Terse 7 Year Review of Protege

[Raymo853]

In Dec 1999 I purchased a 2000 Protege ES. Paid about $1500 under sticker based on dealer discounts and a rebate at the time.

Since then I have had put on 75,000 miles and have never had one thing break, until today. The switch for the heater/ac fan broke, it now only allows either on or 4. The mid fan speeds do not work. Have yet to replace the clutch, just one set of front rotors and pads. A few sets of tires and headlight bulbs.

A pretty darn good record. One failure in over 2500 days.

 

[Kansei]

(first)

At nearly 78k miles I haven't had a single thing on the car break (aside from wear items) that wasn't directly caused by my own actions (through modifications I've done to the car). I did have a rust issue, and now have another rust issue, but hopefully it'll be covered under the warranty again.

 

[doctorz]

'99 Protege LX, purchased new August of 1999, 70K miles, most of it city and suburban miles.

I've had the front passenger power door lock replaced, and the driver side works intermittently. One dash light (right side of HVAC controls) goes on and off, but turns back on if I smack the dash...but lately it's been on consistently. Rear door seals come off easily. I know they're a weak point in early Proteges of this style.

The engine knocks in hot weather under load going up a hill and the bushings creak in cold weather going over speed bumps. The 1-2 shift grinds in cold weather if done quickly, so it just needs to be done slowly. Front brake pads replaced at 45K. Replaced original tires at 25K--they were garbage--and I had to replace one pair at 65K due to tire damage. Blame crater-infested Baltimore roads. I had to replace tail light bulbs around 50K as well and battery around 60K. I had the timing belt replaced at 60K. Clutch is original and sunroof works well. Passenger side interior trim creaks some and there's a tiny rattle under the steering column now.

Car still drives nicely. It burns no oil between changes. It's carried skis, bikes, and two children. People can't believe it's seven and a half years old. They think it's more like two or three. Not bad for a car that cost $13,000 new and much more entertaining than the Civic that I was considering at the time. 70K may not sound like much, but most of it is city miles.

If anyone has any advice for the above really minor issues, let me know. I'm hoping to keep this car for a good long while.

 

[wannabe]

that wasn't directly caused by my own actions (through modifications I've done to the car).

(werd)

 

[wannabe]

'99 Protege LX, purchased new August of 1999, 70K miles, most of it city and suburban miles.

I've had the front passenger power door lock replaced, and the driver side works intermittently. One dash light (right side of HVAC controls) goes on and off, but turns back on if I smack the dash...but lately it's been on consistently. Rear door seals come off easily. I know they're a weak point in early Proteges of this style.

The engine knocks in hot weather under load going up a hill and the bushings creak in cold weather going over speed bumps. The 1-2 shift grinds in cold weather if done quickly, so it just needs to be done slowly. Front brake pads replaced at 45K. Replaced original tires at 25K--they were garbage--and I had to replace one pair at 65K due to tire damage. Blame crater-infested Baltimore roads. I had to replace tail light bulbs around 50K as well and battery around 60K. I had the timing belt replaced at 60K. Clutch is original and sunroof works well. Passenger side interior trim creaks some and there's a tiny rattle under the steering column now.

Car still drives nicely. It burns no oil between changes. It's carried skis, bikes, and two children. People can't believe it's seven and a half years old. They think it's more like two or three. Not bad for a car that cost $13,000 new and much more entertaining than the Civic that I was considering at the time. 70K may not sound like much, but most of it is city miles.

If anyone has any advice for the above really minor issues, let me know. I'm hoping to keep this car for a good long while.

the bulb can be replaced, but it is not an easy process...the whole unit has to come apart...rattles are too be expected.

 

[according2me]

I purchased my daughters 99LX auto from the original owner @47K. At 79K, it's running well, but we recently have gotten the P0402 (EGR excessive flow) indication. It went off after the weather warmed up a bit, but I guess I'll have to clean the EGR as a start to see if this remedies it. No drivability issues, just the light and I have the TSB for it.

Other minor issues to date: drivers window (fixed), glove compartment latch won't open (pending). Any ideas on how to open without damaging the dash?
Boots on struts torn on both fronts, but suspension is still sound. Her car still handles very well and rides great for a small sedan.

Other than those issues, only normal maintenance and wear items. Lots of fluid/filter changes and a new set of tires. It starts and runs great and I hope this continues until 200K. I'm hoping for the best, good luck with yours.

 

[P5w3kids]

My 2003 Protege5 has 38,000 miles on it. Two repairs to date: one ABS sensor and (just a couple days ago) a headlight bulb.

I'm collecting repair histories like these at my site. Will be posting the results as soon as I have a few for most models. About 300 total so far.

 

[Kansei]

^^ I've been registered on the site since you first mentioned it here but I never have any data to report, as I always get the e-mail saying "respond if your vehicle has been in the shop this month". It never is in the shop so I never get to contribute

 

[P5w3kids]

Every third month I require a response--an approximate odometer reading--even with no trip to the shop. Next month is such a month. This way I know how many cars to include in the analysis. If you never respond, your car isn't being counted.

In these months, the subject of the email will say that a response is required, so it's easy to tell which is which. In the other month's the subject is the one you mention.

If you haven't been responding--I think many people are confused by the process--please contact me. It's easy to get you caught up and get your car counted.

http://www.truedelta.com/contact.php

 

[Kansei]

I have been responding to those messages, I remember getting one a couple months back asking for an odometer reading.

 

[P5w3kids]

Cool.

The system I use is a compromise. I didn't want people to have to respond every month--they'd burn out--but it's not easy for many people to accurately remember the details of a repair trip after more than a few weeks. I sometimes follow up when a response is unclear, and when it's been more than a month or two people have trouble providing the correct details.

CR surveys once a year. Crazy.

I do have a new system to cut the amount of email. People who respond before the follow-up goes out in 2+ required months will no longer get follow-up emails in the other months. This is about half of the people who respond.

 

[P5w3kids]

Just noticed that you're putting in a turbo. In the future, I'll be separating out results for powertrain, chassis, and the result of the car, to separte out the effect of heavily modded cars. For now, do your best to not report any problems caused by mods. Hopefully you'll have no problems anyway. Best of luck with it.

I'm generally happy with the performance of my unboosted Protege5. But must admit I'm curious about the effect boost would have.

 

[Kansei]

I don't report problems caused by mods

my car has been 100% reliable aside from things that I myself caused. Only time it EVER went to the dealership in over 78k miles was when the rear fenders had bubbling paint where they met the bumper, which was fixed under the 7 year unlimited mileage rust perforation warranty.

 

[Random]

2000 Protege ES AT w/ moonroof and side airbags package, purchased March 2000.

Currently has ~70k on it.

Issues under warranty:

• Coil failure (bad connector)
• Replaced both cats (killed by raw gas in them due to coil failure)
• Moonroof adjustment (wouldn't close correctly)

Issues since then:

• Replaced both front power lock actuators after the pass. side stopped working and the dr. side got lazy.
• Loose weatherstripping on rear doors, as noted above.
• Replaced taillight bulbs at about 60k, as above.
• Left turn signal occasional spazzes out. Both bulbs are fine. *shrug*
• "Chrome" flaking and peeling on pass interior door handle, cut my wife's finger.
• Driver's window cable snapped, dropping the window into the door.
• Exhaust flex joint rattles/rings/vibrates at certain rpms, under load. Only affects 99-00 ES ATs and the fix-it kit from Mazda is riCOCKulously expensive.
• Occasional coolant smell, no obvious leak.
• Moonroof needs small adjustment, doesn't close flush to the roof at the front and back edges anymore.
• Volume knob on stock radio is flaky--sometimes it turns the radio up instead of down, sometimes it does nothing.