2002 Mazda Protege 5 from North America - Comments

The tires (all 4) have bubbled and the Wheels are bent. We have not driven the Protege 5 off road. It appears that the quality of the tires and wheels are not at a level even for street driving. We bought the car new.

The tires and wheels are the last thing that I would have expected to wear out on the Car.

Mazda has refused to except the fact that they put poor quality tires and rims on the 2002 Protege 5.

We own a 2002 Mazda Protege that is driven primarily by a "Mom" driving back and forth to work in an urban location. Highway driving consists of loops around the city. We are extremely concerned about the tire situation and the bent rims. We have had our Mazda serviced regularly by a Mazda dealership. Our last tire rotation and alignment was a disaster. I wasn't a fourth of a mile away from the dealership when the wheel vibration forced me to pull over and return to the dealer. The service manager explained that we must have bent the rims and it was exaggerated by the tire rotation. The dealer suggested that we return the tires to the original position and purchase new rims and tires, or find someone who is local to fix the bent rims. My concern is that this will happen repeatedly. I did a search on the Internet trying to find other Mazda owners who have experienced the same thing. Judging from the results, it looks like Mazda should be aware of the tendency the rims have for bending. Do Mazda Protege owners have any recourse with Mazda? Or do we purchase new rims and tires after every pothole season?

I am experiencing the exact same thing with my 2003 MP5. The rims are bent and the tires are finished after 48,000 km. The car shakes substantially as a result. I don't know if we have recourse with Mazda, but it would be worth checking with Dunlop tires to see if they will honour the warranty.

It's a shame... the MP5 is a great car.

Anthony from Montreal.

I work on Mazdas in Ohio & this is the 1st time I've heard of rims bending & tires faulty. I've seen tires bulge on the sidewalls due to broken belts (usually from speed bump ramping or pot holes). But no rims bend.

I have an 03 P5 with 25,000 on the original tires and rims. With rotation every 7,000 miles and running on nasty Michigan roads, I have plenty of tread left. Maintenance and watching what you are driving over is the key...

If you seal up the car in an air-tight vault covered in cement, the car shouldn't develop anymore problems. But continue to be careful anyway just in case, because you never know what seemingly insignificant normal driving condition might cause your car's tires to get all bent out of shape.

The Dunlop SP-Sport 5000s that come as standard equipment on this vehicle are amazing low-end ultra high performance tires on dry and slightly wet surfaces, however they only have about a 15,000 mile treadlife... If you are not willing to deal with this "low quality tire", I suggest maybe picking something different after your next set of bubbly tires. Just because your mazda dealer tells you that you should replace original equipment, doesn't mean that you have to. May I suggest shopping around.

Wheels are bending??? Are you hitting curbs regularly? Well I have the same car with over 130,000 miles and my wheels are just fine, may I suggest changing your brake rotors as it sounds they may be your cause for vibration. This car does have low quality rotors as they need to be changed frequently due to warping that in turn causes your steering wheel to vibrate/dance left to right and back and slightly wobble the vehicle under normal driving conditions.

Bottom line, this is a well designed car with minor issues that do cause vibration, I rather replace brakes and tires than head gaskets and transmissions, Maybe you should drive a boring Chevy or Ford, I'm sure you could get 70,000 out of their un-spirited, dead at the wheel tires. Good luck with your Mazda that can out handle Corvettes that is a terrible disappointment in quality...