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Mazda Protegé

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Comments

  • rbrooks3rbrooks3 Member Posts: 174
    As my new Pro undergoes day 2 of the wiring harness replacement at the hands of the dealer, I'm also in day 2 of my '01 loaner. It's an auto and has just over 10,000 on it. It is a tight and rattle free as my '02. Not that 10,000 is a lot of miles, but since it's spent its full life so far as a dealer loaner, I'm sure they have not been the most loving 10,000 either. It makes me feel good knowing first hand that my Pro is going to hold together. Small filter and all :)

    The loaner is a metalic tan sand color and is not bad looking at all. I just hope the dealer does a good job replacing the wiring harness. It should be ready today.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Glad you like the car at 10,000 miles. Let me tell you that at 35,800 miles, my '00 ES 5-speed is as fun to drive and rattle-free as it was the day I drove it off the lot. Yes, the mats are a little worn, the windshield is somewhat weathered (my fault -- I follow too closely sometimes) and I have a couple of nicks on the front of my hood, but the car is still gorgeous, gets lots of compliments and makes me smile all the time.

    You can see some recent pics of it (within the last two months) on the Yahoo group's Photos section under "Meade's Proteges" if you want to see my little zoomster.

    Meade
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    It only took 2 days for the wiring harness? I thought it would take longer for some reason. Guess not.

    Loaner cars are beat down. I had a 2001 Passat V6 the last time I took my car in. It had like 19K on it, and a little rattle here and there. The interior had stains and a cigarette burn mark, and the engine idled pretty roughly when stopped. I was surprised the car was like that at only ~19K.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    My last loaner (during my 30,000-mile service which I had done late at 33,000 miles) was a 2000 Dodge (urrrp) Stratus (barrrrrffffff). It was interesting to note how much the Stratus, which interestingly was the same year and had almost exactly the same mileage as my Protege, rattled, buzzed and looked worn down. And this wasn't a "rental" car -- it was one of my dealership's loaners. Sure, not taken care of like my baby, but still ... did I say that car was uncomfortable as hell too?

    Meade
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I know my friend's surprise 30th is on May 18th as well, but the time isn't planned yet. I will probably end up coming to MAPP III, then leaving around 4pm or something like that. I do wanna come though.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Those Stratus' were uncomfortable, and unreliable to boot. I almost got stuck renting one for a trip from Enterprise a couple months ago.

    One good thing about my dealer is that I told them to not give me anything else but a VW as a loaner, and thus far they have conformed.
  • protegextwoprotegextwo Member Posts: 1,265
    JKOBTY, liked to compare his Daewoo to a BMW, hehe! ;-)))

    -old head
  • number42number42 Member Posts: 67
    FWIW, I made that comment to my wife a while back (why the driver didn't have one). her comment. the driver has the steering wheel to hold onto. and no, there are no holes for it on the driver side headliner, at least on my car.
  • number42number42 Member Posts: 67
    Anyone have part numbers for the oil filters. So far I've only found #'s for a few.
  • jbolltjbollt Member Posts: 736
    You may have missed a post by my daughter over the weekend about the over-sensitivity of her factory alarm on her new 2002 LX. Post#12387 ...any of you have the factory alarm and notice it going off when a car with loud exhaust drives by?

    thanks for your help..BTW..on her first fill-up, she got 25.4 MPG..mostly non-hiway driving...it is rated 25/30, so this is not too bad, and hopefully will improve a little with break-in.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Jeff, I have a 2000 ES. No factory alarm. Sorry.

    Larry: But we all know what Car & Driver said about the Protege: "BMW verve for less than half the price. What's not to like?"

    (Heh heh, I have that memorized!)

    Meade
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    I have a whole bunch of articles from different magazines on the Pro. When I get home, I am going to dig them out and post some good quotes. It's interesting that every mag that reviewed the Protege had exellent things to say about it.
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    The intent of leaving it out is likely safety-driven, but it may also be cost-driven.

    For those with a grip over the driver's position, it's for assisting in getting into and out of the vehicle.

    I also like the vertical "pistol" grip in the front passenger door. It's very comfy. Almost makes me want to be a passenger, if I weren't having so much fun behind the steering wheel. :)

    I thought they took these out of the 01-02 sedans but have it in the P5. Are they back in the sedans?
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    Adjusting the sensitivity is something you can do or your dealer(if they admit it, sheesh) can do for you.

    1. Locate the shock sensor that is tie wrapped on the wiring harness just below the steering wheel.

    2. Adjust the shock sensor's sensitivity knob by:
    - turn the knob counterclockwise to decrease the sensitivity
    - turn the knob clockwise to increase the sensitivity
  • jbolltjbollt Member Posts: 736
    THANKS! I thank you, my daughter Sarah thanks you, her neighbors thank you. hehehe...probably her dealer thanks you! LOL
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Jbollt, didn't the dealer tell her that they couldn't do it? Why would they do that???? Maltb, you da man!
  • dsm6dsm6 Member Posts: 813
    IIRC, the dealer contacted Mazda who told the dealer the alarm sensitivity couldn't be adjusted (am I remembering that correctly?). What is up with that? It sounds so easy, so why didn't whoever was contacted at Mazda, let alone someone at the dealer, know how to do that?

    Maybe the person at the dealership didn't give this issue the attention it needed - read into that what you please.

    Yes sir, maltb is da man. Maltb, are you a Mazda service tech? If so, if I have any problems, can I bring my car to your shop?
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Here is a site showing the changes for the P5 mid-year. It came from someone who posted it in the P5 forum here on Edmunds'. They also added side marker lights to the car too, cool! :)


    http://www.black3.com/p5/

  • dsm6dsm6 Member Posts: 813
    Quick question about that oil filter change, if you would. I'm coming up on my first oil change, and I do them myself as well. What size filter wrench will I need for this little guy? The manual has some story about needing a special one to tighten (and presumably loosen) the filter. Is that so? TIA
  • cdnp5cdnp5 Member Posts: 163
    Well I took the plunge on the weekend and decided to do AutoX in my P5 and let me say that this is so much fun. First you get to drive as fast as you can through a tight small course and then see how you compare to other drivers in similar (and some not so simlar) cars. The bad part was that it rained all day (had to use the wet race setup LOL) which lowered the times somewhat. Still the P5 with the Dunlop 5000's handled far better than I was able to drive it. I never really hit the limits of the car as it was wet and my first time plus I wanted to do very well and represent my fellow P5 owners with dignity. I ended up finishing 15 out of 23 with a large Subaru showing (I guess the rain does brings out thie Subies). My happy moment was beating one of the Civic SIR's and my sad moment was being beat by a Subie Outback (with the H-6) with a baby seat. If interested you can see the final times at

    "http://www.wosca.com/Event_Results/Spring-2002-Event-2-Results.htm"


    Cheers,

    d.

  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Sounds like a lot of fun! Great job!
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    Most of us follow the P5 forum as well. Sounds like a good time was had though.
  • rbrooks3rbrooks3 Member Posts: 174
    The filter is so small in diameter I don't know the measurements. I still had the old wrench from my 85 Prelude which was small and it was about 1" too large in diameter. There's not much room so I ended up getting in there with a Stilson wrench or pipe wrench. I have a very small band wrench and it could not go near small enough.

    The problem with buying the filter wrench to fit the filter is that the aftermarket filter form Purolater and Fram are not the same size as Mazda's. So, you'd be buying it to use once.

    I suggest the following: get the car in the garage, jack up the passenger side, get a stand under it and slide under from the front. The filter is on the rear of the engine, you can't miss it. the factory filter was black. Just measure the diameter and buy a filter wrench that looks like a large pair of pliers. This way it will fit the factory filter and the aftermarket ones as well. But, if you follow the directions for the aftermarket filters, you should be able to take the new ones off by hand.

    My 2 cents, I used Mobil 1 as I always have. 10w-30. The factory said it's good down to 10 below 0 and in NY where I am the ambient temp is not getting anywhere that low.
  • rbrooks3rbrooks3 Member Posts: 174
    I just called the dealer and there's no way the car will be ready today. The service manager said the front seats were out of the car and the entire dash is out of the car, he said, really Mr. brooks, you should see it, the dash is really completely out of the car! I'm feeling sick. He said hopefully tomorrow.

    My fear is that a lot of these wire connections are meant to last forever, but not necessarily meant to be taken apart and re-connected without great care. I hope the technician is careful. I also hope ther's no rattles and squeeks. A lot of these parts have anti-rattle washers (rubber and felt) that work great, but are not meant to be used more than once. I won't know until this winter so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

    Still Zooming in the loaner Pro. Just not shifting for myself, relying on the slushbox right now.

    Dealer ZOOM Zoom zoom
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    Do yourself a favor and get a Lisle "import car" adjustable filter wrench. It will fit any brand name filter that goes on the Protege. As far as needing a special tool; I think that was a way to get people to have their oil changes done at the dealer. There is nothing special or Mazda-specific about a filter wrench. Besides, you will probably only need the wrench once for the first oil change. I swear the factory uses air tools to put the oil filters on. After that, if you hand tighten the filter like you are supposed to, you should be able to get the filter off with your hand too.
  • dsm6dsm6 Member Posts: 813
    Thanks for the info, folks.
  • dsm6dsm6 Member Posts: 813
    I have one small dash squeek. Since it is so small, I think I will leave it be - I'm afraid more squeeks, and some rattles, will result from taking apart the dash to get this one small one. Besides, I can just see the service tech's report - "Cannot duplicate problem"
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Where in the dash is the squeak coming from?? Hard to pinpoint, but I thought I had a dash squeak too, but it turned out to be the seatbelt on the passenger side.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I had one of those in the 99 DX, but it would come and go.

    I finally got the rattle fixed in the Jetta. They said they could not find it, but I wouldn't give up. They brought down a rep from VWoA in Michigan to check my car out. Turns out, it was a loose screw in the defroster air vent. That's something, isn't it? :) They got it fixed though, so that's cool. Those little rattles are maddening though!
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    still no rattles, except on he..he.. potholed backroads of south philly.... the whole car bends and bucks on those roads....

    anyway meade
    >>Why doesn't the driver get one?<<<

    well I had a handle on my suzuki and it was never used...while the passengers one was used a lot....
    I guess the mfgrs also saw that statistics and removed it from the drivers side...one more cost saving item...
  • newcar31newcar31 Member Posts: 3,711
    >>Why doesn't the driver get one?<<<

    I can't believe people are still talking about this. Why doesn't the driver get one? Probably the same reason why the passenger doesn't have a steering wheel.
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    LOL
  • sarahnbuasarahnbua Member Posts: 7
    Thank you soooo much, maltb! I'm gonna print out that post and have it with me the next time I try to talk to them . . . maybe then they can get a clue. ::sigh:: I suppose that's what you get when they put a Mazda service department at a Lincoln Mercury dealer. And thanks Dad for reposting about it so much while I was at work. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten the answer I was looking for . . . thanks again!!

    Other than that one thing, I'm loving my car. I can't find any fault with it . . . other than the fact that they didn't have the color I wanted ANYwhere in the Detroit metro area . . . why is the Seabreeze so hard to find! I ended up with the Shimmering Sand.
  • jbolltjbollt Member Posts: 736
    No problem Sarah, you know I would go to the ends of the earth for you....I did last week, in fact..went to Detroit to help you negotiate for the car. ;-) Sorry we couldn't find a Seabreeze Protege.
  • sarahnbuasarahnbua Member Posts: 7
    Hey, this isn't the end of the earth! And whoever it was that mentioned a trip to Clinton Township . . . I've driven through Detroit and they've never taken potshots at my Mazda, so I think you're safe. :-) It's the potHOLES you have to watch out for.
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    and isn't it nice to see this forum foster family relations? Gee Dale, no hug needed today.
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    And I was just itching to instigate a group hug today....:)
  • dotkobedotkobe Member Posts: 5
    maltb is on the $$$ as always.
    i have a copy of the installation instructions that came with my car.
    i don't have a scanner but i can fax it to you if you want.
    it's 11 pages short...

    dot
  • dsm6dsm6 Member Posts: 813
    I grew up in suburban Detroit (Novi), and did my undergrad studies at a school in Detroit (Wayne State University). Those Detroit potholes, just like the those Detroit cockroaches, are huge and plentiful. Not a bad city, just as long as you don't need to actually stop anywhere in it. ;-)

    Mazdas got much more popular around there once Ford bought into the company. It gave the Ford employees in the area (Ford HQ, Southfield) some quality vehicles from which to choose. My sister in law, a mid-level exec there, drove a Miata for a while. Zoom Zoom.

    PS. Go Wings!
  • f4jf4j Member Posts: 7
    Forgive me if this has been hashed over a few times before, but I couldn't find much using the search.

    Most posts I see here talk about 3 mo/3,000 mi between oil changes. My '01 Owner's Manual Maintenance Schedule 1 says 6 months/7,500 mi.
    Schedule 2 is 4 mo/5,000 mi.

    Why shouldn't I trust the manual and use their recommendations?

    Thanks for the input.

    Mark

    Man, I wish this site had a little better search and message threading.
  • dotkobedotkobe Member Posts: 5
    i found 2 ways to NOT turn on the alarm:
    1. leave the door unlocked
    2. lock the door manually, without using your keys or fob

    hope this helps
  • silentguiltsilentguilt Member Posts: 35
    You should(trust the manual), in my opinion 3k miles is a complete waste of money. I do it every 5-6k, and feel that is sufficient. Ofcourse, I also use syn. oil, which gives a small piece of mind.
  • fowler3fowler3 Member Posts: 1,919
    "There's no way I'm ever going over 3,000 before a filter and oil change. Many people say this, but reality is there's usually a bit of a fudge factor involved. Every 3,000 usually means you've never really gone much over 4,000 before you actually changed it."

    Most do have a fudge factor. I took my '98 Odyssey in for its 7500 mile check and oil change at 8,224. LOL! The service manager laughed when I told him the mileage. Just a bit over.

    Alarms: Had one on a car and found it useless, I was always setting that thing off - locking with the remote and unlocking it with the key. Which is what usually happens in shopping centers when you hear them going off. Nobody pays any attention to them. Had one on a mini-motorhome, it ran the battery down, and the thieves got away with my Bloupunct audio head and speakers.

    The real problem is thieves will look for a way around it and tear your car up. The night they hit the motorhome they also bent up the driver's door with a crowbar on a neighbor's new BMW. That little flashing red LED says "open me with a can opener".

    Wasn't there a guy on here last year with the same problem, and his bedroom was over his garage? He said he couldn't get any sleep.

    Most are motion detectors, but if airplanes set them off the new ones must be shockwave-sensative from jet noise.

    Side marker lights: Those are side turn signals in Europe and may perform the same function on P5's. If you haven't noticed, the turn signal lights on the Proteges can not be seen at an angle, only straight ahead. They are inboard of the headlamps where they could not have a side amber lens.

    Driver's grab handle: I don't think I would want to ride with a driver who is always hanging on. As an assist handle to help you get in it may be alright. On the '01 Proteges they made the door pull handle horizontal and nicely rounded at the front end. I have found this just right in helping to get up and out of the car. Much better than using a grab handle above my head.

    I remember the old Audi Foxes with the seats that drivers had to move rearward one knotch before exiting the car, or they couldn't get in or out. It was standard procedure for most drivers to get by the steering wheel.

    I notice the big complaint now by most car reviewers is the lift-up exterior door handle being dangerous. In a T-bone crash they are almost impossible for rescuers to open by pulling on them. They much prefer the Mercedes-style handles, and I noticed the new Camrys have them.

    fowler3
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    My best friend prefers the stirrup-style door handles as well. She always complained about breaking her nails on the Protege's door handles. Haven't heard about that for the past 6 or so months now. I prefer them, because they are easier to grab if you have your other hand full of stuff and need to open the driver's door. They also feel more sturdy to "yank" on when opening, to me.
  • rbrooks3rbrooks3 Member Posts: 174
    Anyone in here drive the new Feb '02 onward sport auto? Just curious as to how it compares to the former normal auto tranny. Mazda's site gives no info. they really should add more in depth techical info to their site. It's mostly fluff info with a picture thrown in.

    I assume it's not much more than the old auto with "manual" functions. but, since Mazda introduced it, you'd think they'd put some info on their website. Nope, just a photo of the shifter and about 3 sentences about how you can leave it in drive or switch manually. No info on whether they changed the ratios, if shifts are quicker. Nothing. So, I figured I'd ask to see if anyone out there has actually driven one.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    It depends from carmaker to carmaker how the "Sportronic" trannies shift, and sometimes model to model. One Passat V6 I drove provided sloppy Tiptronic shifts, while my Jetta 1.8T is crisp and dead-on when in Tiptronic mode. They are presumed to be the same transmission, but connected to different engines.

    I have not driven the Protege's new sport automatic though. Maybe I will go to the dealer one weekend soon and check the car out to see how it compares with my VW's Tiptronic. That would be interesting.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Keep it simple! Keep it light! 5-speed manual all the way!

    ;-)

    Meade
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Go to Wil Fellows' MAPP III page and check out what you're bringing:


    http://mazdaprotege.net/mapp3info.htm


    HA HA HA!!! Nice typo!!!


    Meade

    (Nice to be post 12500)

  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    I am back to a small nagging problem that I have "noticed" since the 15,000 miles.
    When driving around town when I come to a stop, the Auto tranny falls into the first gear with a "clunk" that can be felt and heard. It's not decreased or increased since I first heard/felt it.

    Any ideas?
    Matlb?
    my car is a '99 Pro ES with Auto Tranny.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I KNOW I did not type that, did I? I hope not. That is too funny though. :) I hope crab meat is available, or you all are getting something else to eat. :)
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