Five years without transmission failure, rusting, electrical problems, or any general non wear and tear related problem is not too much to ask. We had two previous cars meet this standard, a 1982 and 1987 Mazda 626.
The Protege isn't flawless, but its much better than 90% of the cars in its class. If you're considering buying one, there's a very good chance that it will be an excellent investment. However, there are minor problems that you should be aware of and of course, there are "bad apples" in the bunch. Like any car today, you have to play the date of production numbers game. The '99s weren't the best due to the first year of production. The '00 are the best version of the older design, but are still the second year of production and a strange time for Mazda (change in components and design philosophy.) The '01 had a minor redesign with a new engine and probably prone to problems. Now, the '02s and '03s are by far, the best Proteges out there today and will probably be more reliable than the first three years of production. Coincidentally, the '82 and '87 626s were the last year of production for those models, Mazda is very good at working bugs out of their cars so if you can get one of the last cars off the production line, you'll have one that meets my five year standard.
Just got finished paying $110 to have a rear quarter window replaced, after some helpful people decided to relieve me of about 50 or 60 CD's and other assorted stuff that was in my Protege.
They also decided to pull out all the papers that were in my glove box and toss them around the car...making sure I wasn't overdue for my next oil change, no doubt.
And where did this all happen? In my building's "secure" lot, sometime early yesterday morning.
Let's see...that's three pieces of glass replaced, four to go. At this rate, I'll have a brand new car by the time it's paid off in a couple of years...
I made the mistake of buying a used '95 Protege that had been in a serious wreck - but was, at least, cosmetically repaired. However, one thing that was not repaired was a flashing Air Bag light. I bought a replacement (used) control module from an internet parts dealer but this has not fixed the problem. The light flashes very dimly and repeatedly stops momentarily - before restarting. It gets brighter when the headlights are turned off. Any ideas on how to fix this?
Your Protege is a thug-magnet. Did I ever tell you that? You need to make it look trashier so they pass it by (I guess my '89 323 looked like slim pickings as it was unmolested when some thief broke into every car parked outside on my street for head units and CDs...I was relieved, but a bit insulted).
Seriously, sorry about your rotten luck. At least you weren't in it when they busted your window this time.
I made the mistake of buying a used '95 Protege that had been in a serious wreck - but was, at least, cosmetically repaired. However, one thing that was not repaired was a flashing Air Bag light. I bought a replacement (used) control module from an internet parts dealer but this has not fixed the problem. The light flashes very dimly and repeatedly stops momentarily - before restarting. It gets brighter when the headlights are turned off. Any ideas on how to fix this?
I made the mistake of buying a used '95 Protege that had been in a serious wreck - but was, at least, cosmetically repaired. However, one thing that was not repaired was a flashing Air Bag light. I bought a replacement (used) control module from an internet parts dealer but this has not fixed the problem. The light flashes very dimly and repeatedly stops momentarily - before restarting. It gets brighter when the headlights are turned off. Any ideas on how to fix this?
We would help you with your airbag light if we could, but we can't. We might be able to give you some guesses, but the airbags are an important safety feature and fixing the light shouldn't be taken lightly.
None of us want you to die because we told you how to fix your airbag light. You may think it's an annoying light, but it might be a major problem.
Fix it yourself if you want, but I'd let a pro fix it.
will see 5 years before it gets to 36,000 miles. LOL! It has only 17,357 on it today. The most trouble-free cars I have had were the '86 Accord, had it six years, and the '98 Odyssey, drove it three years.
I saw a compact this afternoon with low-profile tires on huge allows that would make those on the Protegé ES and the Mazda3 look like SUV tires. The alloy rims were less than an inch above the road, in fact, I thought they were flat. And the guy is driving in snow with those things.
When he hears a grinding noise it will be his rims digging into the road surface. LOL
I envy y'all who drive your Protege in areas with no cold weather, no salt, and no potholes. Roads in Chicago area look and feel like they are Iraqi roadways that were carpet bombed. Craters worse than the surface of mars. Drove my truck today since I was swerving like I was autocrossing to avoid potholes yesterday.
When good weather returns I WILL get out more. But for now with rain,ice, sleet etc. I stay home.
Horns: Try a bull-horn! LOL
Small cars have always had annemic horns, guess it is due to the "no horn blowing" European rules -- they flash their headlights instead. Here, drivers don't understand flashing lights --"passing signal".
I used to be the owner of a no snow pro but now I'm waist deep in the white stuff. I miss the smooth roads of Miami and the road salt free driving. Plus, I got my first stone chip a few weeks ago, at least it didn't chip my new hood.
I posted a year or so ago about changing the horn out. I swapped my anemic "meep meep" roadrunner horn out to a new, twin-horn Mercedes horn. Not only is it much louder, but it's much higher quality sounding too. People really hear me when I honk at them now!
Scan the old posts for part numbers and how-to directions. If you are mechanically inclined, it's about a 90 minute job, if you're mechanically RECLINED...it could take a lot longer. Just remember to wire the two horns in parallel, not in series.
Have a free pass for the show and am heading up there today. Will check out the Mazda display and everything else. My Protege is performing well and no burning smell lately.
Disappointed. Expected to see the MX-Micro Sport concept and it was not there. Was at Detroit, not Chicago. Guess Chicago really is the second city, except for parking fees, $14 ouch! Not much happening at the Mazda display. I was impressed by the VW Passat TDI. There really was nothing at the show that made we want to give up my Protege and lay out cash for.
We rarely get concept (or even new) cars in Cincinnati. The show here is near the end of February. Still, it's fun enough if I go before the crowds hit so I can play with more cars!
Though I think I'll be going alone this year. My wife has a new car and my daughter seems to have lost interest. And most of my friends don't seem to get into the car show thing (though some are interested in a trip to next year's Detroit NAIAS).
I think it looks cute. I might have to try one for size when they come out. I know I fit in the front of the hardtop, so I think I should fit in the chop-top (unlike most convertibles, where the windshield frame is squarely blocking my view of the road ahead...dang the short car designers!).
"Civic" and "Accord" was the first, $200, question.
BTW, "Galant" and "Mirage" was the $1,000 one.
I'm a little surprised they didn't use "RX-8" for Mazda, or maybe "MPV." But whatever they used, I'm surprised they used Protege since it ain't a current model anymore! (Waahhh)
His foot "slipped" off the brake pedal of his PT Cruiser earlier this week, causing him to hit the back of the car in front of him, and in turn causing that car to hit the back of the car in front of it.
Please keep Paul in your thoughts and prayers. He suffered no injuries and neither did his victims, but I think there will be a rather painful walletectomy when insurance-renewal time comes around.
Well I'm at 20,000 miles and no problem so far. I finally cleaned out and re-oiled my K&N filter (after a year--oops) and it was amazing how much zoom returned to my Pro. It was so gradual I didn't realize how much it had slowed up. Now I have the recharge kit and will have to clean it more often. Also got my oil changed and put in a synth blend. Seems to start in the cold much easier. It used to crank really slowly after sitting out on a cold day. These NJ roads after a month of snow/ice are looking like moonscape (or maybe I should say mars-scape). I hope I don't lose another tire. I already replace one Dunlop 'cause of a sidewall bubble probably caused by a hole.
boggse: I saw that episode. They had very loaded models there in red and blue. I'm just glad that they won them .. it's soooo much fun to see how much the other contestants don't like Adam & Meg.
My '01 Pro ES AT has hit 40K+ with a few minor problems:
Only had some ext moldings replaced, new CD-player, ctr rear seatbelt, and PCM reprogrammed (along w/a new delay valve to eliminate the cold operation rumbling). None affected driveability... okay I was throwing kind words to the CD-player while it skipped as I drove. The seatbelt only retracted sluggishly but still operated.
Smiling when I bought it and now three years later at basic warranty termination day. A three-way tie for the best car I've ever owned ('88 323 3-dr, '95 Pro ES, and my '01); ALL major-problem trouble-free. Should've never sold the '88. That car went through everything and anything and kept on driving.
on ESPN2 last night, it was a repeat airing. Good segment showing Mazda3 with video clips of the MZ3 on the road. I taped the International Automobile Show, which followed. The latter had a good segment showing the Mazda MX 5-door coming soon.
ESPN2 will air the NY Car Show again on February 23 at 8:00PM, check your listings.
Turned 50k on my way to ... of all places ... the Chicago Auto Show this last Saturday. Of course I was "grabbing some gears" and "Jake-ing a few corners" on the way.
Loved the new 3's and 6's at Mazda Display. I heard a LOT of Pro owners lamenting about how great the new 3 is compared to the Pro. That says a lot about the 3. I love my Pro and think it's a tremendous car.
I do have to admit that my next vehicle is likely to have a V8 engine and 4 doors and a 5.5 foot bed on the back. That's right...since Mazda doesn't offer a full size pickup, Pete will be going for a pick up with my next vehicle purchase. It's still 1.5 - 2 years away, but I've started looking at them now.
Well I took my daily commuter, an 03 Pro ES 5 speed for a trip to Arizona this past weekend.
I put about 600 miles a week on the car and tend to get about 28-30 mpg.
For the trip I expected the car would suffice. In some ways it did.
The ride comfort was fine. The seats are pretty darn supportive and my friend was quite happy with the ample adjustments for the passenger seat. The AC held up fine in the desert on the drive back.
Road noise wasn't any worse than I normally experience.
One big plus was the 6 disc changer that kept us entertained for each leg of the 5.5 hour trip.
Around town the engine pulls nicely but on the highway the 2.0 just doesn't have any legs. As the engine seemed to be near maxed out, I couldn't accelerate quickly; this made two lane interstate jockying tough. If I saw a hole opening up, hopefully I planned on it and had already mashed the accelerator. Over 95 the engine's screaming.
The 5 speed's not really geared for overdrive so at 85-90 mph I was running over 4k RPM. This wouldn't have been a problem had I not been going through Arizona. About 300 miles into the first leg my gas light popped on. what the? The gas light usually shows itself at about 330-340.
Luckily for us not an open gas station could be found. 10 miles...15...20...25...30...35 miles passed before I finally found an open station off the 8. not much is more fun than the prospect of hanging out alongside an arizona interstate. The car gulped down 14.8 gallons, meaning my fill up netted a meager 23 mpg!
Heck my old 91 Stanza with a 2.4L 4 and a 5 speed netted 30 mpg over the same roads years ago. Mazda needs to fix that gearing.
Next roadtrip the BMW comes out of the garage. 235 HP, a 16 gallon tank and the engine snoozes at 85 - with spurts above 100 as simple as a shift down to 4th from 6th.
Pro's a great commuter car but not real solid for long jaunts.
Though I usually travel at 70mph, with spurts up to 85mph.
I've put 700 miles on one-way trips with 1 intermediate pit-stop and only slight stiffness. The seats are pretty good.
Of course, I have a little 1.6L, so between that and the lower speed, I yield about 33mpg on long trips. I find the sweet spot to be about 45mph for max fuel efficiency (I get about 48mpg when travelling at a continuous 45-50mph). Yeah, the gearing is meant for better acceleration feel at legal speeds.
I wasn't really at hyper legal speeds as the limit on that highway is 75, so 85 won't get you pulled over by the black and white fascists casing the roads.
I concur with your whole post. We loved our Protege until we took a trip similar to yours. Very same complaints. Engine seems strained above 80 mph/4500 rpm and the gearing is too short rendering a downshift useless. So we got rid of it.
I've got another car I can use for trips. The Pro's a trooper for my 90 mile roundtrip to work. As I only drive the 330i on the weekends, I don't mind using it now for trips to Vegas or whatever.
My engine seems to behave differently. It's kind of noisy in the bracket of 70-80mph, but it becomes very smooth and quite at 85-100mph (I drove 90mph here in France). Once my mom went for a long trip with me, and she told my car sounds like an airplane at high altitude. It's probably a question a breaking in. Mine has 32000 miles.
It's unfair to compare the poor 130 hp FSDE with the 235 hp inline beamer.
But still wanted a jack-of-all-trades daily driver. The Pro was great around town. But the long trips were not it's forte.
For example, the car we compared it to was the 1993 Civic EX coupe I had at the time. The faster you go, the smoother the engine ran. Guess that's the diference between 1.6L and 2.0L.
a Protege and I was like I'm so sorry for the Protege name to go away. The reason for that being the Protege had actually built a good reputation among the car buying public. I guess you know what they say all good things must come to an end I guess. I liked the 99-00 Protege Sedan, 01 MP3, and 02-03 P5. Those were some good looking cars. 03 MSP in blue looked kinda sweet.
Comments
The Protege isn't flawless, but its much better than 90% of the cars in its class. If you're considering buying one, there's a very good chance that it will be an excellent investment. However, there are minor problems that you should be aware of and of course, there are "bad apples" in the bunch. Like any car today, you have to play the date of production numbers game. The '99s weren't the best due to the first year of production. The '00 are the best version of the older design, but are still the second year of production and a strange time for Mazda (change in components and design philosophy.) The '01 had a minor redesign with a new engine and probably prone to problems. Now, the '02s and '03s are by far, the best Proteges out there today and will probably be more reliable than the first three years of production. Coincidentally, the '82 and '87 626s were the last year of production for those models, Mazda is very good at working bugs out of their cars so if you can get one of the last cars off the production line, you'll have one that meets my five year standard.
They also decided to pull out all the papers that were in my glove box and toss them around the car...making sure I wasn't overdue for my next oil change, no doubt.
And where did this all happen? In my building's "secure" lot, sometime early yesterday morning.
Let's see...that's three pieces of glass replaced, four to go. At this rate, I'll have a brand new car by the time it's paid off in a couple of years...
>:-[
--Dale
Seriously, sorry about your rotten luck. At least you weren't in it when they busted your window this time.
--Dale
Dinu
None of us want you to die because we told you how to fix your airbag light. You may think it's an annoying light, but it might be a major problem.
Fix it yourself if you want, but I'd let a pro fix it.
I saw a compact this afternoon with low-profile tires on huge allows that would make those on the Protegé ES and the Mazda3 look like SUV tires. The alloy rims were less than an inch above the road, in fact, I thought they were flat. And the guy is driving in snow with those things.
When he hears a grinding noise it will be his rims digging into the road surface. LOL
fowler3
Ted
Horns: Try a bull-horn! LOL
Small cars have always had annemic horns, guess it is due to the "no horn blowing" European rules -- they flash their headlights instead. Here, drivers don't understand flashing lights --"passing signal".
fowler3
Scan the old posts for part numbers and how-to directions. If you are mechanically inclined, it's about a 90 minute job, if you're mechanically RECLINED...it could take a lot longer. Just remember to wire the two horns in parallel, not in series.
Regards,
Pete
My Protege is performing well and no burning smell lately.
Still fun though. I've picked and unpicked many of my cars at the show. I just wish we'd get to see more of the concept cars.
Though I think I'll be going alone this year. My wife has a new car and my daughter seems to have lost interest. And most of my friends don't seem to get into the car show thing (though some are interested in a trip to next year's Detroit NAIAS).
"Name That Automaker"
$600 answer:
"Protege and Miata"
The guy got it right.
Meade
BTW, "Galant" and "Mirage" was the $1,000 one.
I'm a little surprised they didn't use "RX-8" for Mazda, or maybe "MPV." But whatever they used, I'm surprised they used Protege since it ain't a current model anymore! (Waahhh)
Meade
Ted
Do you know the 'whereabouts' of Vocus? He's been AWOL/MIA for a looong time! from these forums.
Hope you're still enjoying both of your Mazdas; how were they during your terrible weather down South?
We need your virtual bodies in Mazda Mania on Tuesday nights. Come and play Mazda Trivia!
fowler3
Please keep Paul in your thoughts and prayers. He suffered no injuries and neither did his victims, but I think there will be a rather painful walletectomy when insurance-renewal time comes around.
Meade
(Since I haven't been here in a while ... for you newbies, Zoomster's a 2000 Emerald Mica Protege ES 5-speed.)
Zoomin' & smiling,
Meade
These NJ roads after a month of snow/ice are looking like moonscape (or maybe I should say mars-scape). I hope I don't lose another tire. I already replace one Dunlop 'cause of a sidewall bubble probably caused by a hole.
Dan
'02 Pro ES 5-spd
Silver
http://www.knology.net/~negatize/images/AutoxFamilia%20copy.jpg
zoom-zoom!
fowler3
My '01 Pro ES AT has hit 40K+ with a few minor problems:
Only had some ext moldings replaced, new CD-player, ctr rear seatbelt, and PCM reprogrammed (along w/a new delay valve to eliminate the cold operation rumbling). None affected driveability... okay I was throwing kind words to the CD-player while it skipped as I drove. The seatbelt only retracted sluggishly but still operated.
Smiling when I bought it and now three years later at basic warranty termination day. A three-way tie for the best car I've ever owned ('88 323 3-dr, '95 Pro ES, and my '01); ALL major-problem trouble-free. Should've never sold the '88. That car went through everything and anything and kept on driving.
Martin
ESPN2 will air the NY Car Show again on February 23 at 8:00PM, check your listings.
fowler3
Loved the new 3's and 6's at Mazda Display. I heard a LOT of Pro owners lamenting about how great the new 3 is compared to the Pro. That says a lot about the 3. I love my Pro and think it's a tremendous car.
I do have to admit that my next vehicle is likely to have a V8 engine and 4 doors and a 5.5 foot bed on the back. That's right...since Mazda doesn't offer a full size pickup, Pete will be going for a pick up with my next vehicle purchase. It's still 1.5 - 2 years away, but I've started looking at them now.
Regards,
Pete
6:00PM PST -- 9:00PM EST
Join the chat and ask questions, tell us about your new wheels.
fowler3
I put about 600 miles a week on the car and tend to get about 28-30 mpg.
For the trip I expected the car would suffice. In some ways it did.
The ride comfort was fine. The seats are pretty darn supportive and my friend was quite happy with the ample adjustments for the passenger seat. The AC held up fine in the desert on the drive back.
Road noise wasn't any worse than I normally experience.
One big plus was the 6 disc changer that kept us entertained for each leg of the 5.5 hour trip.
Around town the engine pulls nicely but on the highway the 2.0 just doesn't have any legs. As the engine seemed to be near maxed out, I couldn't accelerate quickly; this made two lane interstate jockying tough. If I saw a hole opening up, hopefully I planned on it and had already mashed the accelerator. Over 95 the engine's screaming.
The 5 speed's not really geared for overdrive so at 85-90 mph I was running over 4k RPM. This wouldn't have been a problem had I not been going through Arizona. About 300 miles into the first leg my gas light popped on. what the? The gas light usually shows itself at about 330-340.
Luckily for us not an open gas station could be found. 10 miles...15...20...25...30...35 miles passed before I finally found an open station off the 8. not much is more fun than the prospect of hanging out alongside an arizona interstate. The car gulped down 14.8 gallons, meaning my fill up netted a meager 23 mpg!
Heck my old 91 Stanza with a 2.4L 4 and a 5 speed netted 30 mpg over the same roads years ago. Mazda needs to fix that gearing.
Next roadtrip the BMW comes out of the garage. 235 HP, a 16 gallon tank and the engine snoozes at 85 - with spurts above 100 as simple as a shift down to 4th from 6th.
Pro's a great commuter car but not real solid for long jaunts.
I've put 700 miles on one-way trips with 1 intermediate pit-stop and only slight stiffness. The seats are pretty good.
Of course, I have a little 1.6L, so between that and the lower speed, I yield about 33mpg on long trips. I find the sweet spot to be about 45mph for max fuel efficiency (I get about 48mpg when travelling at a continuous 45-50mph). Yeah, the gearing is meant for better acceleration feel at legal speeds.
It's unfair to compare the poor 130 hp FSDE with the 235 hp inline beamer.
For example, the car we compared it to was the 1993 Civic EX coupe I had at the time. The faster you go, the smoother the engine ran. Guess that's the diference between 1.6L and 2.0L.
Formally Car Guy 58 BTW.