Mazda Protege5 Maintenance and Repair

xeones · November 2002

Dude,

Thats obnoxious that your dealer won't fix your tranny. Warrenty work may pay less but it still pays. Don't put up with that kind of crap if you can find a dealer that will fix it for you.

Good Luck,

dsm6 · December 2002

Got the Pro back - new syncros, new 2nd and 3rd gears and ... no more gear grind when cold. So take that all you doubters! ;-)

bluong1 · December 2002

I didn't know the car was in the shop. Congratulation.

Which synchros did they change? All?

BTW does anyone know if there is any double syncro in the gearbox?

Bruno

dsm6 · December 2002

shrique · December 2002

What were your symptoms anyway? I'm getting some mild gear grind when the tranny is still cold as well.

dsm6 · December 2002

When cold, gears would grind mildly (more of a crunch sometimes, a true grind when really cold) shifting into 2nd and 3rd. It goes away when warm.

shrique · December 2002

So how is it acting now?

What you had happening to you sound exactly like what my car has been doing ever since I bought it.

mazdafun · December 2002

Minor problem that makes a big stink.

I couldn't avoid it last night on the slushy freeway, so I got a plastic bag melted to my exhaust pipe (on the resonator portion).

Any recommendations on removing it? I was planning on trying to scrape and sand it off this weekend while the exhaust is cold, after leaving my car up on ramps overnight.

At least I didn't get my car sprayed by a skunk.

bluong1 · December 2002

it happens to my sister's Open Astra last month. The smell get her into a panic mode believing the engine was dying. She brought the car to the shop and I don't thing they did anything more sophisticated than just physically scraping it away.

patcmcd · December 2002

My P5 has about 5,000mi. on it and I've noticed in these cold ambients (around 0°F at night) that the interior of the windshield forms frost during the day or night. I use my defrost nearly every day which obviously clears the window well but is there perhaps something else going on to cause the formation of the frost("Heating core" or clogged condensate drain)?

wayde · December 2002

Make sure that your airflow is coming from outside - the button with the car/airflow.

Use recirc during summer months with A/C on.

Hope this helps.

Sporin · December 2002

The P5 is set up to use the AC and outside air in the Defrost, Defrost & Feet, and Feet positions.

Without resoldering some electrics, this is the ONLY way it will work regardless of what buttons you push.

It is set that way so you are always using the dryest air to defrost the car.

If it's really cold (like it is in New England now) an your car sits outside, you're going to get some frost no matter what you do. Just keep beating it down with the defroster while you are in it and it shouldn't get out of hand.

dagpotter · December 2002

One of the three screws that hold the heatshield on at the front of the engine is missing. Does anyone know if this is a special screw/bolt or can I use one of any type if it is the same size?

thanks.

ashutoshsm · December 2002

... as a very common thing people noticed on their 2000/2001 and newer Proteges (all flavours). Run a search at protegeclub.com - its been discussed. I think the consensus was that this was a redundant screw location, although the dealership should (?!) be happy to pop one in there for your peace of mind.

dagpotter · December 2002

Thanks...I called the parts department but they said I had to pull another one of the three so they could match it...maybe I will drive by later this week and see if they could fix while I wait.

Thanks...

bezadr · January 2003

I posted this on the regular Protege site, thought I'd try here as well.

I know my 5spd Protege5 doen't have a turbo (it would be nice though!), but when I hit 3.5K rpm, there is a distinct whine that sounds like, like a spooling turbo, but much fainter. The vehicle it 8 months old, and has 20K miles on it (I have a 100 mile/day commute). Has anybody else noticed this, or knows what this might be? Also, on a side note, does anyone know of a good Mazda mechanic in Orange County, CA

bcboyer · January 2003

I have a 2002 Protoge 5 automatic that was purchased in the summer of 2001. The sticker claims that the mileage should be 25 and 28mpg average. The car now has about 13,000 miles on it and still it only gets about 20mpg, and 50% of the miles are highway. I have been to various dealers 3 times now and they all say everything checks out OK. I don understand, we don't drive it all crazy. What can I do? Anyone else get bad mileage?

mazdafun · January 2003

Have your MAS (mass airflow sensor), plug gap, oxygen sensor checked. Even a loose ground connection can cause problems with sensors.

Any of these can cause a richer fuel/air mixture than needed, causing your fuel consumption to increase.

Also check your tires for any signs of uneven wear and proper inflation pressure. Either can increase friction.

Make sure your transmission engages the torque lockup at about 45mph (after shifting into overdrive, you'll also see a slight reduction in RPMs at about this speed when the lockup engages). This greatly reduces friction losses in the torque converter at highway speeds. If it's not, then get your AT checked out. Might be a bad or poorly grounded sensor.

bmclaughlin1 · January 2003

We have a 2002 refresh P-5. Although ours is a 5 speed, we almost always get between 31-35 miles per gallon. We do not drive the car real hard, so that may help us get better mileage. Our car has about 4500 mi. on it. Most of our mileage is highway. Our family also has 2 other Proteges, both 2001 models, an LX 2.0 Automatic, and an ES 5 Speed. The ES almost always gets from 30-33 miles per gallon, the LX Auto gets from 25-32 miles per gallon.

krotine · January 2003

There is a Technical Service Bulletin on this. Click or paste this link:

http://web2.airmail.net/emann/protegefaq/tsb/mt000002993.html

Jason

ashutoshsm · January 2003

3 Proteges in the family? Have you posted here before? If not - welcome to the place

There are a whole bunch of others with 2 Proteges, or 2 Mazdas - but 3 has to be the record!

mazdafun · January 2003

'89 323LX
'99 ProtegeLX
'03 Protege5

Of course, one is ancient.

bmclaughlin1 · January 2003

I think I may have made a post or 2 on the Protege board in the past. I mostly just read the comments posted on various Mazda boards. We have owned Mazda vehicles since our first purchase in March 1985, a B-2000 base pickup truck that we loved and was very dependable. We have had a number of other Mazda vehicles since then.

bcboyer · January 2003

I have been to 2 different dealers, multiple times. They say that they are checking the factory settings which I assume are what you are saying here. I am not sure what else I can do.

maltb · January 2003

Try to do most of your driving around 50mph in 5th gear without much variation. If you see a huge improvement, it's your driving style. If not, something is amiss with the car.

There are so many factors that affect mileage that it's hard for a dealer to determine if there is something wrong with your vehicle other than what the various systems and sensors tell them.

newcar31 · January 2003

on point. I had a couple of really bad tanks in my 2001 ES 5sp. 19 mpg. Both tanks consisted of starting the car in the morning (sub zero temps) and letting the idle settle down a little. Then, I would drive about 2 miles to the bus station and turn the car off. Same thing in the afternoon. 5 days a week. Half the time the car was running, it was running cold. I decided to do a test. I filled the tank full and headed out for a loop through Minneapolis, a route that is all freeway and about 60 miles. I didn't go during rush hour, so I could just cruise the whole time. I was going anwhere between 60-70 mph the whole time and the car stayed in 5th gear the whole time. I was very easy with the throttle. I filled up at about 60 miles on the trip odo. 39 mpg!! I know the margain of error increases when you don't burn a full tank, but I can't imagine it being worse than +/- 5 mpg. So even if it was off, I think it was still at least 34 mpg.

mudflat · January 2003

This may be a silly question, but you're not running around with the overdrive disengaged, are you?

dinu01 · January 2003

A few weeks ago I too got terrible mileage from my 2.0 ES.

Last nite I filled up and on mostly highway driving (say 75% highway, 25% city) since last week, I got a very nice 9.17L/100kms - sorry don't know how many mpg that is, but I know 9L/100kms is not bad. Not bad considering last nite I drove over 100kms between 120-140km/h, at times with the A/C on to defog the windshield.

Dinu

cdnp5 · January 2003

I'm no expert on this but I believe that driving your car only 2 miles then turning it off will never allow it to warm up which in turn will give you bad mileage. I'm sure that if you did this in the summer you would still have the same problems. Not to sound mean but couldn't you walk the 2 miles and save you car for longer drives. The avg person walks 3mph so at a brisk pace you could make the trip in 30 minutes. How long is the drive taking you now. Maybe your situation doesn't allow this which I could also understand. I can still manage 9L/100km (approx 26-27mpg US) in the winter with winter tires driving 120-130kph (70-80mph) in my P5. Try taking only longer trips in your car and see if you have any improvements.

newcar31 · January 2003

"Not to sound mean but couldn't you walk the 2 miles and save you car for longer drives."

Well, it's really more like 2.6 miles, and there is no way I'm walking that far when it's this cold out. On top of that, it would add at least another hour to my already long commuting time. That would mean getting up 45 minutes earlier (5:15 AM) and getting home later. No way. I know short trips aren't good for my car, but what else can I do?

"Try taking only longer trips in your car and see if you have any improvements."

I did do that. I wrote about in the post above.

cdnp5 · January 2003

Wow that would be crazy (getting up at 5:15AM) and even I don't want to do that. I actually do walk in this cold weather everyday but my walk is only 30 minutes long at the most. Today the temp was only -20C (-8F?). They say that it should warm up by the weekend, ya right.

"I know short trips aren't good for my car, but what else can I do?"

There really isn't much you can do. I'm sure you don't want a hybrid as I imagine you bought the P5 for space and its funness (I really don't think that is a word?) to drive. Just think about summer and and how nice it will be to drive witht he windows and sunroof (if you have one) open.

capitano · January 2003

don't know if you are looking for a longer commute but that is one way to get the car warmed up better. When I lived in Alaska, I was 1.5 miles from the office. In order to let the car heat up, I drove a round about way of 8 miles or so. But still, my commute was very short. I did all that, because I had read a book about how to make a car last and it made a big deal about cold operation. The advice was not to idle and let it warm that way, but to warm it by driving and not to shut it off when it hadn't reached normal operating temperature. Oh, that reminds me, I also used a radiator blanket to block some of the airflow to the radiator.

newcar31 · January 2003

is at it's normal point when I shut the car off at the park & ride. I'm just worried that the oil doesn't get hot enough to burn off all the water in it. Same goes for the exhaust. If it doesn't heat up enough, the water inside doesn't burn off. I've tried doing a round about drive to the bus station, maybe I should do it more often. I can tell it's really bad for my car, it gets 19 mpg operating this way.

capitano · January 2003

Does your area use the special winter fuels to reduce smog, inversion etc? That stuff helps kill mileage.

newcar31 · January 2003

uses "winter" gas in the winter. I've taken that into consideration also.

higherthandown · February 2003

I am trying buying a mazda for the first time. A P5. I took it for a test drive and it drove great. One thing that I noticed though, was that it rode kind of ruff but not really bad (only while driving down the rode like it was a little bumpy). Is it just because the suspension is tight or should it be looked at, because I am used to driving a '92 Integra.

Also, what is everybody's opinion about the P5 and has it given anybody serious problems?

mazdafun · February 2003

It is firm. That's the way it is. It isn't harsh though.

So far so good, but my wife's had hers only since early January. My '99LX (Jan 1999) has been excellent after they aligned the steering wheel, which was about 15 degrees off (except the head unit refuses to play CDs now...I'm replacing it with an aftermarket system).

boggse · February 2003

I have a 2003 P5. Before that I owned a 2001 Protege ES. The reason I traded was my wife's desire for an automatic transmission. We both love the new P5. I just took a 600 mile trip from Durham, NC to Washington, D.C. this past weekend. The P5 was great. While the ride is a little firm, the seats are very comfortable and the seating position is the best I have ever experienced. We experienced no back pain or discomfort as we used to in the 2000 VW Jetta we owned prior to the Protege. We have at least 2 more trips planned this spring, and we are very glad we have this vehicle to make them in.

cbmorton · February 2003

My P5 will be a year old this coming Sunday and I'm pleased with how it's performed. There have only been two minor issues that required dealer attention: a rattle in the radio and a noisy window regulator, both fixed on the same visit. Fuel economy has been good, although not stellar, and the build quality is excellent.

I think the P5's ride is fine on the whole, although I have found a local street that makes my teeth rattle when I take the P5 down it, but that's a rarity, and a small price to pay for the crisp, direct handling that's a big part of the fun-to-drive factor.

boggse · February 2003

For those of you experiencing the "Death Rattle," here is a link to the TSB:

http://web2.airmail.net/emann/protegefaq/tsb/01-004-03.html

dinu01 · February 2003

Dinu

bluong1 · February 2003

I probably won't "fix" the rattle because mine is minor and what I'm concern is this sentence in the TSB:

There is a counter-measure to help reduce the noise in order to improve customer satisfaction"

Bruno

protege_fan · February 2003

What's your concern?

bluong1 · February 2003

after fixing, the car pollutes even more when it's still cold.

Bruno

maltb · February 2003

The EPA receives copies of all service bulletins, so I'm guessing that a fix would have to pass the original emission tests.

newcar31 · February 2003

my car is sitting at the dealer now.

bluong1 · February 2003

you get the point. One more question though before I drop the car at the dealer, the VTCS delay valve is on the pressure control unit and not inside the engine right?

Bruno

newcar31 · February 2003

You may not need that part. Some of the cars need the part and the re-programming, some only need the re-programming. Mine needs both. Check your VIN against the TSB.

bluong1 · February 2003

I check my car VIN yesterday, and yes I do need the new valve design.

I call my dealer this morning, and they know nothing about this TSB. However, I'll still drop my 18 months old P5 Thursday at their place.

Thanks.

maltb · February 2003

It's an externally mounted valve.

Mazda Protege5 Maintenance and Repair

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