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Mazda Protegé

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Comments

  • zoomzoom79zoomzoom79 Member Posts: 272
    that I'm not required to sell my Protege just because someone says that I should. Besides, I'm the one who would have to pay the negative equity off :)

    But in keeping with the Protege-love theme today on my way to work I got to take advantage of the Protege's "gotta find a corner get me to a corner wheres the corner gotta find a corner" suspension at a Land Rovers expense. On the whole commute down a pretty busy 4 lane road a guy in a Land Rover kept cutting me off trying to be the fastest car out there. Well I knew eventually the road would clear up and when it did I shifted into 4th gear and hit a corner at 85MPH and left him trying to keep his car from flipping.

    So there is my "love my Protege" story of the day.

    boohoowahwah boohoowahwah
  • rbrooks3athomerbrooks3athome Member Posts: 31
    Well, now I am sure the polarity is correct but the rears still have almost no bass. The front Pioneers sound great. A lot more bass available and more treble than the factory ones. I checked to make sure the rears don't have the tweeters hitting the factory grill and they are clear. The only thing I did was mount the new rears from the top down like the factory units. The Rockfor Fosgate box said to mount them from below, but if the seal is correct, I can't see how that would make any difference. The woofer is still free to move. It's just mounted 1/2" higher at most than if mounted from below. I'll probably pull the rears out entirely tomorrow and redo them from below to see if there is any change although I can't see how that's possible. They are much cleaner in sound than the factory units. If I can just get them to produce more bass I'd be perfectly happy with them without any amp. It's odd, it's like they are playing music with all highs and some mids but no bass. They simply are not producing any bass at all.

    Any suggestions are welcome. I'll pull it all out and re-do tomorrow night unless there's a better suggestion. I may see if there is a mounting spacer I can buy to install these as undermounts to perfectly fit the factory holes.

    Ron B.
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    But have you tried adjusting the bass using the equalizer? I haven't seen it mentioned, so thought I'd throw it out there just in case.
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    This circuit screens out all but the lower frequencies to the bass cone. I don't know of an easy way to check this w/o an oscilloscope or a really expensive multimeter, so I'd like to hear some suggestions?

    Also connect the rear speaker to the front set of wires to make sure it's not a problem in your wiring. Or use a multimeter to make sure enough power is being supplied. Make sure your multimeter has sufficient range, or you'll fry its fuse.

    You might've already tried this, but adjust your fade setting to make sure it's balanced or slightly biased to the rear.

    You could also check the speaker's internal wiring to the bass cone to make sure it's not damaged. I don't think the tweeter being pressed down should affect it much (other than the resonance factor) since it's not mounted directly to the woofer.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    I looked at the engine, but I have no idea what to look for. I said "yeah, looks nice" and shut the hood. I suppose there are some details one should look for,like maybe how easy it is to do oil, add washer fluid, brake fluid, etc, but since those aren't things that would have really changed my mind I just don't bother to look.
  • boggseboggse Member Posts: 1,048
    Well, I ordered my replacement speakers this morning. I am getting Kenwood KFC-6808C 6x8s up front and the MP3 Kenwood Rear 6x9s. I am going to try just using the stock head unit, but, if necessary, I could install an amp for the rear. If I did that, I would probably get a 4x35W amp and add 6.5" rounds to the rear doors since the holes are there. I also ordered the service manual. In my experience, it pays for itself quickly in saved labor costs. I don't make $70/hr., so it costs me less to do the work myself even if it takes longer. Plus, I get to learn about my car. I will let you know how the install goes. I plan to take some digital photos of the process, so I can post them for everyone to see.
  • boggseboggse Member Posts: 1,048
    I always check out the engine bay when I shop for a car. When I bought the Jetta, I was surprised at the amount of plastic under the hood. It looked very sharp (figuratively, not literally). However, when it came time to do anything to it, I imagine removing all of that plastic would be a pain in the neck. Luckily, I never had to find out. I felt somewhat sorry for the service technicians who had to work on it so much. I was pleased to see that the Protege would be easier to work with. The engine bay isn't anywhere near as spacious as my Cherokee, but not much is these days. Still, at least I can easily access most of the commonly replaced components.
  • rbrooks3rbrooks3 Member Posts: 174
    Sorry to keep posting about this. I'm just stumped that a simple speaker upgrade is causing me so many problems. The fronts were easy and sound great.

    I have adjusted the bass to full and even adjusted the fade to full rear. No difference. I should have said I tried that before. It is odd. I suppose I could have a defective pair of speakers but I'm assuming that's a long shot. The only problem I see with mounting the speakers from below as the box said is this. On the 02 model (and perhaps others) when the hole for the speakers was made at the factory, a small lip about 1/8" is bent down into the trunk. The factory then mounts the speakers into the deck from above so they mount flush with the top of the steel panel. If you mount from below, it is difficult to mount them flush because you're really talking about mounting flush to this 1/8" lip that travels the circumference of the oval. Maybe that's why Crutchfield lists only the Bazooka 6x9 speakers as direct fits, because they mount from above. To go through grinding this lip off just to mount new speakers seems really stupid. There may be a mounting spacer that I need. I'm going to look into this but it sure seems it should not be this hard.

    Before bed last night, I did come up with something I'll test tonight. When I said earlier there was clearance between the tweeters and the factory grill in the deck cover, that's looking down through the rear window then through the factory grills and seeing or believing I was seeing clearance. So, maybe I am mistaken about the clearance. I will take the deck cover off to make sure nothing is hitting and fire the stereo up after I have it off. If the bass appears, that's my problem. Since I threw away the new grills, it would be a bigger problem!

    Ron B.
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    Just out of curiosity does anyone know how Technical Service Bulletins work? The main question is are the dealers required to fix items on the TSBs? I mean If I come in and ask about that issueson my brand new car they have to do the repair right?

    I was considering signing up for a service that allows me to read the full TSB including the instructions for repair. It's about $26 a year.

    Random thought.
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    shrique--thats a good idea. I would be interested in that service. Dealers will usually fix your car if the TSB relates to your car's particular problem. If you don't have a problem, they won't fix it.

    maltb--Can you use GL5 in the manual transmission in a 2001 ES 2.0L? I read somewhere that GL5 has sulphur in it and sulphur eats brass synchros. Does Mazda have a special sulphur-free GL5? Is synthetic GL5 OK?
  • duh_sterduh_ster Member Posts: 102
    keeps getting warmer here! -38ºC in the wind this morning! and i must say, the pro didn't sound too healthy this morning! plus, the clutch was frozen...not solid, but enough to make it stick for a few seconds. and, maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem to "retain" heat very well. what i mean is, the interior could be warm and toasty, but once the car is turned off, the heat "leaks" out of the interior very quickly. anybody else notice this??
    'duh'
  • boggseboggse Member Posts: 1,048
    Generally, dealers will fix TSBs unless you are way out of warranty. Depending on the dealer, service advisors can have the authority to bill the manufacturer for TSB items that are out of warranty. As long as you are in warranty, they would have to perform any applicable TSB repairs. Exceptions would include the battery and the tires. I looked on Edmunds here:


    http://www.edmunds.com/products/maintguide/index.html


    and found a whopping 2 TSBs on my 2001 Protege. This compares to 16 on a 1994 Protege and 61 on my 1998 Jeep Cherokee. That is about 2 per year on the Proteges and over 15 per year on the Cherokee. If I were you, I would use the free service unless you ran into problems. However, it would probably be worthwhile for me to get it considering my Cherokee. Can you provide me that information?

  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    The TSBs use your VIN# mask to match the particular TSB to your car. There was a TSB about the Protege's steering wheel being on a little crooked. They took mine off and realigned it, and all was well. Just ask your dealer to run your VIN against his current TSB list, and anything on there should pop right up. Also, you can go on http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov and search under "technical service bulletins" to find any for the Protege.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I saw my first white 2001+ Protege ES last night (actually, it was a 2002). It looked really sharp in white. Wish I had seen it before I bought my black one back in February, because I would have definitely gotten white instead.

    Bogg: I did notice the whole black plastic thing under the Jetta's hood. I went to give someone a jumpstart once, and didn't know how to get the battery cover thingie off. God forbid, my car ever dies, because I will be screwed. :) And not to talk about another car, but what kinda problems did you have with your Jetta?
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    Nice! That's a handy link.

    It depends on the TSB whether or not they will fix it after the warranty period. I had an Integra that had a TSB for the ignitor/distributor. Acura would fix that for free up to 100K miles. That's WAY out of warranty. They ended up "fixing" it 3 times. Toyota also had TSBs on their V6 truck engines for faulty head gaskets. Toyota fixed those for free up to 100K miles also.
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    I was more interested in the actual instructions on how to fix each particular issue.

    I had a couple of things that were fixed under a TSB on my old 97 Saturn SC2 but I never learned about EXACTLY what they did. I get general descriptions and parts lists from the dealer but it's pretty hard to get instructions out of them. (chuckle) I didn't learn that they had pulled my transmission to fix a rattle until I was selling the car and gave a dealer printout to the prospective purchaser. It actually was a pretty funny scene. I get to the dealer (she did a check on the car) and there was her dad, mom, brother and the buyer sitting in the cashiers lobby grilling the service manager about each of the different things that were done to the car by me and the previous owner. The guy gave me a dirty look when I walked in.

    Anyway. I suppose I'll hold off on the service until I see a few more TSB's on my car. How much is a service manual for a P5 anyway?
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Yeah it's bloody cold here! Are you plugging in the block heater over night? I know it makes a big difference, especially in the weather we've been having.

    I too have noticed that the Pro loses heat rapidly, but so do every other car that I've used in the winter. That list includes: a Mazda MPV, a '91 Jetta, an old Audi (not sure what make it was...mid 90's), and a 2000 Volvo C70. My point is that I don't think the Pro is losing heat any faster than any other car...when it's this cold, it's just thermodynamics...heat will move from hot to cold, and rapidly in this case.
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    what exactly is a "Kaiserhead"??? Your name makes me laugh!! :) very funny.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Did you leave something out of this part of your joke? It doesn't seem to make sense:

    "As he finished his sentence, he turned to find the man standing right behind him, so he added, and this gentleman kindly offered to buy the other half."

    Huh?

    Meade
  • alternatoralternator Member Posts: 629
    Generally it is not recommended that rear speakers be mounted from below since that produces a "megaphone effect" giving a false bass (added spacer would only make this worse). But your problem of not enough bass is a real puzzler.
  • boggseboggse Member Posts: 1,048
    Here is a listing of the problems I had with my 2000 Jetta GLX Automatic:

    #1: 1000 miles - Automatic Shift cable would catch when cold, so I would have to wait until it warmed up to shift out of Park. It took 3 tries to fix this.

    #2: 6000 miles - Water pump developed a slow leak. They had to remove the engine to replace the water pump. It took most of the day.

    #3: 6500 miles - Under moderate to hard acceleration, engine would go into "limp mode." It took them 4 tries to fix this one. They only allowed me a rental after the third try. The problem ended up being one of the ECUs, but not the one that was supposed to perform that function. I found it scary on city traffic to suddenly loose engine power.

    #4: 12,000 miles - radiator developed leak.

    There were a few other minor electrical problems, but not worth mentioning. On top of these things, we found the seats uncomfortable on long trips, it took Premium gas, and the car payment was $459 per month. This is not say there weren't things we liked. The engine, when it wasn't limping, was great and it was very smooth on the highway, but we were concerned about the long term reliability of that particular car. We were lucky that it held its value as well as it did. We were able to trade it in for more than we owed, and still get $100 over invoice on the Protege.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    You did miss it. Say you were talking about someone and they walked right up behind you. Aren't you going to change that negative thing quickly as possible to make them stay happy, especially if it's your boss or someone at work or something? Think about it. :)
  • boggseboggse Member Posts: 1,048
    Mazdastuff.com quoted me $125 for the 2001 Protege Service Manual. I would expect the P5 to be about the same.
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    I read it again and it's all there. Vocus got it. The idea was the guy who wanted to buy the half head of lettuce walked behind him just as he was calling him an a-hole to his boss...

    Then the quick thinking punchline at the end...
  • zoomzoom79zoomzoom79 Member Posts: 272
    Hey, you Canadians may have won the hockey medal this year but we still won more medals AND we have better weather (in most parts) here in the US.

    Has anyone else noticed that the cloth on the doors seems to attract weird stains? I have a few blemishes and not sure how they got there and can't seem to get them out.
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    I thought we went over the more medals bit...
    Plus we don't care. We won hockey and that's all that matters to us. Oh yeah, and that gold in figure skating.

    No weird stains on my doors.
  • zoomzoom79zoomzoom79 Member Posts: 272
    to post that in my last post but I forgot about it until I saw gandalf again. Just wait until the Summer Games....

    Oh well, maybe it happened when I was having it washed. I can't think of anything I have done that would cause that.
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    Yadda, yadda, yadda and have i ever told you about the omnipotent 93 Honda Civic? :)

    I would say that the USA greatly underachieved in the medal standings. You should have won way more considering how much funding and representation you had. It is entirely relevant despite what you say.

    I'll agree with you on the weather part though...

    But I think our beer more than makes up for that....

    For you.....

    Sad news about beer. You have to hope that this study is flawed, but the
    evidence seems irrefutable. Yesterday, scientists for Health Canada
    suggested that the results of a recent analysis revealed the presence of
    female hormones in beer, and suggested that men should take a look at
    their beer consumption. The theory is that drinking beer makes men turn
    into women.
    To test the theory, 100 men were each fed 6 pints of beer within a
    one-hour period. It was then observed that 100% of the men gained weight,
    talked excessively without making sense, became overly emotional, couldn't
    drive, failed to think rationally, argued over nothing, had to sit down
    while urinating, couldn't perform sexually, and refused to apologize when
    wrong.
    No further testing is planned.
  • zoomzoom79zoomzoom79 Member Posts: 272
    I would say that compared to normal male behaviour the drunken behavior is a major improvement ;)

    I've heard all about the 93 Civics ... but what about those 94's? The addition of 4-wheel disc brakes, ABS, and Vtec made a great car even better :)

    We may have good funding here but there isn't alot of interest in the Winter Games here unless it's figure skating. For some reason, we Americans are fixated on the summer sports such as basketball, baseball, and track. I was actually surprised with the American performance. Usually, we are even further down on the Winter Olympic totem pole.
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    My wife's Pro hasn't had any stains, but it's a 2000 and i believe has a different fabric type than your PRO5. I remember reading somewhere that a few other folks had encountered discolouring in the fabric by the doors. It's a hard one though to try and get the dealer to replace as they can easily say you caused them... good luck. You may want to try a Bio-friendly stain remover that doesn't contain harsh chemicals. You can buy stuff that bonds to the molecules and forces the grime to the surface. It is guaranteed not to deteriorate or further stain the fabric. It's called FOLEX and you can buy it in Home Depot or Home Hardware. It's great stuff for removing any stains.
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    I'm sooooo happy you have a good sense of humour. Yah, the good old days of the Civic and Honda...just don't care for them anymore. They look like a modified Ford Focus sedan now. Haven't driven the Si hatchback yet though. Will soon to see how much they've ruined the fun driving aspect of the older engine and suspension. The Civic sedan is more like the Corolla now.

    Yes, I suppose the USA would concentrate more on the summer games. To be frank, although Canadian's love sports and athletics, we really, truly only care about hockey. It defines and rallies our country like nothing else. Americans have wars. Canadians have hockey. It is our war... :)

    Nobody here would have really cared a damn had we not won any other medals other than the ice hockey. It really was all that mattered....

    P.S.- Yes, Labatt's Blue does taste like fermented moose urine. It's not real Canadian Beer....
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    and I won't ask just how you "came" about those, er, stains on your doors. The Pro really isn't built for that type of, um, athleticism. Now, the 94 Honda Civic and those adjustable headrests.... :)
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    >>>>>Question: When you were test driving the Pro you bought, or just before taking delivery, did you pop the hood and take a look at the engine bay? Just wondering how many people do that these days.

    Frankly, I didn't. And the first time I poped the hood to check the oil...it was a surprise when it didn't look like the Honda engine bay I was use to. LOL! I was expecting orange; it's yellow. I couldn't find the dipstick. Mazda hides it on the left rear side of the engine. <<<<<<<

    From where I bought my ES, the saleman was explaining where everything was under the hood....I told him I don't need to know.
    His reply:
    We are supposed to INFORM every customer where the oil,tranny dipsticks are and where each fluid container is. THAT IS A REQUIREMENT.

    What I thought was that MNAO requires that.
    No?
    Maltb?
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    check out the Tire selection eXcel sheet that I posted at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mazdaprotege/
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    chikoo: Yes, my salesguy took me through a whole tour of my car upon delivery, as well...showed me how to access the spare, open the moonroof, etc. I just wanted to get going because I'd already been there for a jillion hours, but he had to follow procedure.

    Paul: If you could see my white ES right now covered in frozen gray slush, you would definitely reconsider purchasing white. NOT the color for northern climates! Very nice when clean, though :)
  • zoomzoom79zoomzoom79 Member Posts: 272
    Well, fxashun actually brought up a good point. The cars that we are buying now for $13,000 aren't going to be as good as the cars we could buy 10 years ago for $13,000 because of inflation. Think about it, a 93 Civic in good condition with low miles will still get an easy $5,000 on a dealer's lot. That's only 40% depreciation in 9 years?????

    From what I have read the new Civic Si is leaps and bounds ahead of the previous Si in suspension aspects. But the engine is 1.0 second slower to 60 than the previous 1.6L but it does have a more linear power band. I would definitely miss that rush of power that you used to have with the old Si though.

    As for the stains, if you think the stains "came" about during that kind of athletic event then you definitely don't know who my teammate is (hope he doesn't read this). And besides, if that kind of event were going to be held in a car it would be the Lexus with it's heated 8 way power seats :)

    chikoo: The dealer went over it briefly to show us where everything was but he had other customers so we told him we could figure the rest out by ourselves. Just recently, for the first time since the day I bought the car, I popped the hood to make sure the oil cap was put back on after an oil change and to make sure that it wasn't overfilled. To me everything seemed pretty easy to find and all labels were clear.
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    Maltb probably isn't even awake yet. I already asked him a question. He hasn't been here today.
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    I've posted this elsewhere, but since elsewhere seems to be stuck in a time warp...

    Speedypt might not have internet access this week...on vacation, back on the 10th.

    I'm sure he appreciates everyone's birthday greetings in absentia, however.
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    I love the rally style shifter set-up in the new Civic Si and also the Matrix. I used to do a little amateur rallying and i prefer this configuration. Haven't driven either the new Si or Matrix yet though. I'll let ya know what i think of them.

    Yes, i would miss that rush of the older Si engine once the rev band hits high enough and you get in that optimal area. Used to love that. With the WRX you get it at about 3,200rpm once the turbo starts spooling up. By 4,000 the skin on my face makes me look years younger with all that torque slamming my head back into the seat. :) I find the 2000 PRo with the 1.8L gets that extra umph like the old Si at around 4,200rpm all the way through till about 6,000rpm. The 2.0L is out of breath shortly after 4,500rpm or so.
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    ZoomZoom,

    Yes, the Lexus and the 8 "position" adjustable and heated seats is definately the way to go there. As for events, that just might be the only other thing than hockey that we Canadians excel at..... Huge grin. :)
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    Yesterday on my way to school, I was in the right lane. A silver 99-00 PRO ES was behind me, a gold 99-00 LX in front and a 2002 on my left. You should have seen that grin :):):). Unfortunately, the drivers didn't look like they were REALLY appreciating their car (ie: not enthusiasts). Maybe it was all inside???

    Dinu

    PLEASE no more 93 Civic discussions. I don't wanna write all that's gone wrong with it again.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Funny, I thought my 1980 Saab 900 GLi was the only vehicle that made you remove the entire engine to replace the water pump! Be glad you had yours go during your warranty period -- mine went at 70,000 miles and the pump was a little over $400, and the labor to install it was about $400 as well.

    (By the way, that was in 1985. I'd love to see how much it would cost today -- but of course, my luck held as usual -- the very next year, they changed the engine design and one major change was the location of the water pump -- no more engine removals.)

    Meade
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    Dinu,

    several thousand posts ago..when i was strictly an inactive participant, i think you mentioned you have a Cuban music CD that was burned by a few locals. My wife and i were in Cayo Coco for 2 weeks in early December. Loved the music while we were there, but have never managed to find a CD or tape that we enjoy. Any chance your offer to burn a copy still holds. I'd be willing to trade great jokes if that helps... :)

    Anyway, let me know and maybe we can arrange a deal. I'd burn you some music too but i don't have a CD writer...
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Sounds like it's time to turn on our "Off-Topic Police" searchlight, Batman!!!

    ;-)

    Meade
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    They had to take the whole engine out to replace the water pump??? Looks like an extended warranty will be in my future... :)
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    That was hilarious!!!! :) I love it!
  • boggseboggse Member Posts: 1,048
    Well, the Jetta I had did have a 10yr/100k powertrain warranty, so the water pump was not my main concern. My main concern was spending so much time in the shop while I was paying so much for the car. I guess I don't know for sure that they HAD to remove the engine to get to the water pump, but I watched them do it - for whatever reason. At least they let me watch...
  • gandalf17gandalf17 Member Posts: 348
    sound is essential for that link. I crack up every time listening to the sound effects for the Honda......ha, ha...LMFAS. :)
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Has to be that Civic's engine from that link!! Hahahahahaaha!
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