Mazda Protege5 Hatch Problems and Questions

bduncanj

Are the rear hatches on the 2003 and 2002 P5's interchageable?

Cheers,

Duncan

iamz

I'm pretty sure they are. Accident or rust? Mine rusting away rather fast now.

autonomous

Mine rusting away rather fast now
Really? Where on the hatch is the rust occurring?

I've heard some owners mention rust around the Protege5 and Mazda logos. This seems odd as the logos appear to be glued to the body.

iamz

They used double sided tape AND plastic rivets that go through holes in the sheet metal. The tape is plenty strong so I'm not sure why the rivets were used. But yeah, the rust is eating away under the paint in those areas and the entire lower lip of the hatch. I've sanded and primed and sealed these areas once and it held the rust back for awhile. It's starting to take off again though.

bduncanj

Thanks, 03 hatch replaced the 02 just fine!

sigurrosenthal

I have been having problems with a constant squeaky hatch for years. If you bang lightly on the back of the car from the outside, you will hear the noise. I have attempted to have this fixed by a mechanic numerous times but it's never worked. It recently has begun to drive me crazy again. How the F can i fix this? Has anybody had this problem?

Also, when I go over bumps, I can hear a rattling sound coming from either where the spare tire is or somewhere else under the car. Also pretty annoying.

Have loved my car for years otherwise, but these really disrupt the peace of driving.

PLEASE HELP!!

autonomous

when I go over bumps, I can hear a rattling sound coming from either where the spare tire is or somewhere else under the car. Also pretty annoying.

To help narrow the possible sources of the problem: have you tried removing everything from the trunk, including the spare, and then driving around to see if the rattle disappears?

You may also want to check the crevices in the P5's trunk. For example, the rear lamps can be accessed via three circular plastic cutouts on each side of the trunk interior. The first time I replaced one of my rear bulbs I dropped one of the retaining screws into the crevice. I was fortunate to be able to fish it out, otherwise, it would have rattled around forever.

Good luck!

oldman15

Sig,
Rattle in the rear:
If there's nothing loose in trunk/hatch or spare tire area, could be rear sway bar links.
Mine rattled driving slower over bumps. Sounded like an empty plastic bottle.
By the time I found someone to diagnose the problem correctly, the fronts also started making noise & needed replacement. Under $300 per pair/axle installed.

Parts store supplied GM manufactued replacements, 1st try. They lasted 2 months. Redid job w/ alternate brand. Still holding after 6 months.
Replace w/ Mazda or brand other than GM.

Good Luck
O15

iamz

I had a groaning, creaking noise from one of the rear sway bar links. It took me months before I figured out that the link was making the noise. It was just kind of jammed in the wrong position and sounded kind of dry. I first injected grease with a hypodermic needle through the rubber boot and then grabbing it with a locking pliers and working it loose, was able to get it moving freely and noise free again. If you crawl under your car and push up on the end of the sway bar and hear the groan, you'll know if this is your problem.