I am so grateful indeed when I first bought my new proton car... I mean my Proton Iswara that I bought in the middle of 2003.A few days later I was very shocked when I found that my car rear light was flooded with water (in this case it's rain water).As the Proton service personnel looked at it, he told me that the thing was normal and they promised to replace it according to the warranty policy. I really regret when the replacement took place almost one and a half month later since it was seen by the personnel. I suffered in many ways during that period... besides that I even wonder about the interior quality of Proton made cars, For example fitting job of the internal plastic and rubber parts inside were so poor and it becomes even worst when I keep thinking of it. What "LULUS PROTON" sticker is for actually???Are they being paste just to fool all the potential customers!!???.QUALITY is something we proof and not just shown isn't it??I am so confident that one day Proton will be left far behind by other brands if they never learn to improve from now on. In addition, AFTA is almost fully applied in this year to come. Other brands are much cheaper and better in quality. Now trust me... PEOPLE ARE SHIFTING due to frustration in consuming national car.
Hi there.
Am a Singaporean in Singapore.
Bought a Wira 1.5GXL in 2002.
- Fitted sports rim and 15inch tyres.
- Carried wife & daughter up to Genting. No loss of power, kept up with all cars going up.
- Absolutely no problems with it.
- Sold the car in 2004 for a Waja 1.6.
Ng C H.
L had a proton wira. there was this funny noise when l turn my steering after 2 years which sounds like a cardboard hitting a rough surface. Took it to EON, changed the steering column after the mechanic confidently said it was due to that for RM 1000, the problem persists. Then they say the absorbers. Spent RM 800 again. Still the same. Went to chinese mechanic, he found the suspension ball joint is bent and the upper arm is "soft"changed all cause RM 400 aand car was OK. L was told my wheel may fall off if this was not found. Thank god the accident rate is so far. Blame the EON mechanics.
Now got a vios, no problem, very happy for one year.
I bought a 2nd hand wira 1.3 aeroback year 2001. So far after a year of driving this national car I haven't got any problem with it. It is admit that the torque and also pick-up are weaker than 1.5, but it is no problem for me. After replacing air filter, put it bigger cable plug, reconstruct the exhaust system, my car now is far much better and I have an enjoying driving experience. Accept it dude, it is worth to your money. No one can get the satisfaction. If you want all satisfaction, just throw your hard-earned money to buy high-end cars. For me, proton just doing good job.
Dear Everybody.
I've bought a Proton Wira 1.3Gli in March 2002, and after reaching mileage of ~160000 km to-date, the following are the problems I've faced or observed with this car :-
A) Air-cond fan 'melted' off after 40000 km, I was advised to change to a newer set from Mitsubishi, claimed to be made of reinforced plastic, unlike Proton's fan.
B) Pick-up and acceleration (from standstill or uphill) is terribly, terribly low.
C) Power window cable snapped.
D) Fuel and temperature gauge became faulty after 30000 km, as if not working at all.
E) Car vibrates a lot, especially when using aircond, or over 100 km/h on highway.
F) When switching on aircond and set the aircond at level 2 or above, it was just like switching on turbofan jet engine in your car (only no power, just loud noise)
E) I repeat, power and acceleration are very low with this car.
I could go for hours with lists of defects with this car. Personally, I feel this car shouldn't have been in the market. Could any more Proton Wira 1.3 Gli victims out there back me up?
Brgrds.
R.P.
Hi all.
I do agree some of the problem that might occur to proton car quality. As for me, I didn't have a choice, but to buy it.
The most unsatisfied with the proton quality are they never do some improvement on the:
1. Door lock security system.
2. Power windows system. (Most broken on the plastic cable holder).
3. Engine vibration.
4. Car suspension.
As for now..
Hi, I own a Wira Sedan 1.5GLi Auto. It is registered 2001 but bought my on Jan 2002. The car has been great since then. It did give some minor little problems like the fog light not working, to which a small nudge under the bonnet will make it work.
The electric window is also a problem as both back windows died on me on the third year, though I rarely use it as it is only myself and my spouse.
At the moment, I have just got some problems and need anyone's advice on this; I fitted a slight larger exhaust, which create a slight increase in noise. But now the problem is that my accelleration up the hill is so cumbersome as I feel there is no power to go up the hill. Went to Proton Edar after a mechanic's advice on cleaning the air intake and engine tuning. The problem persist. I am also using the K&N filter.
Anyone have any idea what this problem is?
Hi guys, I saw some drivers claimed that after they did some modifications to the air filter, cable plug and exhaust system gives better performance to the Wira 1.3GLi, is it true and worth to do so such that no side effects to the car since it's is a fuel injection type? I really need some comments from those who has did those minor modifications.
Basically, I'm owning a Wira 1.3Gli year 2000 and it's quite a good car. Under power defect only comes after it's 5years.
Hope to hear from you guys and thanks...
Why on earth do Proton even continue making these dreadful cars? I give Proton 5 years maximum before they are history.
Hello Proton user out there. I m looking to purchase a proton wira 1.5 but I need an advice is auto recommended and economical to go for. I m aware that an auto will have an increase of fuel cost, but what I want to know if anyone could advice me as in what kind of mileage I may get for every RM10 worth of fuel for city driving. Is there any shortfall with protons 1.5 auto models.
Do advice
Dev.
I've read all the comments in here. In 2002, I purchased a Proton Wira 1.3 Aeroback Manual. Last month (March 2006), I traded it with Waja Campro.
My brother also had a Waja with Mitsubshi engine. My friend also had a Proton Wira 1.5 Auto Aeroback.
All of the cars above, whether new or old, have the same problem: Difficult to change gear from 2 to 3 or vice-versa. Even changing from free gear to gear 2 or 3 also have difficulty.
For Waja, they have sensor problem. Each time there was a raining, the sensor beep. haha. Very funny sensor.
On my Wira, my friends Wira and my brother's Waja, the power window had problems. My Wira got power window problem after 3 years using.
Absorber for Wira and my brother's Waja also had been replaced with new one.
The fog lamp also gave problems 2 times already.
The most frequent problem that was not mentioned in this forum is the car remote locking system. I always got the same problem with Wira and Waja.
For Wira 1.3, the performance issue is something that I don't understand. Maybe Proton produce this car for people who could not afford to buy car at higher than RM$50,000. But then again, the price of Proton car was not really because of the cost. In fact if you asked around, you will find that Proton car outside Malaysia is much more cheaper. That's the sacrifice that Malaysian have to take in order to promote our "name" oversea. So, nobody, I repeat, nobody have the right to complain that any Proton car owner in Malaysia does not sacrifice enough. I can guarantee that every Proton car owner in Malaysia has already sacrificing a lot for Proton and indirectly towards Malaysia. So, do not say that we are not sacrificing enough for Malaysia.
That's why many many Malaysian people complain about the quality of Proton car. Why? Because we pay more than what the foreign people paid.
But one thing is that Proton car is not meant to be drive like a race car. I found out that we must be gentle with Proton car. I found out that my Wira gave a lot of problem only after I used it for outstation and drove like crazy. In fact, I had one time, put a server which I think weight about 20Kg at the back seat and my Wira had a tyre problem. And guess what? The absorber got problem after that.
So, drove Proton car gently and Insya'allah you would not get a lot of problem. But then again, they also have QOS problem for new car. Hehe.. That, I cannot say anything. It depend on luck. Hehe..
The thing is Proton does not have some "quality assurance" agreement whereby they can service your car for free for the first 6 month if they found out that the problem was caused by manufacturing defect.
But, it is not just Proton, any other company in Malaysia also does not any clause on quality assurance. You buy product or services and they sell you the product or service together with the problem. It is like "sell and let go".
Modifications of wira 1.3. I am one of the 1.3 proton wira. It is a 2001 car. So far I haven't got any problem with it. To you guys that want to do some minor modifications, these are my suggestion.
1) Change the exhaust end muffler to s-type. You can use the standard piping.
2) Change the plug cable by using bigger plug cable so that more sparks you can get
3) You also can add a grounding wire to your car. Get the big one
4) After all the bolt on, take your car to proton to tune it back. Surely you will feel the difference.
I'm the frequent user of north-south expressway, from johor to penang and vice-versa. So far I have no problem at all>...I cn go up to 180km perhour without any problem and the fuel consumption is only rm80 for 700++ km of journey.. with some extra in tank when I reach penang... not a burden to my pocket dude!!
I’m the proud owner of a new Wira 1.3 A/B bought in 2001, but manufactured in 2000. I got my car in just a week, oh my I’m so damn proud and happy, and after that, this is what happens.
Let me list it down, pretty clear and detailed. For your info all these problems happened without any modifications done and it is stock standard:-
1) There is a big gap between the car body and the rear bonnet on left side of the boot, which looks like it has gone through an accident previously when I first got the car.
2) A huge gap between the rear bumper and the car body!! looks like a second hand car.. when I questioned the salesman he said no choice, this batch of the same models does have this problem.
3) The clip holding the brake pads was gone within a week and I didn't notice it until I heard some weird sound... I sent it to the appointed Proton service center and he told me this is a WEAR & TEAR problem, and they would not bear this cost to repair it!!! I got it fixed by purchasing a used clip which is rusty, but no choice from a local chop shop.
4) The temperature gauge meter went faulty and it works at times if you bang it hard on the dashboard.. luckily I got it changed before my guarantee period expires.
5) Next headache was within a month - the fuel gauge went up to MAX every time I started the engine, and it returned to normal after running it for a while, and dropped to the bottom when I'm driving, and I have to get it changed again, but this time my guarantee periods expired... Extremely disappointed.
6) After running for a year without any modifications done, both the front disc brakes have warped... and it shakes like mad when I make an emergency brake.. This has caused me to grind both disc brakes due to cost factors, and change a good set of brake pads since the original Proton brake pads cause lots of red dust... the problem still persists till I have to change even the brake pumps!!
7) The internal and external plastic parts are all mixed with recycled materials I presume as it is normal that my bumpers without any paint will fade to whitish colour in a matter of a year... The fittings below my seat and the door steps are all coming off, and I can't even install it back... and once I take out the plastic parts, it will never be the same again.. all the clips are broken and I've had to purchase a new set to install it back.. the side fender plastic parts are only available for the aeroback model. The clips were broken when I first opened up the back door, and till today I still can't find any clips to fix it back, but have resorted to using some hard glue to stick it back, cause it is not materialised to change it as it is still new.
8) The automatic window frame plastic holding the windows was broken when I had used it for not more than 10 times, as I seldom used the automatic window on the left side. I wonder how can this happen, and due to a small plastic part I've to changed the whole frame for RM70+...and then within a month, when I tried to open my car, the button where you used to close and open your car doors didn't pop up at all, and when I checked it out.. another plastic holding / clip which is supposed to be attached to the motors to push up the button was gone or broken!! I've had to resort to finding something to clip it back, but it comes out most of the time.. as I can't afford to change the whole set due to a small broken clip!! To add insult to injury.. the door console clips are all coming off, and same thing - I've had to use super glue again, but some of it can't be fixed as the internal door console materials are so rigid that it is just like a normal carton box.
9) I'm also having electrical problems with my car within a year... the internal lights in the air conditioning switch don't function properly, and it dims and no light at all most of the time. I've had to bang at the side of the console in order to make it function.. and now all lights, including the LEDS and all the switches such as the aircond, double signal and other buttons are all dead.. now when I'm driving and trying to adjust the air conditioning, I've to search for it like mad...
10) Most of the light bulbs will burn, no matter whether it is the headlights, or especially the rear light bulbs. It is very common to see it on the road. Most Proton cars will have burned lights all over the car, especially the rear fender which act as the third brake light... the LEDs inside will malfunction in a matter of not up to a year.. not sure what is the main problem of it.
11) When I purchased this car, PROTON claims it to be rust free, but after 2 years I found out that my right door body paint has rust judging from the popping up paint on the spot... for your info, I washed and polished my car every week without fail for those past 2 years, using good car shampoo with wax, and I never sent my car to be washed outside before.. how can this happen?
12) The rear booth spare tyre compartment was always filled with water, and I’ve to clean it up every month to make sure nothing rusts inside. I found this out when I’m parking under hot sun, but my windows seems to appear to have some moisture - that means there is water in your car!! Is Proton producing cars that not only carry passengers, but scoop up water into cars as well.. most mechanics will advise you to drill a small hole on the opening cap.
13) Reverse sensor was totally useless and not functioning properly when I collected my new car.. the Proton mechanic was unable to adjust it and said that is all we can do.. it will sound like an alarm, even if there is nothing behind your car..
The car engine is considered OK if you take good care of it, cause it is from a Mitsubishi engine. The engine produces hard knocking sounds, even if I've replaced new good materials, and the timing would have to be tuned most of the time, and there are no RPM meter gauge in this 1.3 model.
The plastic quality was terrible and fragile, I suspect recycled materials were used to cut costs and the plastic injection moulds was far over than its life span... and need to be trimmed after moulded out judging from its sharp edges..
However, it is quite a good car to drive around, especially manouvering due to the Mitsubishi design, but I can't compare it with the Merz when you're making a "U" turn.
The design looks presentable, and its seats are quite comfortable, although my car model doesn't permit me to adjust the height of the seats, and most of its accesories has been taken out like the auto cruise, internal light dim adjustment, air bags, speed adjustment for the wipers, door console, rear automatic windows, seat height adjustments, cup holders, no closing compartments in between the 2 front seats, just a hole for you to stuff some rubbish and etc.
Conclusion - not a bad car for a middle income guy like me, but constantly having headaches to get it repaired. Take good care of it, especially the plastic parts and the electronics such as light bulbs, which need to be check regularly.
Advantage - it is easy to source original second hand parts at a cheap price from those half cut shops.
Even though this car was taken from Mitsubishi's technology, design and engine, it is the local manufacturer's quality control that makes it looks really bad... no strict quality control at all...
IMPROVEMENTS.
1) Service regularly, do not wait till the exact time to protect your engine life span as well as fuel consumption (especially changed spark plugs NGK “Y” type, air filter)
2) Check and tighten all screws, especially your fog lamp, but don’t tighten any engine screws as it needs to have some flexibility….
3) Install grounding wire set to stabilized its all time faulty electronics system.
4) Install a air intake compressor for better performance and fuel consumption.
5) Check your exhaust manifold for cracks, but I suggest you better installed, a 4-2-1.
6) Change the timing belt on time, and make sure it is full set, and if it is the 2nd time, better change the water pump together as well, and all the belts in one shot to save cost and problems (Beware of imitation Mitsubishi sets which are quite a lot in the market), and if you feel it is time, change the coolant and service your car at the same time.
7) Change to a thicker power or spark plug cable.
8) Change all necessary oils at the same time (power steering oil, break oil, gear oil)
9) if you need more power, you can change your flywheel to a 1.6 type, request the mechanic to grind it thinner for lighter and better performance (optional - not recommended for normal drivers).
10) Go for a tyre rotation, balancing and alignment every 3 months or 10,000km to make sure your tyres last longer, are in good condition, no leakages, absorbers in good condition, and rims as well, cause they may have warped and may cause your absorbers to fail.
11) Wash your engine once a month, just spray don’t flush too much water as it would slip into unwanted parts. Especially flush the radiator front and back, which might accumulate a lot of leafs, insects, rubbish and stuff to keep it fresh…. Use car shampoo with wax to wash on those cables, especially the hose to the radiator to keep it from being getting hard after a while, and it would eventually crack, in short maintain those rubbers flexibility…. (Beware don’t wash too often as it will rust some metal functioning parts and Please remember to cover the Power / spark plug cable heads at the side of the engine with a plastic bag or else you’ll have problems starting your car)
12) Check on any abnormal noise as it indicates something is wrong (i.e if you hear there is a loud air leaking sound in the engine compartment, maybe your exhaust manifold might have cracked and you can’t see that cause it is covered with an aluminium shield) this will cause your fuel consumption to increase and loud engine noise…lots of people don’t realize this!! Or when you crank start your car and there is a long “craaccck” sound, it means your starter needs to be cleaned…
13) If your car is a fuel injection type.. request a computer check after 2 or 3 services to make sure everything is functioning OK as 1.3 models do not have RPMs, we won’t know that the fuel timing is OK or not….the computer is able to check any errors and once they're are found, one click on the computer will set it back to factory settings and will settle your problems.. but you do also need to get your fuel injection throttle cleaned up once in a while for better performance and fuel consumption.
I am sure honorable Dr Mahathir will feel very sad if he reads this forum. Nevertheless, he is the one resulted this due to protectionism.
Looks like Pak Lah is opening up the car market and Proton will become junk car category soon.
Good luck all proton owners. It is time to switch Perodua, I have done that 3 years ago. Continue to support local car industry, but Perodua only.
If we read through this forum on the other car makers like Toyota, HOnda, Nissan, and even Perodua, you will realize that these cars makers have very little bad comments from the owners. Proton should ponder and should trying to understand why they failed so badly?? 20 years in car industry, what have we achieved so far? Feeding the Brits and Italians? The infant brother Mr China is coming out many wonderful models, the outlook and reliability are far out beating the very very fashion old Perdana!!! Malaysia BOLEH??? Malaysia is REALLY BOLEH??? I think we should ask Dr Mahathir........