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But I did have a no-start issue with my 2001 once. The radio's sound stopped working one time because I played the radio too loud and messed it up. I turned the car off when I parked it, but left the radio on (I never turn it off, ever). When I went to restart the car about 20 hours later, it was dead as a doornail. I got a jumpstart and took it to the dealer and left it. Everything from the battery to the alternator to the starter to the electrical system checked out fine and the car never did it again. Weird.
And seeing several other people also observed this dimming/flickering phenomenon and no one has reported serious problems that are related to it, I would think that it's just a 'characteristic' of the Protege.
It's like what we software engineers say, 'it's not a bug, it's a feature!'
Protegextwo, The things that the dealer performs at 30K are very easy to do yourself. I will not pay for "inspection" of anything. You know how they check your alignment? If it drives straight, it's good. Like I have said before, I don't trust the monkeys that the dealership has doing these 30Ks. What about flushing out your coolant? You didn't list that.
Shrique, I have noticed a slight loss of power and lights dimming too in my 01 ES, especially when cold. I attribute this to the air conditioning compressor. I hope that is what it is.
This ONLY happens right after a cold startup, and only when idling or barely moving. My lights NEVER go out, there is just a slight "dip" to everything and you can hear the compressor kick on.
It is similar to when my oil burner kicks on at home. Other stuff in the house gives a nearly imperceptable "dip" for a 1/2 second.
Same thing with the car.
I'm not exactly worried about it. The battery has a warranty on it for another 1.5yrs... I would definitely express my concern to the dealer, especially as you said it's less than 1 mth old. Hopefully it's not one of those weird, impossible to troubleshoot electrical issues.
Good luck, Dinu
This effect is more noticeable with a drained battery (such as after you get a jumpstart).
It was interesting when I was at the dealer I noticed 2 VW golfs and 2 Jettas. I asked the dealer about them they said the golf people traded theirs for P5s and he didn't know about the 2 Jettas but I just found it interesting after what Vocus had said.
ZoomZoom...That is interesting that you have a 97 RAV, my mother has one (a 97 RAV4 L) and I noticed the same thing about the engine. Is yours silver?
I'm getting like you guys, I hate to come home when out on an errond. Just want to keep driving some more.
fowler3
I can't say that I've noticed any dimming with my Pro5. In fact I expected I'd have to deal with this, I have a Bazooka subwoofer that I installed myself in the hatch and it has a power lead that runs directly off the battery. I figured that when the car had just been started or was idling, I'd get a bit of a drain or dimming when my sub hit. Fortunately I haven't witnessed such a thing. I wouldn't be surprised if I got some dimming with my air on high when the compressor kicked in but I don't remember this being a problem. I can't really speak on cold starts, my Pro5 has never had to endure temps below about 25 and I've never started it when it was below freezing. It could simply be a warming up issue, but if your Pro5 is still that new, you should have the dealership check it out. Couldn't hurt.
P.S. I put three Zoom-Zoom stickers on my Protege, two from the dealer (free) and one from ebay ($2.00).
Compact Sports Wagon: I think Volvo did with their All Wheel Drive Model. Audi has the Quattro. But it is very likely Mazda started this trend with the PRO for smaller wagons with the "fun to drive" quotient.
Dinu
Any gasoline with oxygenating ingredients, while much better for reducing tailpipe emissions, also contain less energy. You can expect to see maybe 3-5% reduction in fuel economy with fuel that is 10% ethanol.
Regarding "grades", the effects are either negligible to slightly worse if you use a grade other than that recommended by the manufacturer.
Your tire pressures OK?
My car held up great (95 protege dx, auto) throughout - including a painfully heavy storm through the rockies on my first leg! The seat could do with a little more support for the lower back, as evidenced by my cousin bro's backaches.
There are so many more Pro's here on the East Coast!
I'll write more later, and return to my regular prowling of this board over the next few days - gotta apartment hunt and avoid my 50 mile (beltway) commute to work now - priority number one!
I'll also get in touch with all the kind board regulars in the area, and wanted to thank them, as well as several others for the plethora of tips and advice I received before my trip, as well as the offers of emergency assitance (if needed) and generous lunches, which I was unable to accept (on this road trip ;-)
Later!
ashu
Do you know how many miles you put on the car?
I usually try to purchase from those who claim 100% gasoline. Surprisingly, it's the local Meijer (regional hypermarket chain). I find that Shell makes the fumes smell more (supposed to be caused by the higher sulfer-content). So far as national brands go, I prefer Exxon, Mobil and BP. I use Shell since there's a station located conveniently nearby. I do get about 1-2mpg better when I fuel up at the Meijer.
I don't know of any additives that will improve your fuel economy if your system is clean and running well. Fuel injector cleaners can improve mpg if your injectors are partially clogged. However, most fuels today contain enough detergent to keep them clean. Avoid anything containing methanol. I personally have found more fouling (carbon and some white, ashy stuff on my spark plugs after using additives containing methanol. Not sure why.
I'd check your ignition system (timing, plug gaps, plug wires), your fuel injection system (to make sure it's not putting in too rich a mixture...make sure your oxygen sensor is working OK too). Check your air intake to make sure there isn't an obstruction. Your air filter shouldn't be clogged at that low mileage. I also notice an uptick in fuel economy after each oil change as well. I suppose, but doubt, that if the the tolerances in your piston chambers are in a min/max condition, there may be some "blow-by" around the piston rings. If this were the case, you would also notice loss of oil between oil changes (supposedly 1qt/1000miles is "acceptable" to auto mfrs) or an oily scent in the exhaust.
At least it's not your tire pressure. Do you notice anything that might indicate misaligned wheels? Check tirerack.com for some visual aids on this subject.
This site has some simplified visuals, but gets the point across about tire wear patterns indicating alignment problems:
http://www.familycar.com/index.htm
Look under the car care section.
Also the parts are much more expensive than Toyota and Honda because they have to to be delivered from Japan.
Did I choose a wrong dealer or wrong brand?
(it's in Japanese, some of the spec. are still readable.)
thank ashu for giving this little tip a while back
I'm in Toronto and if I take it to (North Toronto) Mazda for an oil change and what they call a "piece of mind inspection" (which btw is NOTHING AT ALL on a brand new car as the svc guy "almost" admitted), they charge $49+tax, so I'm on the hook for about $55 or so.
I'm now buying my own Mazda OEM oil filters (6 for $36) and 4L of Castrol GTX ($10 at Cdn. Tire)and go to a local Petro Canada place where I can see what they're doing and that they do the little things well too (letting ALL the oil drain, lubricating the oil filter before installing it, etc), which charges $18 (tax-in) for the svc. They give me a receipt that shows they also inspected the car, so it is exactly what the dealer would do if I took it there.
Overall, $35 tax-in and these guys do all their work like I would do it if I had ramps myself!
I found another place where they charge $10, but those guys are morons (screwed up my cylinder heads in my previous car - 93 Civic). Lesson from the past: don't be cheap trying to save $5/repaid/job, b/c you'll be paying $100s later on.
The svc manager at the dealership I mentionned above, did say to keep all receipts (filter, oil and svc) to prove I did the work in case of a warranty issue and advised me ***ONLY*** to use Mazda OEM oil filters!!! Some warranty issue between the car owner (u and I, etc..) and Mazda Canada. So buy a pack of 6 filters from Mazda (cheaper by $1.49 than at C.T.) and take it to your mechanic. You save $20/oil change and if u have a good mechanic, at least u know the job's done well, not just brushed-off like the dealer does it.
Dinu
Anyway, I will follow your advice to get the filters from the dealer and change the oil at Petro Canada.
I agree with you that as far as the time frame it takes them to fix something on a car, it's long. Here are my 2 experiences with 2 different dealer for 2 minor issues:
1. One week after I got the PRO, the CD Player "ate" my CD (didn't want to eject it). Took it to Scarboro Mazda. They changed it, but my CD is still "in Japan" after 5 mths! Let's just say that I'm getting upset by now.
2. Three lights from the spoiler burned out in late August. I advised N.T.O. Mazda of the problem during the 1st week of Sept. They finally got a replacement for me the last week of Nov.
I just wish they would have some parts (or CD's) as a backup. Keeping this s - l - o - w parts ordering process in mind, I sure hope the PRO won't have any issues that require parts from Japan now while in warranty and definitely later after the warranty expires.
There shouldn't be anything gone wrong with any new car after only 6 months.
Oh well, depends on how thoroughly they actually look at your car. After all, some of us do live in places where things get rattled off due to rotten roads, impacts with deer etc.
See:
Austria www.mazda.at
Click on:
Fahren (At top, in drop-down menu)
Mazda 323
Varianten (on the left side of your screen)
Choose either the 5 door or the 4 door aznd see....
No need for aftermarket clear lights there
I bought mine from Corksport a while back, they are the factory clear corners that they install on Familias in Japan.
I got the clear corners so my Pro can return to its 'original' look envisioned by the designers in Japan. I think it looks much better with clear corners than amber ones.
As per the parts, I heard that Mazda was going to setup a protege factory in North America, is it just a rumor? I am expecting that it can solve the parts issue.
it's been a slow day....
Different companies add different additive packages before they put it in the transport trucks, however. I don't know if this is true, but I heard that Costal has the best additive package in the midwest.
By the way, are you a real Carl Jr., or are you just a fan of the burger chain "Carl's Jr."?
protege8, when you get at least 5000 miles on your Pro5 then you will see an improvement in your fuel economy.
And by the way, how about joining us on Thursday nights in the Protegé Owners' Club chat room at 6:00PM PT, 7:00PM MT, 8:00PM CT or 9:00PM ET, we'ed love to chat live with you. Bring Boomer with you!
fowler3
you can choose an S2000, a CRV, or a civic.
I've been "driving" the Civic and the back end breaks out at 60 mph. Must be the cheap Firestones on the Civic.
Anyway, it's off topic, but it's fun nonetheless.
Back to Pro's...for the folks w/ 5-speeds, especially those of you 6 ft tall or more, can you rest your elbow on the armrest/console, or is it worthless even if you have the seat most of the way back? I'm spoiled by Honda armrests at this point....
twist
boomer: Thanx for the info. Didn't know who was the boss at NTO, but now I'll know. Yeah, I wish they would do something about the lack of parts, even though the PROs are great cars and we won't need parts to replace, rite?
fowler: Completely forgot about the chat tonite. I'm sure my presence was missed, even though no one mentionned it YET (j/k).
Really off topic: I'm installing laminated flooring in my room tomorow. Any tips. I have the materials and a fairly good sense of what it's about and some experience installing parquet floors. Is there anything specific I should really be careful about? The floor is concrete and IT IS flat. Any tips would be appreciated.
Dinu
Well, the first of my beloved Protege's are in for their 30,000 mile check-up. My wife's at work and I got no car to drive until this afternoon. I guess, I got to do some laundry or something. Any suggestions? If I start to watch TV, my day is shot. Day Time TV is addictive AND stupid. First Regis & Kelly, than Talk Soup, perhaps some Cat Dog or Sponge Bob? Later, Maury or Jerry and the lowest of low, some stupid Rockumentry on VH1.
-Larry
By the way, my wife wanted the bare-bones P5 -- which still is loaded with the ES trim, by the way; she just doesn't want a sunroof or cassette player, but wants an automatic transmission. So for a 2002 Protege5 with automatic transmission and floor mats, we'll be paying $300 over invoice or $16,859.
Nice to be friends with the salesman, huh? (This REALLY pisses me off. I WANT ONE TOO, DAMMIT!!! But I'm not going to take part in the VUDPP -- er, the "Vocus Upside-Down Payment Plan" -- hee hee)
Meade
Also, keep a sponge(like a kitchen sponge with the abrasive on one side) handy to clean up the glue.
Let us know how it goes.