1999 Mazda Protege ES from North America - Comments

Blower motor had to be replaced. It now needs replaced again.

Window seals have pulled loose from doors.

Trunk leaks.

Noisy due to windows.

Struts need replaced.

Link spring broke & had to be replaced.

Timing belt had to be replaced at low miles.

Transmission slips.

Valves rattle.

Hard to start even after tune-up.

Locking mechanism had to be replaced.

Electric window switch had to be replaced.

The car is nice looking and very affordable.

However it requires a lot of maintenance & undependable.

I think he is right. The mazda protege is a piece of junk. I have one 6 months and it is simply a disaster. I would rather have no car at all.

You know, I'm glad I'm not the only one who had so much trouble with a '99 Protege ES. Here's an abridged list of what went wrong with mine:

1) 8/2002 and 4/2003: Timing belt tensioner broke. Twice. Took the timing belt with it in both cases (kudos to Mazda's engineers for locating the timing belt so that it didn't take out the valves when it broke). Did it the first time right in front of the Pentagon less than a year after 9/11. The armed soldiers were very concerned about my well-being and stayed with me until the tow truck arrived. The failure interval was 25K miles, that's 13K miles more than the parts and labor are warranted for. The first failure occurred at 59K miles. I took it in because of a strange noise at 45K miles. They insisted they couldn't find anything. In retrospect, it was probably the timing belt tensioner, but they were just trying to ride out the last 5K miles of my warranty.

2) 4/2003: Intake manifold seal failed. Part: 3 bucks. Labor: 500 bucks.

3) 9/2002: Door seal failed on a rainy day and I was greeted at work with a car-full-o-water. 6 months later when I traded it in, I noticed the spare tire well in the trunk was full of water, too. I took great joy in the fact that was no longer my problem.

4) 4/2003: When I traded it in, a heard a big clunking noise on the front passenger side every time I hit a bump. Loose strut?

5) Could never keep the wheels aligned. Went through tires like toilet paper.

6) Sunroof leaked. This car might as well have been a convertible.

Nonetheless, I liked the car and tried like hell to make it last as long as the note, but to no avail. After the tow truck brought it in for its last repair, a salesman tried to sell me another Protege. I pointed at my '99 on the tow truck and not-so-politely declined. Pity, it was a nice little car.