Buying a used Protege 2002 sedan?

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Hello, I am a newbie. Can I ask a question?

I am thinking about buying a used Protege 2002 LX sedan with about 70,000 miles on it. I noticed from postings here that manual transmission for Protege built between 2000 and early 2002 seem to be fragile... And this one has a manual transmission. Would it be safer for me to give it up entirely? Are the trannys for later 2002 sedan models still equipped with the faulty LSDs, even though those models have a newer version of transmission?

Thanks.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

Hello, I am a newbie. Can I ask a question?

I am thinking about buying a used Protege 2002 LX sedan with about 70,000 miles on it. I noticed from postings here that manual transmission for Protege built between 2000 and early 2002 seem to be fragile... And this one has a manual transmission. Would it be safer for me to give it up entirely? Are the trannys for later 2002 sedan models still equipped with the faulty LSDs, even though those models have a newer version of transmission?

Thanks.

first. wrong subforum. you need to be in the 3rd gen section. the faulty LSDs are only in the MSPs...the LXs don't have them.
only the 03, and 03.5 MSP protege.

 

[Hughes412]

Hello, I am a newbie. Can I ask a question?

I am thinking about buying a used Protege 2002 LX sedan with about 70,000 miles on it. I noticed from postings here that manual transmission for Protege built between 2000 and early 2002 seem to be fragile... And this one has a manual transmission. Would it be safer for me to give it up entirely? Are the trannys for later 2002 sedan models still equipped with the faulty LSDs, even though those models have a newer version of transmission?

Thanks.

As the other guy said the proteges do not come with the LSD unless you get the Mazda Speed Protege. They only made those in 2003, they changed a few things half way through the year so that's why he said 2003.5. The Protege it's self is a good commuter car or a good first car if you have a kid. But if you plan on modding it I personally would suddest going with something else. The parts for the protege are very high! The only problem that I know of that the Protege has with the transmition is Clutch Chatter. Alot of people including myself have had this problem. I had my clutch changed at 24k miles under warrenty for it. I've got 56k now and it's back! When you take of it makes the car shake. After the cluth worms up it goes away. But other then that I still get 27mpg in rush hour traffic. And with my driving that's pretty damn good. Oh and if you do get one, get an ES! It has 4 wheel disk and not just looks better but stops better too.

 

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As the other guy said the proteges do not come with the LSD unless you get the Mazda Speed Protege. They only made those in 2003, they changed a few things half way through the year so that's why he said 2003.5. The Protege it's self is a good commuter car or a good first car if you have a kid. But if you plan on modding it I personally would suddest going with something else. The parts for the protege are very high! The only problem that I know of that the Protege has with the transmition is Clutch Chatter. Alot of people including myself have had this problem. I had my clutch changed at 24k miles under warrenty for it. I've got 56k now and it's back! When you take of it makes the car shake. After the cluth worms up it goes away. But other then that I still get 27mpg in rush hour traffic. And with my driving that's pretty damn good. Oh and if you do get one, get an ES! It has 4 wheel disk and not just looks better but stops better too.

Thank you so much for your replies!

I am looking for a reliable commuter car and I will just focus more on maintenance than modifications. The Protege attracts me very much. I like its style (Corollas are dull and Civics are too common. ) and it is way more reliable than other compact cars, with more rooms than other similar compact cars have. But I am getting a bit worrisome reading through postings about tranny problems.

By the way, how much do I need to expect for clutch chatter problem? Does the entire clutch have to be replaced?

Thank you again for your postings. I am beginning to learn a lot.

 

[tehturbo]

Drive it like you stole it = Broken parts w/ expensive replacements

Drive it like a commuter car = Reliable and effecient w/ manageable maintenance

This also applies to nearly all other cars. Relatively speaking the Mazda lineup are rather reliable vehicles, with only a few major issues that all have preventative maintenance plans. GL with the buy - REMEMBER buy the ES (yes)

 

[ItsSlow]

If you want reliability, get a civic.. All engine/drivetrain parts are interchangable between 92-00 (except distributor and ecu).. And they wont die, at least mine wouldnt..

 

[Hughes412]

Well I didn't have to pay for the clutch so I can't say how much it would cost. But I wouldn't think it would cost more then 200. But even then it'll just come back unless you go with a after market clutch. If you buy an auto ex, and you only want it for commuting I think you'll be very happy. The main reason I say get the auto is ( I think I already said it) the motor mounts in the protege suck. They break easily. If you do a lot of rush hour driving you'll end up getting a lot of back lash from the engine. This makes it hard to drive in stop and go traffic. The stock mounts cost around 200 bucks, I got lucky and had it replaced under warrenty also. The only way to fix this is to buy the aftermarket mounts, but then you have the vibration issue. I don't mind it much, but thin I also lowered my car and run 205-40-17s! So when I dive it feels like I'm on a rail anyways.