Faults:

Air flow meter sensor replaced by Mazda warranty at 38k miles (reset check engine light on).

Replaced warped brake rotors at 55K.

General Comments:

I have a 2000 Protege LX with an automatic transmission, and I must admit that it is a great car. I bought it in 2001 with only 12,050 miles, and since then, I have religiously serviced the car in accordance to its recommended maintenance schedule.

I changed the oil every 3,000-4,000 miles, minor and major tune ups at 15K and 30K mile intervals to date; included a timing belt, water pump, radiator, transmission service and new brake pads every 17k or so (rear brake shoes replaced only once at 92K).

The 'check engine light' came on at 38k miles, and the 'Air Flow Meter' sensor was replaced under warranty from the dealer. The light stayed "off" ever since.

Recently, I've noticed that the car was running kind of underpowered and a bit sluggish. It also revs kind of high off the line, and would occasionally 'jerk' while I'm driving at a steady speed, whether fast or slow (like the transmission is slipping, or a sudden drop in acceleration).

I've noticed when I was tuning up the car while replacing the air filter, the 'Air Intake Hose' had some cracks along its ridges, and I knew right away that was the culprit. I temporarily wrapped it up with fiber tape and immediately noticed a difference in power and acceleration. Today, I went down to the Mazda dealer and purchased the intake hose and replaced it myself; it's a 15-minute job, and it made all the difference in the world in terms of pick-up and power. I enjoy driving my Protege even more now.

Word of advice: I have been reading a lot of posts here, and I must say that servicing your car at a timely manner within its recommended schedule, is key to prolonging your car. This will indeed help eliminate all sorts of problems in the long run (minor and major), including the financial part.

By the way, my mechanic said I didn't have to change the regular belts. I've yet to change it since I bought the car. They checked it and I checked it also, and it is still tight and strong... even at 110k currently. I wonder when I'll need them. Will replace on my next tune-up at around 125,000. Cross my fingers!

Faults:

I didn't have many problems with the car.

Replaced struts and tires, radio at 48K miles.

Brakes were replaced at 42K miles.

General Comments:

It's a nice little car for starters. It was my first car, I bought it used at 48K miles. I needed to replace the tires and struts when I first bought it. I owned it for about 7 months without any problems, just did the oil changes.

It lacks power, but good enough to drive mostly in the city. In the highway, it was noisy to drive over 55-60 mph, especially the wind noise was high. Manual transmission was nice. Very good gas mileage, 26/33mpg in city/highway.