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Mazda Protege Owners: Meet the Members
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-Larry
Dinu
If you have some time, we would really appreciate Town Hall members writing a review of their current auto, or a favorite make/model. It takes approximately a week for your review to appear on that make/model.
If you have any questions, please let me know!
Thanks!
KarenS
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Owners Clubs
Keep track of it. If it continues, bring it up to your dealership's attention.
Oh yeah, manual or automatic? And congratulations.
Welcome to the club; please come over to the sedans discussions "Mazda Protege" and "Mazda Protege5" and join us. You can also chat with us on Tuesdays at lunchtime and on Thursday evenings at the Yahoo! group mazdaprotege.
Welcome!
Meade
enjoy your '99 a little bit longer!
AND
"Upcoming Mazda3 - Hatch / Wagon"
Care to explain your user ID, smoke?
The Protege ES has the extra option of Sunroof, side airbags and ABS. I'm having a lot of fun with it and i'll be watching the board. Tom
I own a 2000 ES I bought brand new back in May 2000. But I've got 59,000 miles on mine!
Meade
The lower mileage one was pristene condition.
I took the smokers car. It just seemed to drive better and feel tighter. Anyway, i'll be sitting on the burn hole and won't notice it. LOL.
Another consideration was the warranty. I paid an extra $460 for Mazda certified warranty. It will give me a bumber to bumber for up to 62,000mi. I didn't stop there. I also bought an extended warranty with a $100 deductable for up to 7yr, 100,000mi.
I'm from St.Louis area, and I recently purchased a used 2002 Protege LX auto with 24K miles on it. I love driving this car, and am looking forward to drive more Mazda's.
Take care,
Philippa
I'm Terri, in northeast Ohio, just got a silver P5 last week. Plillipa76, you have me beat - I've got a little over 200 miles so far... :-)
I bought my car July 3rd 2002, and have surpassed the 30k mile barrier just over a year later (though the car was out of service for 7 weeks due to an accident 12/16/2002 ... boo hoo ... but was repaired as good as new). Every morning as I walk into the garage I look at my car and LOVE it. I waited 12 weeks for 'my ship to come in' quite literally as I wanted a specific option list and color. The only thing I gave into was not having leather seats. I had to have the vivid yellow, sport AT, and moonroof. I got that plus the fancy center mirror, which I didn't care about but now love. I hope that it lasts me many years, but I was checking on it's replacement the MP3 but I haven't decided if I like it or not. I've also been eyeing the MP6's station wagon, very nice.
I am definitely very glad to have broken free of the Ford Taurus syndrome (owned 3 of them 200k miles each) and am looking to be zooming around for many many miles.
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My name is Chrison. Just got a silver Pro ES with 4 sp. I have so far clocked 1500 km. no problem. The car is solidly built, no rattles (unlike my other car, Jetta 1.8T). I had driven quite a few cars, and I really like my ES's handling. Ride is a bit harsh but still tolerable. I have two minor complaints and one wish. Complaint 1: the motor is a bit underpower although i still consider it as adequate. Complaint 2: the gas mileage is on the low side....it's hobbling at around 10.5 L/100 km.... Hope it will improve as the odometer keeps ticking. My wish: I really wish I can connect an aux-in to the stock CD player so I can plug in my MP3 player. Does anyone know an affordable way to do it? Thank you very much. Nice to meet you all by the way.
Chrison
http://nxmx5.com/aux_in.html
I have seen the connector he uses on the back of the Protege head unit, but I do not know if it will work with the current model. I haven't had the time to try, so try this at your own risk. Personally, I favor a new head unit since it will sound better anyway, but the Protege5 is my wife's daily driver, and she likes the OEM look.
Dinu
Actually I didn't replace the Jetta with a Pro. The Jetta is a 02 and it's here to stay. I replaced our old Camry with the Pro. I have also thought of replacing the head unit, but it's still kind of new (1500 km only) and I would like to wait until a bit later. Besides, I found the stock head until very egonomic. I know brands like Pioneer sell aux cables that allows connection to the head unit. BTW, IMHO the Jetta's Monsoon sounds significantly better than Pro's. Unfortunately I accidentally busted one of the tweeters two weeks ago..... covered warranty though.
Chrison
I'm new here, so please cut me some slack...
Our company just got a new fleet car, a nice laser blue p5. Very slick. Anyway, I was under the impression that the key fob was just for remote key less entry like on our other fleet vehicles (GM minivans).
However, one day I found the car beeping and flashing outside my house. And no, I didn't push the red button on the remote either. I didn't even have the remotes with me at the time.
When I get a chance I'm going to do some 'scientific' testing to see what sets the darn thing off exactly.. bumps? Handle pulling? Dunno..
Do all 2003 P5's in Canada have this alaram or did we just get lucky? I don't recall anything about an alarm in the dealer/lease company docs.
Thanks in advance!
I'm new here, so please cut me some slack...
Our company just got a new fleet car, a nice laser blue p5. Very slick. Anyway, I was under the impression that the key fobb was just for remotekey lessss entry like on our other fleet vehicles (GM minivans).
However, one day I found the car beeping and flashing outside my house. And no, I didn't push the red button on the remote either. I didn't even have the remotes with me at the time.
When I get a chance I'm going to do some 'scientific' testing to see what sets the darn thing off exactly.. bumps? Handle pulling? Dunno..
Do all 2003 P5's in Canada have this alaram or did we just get lucky? I don't recall anything about an alarm in the dealer/lease company docs.
Thanks in advance!
In Canada, anti-theft system is merely an accessory in any Protege. They don't even come with an engine immobilizer (Civics do). But somehow the dealer etched the windows no charge. what a consolation!
Chrison
I am the proud new owner of a Mazda Protege5. It was purchased new a little more than a month ago. It was my wife who actually saw it/loved it/drove the purchase process, but I really like the car as well.
We got it fairly loaded: AT, moonroof, abs/side air bags, 6 disc changer, leather, polished wheels, and roof rack. Silver color outside, black inside. It looks very sharp. (My wife wanted the AT, I would have preferred the manual; but it's not a big deal.)
I love the way that it handles but it is too bad that the engine feels uninspired. Just doesn't seem to be much of anything there. I don't know if it is the AT or the engine, though. I have used the sport shifting feature off and on and it still seems to be sluggish, so I figure it's the engine.
The one problem that we are having with it is the gas mileage. I have seen a few others here mention it, too. The sticker said 25/30 but we have been hovering in the 22-25 range ever since we got it. We even removed the roof rack a few tanks ago to see if that would have an effect. (It doesn't seem to have changed much, which is good; the roof rack adds a nice touch to the sporty look of the car.) This is the same type of driving that gives me 30-32 MPG in our old car (a Mazda 626 4 cylinder). We haven't taken it in to the dealer yet, but we are getting very close to that. Everyone we mention it to says that it needs to be broken in some or it is the cold weather. The other car still gets 30+ in this cold weather, though...
Anyway, love the car so far. Will continue to enjoy it as long as we figure out this gas mileage thing.
J
Other things you can try:
Increase tire pressure from 32 to 34psi (the setting on my wife's P5).
Use synthetic motor oil.
Use a clean air filter (or replace more frequently than called for in the manual).
Removing the roof rack only makes a noticeable difference at highway speeds.
Winter formulations of fuel typically have less energy capacity, so expect about a 3-5% drop in mpg.
My wife complains about the mpg she gets in her P5, as it's a little lower than that of her old SL2. But she now averages 29mpg (not bad for a wagon IMO). She averaged 26mpg when her P5 was new. The transmission is geared more for acceleration feel, and the throttle is also calibrated for launch feel. Feather the throttle when starting and coast as much to stops. That by itself will probably give you a couple more mpg. However, it does take a bit of fun out of launches and stops. And try to carry more speed through corners. The P5 is very capable in this regard and it's a load of fun too. But it will wear your tires a bit more, though it will wear your brakes a bit less.
Ted
Thanks, all!
Other than that, It can't be beat.
Honestly, interior trim is too good, as is the space.
just enjoy your zoom zoom.
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Lots of people have gone w/ the 15" wheel/snow tire combo from tirerack.com (I haven't though). Last snow/ice here in N.C. my SP5000Ms seemed to do ok, although they only have 3000 miles on them.
I have been out on snow once with the stock 16 tires and it did okay.
As I mentioned, I bought mine last week at a nice discount ($5100 off). I wanted and got a 5 speed and the only option was the ABS and side air bag package.
I am absolutely thrilled with this car!! All of the positive attributes that I read in all the reviews are there: great handling, great build quality, great value, etc., etc., etc.
I find the power more than adequate as I joyfully crank through the gears.
The suspension is admittedly a bit firm, but it is not bothersome to me. However, I do not like taking the car much above 70 mph as it gets a bit to busy and buzzy for me. This car will be a urban runabout for me, so this really isn't a problem.
I could not be any happier with this car!!!
I've been reading this Forum for over a month now. Started in the Mazda3 forum, but after I came to grips with the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to get in one (based on my budget) I decided that the Protege would be my 2nd choice. If I had the time, I may have held out; however, my old car was a 92 Nissan Maxima with 198,700 miles on it. It would stall on me at random times and the A/C was not blowing cold. Here in Dallas they both are issues. I got my money's worth out of her. So I was hoping to at least be able to drive her on a lot for a trade.
I located several Proteges (over the internet) still new on a few area lots and checked them out. Unfortunately, they sold by the time I got to them. I did notice that they sold for about 5,000 under MSRP so I used that ammo to help buy the ES I found on a lot near my work. The sticker was $18,060 w/ABS, side air-bags, and wheel locks. I managed to get them down to $13,900 including my trade ($600.00 towards TTL).
After reading some more on this site I decided to go with the Mazda extended warranty - because I will keep the car for a while. Got 7yrs/100,000 w/$50 deductible for $799.00.
I am very pleased with car. It's white, which wouldn't have been my first choice since my Maxima was white, but now I'm pleased with the color too. Wish it had the moonroof and 6 disc in-dash changer though. Anyway, it's all you guys have said yours were, and I look forward to driving mine every time I get in it. It had 114 miles on it (brand new) when I drove it off the lot. Now, I'm up to about 700 "babied" miles.
A few things I want to do is to tint the windows (right away) and upgrade the speakers to the Kenwoods that many of you have gone with. I've checked out the on-line Mazda sites you have mentioned you purchased yours at, but I've also seen some on Ebay for less. Debating whether to go with the Mazda ones because of the factory wiring/connectivity or save on the Ebay ones. Also would like to know how easy the speakers are to get to for self-install. I visited tboggs' homepage (http://homepage.mac.com/tboggs/Menu7.html) where he shows pics of his installs, but I'm not too car audio savvy. Plus I don't want to risk causing any cosmetic damage. I will try though if you all advise that it's easy. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
Also, what are anyones thoughts on going with an early oil change for the first one? Or, should I just wait for the 1st scheduled one?
Thanks for your time - if you took the time to read this. This is a great forum and has been a great help so far.
Aim High!
KenV
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Welcome to our happy family. Some of the long-time regulars (Larry, Protegextwo; and Dinu; to name two) have just jumped ship for new cars (Larry traded his two 2000 ES's for two Pontiac Vibes and Dinu traded his Protege for a Mazda3), but they still hang around and offer advice. I still own my 2000 ES and my wife drives a 2002 Protege5. I plan to trade my Protege, which is still going very strong at 75,500 miles, for a Mazda3S 5-door next May, but we'll probably keep the Protege5 for a couple more years since it only has 30K on it. At any rate I plan to stick around here as new owners always show up -- used Proteges make pretty good deals!
Welcome, and enjoy! I'm 75,000 miles ahead of you, and zooming ever on!
Meade
The front speakers in the door are fairly easy to get at. Just remember to take your time and don't force anything (except for the grip on the passenger door, after you've removed all the screws you need to pop some snaps). Wiring isn't hard. If you go with the Mazda-supplied ones, it's just unclip the old ones and clip the connectors to the new ones. Other than that, Crutchfield may supply adapters if you buy from them. If not, then you'll need to use a soldering iron.
On the driver door, make sure you disconnect (and reconnect) the power window and side-mirror control boards from their wires when you remove the trim panel.
The speakers in the rear deck can be a hassle to replace, but the results are worth the effort, I think. It took me more time to do those than the ones in the front doors. I didn't figure out how to remove the panel completely, but got it detached enough I could work underneath it to replace the speakers. You may break a few of the plastic fasteners here, but you can always buy replacements from your parts department.
I didn't post pictures, but I did describe in text how I replaced mine in the Protege Accessories and Modifications board (msgs 272 and 274). You can go to that board, do an "advanced search" for "speaker" and "replacement" in the message text and restrict the search to just that board. It'll list every message posted about the subject in that board.