A couple of technical questions about my Protege ES 2000

[ZH Art Concepts]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forums. Hope everyone is doing great.

My English is not that good, but I hope it is good enough. I am the fourth owner of a Protege ES 2000 and it's been running great so far, but there are a couple of things that has been bothering me for a while. I am not sure if it is just me or a real problem with the car.

First of all I took this car for my first maintenance and complete check of the vehicle after I bought this car. I am an international student and I did not have the money at the time to had it check, but after a visual inspection myself, I decided to take the risk because I really needed it. The mechanic lifted the car so I could see what was worn etc. Overall the car looked great for how old it is (very good to be honest), some bushings and struts had to be replaced but that is no problem to me. At the time I also told the mechanic that suddenly there was a clicky feel to the clutch, you could hear it too. I told him that there were no records of this car having the clutch being replaced or anything and he said that for 165,000+ miles the clutch should be all worn if it was never replaced. He didn't check it but he recommended to have this replaced. A week later the clicky feel and the noise dissapeared..... Now, I have never had any problems with slippage, the gears shifts normal, but sometimes it is hard to get into first or Reverse and I have to release and try again. This also happened to my new car back in my home country so I assume this is normal for this car too? Do you guys think this is all normal?

Lastly, I recently purchased an OBD II Bluetooth Adapter. I noticed there was an "Error MIL: Off Spark Ignition" code under DTC. I have been trying to look for this code myself but I can't find anything. I am not sure if this has to do with the spark plugs that were replaced when I took the car for it's first maintenance. I have also noticed that the car is vibrating a bit more, somewhat intermittently, during idle. And I was wondering if it has to do with this code.... I started to notice the vibration a few days ago when I had to accelerate very fast to get into the freeway.

I hope you guys can help me clear the doubts. Thanks!

 

[Hound]

As far as the clutch goes I cant really say much since I cant hear it or feel it. I suggest you just go with it until it needs to be fixed if it all feels good. If you have the money to fix it and want to fix it then go for it. I have the same issues with first and reverse and have also had the issues with my new cars as well. No biggie just do what you feel is best on that one.

As far as the vibration and the spark code it would sound like to me you have a dead or shorting cylinder. Not a real big deal to be honest, however I don't know that code and haven't looked it up. I would say from the sounds of it though you just need to check all your plugs and wires for good connections also check your battery and grounds to be safe. Most likely will result in a tune up though. Plugs is about it on that unless you nee to replace the wires or want too.