1999 Mazda Protege ES review from North America
"A wonderful transportation car"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
My current Protege ES is my second Protege as my first one was a '92 DX manual transmission and a jewel of a car. It was going strong at 200,000 miles on the odometer when I sold it.
I am experiencing my first problem with my ES at 110,000 miles. The CHECK ENGINE LIGHT came on recently with a DTC P0420 (catalyst efficiency below threshold-bank 1). I reset the indicator and the CEL has not come on again, but the engine now, randomly, will "stumble" (my descriptor) at moderate speeds, that is, it will abruptly jerk with a down-shift from 4th to 3rd gear and back to 4th. I have no way of knowing if the engine causes the shifts or the transmission is acting on its own. "7th Apr 2005" also owns an ES and appears to have my exact problem.
Has any Protege owner experiencing this problem resolved it? I'd love to hear that somebody has a fix for it.
General comments?
Generally, my ES has been another superb transportation car from Mazda. It handles well, gives good gas mileage (30 mpg average) and has been trouble-free until my current problem.
Recommended reviews
| A good responsive car overall. |
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| Lovely little runner! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1999 |
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8L Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 35000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 110000 miles |
| Previous car | Mazda Protege |
| Date of Entry | 31st October, 2005 |