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My car is headed into the shop tomorrow to have the control links from the front sway bar changed for a second time. the first set lasted 50000km, the second less than 20000km. the first time I had them changed the service rep told me this was a common occurrence. While still under warranty this is more of a hassle than anything else, but ultimately I fear paying for these things on a yearly basis. Clearly there is a flaw in the design, or something else is wrong with the front end causing premature failure. I do corner aggressively, but isn't that part of the reason for getting a Protege? Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any insight or advice would be appreciated
thanks
Does anyone know for sure if there is a TSB on this problem? Is the dealer obligated to tell you? I checked the NHTSA website but couldn't find one for this problem.
FYI, it's http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm
Also on a long trip after a/c was running for about 8 hours, it air was not as cool. After several hours should it be turned off for a while?
Here is what is happening. Essentially, my idle appears to be sticking sporadically, both while in gear and if the car is in neutral. For instance, if I am cruising at 60km an hour and take my foot off the gas, the engine will start to brake itself slowly, but when it hit's between 1,500 and 2,000rpm, the idle sticks and the engine stops braking itself. The affected idle seems to be in the 1500rpm to 200rpm range. I have also been able to simulate this problem by placing the car in neutral and slowly hitting the accelerator to about 1,750rpm and then removing the throttle. The idle will come back down to about 1,500rpm and then stay stuck in that position as opposed to coming back down to 700rpm which is the usual engine idle speed. I can "unstick" the idle in this state by tapping the accelerator quickly causing a brief rpm spike which causes it to drop back to 700rpm.
Please also note that if I brake while in gear, the idle does not stick and will come back down as per the engine speed. However, I do notice and feel the extra effort on the brakes since the engine is not, in effect, assisting the braking as it normally would.
I have also noticed that the engine performance is a little sluggish also. Not horribly so, but my wife and I both notice the difference. This problem is occurring when the engine is cold or warmed up and the check engine light has not come on and my engine temp is running the same as always.
So, my question is whether anyone has experienced this before with their Pro? Or, might know if this relates to any recalls or TSB's, or just has an idea what might be causing this based on mechanical knowledge.
All input/feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tim
Meade
Oddly, what I am encountering is very similiar to the AC situation. I first noticed it when my wife and I had to drive downtown a few days ago and were stuck in traffic for an hour. The whole time we were basically in first and second gear. It was after this that I noted a problem.
We took the Pro into work today and of course, she ran perfectly. I was planning to take it into the dealer today too, but I would like to be able to replicate the problem.
Question: Could this be at all related to the MAS (Mass Airflow Sensor) and was there a recall on the MAS with the 1.8L? I know there was for the 1.6L, but thought I remembered someone mentioning a recall on the 1.8L.
Thanks Meade.
To date no one has told me WHY the module was recalled, so I have no idea whether that could have any bearing on what you're experiencing.
Have you had yours replaced?
Meade
Like you, I did have the ignition coil replaced and like your Pro, ours did not have any of the symptoms associated with the recall.
I decided not to go to the dealership today and will see if this was an isolated incident, or the precursor to something more sinister. Obviously, I would like to be able to replicate the problem, or have the engine demonstrate the sluggishness when i turn it over to the dealer to look at...
what are the symptoms?
Got a phone call a few hours later, saying there is indeed a TSB for the Pro and a part is on order to fix this problem. Fortunately the car is still under warranty.
For those of you owning post 2001 proteges, there was a redesign and thus you have little to fear.
cheers
Meade
Wondered what was wrong.
Took it to the dealer.
Dealer replaced MAF and Catalytic convertor(1st tin can, or so he said).
Car: 1999 Protege ES.
Meade
Nothing out of my pocket. They even gave me a loaner 2003 dx for 3 days.
BTW: 2000 1.6L manual transmission.
Another thing I noticed after doing this: City millage went from 28 to 31! In any case, how many miles you have in your 2000. The plug wires go at around 50/60K. The code I got was P0300, random/multiple mis-fire. The light blinked during the 'seizures', then stayed on after I changed the cables, and then just died out after several 'drive cycles'. I did not reset the codes when I read them, I just allowed the computer to lick its wounds...
G.
BTW, the car has 88,000kms, or 54,600 miles.
Right after I wrote about plugs and wires, I noticed my 96 Protege was pinging with hard acceleration under load (like steping on the gas on 3rd/4th gear going up hill). It is not particularly bad, and only happens when you go a bit over the normal range for the gear (say, 40 MPH in 3rd, 50 MPH in 4th - Don't have a tachometer, so no idea what RPM that translates to).
In any case, I only noticed yesterday and today. As I mentioned before, plugs, wires, cap, and rotor were changed a couple of weeks ago, and it did not ping then. Only thing I can think of is bad gas (I filled up in a different gas station, although same chain - Sunoco - last Monday), or it is related to the temperature (we hit 90+ yesterday and today in Philly), or the ECU is adjusting to the new plugs, wires, etc., and took a wrong turn somewhere while adjusting the timming.
Any ideas? I will do the obvious, which is fill up in my regular gas station next time, and if that does not cure it switch to Premium (93), as I currently use 89 (this car should work OK with 87, though...). If that fails, I'll check the base timming. But any other suggestions (top engine cleaner, like Techron) would be apreciated.
TIA,
G.
I did check that. They are fine at 0.044 inches. The resistance in the wires is ~450 ohms/feet (an average of all wires, but they are all similar...).
It did not ping at all yesterday afternoon. I had parked the car in the shade and when I left work it was cooler (a chilly 78...). Plus it did not do it with the new plugs/wires/cap/rotor for almost two weeks, but started doing it when it got really hot. I guess that may be the problem here, but I'll keep poking...
G.
As the gap in your plugs widens, you start getting more and more carbon deposits on the piston heads. Since the plug gap is wider, you get no pinging. Now, right after you install new plugs with a narrower gap, you still have carbon accumulation, and you may start hearing pinging because of that. He suggested I do a carbon cleaning (something about pumping top engine cleaner through one of the vacuum lines, etc., etc.).
I've seen some descriptions of this process (one of them from a Mazda TSB related to pinging), but it looks like a hairy operation: Take this pipe, unplug it, put an 'orifice' here (I thought an orifice was a hole...), feed TEC at a rate of such-and-such ounces per minute, turn around, stand on one foot, clap three times while pressing the throtle half way, then rev the engine to so-many RMP while parying to the Mazda Gods, etc., etc., etc. Is this a normal procedure?
G.
In those 2-stroke engines, We used to open up the cylinder head and scrape the carbon deposits off the head and the piston head, with whatever can scrape it off.
Worth a try anyway.
I can also say that 'Italian tune-ups', or as I call it, 'long-triping' the car, works wonders. I had an 85 GLC with a 4spd manual in college. After months of short trips around the small college town in Texas (a 'bad' commute was 15 minutes...), it would hessitate and run bad. We drove it for 250+ miles on the freeway to Houston, in which the little guy barely made 65/70 MPH. I was probably doing 4000+ RPM all the way to and from Houston. After that, it would idle smooth and run great. 'You burn the crap on the plugs', said the guy that used to help me fix the car, and he was right...
G.
The short trips do wear down a car engine faster, since the engine spends so little of its run time in its optimal heat range.
Can an OBD-II scantool be used to adjust timming instead of a strobe light? Here's my reasoning. There are two timming 'settings' on the Protege's Haynes/Chilton manuals. One is with the diagnostic's box 'TEN' connector grounded, which I guess leaves the computer out of the equation entirely, and should be TDC. The other one, without grounding the TEN pin, which I guess lets the computer do whatever it pleases, which should be 9 to 11 BTDC.
So I'm thinking... Can I plug my scantool, monitor the timming advance on the laptop, and move the distributor until I get 10 BTCD, or should I short TEN to GND and use a strobe light?
Thanks!
G.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Think about it. They say your sidewall flexes too much to hold a repair. Hmmm, how about all that flexing the tread does when you turn? Keep in mind that as far as tires go, the compound they use to repair the rubber does the same type of thing PVC joint compound does to PVC pipes. It's not just "glue;" it actually bonds the rubber. It's tough as hell.
Case in point:
I had a hole right where the tread meets the sidewall in one of the Toyos I had on my 1992 Protege back in 1993. The tire shop guy agreed to patch it just so I could get home, but said he couldn't guarantee the patch would hold because "sidewall holes are not repairable."
I drove another 40,000 miles on that tire.
Hmmm.
Meade
It's not that they're not potentially reparable. It's that they're more likely to fail due to the more flexible nature of the sidewall, and they tend to fail catastrophically.
If a sidewall blows, it's pretty bad. I've watched it happen a couple times on the road. The sidewall practically disintegrated and the tread got flung off (as a donut).
Now, quick question. My NAPA store carries Gates belts, which I heard are good. These are the OEM design. In an AutoZone store I saw the 'poly-cog' GatorBacks, which are a different design, claim to be superior to 'regular' ribbed belts, and are ~50% more expensive. Which brand would you go with? I think Gates should be fine, shouldn't them?
Also, no more pinging after I switched back to my 'regular' gas station, still using 89 gas...
G.
I know the manual says 87. However, my wife's 626 also says regular, and even after a pretty extensive tune-up, it would ping ocassionally on 87. I've been using 89 on the 626, and that probably made me use 89 on the Protege. Never really tried to use 87 on it...
G.
Dinu
Meade
G.
BTW, what does Mazda use?
Meade