Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

chikoo · November 2003

also groans in cold weather.
same fix?

thanks rotary.

rotarykid · November 2003

works the same for fronts as well. I had this happening on my mpv as well, so it's not exclusive to proteges.

atlas1213 · November 2003

What about my problem? Any ideas?

chikoo · November 2003

so I sneak up my hand between the wheel and the fender and spray some oil .... could u explain in a little more detail?

thanks.

rotarykid · November 2003

sneak your fingers through the spring and pull down the plastic boot. spray on top of the boot.

rotarykid · November 2003

there is a top secret bulletin on a "click" or "pop" noise coming from the front mount on accel. doesnt refer a noise while engaging into gear from nuetral. It is repair info and not a TSB. Your noise is something I would have to hear myself.

atlas1213 · November 2003

Not to sound stupid, but what is a "top secret bulletin" and do you mean from like a motor mount?

rotarykid · November 2003

there is a repair procedure/information notice on the dealer-only online website. It is not a bulletin that is issued publicly. It refers to the front trans mount that is located on the crossmember to the front of the trans. It has a damper built into it that apparently has some problems. I personally have not seen a faulty one. This leads me to believe that the problem is not very common.

atlas1213 · November 2003

Not to sound stupid, but what is a "top secret bulletin" and do you mean from like a motor mount?

compulsiveinky · November 2003

Bought a new (dealer drove 1000mi) LX at good price. Noticing a clicking sound when you accelerate or break. Is this a problem. Also, the ride seems a bit bumpy and bouncy- yet I am used to a high off the road vehicle. Could be my imagination- but am a little concerned. Other than that the seats are comfy and the interior nice and roomy. Just wondering if I got a bad car?

mas8 · November 2003

I'm being offered a good price on a 2003 Protege
leftover. What's this about Ford transmissions and high rates of failure? The dealer assures me there are no Ford parts in the Mazda. (I hate Fords - had a 92 Taurus and it was worthless and wouldn't run anymore at 99,000 miles). Also, leaking gaskets? I don't know folks. I'm having
serious second thoughts and may pay the extra 2k
for the 04 Corrolla.

dinu01 · November 2003

Have been great! There's been issues with the 1.6L engine but the 2.0 is solid.

Check the main sedans board. No problems in 67K kms on mine.

Dinu

rotarykid · November 2003

it is not a ford trans in the new pro. however, I have seen atleast 4 trannys go in the last 2 months or so. these were in 2001-2003's.

chikoo · November 2003

under the boots, but it still creaks over the bumps (front and rear). I also saw that the boots have come into 2 pieces on the front suspension.

Would this be covered under the Mazda Ext warranty(TotalCare)?

tomciviletti · November 2003

I would try lubing the sway bar ends as well

kaiserhead · November 2003

My brother sent me this email today (he has a 2000 ES, 1.8L), any thoughts?

When I got off the highway today, I was waiting to turn and the Protege was idling extremely rough. When I got home, whenever the car is idling, the engine is shaking excessively, enough to feel a back and fourth shaking in the car. Do you know what this may be? Have you heard anything about 2000 Protege's and this problem?

chikoo · November 2003

tomciviletti · November 2003

How many miles on the spark plug wires?

alcan · November 2003

Check the air intake ducting between the airflow sensor and the throttle body for any cracks or other damage that would allow unmetered air into the engine.

rotarykid · November 2003

I have found a few pro's with sticky egr valves. Many times the problem does not turn on the check engine light. the valve is opened normally while cruising on highway or around town, but is supposed to close at idle and accel. I have been able to knock on the valve while engine is stumbling at idle and have it go back to normal. Most of these cases are under warranty, so the part was replaced as opposed to any kind of attempt to clean the valve.

Karen_S · November 2003

...just want to give everyone a heads up about some changes taking place in an effort to organize and make it easier for members to find the most appropriate discussion for their question/comment.

This discussion's title will soon change to "Mazda Protege Owners: Problems & Solutions" and it will reside in the Mazda Protege Owners Club. However, it will also still be here in M&R. If you are subscribed to this topic now, the change should not affect that.

If you have any questions/concerns, please address them to me in email, karen@edmunds.com.

kaiserhead · November 2003

I think the Protege has about 92,000kms with original plugs and wires. Its in the shop today so we should know what the problem is soon.

We drove an '87 626 170,000kms on the original plugs and wires so hopefully the Protege can live up that record!!

dinu01 · November 2003

"We drove an '87 626 170,000kms on the original plugs and wires so hopefully the Protege can live up that record!!"

You shouldn't do that. Preventive maintenance (aka: obsessing over your car) is worth it IMO if you want to keep your car in good shape.

Dinu

kaiserhead · November 2003

You're exactly right, but the person responsible for maintenance was a firm believer in the "squeaky wheel" method of car maintenance. We found out that approach doesn't work when we tried a couple domestic cars.

Now I know I'm going to take some heat for this, but I think the pre-1990s Mazdas were a lot better than the current ones in terms of overall reliability. We had an '82 and a '87 626 that ran flawlessly for well over 10 years each (the '87 was even "abused" by lack of proper maintenance.) Our two 2000 Proteges have not held up as well in the first three years of ownership, Mazda has been good about changing defective parts, but we still have non-wear and tear related failures that end up being out of pocket expenses (i.e. throttle sensor, oxygen sensor, rusting steel wheels) These were not problems with the earlier models, I realise that the cars have advanced technologically over the years, but this should not overshadow overall reliability.

Although these problems bother me, I would still buy another Mazda. It just changes my perception that these cars can go "the long haul" like their predecessors did.

I'm looking forward to my Mazda3 ES.

dinu01 · November 2003

There's a perception that late 80s Japanese cars were unbreakable, especially whren you considered what came out of Detroit. Not that Detroit now makes the greatest cars on Earth, but they have improved and so has everyone else.

I think today's cars need to be more babied than the ones from the late 80s partially b/c of all electronics (sensors, power acessories, etc) and the reliance on the ECU to make decisions about how the car runs...

And yes, I can't wait to get my Mazda3 GS. The GT will be the replacement for the ES.

Dinu

tomciviletti · November 2003

Some things can be ignored, some cannot. the pro engine, at least my "99es has plugs that lie deep in the valve covers. That bakes the plugwires every time the engine warms up. Baked wires tend to short out.

On the other hand, if you use platinum plugs, they can last a very long time.

The egr can plug up, especially if you run high octane fuel and don't use a cleaner [like techron] regularly.

Every auto has peculiarities you can learn. I kept my last car ["79 colt] 20 years and knew what it needed and didn't. It ran like a champ [a pun].

kaiserhead · November 2003

The shop found out that the fuel injector in the number 3 cylinder was bad causing all the injectors to work improperly. About $125CDN to fix.

dinu01 · November 2003

Would you say that getting an extended warranty 7yrs/160.000kms for roughly $1000-1200 is worth it, based on your repair history?

Dinu

jimsxn · November 2003

I have noticed my 2003 LX needing 3-4 cranks in morning in cold (and it's not that cold yet) temperature. The service guy at the dealer says it is normal during winter. Is this true? I never had this problem with Civic.

dinu01 · November 2003

Same here. Usually 2 cranks, 3 when it's really cold. Always started.

Dinu

kaiserhead · November 2003

I've never been a fan of the extended warranty, it was a ploy by domestic manufacturers to suck a few extra $$$ out of their customers while continuing to produce a substandard product, I don't like the fact that Mazda has followed suit.

The problems that I've had should not be occurring until the five year mark. Perhaps Mazda is going the Ford route by pressuring their suppliers to cut costs which in turn produces cheaper and lower quality parts.

boggse · November 2003

Almost all manufacturers use this ploy including Toyota, Honda, BMW, etc. Mazda is just following industry trends. Also, they do sell rebadged Ford trucks, so it makes sense for them to offer it.

rutger3 · December 2003

My 99 LX has 52k miles and the brakes always seem to squeak. Just had new front pads and they still squeak. Anyone else had this problem. Is it the metallic pads?

mazdafun · December 2003

Make sure they installed all the spring clips and applied the dampening grease behind each pad.

rotarykid · December 2003

Check to make sure the squeak isnt coming from the rear. If your car is equipped with drums in the rear, it's probably the case. I have machined drums, replaced drums, sanded shoes, replaced shoes etc., the squeak always comes back. Of course this is usually a driver specific issue. The type of driving you do will determine how your brakes wear. Lots of city driving causes the rear shoes to glaze quickly and results in the noise.
Carefully come to a slow stop using only the parking brake and see if you hear the squeal. best way to determine the location of the problem.

madhur4 · December 2003

Hello

I would like to share me experience (rant that is) with everyone about a 99 Mazda Protege and their service warrrant. In the warranty I have had a starter replaced, minor repairs such as door seals, done twice on the same door, trunk seal and now at 60 000K (37500 miles) I have the water pump going bad. Good think I caught it early. Has anyone ever heard of a water pump going bad that early? In the last 15 years I had 5 cars none of them had a water pump ever go at 60 000. I have a 93 Dodge cold with 140 000 K with original pump.

The quality of Mada protege rivals that of ford. Feel free to send this email to anyone. Not a very good endorsement to but another mazda.

boggse · December 2003

Sorry to hear you are having some problems with your Protege. The number of defects you experienced is unusually high compared to others who post here on Edmunds, but everybody (including Mazda, Honda, & Toyota) is going to make a few lemons from time to time.

If the door seals had to be replaced twice, I suspect the second set wasn't installed properly by the dealer. Since both the door and trunk seals went, I would also suspect a bad batch of adhesive at the factory.

As for the water pump, I had one go bad on my VW Jetta at 8000 miles. That had to pull the whole motor to replace it. As a comparison, I had that car in for warranty work 13 times in 18 months (and 18,000 miles). If you peruse the VW forums here, you will see that sort of shoddy work in not uncommon. My Jeep Cherokee averaged a similar number of failures (5) to yours in a given year over the 5 years I owned it which is also not uncommon for the model.

My point is: while your problems are unusually numerous and not what we expect from Mazda, it could be worse. Be careful what manufacturer you flee to. I wouldn't expect most Dodges, for instance, to be as reliable as your Protege has been.

boggse · December 2003

There seems to be a screw missing from the driver side of my exhaust manifold insulator on my 2003 P5. I seem to recall someone else having a similar missing screw, but a search here found nothing. Is anyone else missing this screw on the 2.0L?

Thanks,
Ted

notminehers · December 2003

Have a 2001 Pro ES - one fog light has gone out due to a crack and moisture inside. Can you get these aftermarket at an auto supply store or am I stuck with the dealership only?? I have not had time to research but the dealership wants over $200.00 just for the assy!! This seems outrageous to me. Has anyone replaced one and how difficult is it??
Thanks, Greg

protege_fan · December 2003

You could just replace them with aftermarket ones if you wanted a different look. I haven't done any research into an aftermarket brand that makes stock-looking fogs, so I don't know if there's any out there.

boggse · December 2003

Check with a Ford dealer to see if they use the same part on another Ford product. The fog lights on 2001-2003 Miatas are also used on the Mercury Marauder for instance. The Mazda part costs $243 while the Mercury part costs $56.

elavertu · December 2003

As boggse said, Ford's fog light might fit. The price difference in the parts is probably caused by the origin of the part.

Ford parts are manufactured in the US and they are more common than mazda parts which are probably manufactured in Japan and shipped to the US by boat.

At least, I believe that is the reason for the price difference.

moparbad · December 2003

How many times did you have the radiator fluid flushed and changed?

bulentbas · December 2003

I have Mazda Protege DX ( 2000 / 71.026 mileages ) and suddenly engine light turn it on I went to Mazda service They told me that computer gives them P0171 error massage which indicate something wrong with air flow sensor And cost me $ 479.00 + tax . I do not want to pay $ 479.00 and I was wondering is this problem harmful to engine ? can I drive without fixed?

Thank you very much

mazdafun · December 2003

There was a TSB on this, and a recall on some 1.6L models affected (99-00 DX and LX models). Mine failed last winter and I had it replaced under the recall. You should check to see if your VIN is included. Log into MyMazda on the mazdausa site and enter the VIN of your DX.

I wouldn't recommend continuing to drive with a failing MAS as it will make your idle uneven and too low. You could get by temporarily by feathering the throttle when idling (as for a stop light) to keep the engine from idling roughly or even stalling.

ram22 · December 2003

Hi,
I have a 01 LX 2-litre auto with 25,000 miles on it.
Problem # 1
I recently noticed oil stains on the floor where I park my car. There seems to be a small oil leak/drip from the front of the car. I'm sure that this was not there before. I parked the car in a fresh spot and the next day there were oil stains there also.
The only maintenence I have done in the past 1 year is oil changes and one tire rotation.

Problem # 2
Recently, a strange vibration sound has started from the front of the car as if something is slightly loose. This usually happens when the car is accelerating and around 2,500 to 3,000 rpm. The same sound comes when I go over potholes/humps at any speed and hence I think that something near the wheels is loose.

Please advise.

Thanks,
-Ramprasad

boggse · December 2003

Get thee to a reputable dealer. Here are some guesses as to what is wrong:

1. You (or whomever) didn't replace the washer on the drain plug when the oil was last changed.

2. You have a loose exhaust manifold heat shield. Mine is currently missing a screw which holds it in place.

The dealer will be able to tell you for sure, but they sound like minor problems.

Good luck, and let us know how it works out.
Ted

ram22 · December 2003

Thank you boggse.
I have always gone to a Mazda dealer(Sterling Mazda, Sterling Heights) and the car is still under bump-to-bump warranty.
I hope that u r right.

Is the "exhaust manifold heat shield" near the front wheel/axle or unde the front hood ?

Thanks,
-Ramprasad S.

boggse · December 2003

It is on the front/bottom of the engine. It covers the exhaust manifold and 1st catalytic converter. 3 screws hold it in place along the top of the heat shield.

Ted

kaiserhead · December 2003

I've had the mass airflow sensor and air meter replaced under warranty for my 2000 1.6, the air meter was replaced recently at 96,000kms at no charge. Look into this matter with Mazda, there shouldn't be a charge.

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

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