. We all know that is unfair. You could turn that around and say the Corolla is more reliable than a Camry so only look at the Corollas quality ratings.

But I digress...zoom,zoom.

mazdafun · July 2003

If the vehicle in question is what you're considering, then its own reliability should be examined, in addition to the overall record of the make. Why would I consider the record of an SUV when I'm interested in a compact? Or vice versa?

I seem to recall R&T or MT correcting a DIRECT comparison article between the Accord and 6, stating they'd tied, or the 6 was slightly ahead instead of the Accord being slightly ahead.

oskwi · July 2003

I agree with mdaffron regarding those reliability reports...IMO, it's all a conspriacy benefitting whatever car manufacturer they want to. Having a plethora of stats. and research education, I consult these reports but remember to keep their bias in mind...you have to as a researcher! Personal experience carries substantial weight. Having come from a VERY troublesome Chevy, I cannot fathom that their cars have less problems then the industry average. A red flag should go up!!! My Chevy had over $10,000 of repairs made on it in four years...these were not the average tires, belts, fluid changes, brakes, etc. These were a transmission, three air conditioning systems, several ABS sensors (at $500 a pop, these can add up quick!), cooling systems, etc. The experience, and that of many of my friends and colleagues, soured me on ever buying "American" again. I went to Mitsu and took a gamble since much of the car is Chrysler...luckily no problems. The only repairs I have made are a radiator cap ($14), a faulty transmission pan gasket ($40 w/ new tranny fluid), and some burned out switches over the course of 180,000 miles. In comparison to the Chevy, ZERO tranny problems, and the original coolant in the air conditioning system that still provides frigid air.

All in all, go by research COUPLED with your experiences and the experienes of other owners. I have a tough time with the latter because no one drives my 36,000 miles per year so that part is a gamble.

mdaffron...new Protege sitting in my garage with 3000 miles in three weeks...ZERO problems, not even the new car worries that need to be corrected...couldn't be happier!

ashutoshsm · July 2003

The 6 has won numerous comparisons. The one where it was edged out by the Accord (Car and Driver?) the next month's issue cited a mathematical error and declared the 6 and Accord joint winners. It won Automobile mag's All Star. The others were all tested and eligible and lost.

I bought the 4 cylinder Mazda6, but only because of availability/gas prices/demand-supply (on the manual V6) issues. I would have happily bought it if I didn't value my gas money, and if they were available and the demand didn't force prices through the roof! And stop insisting on carrying on with the disparaging and misleading "Ford-engine" story - the block is Ford casted, the header, valves, VVT(-like) system and everything else are all Mazda designed!

I'm only responding to this here since you brought it up - we shoul take this to the 6 and comparison boards, although this is truly a dead-horse discussion there (Ford input on the V6 engine)

mdaffron · July 2003

Check all the car washes.
Check all the schools.
Check all the police stations and holding cells.

It's been 10 days since Dale has posted.

I think she really may be lying face-down on the kitchen floor with maggots all over her this time.

Meade

chicagopro · July 2003

it's been even longer since Krotine posted.

Where the heck is he??

BTW, I'm doing just fine...hit 26,000 relatively flawless miles last night.

meinrad · July 2003

was with us Tuesday afternoon!

mdaffron · July 2003

Wow, same make and model year, more than twice the mileage.

Speaking of MIAs -- where's Love Train?

Fell into that fryer at CB and all they found was a can of Mother's and a clay bar?

Meade

dinu01 · July 2003

some other PRO owners are:

Pete
Larry
Mike and Michael both from Calgary

Dinu

PS: The PRO's doing great! I should clean it this weekend.

Another question: Is it ok to call a certain car the PT Looser instead of its correct name? Meade, any thoughts?

mazdafun · July 2003

BTW, my Pro's just fine. Finally got to wash her a couple weeks ago and she was so sparkly!

speedypt · July 2003

Sorry for my absence of late....work is extremely busy and I don't get much "surfin" time.

Had some good size hail here in IL and Trigger suffered a broken windshield and a few dents. The dents are barely noticeable so I doubt I'll be having them fixed, but the windshield will be done as soon as I find a good place.

Can anyone share windshield replacement costs as a reference? Did anyone else insist on a new gasket or OEM glass? Insurance is picking up the tab on the windshield which is nice.

Nice to see some of the originals still here!

Regards,

Pete

P.S. Hi Pat!

fowler3 · July 2003

Is that Paul Trading again? LOL!

When I washed my Pro a while back first thing I looked for was scratches or chipped paint on the rear bumper. From when a Lexus RX300 rearended me at a traffic light. Only two tiny marks about the size of pinheads. Sure sounded like they would be a big.

fowler3

fowler3 · July 2003

When I lived in Virginia, a neighbor traded cars every 30 days -- all new ones. Said he wanted to try them all. When he ran out of cars he traded for pick ups. Doubt I would like all that haggling.

fowler3

oskwi · July 2003

Reminds me of a neighbor that would trade a brand new car every four to six weeks for another brand new one...status was more her thing...we're talking Saabs and Mercedes mostly. Then she would get miffed that you didn't waive to her when she drove by your house...who could keep up??

vocus · July 2003

This time, it wasn't me trading. My Jetta was totalled, so I didn't have a choice. I got the PT because of the good price, couldn't resist. Starting to really like it alot.

protegextwo · July 2003

Speaking of MIAs -- where's Love Train?
I wonder where some other PRO owners are: Larry??

I would post more often, however I prefer to post at web sites, which allow a tad more freedom of speech. Nothing against this thread or Host/Hostess, mind you. :-)

I do miss the Mazda Protégé chat and give and take at Edmunds circa 2000  2002.

Respectfully,
Larry

protegextwo · July 2003

To fix a very big stone chip on my hood. The stone hit with such force it chipped a half dollar size out of my hood. Took the clear-coat, paint & primer down to the sheet metal. Left a tiny dent in the center. Well, there goes my $400.00 Bush Child Dependant tax refund! I'm so mad I feel like setting my car on fire. Yikes, never mind, I heard that doesn't work....Hey, Meade give me a call sometime. :-)

-Larry

heyjoe11 · July 2003

Did the 2001 pro lx come with standard keyless entry? I thought it did, but when I took it to the dealer to get a key fob the mechanic took a quick look at the drivers foot well area and told me it could not be done. Where is the unit needed to program the key fob located? I'm pretty sure the 2001 lx had keyless entry and if I can tell the mechanic where to look for the control unit I can have one programmed. I searched the forum before posting but could not find any info that answered my question.

dinu01 · July 2003

In Canada one had to get a special package to get it and it was only for the 2 front doors. It did come standard on the ES though...

US specs have always diferred from Candian ones, so I can't say for sure...

Dinu

boggse · July 2003

Is yours a 1.6L or the 2.0L. The offered both in 2001. That may have been the difference.

heyjoe11 · July 2003

My LX is a 1.6L.

Mazda Protegé

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