Mazda Protegé

pjd58 · January 2002

Meade: Congrats, hope you both enjoy your new ride and best of all, that new car smell:o)

Fowler3: Thanks for the E-mail. I have a scanner and graphic software, let me see what I can come up with. I appreciate your offer to help.

Pjd58

speedypt · January 2002

Meade..congrats on the P5 you lucky dog! I'm jealous! Although...if I end up with a Mazdaspeed 3...then maybe you can be jealous?

Dale...I have a digital camera which I will bring to the show. I will be there regardless, if we can "hook up" a few of us Chi-Town Pro-owners at a given date and time, that would really be great! Let me know if the 9th (Saturday) is a good day for you to go...that's currently when I'm planning on attending. I expect to be there the majority of the day so timeframe is flexible.

Dinu...nice logo! Mabye some text smoothing would help really dress it out? You've got a good design there.

Also...got to wash Trigger today. Then it rained right after work. Oh well...isn't that always the way?

Regards,

Pete

fowler3 · January 2002

Can you send me your email addresses? I'll add you to the Protegé Owners Club database.

Mine is in my profile.

Mazdafun: Hey Mac user! I have three in the computer room (spare bedroom) and one in storage. To keep the electric bill affordable I turn things on one-at-a-time, except to print or scan.

Meade: Congrats on the new Pro5! White is nice, I saw a regular Pro yesterday in white and noticed how much larger it looks. Wish they made the Pro5 in LX trim. Although I like having a trunk at malls and W-M.

fowler3

speedypt · January 2002

Can you send out a mass-email so we can all have each other's emails? If that's okay with everyone of course....

Regards,

Pete

fowler3 · January 2002

Kind of jazzy with all the bells and whistles similar to other sites.

Their photo gallery takes a while to load. But some shots are worth it. Check the top one, 2000 Black Focus ZX3 parked behind and in front of a beautiful house with pavingstone driveways and "air conditioned garages". The kid lives there.

Farther down that same page is another Focus ZX3 with eight 12-inch Xplode speakers mounted in the back! You gotta see'um! How do kids stand that?

fowler3

fowler3 · January 2002

Some members prefer their email addresses not be sent out in a mass mailing. My email software doesn't have that, anyhow, only to a group with one address. That can be done if we had a Club page on Talk City (they are free), but I would respect each member's wishes.

fowler3

tomciviletti · January 2002

suggestion: clean lens wit alcohol, dry interior with hair dryer, seal hole with clear silicone sealer.

mdaffron · January 2002

Thanx for the wishes. I personally can't wait to RIDE in it. It'll be my wife's decision as to when I get to pilot HER new ride.

Maltb -- She gets a big ol' ZOOM ZOOM sticker. I saved one for her just in case. (Funny -- I asked my salesman if we'd be getting one for the car and he said he thought they were out, and I said, "That's OK, I have some." You should've seen his expression. Hee hee.)

You guys go right ahead and get your suped-up Proteges. I personally can't wait until 2004 or so, when I trade up from my way cool 2000 ES 5-speed to a 6-cylinder Mazda 6!!!

Meade

pjd58 · January 2002

I E-mailed you a couple of days ago. Let me know if you have my address.

Pjd58(pete)

mdaffron · January 2002

In your style of posting our quotes in your posts, sir, may I quote YOU on the Protege5 topic back on January 10:

"If not, lets invite her to MAPP #3 and Meade can stay home with his son! ;-))))

"Both the Pro-5 and Tammy are better looking than Meade anyway. Hehe!!!"

I'm surprised there was no reference to sharks, tartar sauce and lemon wedges in the above quote!

While we're discussing looks, dear friend ...

;-)

Meade

mdaffron · January 2002

Where the heck is everybody today?

Meade

vocus · January 2002

Maybe everyone is backed up from being off on Monday still. I know that's my reason for not being here alot.

meinrad · January 2002

I had nothing really to say, but since you need posts I'll do it! LoL. Found 5 P5's with want I wanted yesterday but wouldn't ya know it, none in the colors I wanted. Dealer search will probably turn one up though. My wife loves the car but still wants to check out some small sportutes, hopefully Saturday we'll have time to go check things out.

rbrooks3 · January 2002

I am VERY close buying a 2002 ES. The only other car I'm interested in is the 2002 Sentra SER. I drove the ES last night and I was really blown away with how solid it felt. It is also much sportier than I had expected. The 50 series tires are very grippy and the interior with the faux brushed aluminum has a look very much like that of the Audi A4. A very complete car for the price. I'm in NY and the deal so far is 16,331 for a 5spd ES with ABS, NO sunroof. With 3.9% for 5 years the car is also affordable and will be fun for the daily commute.

My question is: I'd like to hear from ES owners of the 2.0 and LX owners of the 2.0 as well to see if ownership is still a happy thing several thousand miles later. My wife has a 2000 MPV ES and it has been a great vehicle for the last 12,000 miles.

The Sentra SER is a little higher in price, the dealer quoted me 16,568, but it's also at 5/9% for 5 yrs where the Mazda is 3.9%.

Anyway, thanks in advance for anyone's general opinions on ownership.

Ron B.

duh_ster · January 2002

i've got a 2001 ES 2.0 @ 10,000 kms (woo hoo!). so far, the car has been running great! Fate has decided to minimize my enjoyment by giving the car a cracked foglight, 4 passenger door dents, a scratched bumper and numerious rock chips (sorry...just VENTING)

. i was looking at the sentra SE (there was no SER last year) and found that its interior was a bit smaller, the 60/40 passthrough was too small, and its backend was ugly. i liked the pro cuz it has a roomy interior, excellent handling, and a reasonable price. the 2002s are even better, with a 3 spoke steering wheel and body colored side mirrors (amont other things). whatever u decide to get, i wish u the best...hope that helps!
'duh'

yooper53 · January 2002

'01 Pro ES, AT, Premium Pkg, 06/01, 14K+ miles. Its as tight as the day I bought it. No regrets whatsoever. Although I could see another 20 hp passing on two-lane hwy's is no problem as I thought it might be. I just disengage the O/D and go to full throttle. For the $ I remain convinced no better value exists! The steering affords good road feel, handling is superb, given the class of car. IMO go for it.

mdaffron · January 2002

I can't speak for the 2.0, since I have a 2000 ES 5-speed with the 1.8. But you need to realize that the pre-2001 1.8 is the same engine; the 2.0s are just bored out a little more. In fact, while the pre-2001s are called 1.8s, they're really 1,839cc engines, and the newer 2.0s are actually 1,991 cc's. So there's really only about a 150cc difference in engine size. In fact, the newer Protege engine is just a stroked 1.8 -- they've both got a bore of 83mm, but the 2.0's stroke (92mm) is 7mm longer than the 1.8's stroke of 85mm. Why am I relating all this? So I can feel qualified to answer your question.

My 2000 ES has recently crossed 31,000 miles at barely 19 months old; that's 1,631 miles per month. (I have a 19-mile commute to work.) The car is still as fun to drive as it was the day I drove it off the lot. No mechanical problems; I did have a stuck CD and a broken plastic clip in the trunk -- I caused both problems.

Reliability is one reason we're about to buy a Protege5 for my wife this weekend. I can also speak to the crashworthiness of Mazdas; I totaled a 1992 Protege LX (top of the line back then) when it was only 10 months old. (Hydroplaned and hit the back of a stopped Volvo 245DL station wagon going 45 mph.) The Volvo's rear bumper was higher than my front bumper, so the Protege took the whole collision through the grille, radiator and engine supports. The engine took most of the hit and dived under the car; the hood did a textbook crumple. There was no damage to the passenger cage; all doors worked fine. (BTW, the '92s didn't have air bags -- they only had those damned motorized "passive restraint" belts -- yet they stopped my 250 pounds and enabled me to walk out of the accident.)

I can only imagine how well the new Proteges will take such a hit. So safety is another reason -- from first-hand experience -- that I bought another '92 Protege to replace the totalled one. That car went 83,000 miles without one problem. Now I have a 2000 ES with 31,000 trouble-free miles. I look forward to similar performance with the 2002 Protege5 we'll be picking up Saturday.

For grins & giggles, here's a link to a page that shows my cars (including the totalled '92 LX) and describes my history with Proteges. Enjoy!

http://www.geocities.com/negatize/specialty_old6.htm

Meade

vocus · January 2002

I had two Proteges, a 1999 DX and a 2001 ES. I traded the 2001 ES for a Jetta 1.8T, but not because it was a bad car. I had always wanted a Jetta, and got a good opportunity so I took it. The 2001 Protege did have some problems in its 20K that I had it (from new, 2 miles). The driver's power window got stuck halfway down (track obstruction I think), the brake rotors warped (my fault for washing the car when they were hot), the radio died several times (replaced, but the new one still acted up), and one time the car completely died on me (at 9850 miles). It wouldn't start at all. I think it was the radio's fault though.

The customer service I received from Mazda was satisfactory (although not as good as VW has been to me, but my Jetta was $7K more). I liked both Proteges, but the DX was more reliable (38K and only one little problem).

I looked at everything you could imagine before getting my 2001 ES, and the Sentra was one of them. I am 6'3 and the car just didn't have enough room inside for me. Plus, the back end was ugly too.

vocus · January 2002

I checked out the link for the heck of it. My 1999 DX is still there. I am sad now. Thanks alot!

Just kidding.

mdaffron · January 2002

Paul, sorry for the little trip down nostalgia lane. Feeling reminiscent, are we? For a laugh, go read my "bye bye" I just posted on the Cavalier topic (and the requisite response by dindak, Mr. Cavalier Defender to the hilt).

BTW Ron, I had done everything but sign the papers on a 2000 Sentra GXE when I drove the Protege. I bought the Protege on the spot and never looked back. (And speaking of "back," I echo the other comments on the Sentra's clamshell-looking rear.)

I'm a big guy, yet I can sit in my Protege's back seat behind the driver's seat and not have to adjust anything. In the Sentra that was impossible -- I was eating my knees! If you ever need to transport more than one passenger or need to install a child safety seat, forget the Sentra unless you have a "significant other" who's either (a) paraplegic or (b) no more than four feet tall!

Meade

yooper53 · January 2002

re: your fog lamp lens.. (see my post #7206)
I haven't got down on the ground to look at it yet. Any idea how hard or easy it is to r&r? Just called the dealer I bought it from.

left fog lamp assy: $143.40
labor: $35.00
tax: $9.81
total:$188.21
Think I'll give tomciviletti's idea a try!

vocus · January 2002

I saw it. But you all need to stop fighting over cars. There is enough hate in the world already.

I agree about the Protege's back seat. It's pretty roomy. About the only thing I would have liked to have kept over the Jetta I have now. It's a mess trying to get 4 people in the car. But that just means my friends drive their cars or else don't complain.

But they always want a ride in mine though, they say it reminds them of an Audi or something.

mdaffron · January 2002

How DARE you come back in dindak's defense?! See if YOU get the driving directions to MAPP III this year!!!!!!

Meade

vocus · January 2002

Now, now. Be nice. I didn't come back to his defense. I am trying to alleviate an argument, but I guess I got caught in the life of fire.

And driving directions to MAPP 3? I didn't think I would get those anyway... :0

duh_ster · January 2002

...i haven't gotten down and looked at the housing for the foglight. it's been -20ºC here lately (= -4ºF), which is just too cold to be crawling around under the car!
tomciviletit's idea is good...but i have no hole, just a crack across the entire light. my friend has this glue that can "fuse two things together forever!" (as she put it), so i might give that a try when it gets warmer. for now, i just put a piece of tape over the crack to keep water from splashing in...(even though i'm sure water HAS gotten into it...)

i'm assuming that price u mentioned is in US$. sheesh, that means it'll cost me like $300Cdn!!! ouch! let's hope that glue works out!
'duh'

mdaffron · January 2002

(That's what my wife calls me) ... and I just have to make fun of your typo in your last post.

You got caught in the "life of fire?" Sounds like you went to Hell!!!!

Hee hee hee!!!!!

I'm glad my wife can't read these posts and see how much I'm drooling over her car!!!

Meade

mazdafun · January 2002

Ouch! At least you don't have to buy a pair!

Duh_ster, if you have a crack and no hole, try one of those windshield repair kits. I think they inject clear resin (air-cure) into the crack that should seal it against water intrusion. I had decent success repairing a "star" fracture in my wife's SL2's windshield. Only a little divot is now missing on the outside.

Yooper, y'might want to give that Stongard a try! Sorry, being a brat.

duh_ster · January 2002

that sounds like a good idea...any idea where i could get one of those kits? would i have to call around to autobody shops? when u used it on your windshield, could u still see the crack?
'duh'

mazdafun · January 2002

Pjd, you were maybe 6 miles from where I live. They're a relatively new one (maybe 2 years old). Low pressure too. Glad they're here as it provides an alternative for me. I now have 3 "S-plan" dealerships here! Too bad I didn't know about the plan BEFORE I got my 99Pro.

Anyway, aren't the roads in that part a mess? I'm always afraid someone's going to rear-end or side-swipe me when I go through there.

mazdafun · January 2002

Try the local auto-parts store or visit the automotive section of a hardware store or mass-retailer (like Wal-Mart, Kmart, Meijer, Target etc.).

It looks like a syringe filled with clear resin. There's also a suction-cup part. You're supposed to stick this over the end of the syringe and plop it over your crack. For a long crack, you'll have to inject resin at multiple points along the crack.

After I used the kit, I couldn't see cracks anymore. It also partially filled in the divot the rock had taken out of the windshield, but there's a little divot remaining (used to be about 4mm across, now maybe 1mm across). The star fracture was about 30mm in diameter. Their lawyers make them state their product may not completely erase cracks, of course.

I did the repair about 8 years ago. It hasn't degraded (discolored or cracked) since.

rbrooks3 · January 2002

Well, I pulled the trigger and got it! The final price on my ES is 16,233. My payments are affordable and I can't wait to take delivery. Everyone had good things to say about the car and I thank you all for your responses. It is odd that one person mentioned problems with their cd player. My wife has a 2000 MPV ES and it's on its 3rd unit from Mazda. That same person mentioned warped rotors and that's the same problem the MPV had as well. They turned them once and then finally agreed to replace them. No problems since. I wonder if there's a supplier problem with the radios and rotors.

Anyway, I can't wait to take delivery of her. Welcome me to the club. May I be as happy as many of your are.

Ron B.

NEW Protege ES owner!

mazdafun · January 2002

Off-topic, but the new iMac supposedly is largely responsible for a 107% increase in traffic at Apple's site. The client software that tracks site hits only works on Windows, so this suggests either users looking to switch, or upgrading a personal computer (but using their work pc, hee-hee). I made the switch back in the late 80s. I was using IBM XTs and ATs (left a 386 turbo 40MHz at home for my brothers) until I tried out (and got) a Mac SE. The thing didn't even have an internal HD! Amazing how far computers (and cars) have progressed.

Fowler, the specifications on the iMac suggest to me they have major upgrades coming soon for their "professional" line of computers.

Computer? Car? Computer? Car? I seem to be cursed by two passions that are big money pits.

Plus, I have to find (or build) a larger house (with more garages) to put all this stuff in.

mazdafun · January 2002

I'm sure you'll be very happy with your purchase. I still enjoy driving mine around. In fact, I usually volunteer to drive places, it's such a pleasure.

vocus · January 2002

That is funny about the typo. I made a typo emailing something to a friend this morning, and he pointed it out too. I just can't seem to spell today for some reason.

And as far as your wife knowing how you are drooling over her car, I will be the first to tell her if she comes to MAPP 3.

chicagopro · January 2002

Congrats! What color is your new car?

fowler3 · January 2002

We knew you would get the Pro, it's the only way to go! Take it easy the first 600 miles (1000 miles is better), no fast starts,vary your driving speeds, no hard braking and it will be the best car you ever had.

Ron, send me your email address so I can add you to the Protege Owners Club database. Check my profile for mine.

And post here often to let us know how you are doing.

Meade: Don't drool on it, it will ruin the paint!

fowler3

fowler3 · January 2002

The speculation is that the PowerMacs will break the 1GHz limit at the Tokyo Macworld Expo next month. Why anybody needs that speed is beyond me.

They are right about those iMac 15-inch flat panel displays, they are the same size as the active area on my Sony 17 displays. I have three.

My life bounces back and forth between computers, cars, and cameras, too.

fowler3

mdaffron · January 2002

Ron ... Congrats; obviously we all think you made the right choice! My one word of caution about brake rotors ... Don't wash your car when the rotors are hot! That's the No. 1 way to warp 'em! Here's a little "expert" proof to back me up ...

http://www.cartalk.net/Radio/Puzzler/Transcripts/200002/answer.html

Paul ... You tryin' to keep me from bringing the wife, kid and Pro5 to MAPP III? Silly boy ...

Drooling hurts paint? Better keep Sean (he's 8 months old today) away from my car!!!

Meade (swallowing my drool)

SHLURRRPP!!!

mdaffron · January 2002

I don't use a Mac. I wish I had one, but I don't.

Meade

rbrooks3 · January 2002

It's Silver. My E-mail address is Ronald.Brooks@aig.com

Thanks for the break in tips. I'm sure I'll be posting often. I can't wait to get the car now.

mdaffron · January 2002

If you're anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic, we'll be inviting you to MAPP III! (Er, that stands for "Mid-Atlantic Protege Picnic III!"

(BTW, Paul traded his Protege for a Jetta so he's not invited.)

Meade

vocus · January 2002

You Indan Giver!

duh_ster · January 2002

ron! welcome to the club! i know u'll enjoy driving as much as i do (as does everybody else here!)

uh o...i didn't know about that rotor washing tip! thanx for the info! hope i haven't done any damage to them!

rbrooks3 · January 2002

It's Silver. My E-mail address is Ronald.Brooks@aig.com

Thanks for the break in tips. I'm sure I'll be posting often. I can't wait to get the car now.

chikoo · January 2002

>>>>>My 1.6L (2000, 28k) doesn't seem to want to start when cold. It takes a good three cranks to get it going, I bought it used so can't really tell if it is normal or there is something wrong. Otherwise, the car runs fine and will be probably purchasing 2 more!!! in the coming months<<<<<

replace the ignition wires & coil.
I had the same problem.
then one day it started rough & a check engine light on.
dealer replace coil & wires and car starts like new.

rbrooks3 · January 2002

I'm in NY. Long Island to be specific. If Mid-Atlantic is north and south, I should be right about in the middle if the Mid.

pjd58 · January 2002

Congrats, you won't regret your decision. Our family has also double-dipped:) My Wife also drives a 2001 MPV LX and I have a 2001 Protege. I was born and raised on Long Island and moved to Ohio 20 years ago.

Once again, Good luck and many happy and safe miles.

Pjd58(Pete)

pjd58 · January 2002

There is alot of traffic in the King's Island area, especially in the summer. Too many teenagers driving with no regard for others.

King's Mazda offers free lifetime oil changes to new Mazda owners. Too bad I live 100 miles away, just isn't worth the drive to save a few bucks.

Pjd58

mdaffron · January 2002

MAPP II was last October and was near Washington, D.C. We seem to have a bunch of Protege owners in the Virginia/Maryland/Pennsylvania area. (I live near Richmond.) Ooops -- well, maybe not Maryland anymore ... hee hee Paul!!!

Well, I had a lunch meeting today, so I get off early. This will be my last post for today. And in the spirit of an upcoming MAPP, I have to say ...

Pro5, THREE DAYS TO GO!!!

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM! TWICE!

(Larry, where are you anyway?)

Meade

rbrooks3 · January 2002

I'm in NY. Long Island to be specific. If Mid-Atlantic is north and south, I should be right about in the middle if the Mid.

Mazda Protegé

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles