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And before Raymond rears up and starts crying "PROBLEM! PROBLEM!", I'll note that struts are a WEAR ITEM.
Meade
(Humorous Content Disclaimer to all Town Hall Members: Raymond and I know each other. We're kidding. Relax. And btw, Larry manages a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, if you're wondering about the Sawmill Gravy.)
Struts normally last about this long, from what I've experienced. By the way, another reason I'll be trading the Protege next year is, I don't want to go through the (normal but expensive) CV Joint replacement around 100,000 miles.
Meade
Oh, and Pool will be open Saturday, so bring on the Sawmill Gravy!
And yes, I'll be the first to admit that I've been rougher on this car than I would've been with a car that didn't just beg to be tossed around like the Protege does. The fact that this car has gone four years and 75K miles with constant near-red-lining, tire-limit-testing off-ramp speeds and general zoominess with no ill effects is one of several reasons I'm sold on Mazda.
Takes a booming and keeps on zooming, eh?
Meade
Mazda is covering the parts [$250 -- master cyl and brake fluid]; I'm "responsible" for $170 labor to diagnose and install. The part most likely failed about 4 months ago before the last dealer service, but may not have been caught OR after service -- as the dealer claims; but I think less likely because there are telltale signs of accumulated fluid-grime under and around the power brake unit. It is hard to prove the date. I'm still working things out with the service dept. My '01 ES has only 46K miles. I'm a little worried but not too much.
Another problem discovered -- however minor -- was also found by myself: The left headlight bulb popped out of the spring-loaded socket assembly. My wife noticed that the left headlight was pointing up while I was following her to the dealer. It was a genuine pain to "pop" it back in place.
MARTIN
Or more likely, the recalled, Ford-built installation robot was replaced by a Mazda-built one right after your car rolled to the next stop on the assembly line.
Don't sweat it. The new one will probably go forever. But in the very least, you've got a 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty on the new one.
Meade
my Protege is also showing the exact same symptoms, at 56,500 miles.
I wonder if this is covered under the total care extended warranty from Mazda.
My 1995 Pro ES had no problems with the struts/shocks up until she was sold. I DID have the clutch shutter/judder problem but it never affected operation of the car. The front brakes also "clunked" due to a poor design in the caliper brake sleeves; Again this never affected operation of the car.
MARTIN
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Martin ... Wow, your story sounds strangely familiar. This isn't my first Mazda, or Protege, either. In fact it's my third (or my fourth if you count my wife's 2002 Protege5, which I own by association, lol). My first, a 1992 LX automatic (they didn't come in ES trim then; LX was top of the line) died an early death at 28K miles in a hydroplaning accident. My second Protege was another 1992 LX, this time a 5-speed. Same clutch-chatter thing! Anyway it went 83,000 trouble-free miles, clutch chatter and all. I bought my current Protege, a 2000 ES 5-speed, on May 24, 2000. (We Protege lovers remember our cars' birthdays, don't we?) I'm just a smidge past 75,500 miles right now. I've just made the decision to trade my Protege for a Mazda3S 5-door next May to coincide with avoiding my next state inspection and to get out of the car before my 100,000-mile extended warranty expires. I should be in the low 90Ks by then.
Nik ... Good question on whether the extended "Easy Care" warranty would cover those bushings. I'll have to get out my literature and take a look. I have a feeling they're going to be listed under "wear items" but it's worth a look. I have a $50 deductible on the warranty, which beats any repair bill these days.
Meade
Still starts right up, despite its series of unfortunate events.
Mechanic still left some brake-fluid grime on vac hoses/lines and parts under the PBU, but still a good job.
-MARTIN
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
My current car is a 2000 Protege ES with 75,000 miles on it, running fine.
Can you find one newer than 10 years old though?
Meade
First, the car has about 45,000 miles (I think) and hasn't had spark plugs or wires replaced. I know from personal history, that the wires can be an issue...at least they were on her 1996 LX. We will have only a few hours to pack up her car and get on the road Monday after I arrive by plane...do we change them out, or wait till we get to Tucson, and I have my tools and other resources. (we have no tools or even covered parking in the apt complex she is leaving in Detroit). I could bring some tools on the plane, if someone can advise exactly what tools are needed. The car has been running fine lately, and she even commented on getting 30 MPG on the last tank.
Second, can anyone from around the Detroit area recommend the best roads to take to begin the trip....AAA office provided trip-tik showing I75 south to almost Dayton, then I70 west to St. Louis. The web based AAA trip-tik suggests taking I94 to somewhere near Chicago, then south on I 57. Anyone have local experience with these roads? Is one way less congested or less construction? Thanks for any and all advice
Jeff
So far as the wires and plugs, you'll need a metric socket set (I forget the size for the ones that hold down the coil-over plug packs, but it's a small one, like 9 or 10mm), including a deep one designed for spark plugs (metric) and an extension (those plugs are in deep) of at least 3 inches in length. Get some anti-seize compound for use on the threads of the new plugs to help removing them when it's time to replace those. And have a gapping tool to verify the spark plug gaps. The ones I buy from Mazda (NGKs, I think) come pre-gapped and have a shipping cardboard tube around the terminals to protect them.
FWIW, I replaced my plugs at 30k miles, but am still on the original wires at 52k miles. I plan to change both at 60k miles. I'm averaging 31mpg on my '99 ProLX with the 1.6L engine and AT in mostly local driving. No symptoms of worn wires yet.
Meade
The electric fan motor was about $50 new from Mazda and it took me an hour to do in the driveway. I usually curse when doing repairs on small cars with tight engine bays, but this was actually pretty easy.
First remove the plastic shield above the radiator, the metal shield on the back of the fan motor, and the two bolts holding the secondary fan assembly to the radiator. Then unbolt the bracket holding the radiator to the frame and tilt it forward to allow just enough room to slide the secondary fan assembly out through the front. Swap the fan motors, reattach the blade with locktite and nut and pop it back in.
Cheers to the engineers who designed the drop-in fans and the floating/rubber damper type setup for the radiator. It sure made this repair much easier.
by several people here. I have it at the dealership as
I write and their diagnosis was the "sway bar links",
which I assume means the bushings. Anyway, the good
news is the Mazda Extended Protection Plan is covering
the repairs and a loaner car, as they need to keep it
overnight.
2002 and 2003 Pro's are the same, right? all come with the 2.0 liter in DX, LX, or ES, right? is this the infamous 2.0 from the 626 that had issues?
also, at 130hp, it seems kind of underpowered for a 2.0 liter. with an automatic, can a person driving a LOT (she has a 60 mile round trip commute each day at least) expect anywhere near 30mpg's in real life? or is it Civic/Corolla time to get better mileage.
looking at 02 and 03 automatics, preferably with ABS and bags. good deals to be had on the inventory due to depreciation and the new 3 coming out.
thanks for the input!
BTW, my 99 Miata gets 30mpgs, and i sit in rush hour traffic, but it is also a 1.8, not a 2.0. and it is a stick of course. hoping the Pro can get at least that much since it won't be driven as "hard" as i drive my Miata.
The 2.0L in my wife's '03 P5 feels plenty fine, even with the AT (of course, my car is a '99 ProLX with the 1.6L engine and an AT). She gets about 28-29mpg in mixed driving (mostly highway, but it's rush-hour-type highway). She gets about 32-33mpg in non-stop highway driving. The sedan, being lighter and more aerodynamic, will do a little better. The Civic and Corolla will do better, mpg-wise, as their engines and transmissions are set-up more for fuel economy than acceleration-feel (though both will out-accelerate a comparably-equipped Protege/P5, though I think they sound kind of nasty when pushed that hard). I think both cars have taller top gears for highway cruising than the Protege.
Other than the fuel economy, my wife likes her P5 very much. Her previous car, a Saturn SL2 ('91) got much better fuel economy on the freeway, though not any better in local driving. It was a better highway cruiser (taller top gear again and more aerodynamic shape), though I thought its engine had a coarse note to it.
Meade
Here is the situation..After the car is driven a while and the temperature outside is on the hot side, all of a sudden as you are driving or coasting to a stop, the popping sound comes form what appears to be in the front..It happens also just getting in and out of the car. It sounds like 2 pieces of something are rubbung together and then pop apart. If you rock the car you can hear it too. After the car is parked either overnight or for a couple of hours, then if you drive the noise goes away until after the car is driven several miles. I have duplicated this symtom over 6 times for the dealer and yet they cannot fix it.
Mazda tech support has been of no help and now the dealer says bring it in again and we can look at it.
They have done this 4 times...I am losing vacation time from work and becoming very frustrated.
Any ideas of what this noise is and how to fix it?..I would like to be able to do the dealers' diagnostic job for them by seeing if anyone out there can help.
thanks,
joe
... similar to your situation my last two trips to the repair shop did not change a thing; and they keep on telling me that "may be rotors - but everything else looks fine!".
It is really annoying because it basically sounds like something will fail very soon; all the joy of driving is gone!
I really do not think it is your tires. I also had new tires put on....Noise still there. And it does happen more when the car is warm and the outside temp is warm to hot. There are many times that it took me upwards of 5 to 6 tries to get a problem fixed with this car.
Yhe dealer tells me that even tho I have an extended warranty, that dealer is absorbing the cost of diagnosing the proble. And that since they feel the car is fine, they mayneed to charge for the diagnosis...Well, my opinion is that it is not the customer's fault that the dealer is unable to fix a problem because of poor diagnostics.
The dealer has told me that they do want to resolve the problem but are at a losss as to what to try next. I have attempted to contact Mazda direct but they will NOT speak to a customer regarding technical problems. I find this unacceptable, but, it is difficult to speak to someone who will not speak to you.
I am hoping that if enough people start complaining about this problem then maybe Mazda corp will listen.
So, if anyone else is having the same 'clinking' noise and are concerned for their safety, then please keep on the dealership and continue to contact Mazda.
With that said, does anyone have any idea how this thumping can be corrected?
joe
When should I replace the tranny and power steering fluid?
Also, when I get the brakes done, is it necessary for them to turn the rotors or can I just have them replace the break pads?
Thanks for any input
I'm not sure about the power steering fluid. I don't think I've ever changed mine in any of my vehicles (not that it shouldn't be done).
Turning rotors at a brake job depends on how smooth they are. Most auto mfrs do have a smoothness spec, but I've skipped turning rotors if I thought the rotor surfaces felt fairly smooth to the touch. These days though, rotors seem to be made of softer steel, so you may as well have them machined down smooth as you'll likely replace them with every other set of pads.
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I'm near due for an oil change so this might be a good time to get Mazda to take a look at my AC and its connections. Bummer
Not to keep hammering, but when you get it replaced are they doing a "flush" or just draining. The reason I ask is that the shop I take my car to offers a flush for $180 v. a "drain" for about $80. They say the flush hooks up some pump to get all the AT fluid out whereas the drain doesnt get everything.
ALso, I asked Mazda customer service about the PS fluid and they said that it doesn't need to be replaced, just monitor the level.
Thanks again for your input
The only issue we are now having is some hesitation under low rpms, especially in the lower gears. Since the plug wires and plugs have been replaced recently, I've ruled that out. We had Auto Zone hook a diagnostic to the CPU and got a message about a failed vehicle speed sensor that is supposed to be attached to the transmission. The part can only be acquired from Mazda last time I checked and it costs about $200, which I don't have. However, I am not sure that is the real problem. I was told that it could be a problem with clogged fuel injectors, but the dealer wanted a lot of money to professionally clean them.
Any suggestions?
Thanks and enjoy your Proteges!! They are great cars!
I am replying to my own posting. Has anyone been able to figure out the cause of the problem I described in message 2188? The dealership said they will 'look ' at it again, but, I think until I can come up with the cause, they will say the same thing ' Can not duplicate the noise'.
They want me to wait till the problem is severe enough that they can actually see it without needing to troubleshoot.
This is very frustrating. If I knew what the problem was then I would expect they would pay me...Anyway, any help would be apprecitated.
joe
I had clunking over bumps, and had my front and rear stabilizer links replaced yesterday. My car drives reeeeeally well now, and no more clunking.
Good luck!
I haven't gotten around to doing anything about mine yet.
P.S. Do you have an extended warranty, and if so, were they covered?
Meade
The nearest Mazda dealer (and not one I trust, based upon past experiences) swears that only a professional cleaning will work fully and pretty much said that those bottled cleaners didn't do a good job, but I don't trust this dealer anyway . . . I think he wants to make a sale.
Does anyone know anything about this vehicle speed sensor that is part of the manual transmission?
This car has had this problem since I purchased it new in 2001. I've had it looked at by Mazda 3 times and have had a new fan blower installed, but this has still not solved the problem.
Has anyone out there experienced the same problems? Any ideas for how they (Mazda)can fix this? Thanks!
Hi Pro folks.
My P5 is at 32,000 miles and will be 3 yrs old nex week. Mazda recommends a 3 yr/30k maintenance that includes flushing the engine and replacing the spark plugs, amongs other things, totally about $350. I have reservations that an engine would need new plugs this quick since most engines don't need a tune-up until 100k, Any advice?
Does the new 2.3 in the 3 have the same maintenance schedule? I am tempted to save the bucks and put them toward a new 3 if my 5 really needs this,
Thanks everyone.