Mazda Protege5

silver_bullet · May 2002

Bottom line: don't go to your dealer to buy a replacement wheel! There are several online businesses that specialize in take-offs from late model cars, both steel and aluminum wheels. Steels are usually available for a song. You might even try a local wrecking yard, but I'd ask them to spin the wheel before you buy to make sure it isn't bent.

seminole_kev · May 2002

ignorance is bliss no?

bluong1 · May 2002

Thanks for the offset explanation. However, it's just you or all our american friends like to mess between measurement systems: inches and mm mix in a happy sentence. BTW Houston is nice now, temperature is 80 degree F, just 3 degree C warmer than yesterday!

Bruno

bluong1 · May 2002

The side wall of the stock Dunlop tires is written: "Do not mount on the 16.5 rim".

Bruno

silver_bullet · May 2002

Today is going to be near 90, unfortunately with humidity to match

Tire and wheel sizes can be confusing - what else can you conclude when width and aspect ratio ("195/50") are stated in mm while diameter ("16") is stated in inches? Wheel sizes are in inches, while offset is in mm ("ET30" stamped on a wheel means 30mm of offset). It's just a special language

mazdafun · May 2002

When I shopped for alloys for my '99LX, I checked the price of the Mazda alloys (they look better than any others I looked at), they quoted me $350 each for the 15in ones stock on the ES. Eeek. Don't ruin your OEM-stock wheels is the lesson here. I thought someone mentioned Enkei makes them for Mazda, but they're exclusive and aren't available after-market (not so far as I found in my searching).

I went with Borbet Type H 14in alloys for $75 each instead.

silver_bullet · May 2002

I don't know if they have Mazda factory alloys, but I know for a fact they have Ford alloys. When my friend ruined a tire and wheel on her ZX3, I called the Tire Rack and found out they had a bunch of 15" new car take off Focus alloys on hand. They charged me $75 for a new wheel, mounted and balanced the exact tire I needed (a Pirelli P6000 V rated tire - not easy to find!) and shipped it two-day FedEx for a great price - problem solved for WAY less than the cost of just a wheel from the friendly Ford dealer. It never hurts to call around.

seminole_kev · May 2002

in any decent sized city/area, there will be a shop that specializes in OEM replacement wheels from wrecked cars and god knows where else. Check with Tire rack like silver_bullet said above, and maybe look into, if you have them, one of these wheel places. See who'll give you the best deal. Good luck in your search.

maltb · May 2002

what is it about the way I type? It seems like people always take what I say as argumentative. I just like to throw in my $0.02, sans animosity.

Kev, bliss vs. limited knowledge. NHTSA has always struggled to get it right. They either over generalize or make it mind numbingly complex.

seminole_kev · May 2002

Well Silver_bullet just gave a guy the information on a TSB that will probably aid him in getting the problem with his pro fixed and you start complaining about the NHTSA, TSB's and how people should remain ignorant to easy fixes. Your post almost acted like Silver_bullet had said:

"you know that pro's a real piece of crap because it has all these TSB's out on it. Should have bought a Civic!"

protege_fan · May 2002

I didn't get that...it was more like "owners tend to abuse TSBs even though the TSB is maninly for technicians."

My friendly $.02...which I can't give you b/c I have to go shell out $400 for my stupid rim.

seminole_kev · May 2002

wrong with knowing about TSB's? Hell popular mechanics posts them in their automotive section all the time. Trust me, I've owned many different makes, and it is always better to know of a TSB that could be linked to a problem you have, rather than have the dealer finally stumble across the TSB a week later.

silver_bullet · May 2002

Okay, its Friday and everybody needs to chill out

I understand how Maltb feels - as an ex-Focus owner, I used to get testy when people would post "Wow, lookit all them TSBs! Your Focus must be a piece of junk!". The recall notices get my attention, but I take the TSBs with a grain of salt. There are so few for the Protege that the one for the crooked wheel really stood out

Hopefully those few folks with affected cars will get their wheels put right so they can enjoy their cars.

maltb · May 2002

That bulletin was issued back in 1998 as applying to all models. It only suggests the proper procedure to rememdy such a situation on all Mazda(non-Ford) vehicles.

peace people....

chicagopro · May 2002

And everybody have a very nice weekend driving the vehicle of your choice, reading all the TSB's you can get your hands on, or happily disregarding them, as you see fit.

badboyeee · May 2002

I got mine fixed just a couple days ago. Wow I never knew other p5's had this problem, I thought it was only me.

I noticed it well before my current 1480 miles. I was scared bc I was thinking why is it misaligned so soon!? But people told me don't worry too much about it.

We are still working on fixing the rattle coming from my front passenger door panel or it may be coming from the seatbelt pillar. They ordered a part so I have to bring back my car next week.

bluong1 · May 2002

... to see if there is a misaligned steering wheel. I never drove long enough on the straight line so I could easily fail to see it. LOL

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Bruno

iamz · May 2002

Sorry about the late response, but you had asked about wiring your front bumper side marker lights to have them blink when you signal..... If you wired them to blink on with your signals, they would always be off when not signaling, and that might be illegal and unsafe at night. There is probably a way to wire them to blink off as the signal comes on, but I ain't the one to know. Sorry dude.

protege_fan · May 2002

I don't think it would be illegal. Isn't that the way the VW side marker lights work - that is, the only come on when signalling?

sharonf · May 2002

sharonf · May 2002

Anyways....got my red P5 today...a few bumps(figuratively) along the way....but now safe and sound in my garage

though I may go out driving again a little later!
First of all...the license configuration I finally decided on....dmv website was updated on Tues...and somebody took my choice! =( Scrambled to find new choices.
At the point of leaving the dealership...my mother(who was driving my old car back)...took it upon herself to toss her purse, sweater, and magazine on the hood of my nice new shiny car to search for her keys!! Yikes!. I had to go buy one of those special cloths to wipe/buff clean after.
Then...stopped at grocery on way home...parked all alone when I went in...came out about 5 minutes later and some big ol cargo van was nose to nose with my car...I walked up slowly...and started inspecting(while a woman was in the passenger seat)....fortunately...another woman had been sitting in a nearby car and said she watched and he didn't hit...she was thinking he was going to and made a point of watching...he was THAT close! At that point I thought I'd better not press my luck and get the car home!!
And Bruno....I never said the wheels were ugly! I just would've preferred the polished.
Sharon

moses5 · May 2002

I heard yesterday on Motorweek that Mazda will be offering a turboharged version of the sedan this fall as a 2003 model. It will produce 170HP. I don't know if this will make it to the Protege5, but if it did, this would certainly be a nice performance boost.

sharonf · May 2002

I'm too lazy to go out to my detached garage right now and see if there are wheel locks on my car. I found a set in the glove box. Are these extra? or do they expect one to put them on themselves? I read the directions...but have no tools...and don't understand it anyways!
Sharon

reitrof · May 2002

Sharon

The dealer should have installed the wheel locks. Take them back and have them do it.

Bruce

protegextwo · May 2002

"And the car I own now is a 2002 Ford Focus."
by seminole_kev

Enuf said, lol!

revka · May 2002

Congrats on your new Protege5! We look forward to hearing about your ownership experience. Also, if you have a spare moment, feel free to stop by our Protege Owner's Club and say hello in our Protege Owners - Meet the Members discussion. Thanks for your participation at Town Hall. ;-)

Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards

silver_bullet · May 2002

Thank you, protegextwo, for illustrating the point about small-minded people who read more into TSBs than they should.

sharonf · May 2002

Thanks...I thought they should have. Only thing is....the dealer I picked it up at is about 45 minutes away.....while there is a dealer(where I'll be taking the car for service)....about 5-10 minutes away. I hope if I take it there they won't put up a fuss since I didn't buy there!

pciskowski · May 2002

Are you sure it is not the panel in front of the console on the passenger side? This is the one just under the heater vent. I thought I had a door rattle too, and it turned out to be this panel reflecting off the door. It was VERY loose. It drove me nuts trying to find it.

Did anyone have a rattle coming from the rear driver side door? I can't tell where it is coming from, but I can hear it. Just wondering before I go on the hunt.

badboyeee · May 2002

The first time I brought it in, they replaced the "window regulator." The repair invoice says it was tilting the window causing it to chatter against something. But after they replaced that, the sound was still there!
So then I brought it in again the day after. I test drove my car with a technician to pinpoint my concern. He says it seems to be coming from the b pillar/seatbelt area. Yesterday I picked up my car, I have to go back again next week because they ordered a part(nosed channel?????). Anyone know what that part is??
I heard it took someone 3 tries to fix a rattle. oh wells

mootarjim · May 2002

I just bought my MP two days ago, and all I can say is SWEET! I got the vivid yellow w/moonroof and in-dash-6 CD changer, and the 5-speed. It took some real searching online to find this configuration anywhere near me (143 miles away, actually), but it was worth it. So far, I'm VERY happy with it. Great car, and even more fun to drive than I had imagined. I hear some people don't like the red backlighting on the instrument panel, but I love it. It's different (much like the bright yellow car it comes in...hmmm...). So far, my only real complaint other than what will turn out to be sub-par mileage for such a small engine is that there aren't enough trays for loose items, and the trays that are there aren't lined at the bottom, so loose stuff is noisey. I'm just picky that way, though. I LOVE this car.

randomny · May 2002

I have the Midnight Mica Blue with moonroof. I love the car the only real complaints are the Cup holders. I went to the auto store and picked up extenders, I can't close that little door but that is ok. I use one for my drinks and the other for loose change. The radio is absolutly terrible, I can't believe it makes my cds sound like crap. I bought a Alpine cd deck, waiting for the wiring harness to come in so it can be installed. I work for an electronics retail chain.

I'm going to remove the roof rack. It's way too loud at highway speed. If anyone needs aftermarket stuff go to www.protege5online.com they sell whatever is available for our car now. I picked up a K&N air filter and a Magnetic bra. Prices are very good.

iamz · May 2002

Your right, the lights mounted between the front wheel-well and the front doors on cars are usually used just for signaling. Mnkyboy wanted to rewire his "parking lights" to flash though, and parking lights are more than likely required by the D.O.T. to remain on with your headlights.

mnkyboy · May 2002

Well, you may be right about the lights having to be on when the headlights are on, but this is ok, i would like to have these perform the way they are suppose to PLUS blink when the turn signal is on. This should be possible to do, but i am not an electrician. Anyone have any ideas how to do this?

protege_fan · May 2002

Oh....I thought you were talking about side-marker lights. Sorry!

Mnkyboy: I'm no electrician either, but that sounds like it may be hard to do...Good luck!

howardchen · May 2002

My PR5 (automatic) has only about 390 miles on it.
I noticed that when I started the car, the engine rpm would go up to 2000+ then go down to 1200. After about 5 seconds, it went up to 2000rpm and then go down to 1200rpm. Then it was kind of jumping/vibrating between 1200-1300rpm.
In short, when the engine is idle, it doesn't stay steady at a rpm. Is this normal?

jehobbs · May 2002

Got a mulimeter?
The relevant Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard here is #108 (FMVSS 108). The text is publicly available on the web but is very dry. I've had to look through it and interpret it at my job.
Here is my read on this: There is no question that those front side marker lights need to be on all the time when the headlights are on. I do not see any reason why they couldn't also flash with the turn signal. You would need to replace the bulb in that front side marker (single filament) with a dual filament bulb. One of the two filaments should be attached to the ground and signal wire currently attached to the side marker. Then you would need to splice into the turn signal signal wire and run it to the second filament of your new dual filament front side marker.
You need to make sure that both the current front turn signal and side marker and the new side marker are the same type of light, probably 12v incandescent lights, and not some odd LED light. Also, small chance that you might blow a fuse on the turn signal circuit. It was made to run 2 lights per side and you are putting 3 per side on it. I work with large trucks and the OEM wiring is always very comfortably over engineered in anticipation of after market modifications. This might not be the case with cars. Your probably safe, but I can't be sure. In any case, you'll know pretty quickly. Also, whatever dual filament bulb you find probably won't fit in the socket for the current side marker, you'll have to be creative there. I also can't help you with which wire is which color, thats what the multimeter is for.

seminole_kev · May 2002

I originally said something less than nice here in response to ProX2's silly response. I'm retracting that and just going to leave it at that.

protege_fan · May 2002

I think you're just experiencing engine warm-up. If you drive for a bit then come to a stop, I'm sure you'll find that the idle will sit at about 700 rpm or so.

sharonf · May 2002

Hi everyone....some of you know I just got my "mid-cycle refresh" P5 on Friday afternoon. Today I got in the rear seat to explore and saw what appear to be four little round stickers(?) depicting a dummy sitting in a seat(?). I'm not sure if they are stickers or not as they were not coming off too readily and I was afraid to try harder(not wanting to ruin the leather). These little circles are spaced evenly across the lower part of the seatbacks.
Does anyone else have these in their car? At this point I'm waiting until I bring the car in to have the wheel locks put on to ask if these things can be removed.
Sharon

silver_bullet · May 2002

By any chance, are you seeing labels identifying the attachment points for the isofix child seat tethers? If so, I'd bet they are meant to stay there... wouldn't want the little "dummy" to get hurt by incorrectly attaching the babyseat, now would you? ;-)

limpyboy · May 2002

I mostly agree with Protege fan's assessment that you're seeing the fast-idle warm-up.

But I'm surprised that your speed vacillates between 1200-2000. That's a huge range, and could mean lots of things.

Also, initial idle speed after start should be around 1450 or 1500. certainly not 2000.

I'd have your dealer look at this ASAP.

--Chris

mazdafun · May 2002

Congratulations on your new P5! I'm quite envious.

(Would've gotten the P5 had it come out the same time as the current sedan, but hey, the sedan's really nice too).

Wheel locks. You can use the emergency wrench in your trunk, stashed with the emergency spare wheel, to remove replace one nut per wheel with a wheel lock nut. There should be a "key" that fits onto the heads of the security nuts. On the flip side of the key will be six-sided bolt head that your tire wrench fits over. You use the key to turn the wheel lock nuts.

You might want to invest in a torque wrench (and a longer-armed racheting wrench and socket) as well, so you can rotate your wheels yourself. I find most auto techs use air-driven power tools when rotating wheels. This can easily damage (usually by cross-threading) the studs on each wheel hub. I now do my own, after having to replace two studs for $45 each, and noticing some damage to three other studs (on my '89 323...nobody else is touching the wheels on my '99 Pro).

On the ISOFIX bottom latch stickers, if they look and feel removable, they're probably intended for you to remove them. They'd probably get stuck to someone's pants or shirt anyway, if they are like that. They're probably more for your initial info than anything else if they're not permanently attached to the fabric.

sharonf · May 2002

Could be that's what the pictures are for. I dunno - one would think giving instructions in a manual would be enough.
Mazdafun- you make me laugh....me? rotate my own tires??

That'll be the day. I'm just not mechanically inclined...and wouldn't trust my work even if I did make the effort! Thanks for the instructions though...maybe I caN FIND someone else that'll do it for me.
As for the 'stickers' I'm speaking of. I dunno if they are meant to come off or not as they weren't peeling off readily...and didn't want to push it. I'll just wait til I go into the dealer---probably tomorrow - hockey tonight(priorities!), and I'll ask them there.
sharon

tincup47 · May 2002

Like the labels on the sunvisors, are presents from the Federal Govt. These are required to be put on the vehicles by the DOT, and are not easily removable per regulation.

riopelle · May 2002

RE: the mini wagon comparo mentioned here last week - Has anyone else seen this, and care to comment on it? I have been looking for it but it's not on the newstands yet that I have found.

Sharon - congrats on the P5. I saw two red ones this saturday, the car looks absolutely awesome in red.

bluong1 · May 2002

when I start, the engine turns at ~2000 rpm. It goes down gradually to 1450-1500 rpm more or less quick depending on the outside temperature (15-40s). Occasionally, when the outside temperature is low, the engine could go up to 2000 rpm for a very short period of time, like it get panic in a twilight zone. But this phenomenon never happens at 60 degree. I start driving gently when the rpm reaches 1500rpm, and the engine warm up pretty fast. The next time I stop, the idle falls to less than 1000rpm. When the engine is warm, the idle is stable at 700rpm as protege_fan said.

Bruno

jim_loves_cars · May 2002

No I haven't seen the comparo and it's driving me crazy! I've been waiting for my issue to come in the mail so I can read about how the P5 is a great car (which we all know, but it's nice to hear anyways).

I've been waiting since May 1st, going to the mailbox like an expantant kid and coming away with nothing but bills (and AutoWeek). Bummer.

Can't wait!

-jim

silver_bullet · May 2002

Behavior such as that described above is fairly common in late model cars, as a way to "light off" the catalyst as soon as possible. Most of the emissions produced by your engine are at cold start, followed by those produced during prolonged idling.

riopelle · May 2002

How's the Si vs. P5 conundrum? I saw someone test driving an Si this weekend. I just love the Si's look, but I must be the only one! Still think it doesn't have much on the P5, though.

Mazda Protege5

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