New 2003 P5 owner - Introduction

[oseemakurday]

Hi everyone,

Picked up a black 2003 P5 the other day with 100k miles. It was well taken care of throughout its life, and right before I purchased the car the clutch, brakes, o2 sensor, and other wear items were replaced. The car has typical cosmetic issues, a ding at the front of the hood, and some rust and bubbling paint above the right rear well.

The most immediate problems I have are the abs light and a high pitched squealing that persists from idle to normal and highway driving. I'm in the NYC area, specifically Staten Island, so if anyone has any recommendations for honest mechanics with specific knowledge on P5's that would be really great. I want to keep this car up and running for a long time, both because this is my first car and also because I really love the look and drive. Any general insights on maintenance would be appreciated as well. Looking forward to being a part of the community.

Thanks!

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

ABS might be one of the wheel sensors. The squealing is most likely a loose or worn belt. Replace if any cracking on the ribs on the inside of the belt and if they don't look bad then just tighten them up. Do you know if timing belt has been replaced? It will be time soon if it hasn't been. Welcome aboard and enjoy the new ride.

 

[kms1990]

check the belts for the squeal also jack up one wheel at a time and spin them to see if a wheel bearing is causing the squeak, front wheel bearings are common replacement parts on this car. check the air intake boot (especially around ribs) for cracks as that is common on this car. abs as above maybe a wheel sensor it maybe a brake fluid issue or it maybe an electronic issue. check the pads/rotors cv axles and sensors check the master cylinder and fluid levels. most of the p5s dont have abs as it was optional so dont be surprised if new abs parts are a little hard to come by. but overall this car is very reliable and cheap to maintain and repair. this forum can help alot, it has helped me big time. and enjoy your car

 

[SmilesPerGallon]

I'm also a new P5 owner, picked mine up in January with 144k miles, also with a squeal, though mine was intermittent. Since my car had no service history I decided to have the timing belt replaced right away, along with the idler & tensioner pulleys, and the water pump too just to be safe. Upon inspection, the old water pump felt a little rough when turned slowly by hand, and with the new one installed the squeal is gone.

FYI, the service interval for the timing belt is 100k miles, so if yours hasn't been done yet, it's due for replacement. I purchased a kit from Gates (Part # TCK228) that included the belt, pulleys and tensioner spring for about $125. A new (not rebuilt) water pump should run about $65 - $75.

There's a nice Youtube tutorial on how to read Protege5 ABS codes without a code reader here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2TZhG3bFao

You can download a copy of the Protege5 shop manual here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20061223062340/http://protege5.ugly.net/

Section 04 of the manual has the complete diagnostic procedure, along with tables outlining the meaning of the various ABS codes, and instructions on how to perform the repairs. Good luck!