1999 Mazda Protege LX 1.8 from North America

Summary:

It's alright

Faults:

Nothing other than routine maintenance.

General Comments:

This car's handling is amazing.

Acceleration from a stop is disappointing.

Interior is roomy for a little compact sedan.

H VAC system works great.

Noisy interior though you can probably hear a pin drop outside your door with all windows tightly raised.

If I was ever to buy another Mazda, I wouldn't buy their base model.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 9th January, 2009

1999 Mazda Protege LX 1.8 from North America

Summary:

It's a good little car, but has a problem with the gas pedal

Faults:

Check engine light 2 times.

Gas pedal stuck when cold start?

Electrical connections burnt, dirty.

Rocker panels starts to get rusty.

A/C not working.

General Comments:

Cheap to own.

Handles good.

Starts everyday.

Roomy for its size

We use the car everyday, for shopping and the commute to work. This past summer, we loaded her up and went camping. It works if you know how to pack. It's a LX, but it has 1.8 engine, touring package. We drove over 600 km one way this summer and it works fine, but it's not comfortable on long runs. It was never built for that.

The only problems is check engine light that comes on. We had it checked and they said it was fixed, but 3 weeks later it came back on.

The other problem is that the gas gets stuck when starting with cold engine; I guess it's the cold start, once the engine is warm and the idle is about 800-900 rpm, it's good. You can push the pedal and it comes loose before that. If anybody has an idea about this, please let me know.

The car got a lot of mileage on it, but it runs fine. We like its good handling now when it's winter. I would recommend this car; it's good as a second car or as your very first.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th December, 2007

8th Aug 2008, 15:43

Clean out the throttle body for the gas pedal problem.

19th Sep 2010, 14:57

My 99 had the same problem: gas pedal had an initial stickiness whenever the car had been been sitting around for a few hours. Bought a new throttle cable from Mazda ($54, damnit), problem solved.

1999 Mazda Protege DX 1.6 Liter from North America

Summary:

It is a great car with only a few problems

Faults:

There is a horrible smell that comes through the A/C vents when I have to rev hard. The smell could aptly be described as bad fish.

My Air compressor busted.

General Comments:

This car is very quick and handles great.

The base model of this car can handle speeds of about 117 mph.

The car is comfortable and low to the ground.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th November, 2007

1999 Mazda Protege LX from North America

Summary:

I love this car, but if I had it to do all over again I don't think I would purchase another Mazda

Faults:

Check engine light has been on for almost two years and sometimes the car suddenly jerks while driving at mid-speed. The rear passenger doors don't operate when you press the power locks. I was told the egr valve has excessive flow, but I cannot afford to purchase a new egr valve and no one is really certain that I need one. Could this be a sensor issue?

General Comments:

I really do love this car and haven't had any major problems other than the ones listed above. The car is very good on gas.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 27th November, 2006

8th Dec 2006, 03:23

If your check engine light is on, then it's one of the sensors that manipulate the computer to confuse the transmission by sending when and not to shift, that's why you are getting that occasional slip and jerk from your trans. I had this problem with my 2000 LX at 38K miles, the check light came on and I immediately took it to Mazda, they ran it through their system and came up with a code that reads P0171 and replaced an Air Flow Meter sensor under warranty. After that, the car ran fine and the light stayed off ever since (3 years later and 111,000 on my car now). However, the transmission slip/jerk still occur occasionally and I found the problem - my Air Intake Tube had an inch crack on it. I had that replaced and the car ran so much better, the transmission also shifts better. So I guess that solves the problem, which is "air leak". This happens because the computer states that the vehicle is running too rich or too lean, either way is no good. So, if you don't have high miles and love the car, get it fixed, believe me, you'll love it more afterwards.

26th Jun 2008, 21:01

Most cars don't have an egr system/valve. You could probably take it off, but it might mess with the computer more IDK, that's what I'd check into before doing anything.

EGR = Exhaust Gas Recirculation.