Protege Engine advice
I have a Mazda Protege 2000 SE that I bought in the beginning of 2001 with 15km on it. It has been a great car to us. I have a regular mechanic that my family has been using for 20 years and have always trusted. But the car with 148500 km on it is starting to have problems and they can not figure out what is going on. It has always had an oil change every 4500 - 5500 km, and up until now no major problems. Sept 2009 the engine light went on and it was a 402 code. The mechanic changed the sensor, then the egr but the code continued. In the end he said it had to be a glitch as he could find nothing wrong and driving was not affected at all.
In a week before christmas 2009 on a -10 degree night as we were driving the lights went out, we pulled over and checked the car. mistakenly turned it off and the car never turned on again. The mechanic changed the alternator (said at 10 years it was due). After that the car drove but felt sluggish, consumed higher amounts of gas andbattery light and airbag light were going on. It was not always consistent . We took it in again and they found that a part at the back of the engine (infront of passanger side along the back frame) had fallen loose. Not sure how (i suspect error) but that this part takes fumes out of the engine and being disconnected would have caused all the problems. It has been a week since then and the car is still sluggish, drives as if in 2nd, revs high for about 20-30 minutes of use, seems to consume more gas, and when I was going up a hill waiting for the light to change, the car could barely move when I put my foot on the gas from the break. I dropped into 2nd to help it out and still nothing. Felt like the engine did not want to go.
Any idea on what could be the problem. the mechanic can not find anything wrong. the millage is high but should still have life in it.
In a week before christmas 2009 on a -10 degree night as we were driving the lights went out, we pulled over and checked the car. mistakenly turned it off and the car never turned on again. The mechanic changed the alternator (said at 10 years it was due). After that the car drove but felt sluggish, consumed higher amounts of gas andbattery light and airbag light were going on. It was not always consistent . We took it in again and they found that a part at the back of the engine (infront of passanger side along the back frame) had fallen loose. Not sure how (i suspect error) but that this part takes fumes out of the engine and being disconnected would have caused all the problems. It has been a week since then and the car is still sluggish, drives as if in 2nd, revs high for about 20-30 minutes of use, seems to consume more gas, and when I was going up a hill waiting for the light to change, the car could barely move when I put my foot on the gas from the break. I dropped into 2nd to help it out and still nothing. Felt like the engine did not want to go.
Any idea on what could be the problem. the mechanic can not find anything wrong. the millage is high but should still have life in it.
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Comments
From your description it sounds like your mechanic has spent a lot of time and replaced several components. You may want to take it to a Mazda garage and ask them to do a complete check-up to see if they can diagnose the problem(s). Although it is not surprising that a 10 year old car requires extra service and new parts no one wants to keep returning to the service garage too frequently or to replace parts needlessly. Keep us posted!