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Yes. The adapter was fastened to a new bulb, re-insterted, and them clipped in (that little clip is a b****, btw). The light seems to hold fine. I then apply the rubber seal around the light and fasten it in. Tha last step is just the pugging it in. I have to push extremely hard to keep the...

Was trying to change a low beam headlight this past weekend and noticed that the plug (connector wires) used to deliver power to the lamp no longer fits snugly when plugged in. The result is that it comes loose and doesn't make sufficient contact to turn the light on. I have checked the rubber...

Thanks for that! Does HID translate to longer life? What's involved converting the OEM lights to HID? Can a dealership do this?

Not exactly sure what that means, but in Ontario, lights on a car stay on all of the time, as per our safety laws. Without removing them every day manually, I actually can't turn them off at will. And if I did, I would most likely get fined for it. But beyond this, I think there's evidence...

I just started reading this thread. I too have experienced the OEM GE bulbs burning out about every year or so. My previous 2 cars, both Pontiacs, went through lights maybe every 3-5 years (I really never noticed since they never gave me any consistant issues). The P5 has been noticeable now...

My Protoge5 driver wiper arm starts to stiffen up lately. The spring mechanism on the passenger side does what its suppsed to: As the blade moves over the shield, the arm bends back slightly, and springs back as the arm moves downward. The driver side does not spring back. I manually move the...

Was wondering if anyone had any ideas of the ideal way to shampoo a Protege 5 engine? What products are the best and what is the best method to do it?

Other than the timing belt, how often should the other 2 belts be changed?

The dealerships are adding on alot of things not found in the manual. They even told me straight-out at one of them (Mississauaga Mazda, north-west of Toronto) that 'we don't follow that'. That was a dealership I never went back to! At least with VW, they are more by-the-book and reasonable. The...

Between the user manual for my Protege5 and the dealership, there seems to be a conflict of interest regarding what needs to be done to the car at particular intervals. I'm trying to find a definitive guide for maintenance. Does anyone have this? Or know where I could find one? Is the manual...

No I didn't. And after this close call, I feel like a moron for not doing so. Generally speaking, would it be prudent to demand all parts that were replaced that are typically not immediately visable? Like a water pump? Or some other device tucked in the engine? I haven't made this as a standard...

Just confimed with my wife that what you described is correct. She walked in, told them the KM on the odom, and they just blurted it out, without even looking under the hood to inspect. Friggen ridiculous that they could simply make statements like this without an inspection. My VW dealership...

I don't get it. I replaced the timing belt on my 03 Peotege5 last April. Got an oil change at a 2nd dealership this month and now they say we need another timing belt. Say what???? This isn't possible? Do all dealerships lie like this? WTF!

Does anyone know where to find a good maintenance schedule for a 2003 Protege5?

This is the worst chain of mechanics in the business. They service men are shady and they rarely provide quotes on the phone. We made my last visit with my wife's car last Friday. After agreeing on a set of tires costing over $700, they proceeded to insist that the struts of the car were...

I had some joker mechanic try to talk my wife into buying new struts. They wanted $1800 (otrageous, btw), when a Mazda dealer quoted me $1000 for all 4. Anyway, they insisted there was a leak. I took it to 2 dealerships and both said they were fine. I have 110,000km on the car at the moment, so...

I would do some un-obvious things too before a large trip like that, such as checking the undercarriage for wear. Make repairs on anything iffy. Where things can kick you in the cahonnies are things like struts/suspention work. When your on the road, the rarer parts will bite you in the ass...

How long should OEM struts last on a 2003 Protege5? Is there any kind of maintenance that can be done to prolong their life? Other than driving on smooth-as-glass roads which don't exist.

Thank you for this. My car is an automatic. Would this still apply? Could I have a Mazda service dealer do the work? Looks like they could only charge about 1 hour labour or so for the work, yes?

The only thing that cancerns me about the 4's is the design. Very performance oriented. Being in Van, I have no doubt you're enjoying those. We need a more well-rounded solution out here, unfortunately. Snow tires are, in fact, the REAL solution in every place but my bank account. So hopefully...