1999 Mazda Protege LX from North America - Comments

Replaced tires at 40,000 and 85,000 miles.

The CD player quit working at 60,000 miles.

Replaced battery at 70,000 miles.

Replaced the rubber air intake hose between the manifold and radiator that cracked at 80,000 miles to resolve intermittent misses and and loss of power under load.

This Protege has been a good car.

Gets good mileage.

Very little spent on maintenance.

I have a 2000 Protege LX with automatic transmission, and I must admit that it is a great car. I bought it in 2001 with only 12,050 miles, since then I have religiously serviced the car according to its recommended schedule. I change the oil every 3,000-4,000 miles, minor and major tune ups at 15K and 30K intervals to date included a timing belt, water pump, new brake pads every 17k (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 from the dealer under warranty, light stayed "off" ever since.

Recently, I've notice that the car was running kind of under powered and a bit sluggish, it also rev 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's slipping or a sudden drop in acceleration). I noticed when I was tuning up the car and was 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 made all the difference in the world. I enjoy driving my Mazda Protege even more now.

Word of advice: I have been reading a lot 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!