Major Problems with 2003 Mazda Protege Derived from Complaints & Recalls

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Worst 3 complaints of 2003 Mazda Protege

2003 Mazda Protege SEAT BELTS Victims: 2 Mileage: 33000 miles

2003 Mazda Protege SEAT BELTS Victims: 1 Mileage: 90000 miles

2003 Mazda Protege SIDE/WINDOW Victims: 1 Mileage: 150 miles

Browse 2003 Mazda Protege complaints by category

Problems with SEAT BELTS, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING and ENGINE are the most frequent issues recorded by the NHTSA from Mazda Protege owners.

Problem Category	Number of Problems
SEAT BELTS i was involved in an auto accident while driving an '03 mazda protege5. upon impact my seat belt failed. *jb...	15 ~ 79799 miles
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING there's a knocking sound coming from the engine when started in the morning. *ak...	13 ~ 42070 miles
ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING when the vehicle was started a knocking noise was heard. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and was unable	13 ~ 48334 miles
TIRES while driving at low speeds the vehicle vibrated. consumer was not sure if the problem was with the tires or	8 ~ 13673 miles
SUSPENSION while driving at low speeds the vehicle vibrated. consumer was not sure if the problem was with the tires or	7 ~ 71714 miles
MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE > EXHAUST SYSTEM > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING dt*: the contact stated while driving 30mph there was a rattling noise from the engine compartment followed by the engine...	6 ~ 72133 miles
STEERING while making a turn the steering wheel felt loose the consumer loss control of vehicle which jumped the curb and...	6 ~ 55167 miles
AIR BAGS failure of front and side air bags to deploy. *ak...	5 ~ 64333 miles
ENGINE on at least 3-5 occasions this 2.0l engine has suffered the exact same fate as nhtsa id# 10422484. check engine...	4 ~ 84916 miles
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM when driving at any speed vehicles unexpectedly died. dealer determined that computer needed reprogramming. two months later the engine died...	3 ~ 16761 miles
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN my transmission completely failed at 18 000 miles and one month shy of being a year old. a new transmission...	3 ~ 35452 miles
FRONT > SUSPENSION the front suspension on the 2003.5 mazdaspeed protege has a very bad noise which you can hear when passing over...	3
PEDAL/HAND LEVER(MOTORCYCLE) > CLUTCH ASSEMBLY > POWER TRAIN leaking gear oil fluid at the linkage coupling. *la...	3 ~ 21667 miles
SEATS i am 6'0" with a tempermental back and a 30" pant inseam. in practical terms i must have the seat...	3 ~ 113333 miles
BODY > STRUCTURE structure: small rust spots located on all exterior surfaces. *jb...	3 ~ 124706 miles
EXTERIOR LIGHTING the low beam halogen bulb (headlight) on the passenger side of my mazda recently burned out. > first complaint--because of...	2 ~ 81682 miles
BUCKLE ASSEMBLY > FRONT > SEAT BELTS tl*the contact owns a 2003 mazda protege. the contact stated that the driver side seat belt would not latch and...	2 ~ 91250 miles
MANUAL TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN my daughter drove my mazda protege 5 to pick up my son and to retrieve something from a friend's house....	2 ~ 41500 miles
TREAD/BELT > TIRES while driving at about 40 mph back right tire went flat instantly without warning. tire make: bridgestone potenza p195/55r15. the...	2 ~ 29500 miles
POWER TRAIN vehicle went backwards even after consumer put the gear into park.*mr when the consumer got back in the car after...	2 ~ 101500 miles
FRONTAL > AIR BAGS i was involved in a head-on collision in my 2003 mazda protege5 while traveling approximately 10-20mph. the other party was...	2 ~ 602 miles
RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC. > ELECTRICAL > EQUIPMENT the stereo unit on the mazda speed protege is very defective. this unit is manufactured by kenwood. the stereo suffers...	2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC i believe that the 2003 mazda protoge5 brake design is flawed and dangerous (5-speed manual). i have addressed this issue...	2
GASOLINE > ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING engine rattles when accelerating after starting in the morning and periodically rattles when accelerating after stopping when warmed up. ...	2 ~ 35150 miles
SIDE/WINDOW > AIR BAGS failure of side air bag to deploy. on date indicated the right side of my 2003 mazda protege5 struck a...	2 ~ 7825 miles
UNDERBODY SHIELDS > FRAME AND MEMBERS > STRUCTURE passenger side inner fender where the strut is mounted is getting rusted badly making the car unsafe to drive. car...	1 ~ 163000 miles
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL while my son was driving to work on a hill curve turn he lost control on icy wet road and	1 ~ 90000 miles
SERVICE BRAKES tl* the contact owns a 2003 mazda protg. the contact stated that while attempting a left turn at 10 mph...	1 ~ 50000 miles
HEADLIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING mazda headlight harness - the lights are constantly going out (during the past 4 years). i went to replace the...	1 ~ 95000 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE year 2003 mazda protege lx gas tank leaking to the trunk. *tr...	1 ~ 698000 miles
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES i own a 2003 mazda protege 5 and i have automatic/remote key unlocks doors. one day it just stop working...	1 ~ 70000 miles
DRIVELINE > POWER TRAIN the 2003-2003.5 mazdaspeed protege poorly designed limited-slip differential has seen a failure rate of over 125 documented cases online. when...	1 ~ 83000 miles
VALVE > TIRES two general tires purchased at the same time .one tire blew out and when i when to have it repaired...	1
EMISSION CONTROL > EXHAUST SYSTEM > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING while driving normally to my home after work the car stalled at a stop light. )when restarted there was a...	1 ~ 61000 miles
HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH > HEADLIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING tl* - the contact stated that while driving on 12/27/06 at 35 mph had high beam head lights on and...	1
CABLES > VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL tl* - the contact stated that 2003 mazda tribute has been idling at a high rpm. the contact took the...	1 ~ 78000 miles
CONVENTIONAL > PARKING BRAKE emergency brake fails on inclines--this happened to me and a woman with the same make model and year car sitting	1 ~ 42000 miles
LOWER BALL JOINT > CONTROL ARM > FRONT tl* - the contact owns a 2003 mazda protg. the contact was driving 15 mph when the passenger side lower...	1 ~ 10000 miles
BASE (INFANT) > CHILD SEAT dt*: the contact stated while installing the infant child seat the angle adjustment on the base broke due to the...	1
ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT > MECHANICAL > EQUIPMENT flat tire caused me to use jack that came with my car after placing it correctly under my car and...	1
DIFFERENTIAL UNIT > DRIVELINE > POWER TRAIN on the 2003 and 2003.5 mazda mazdaspeed protege of which only 4750 cars were produced. there have been at least...	1 ~ 32000 miles
FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM > FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE i have had two occurrences of screws from the butterfly valves on the vtcs system from the intake of my...	1 ~ 32000 miles
CALIPER > DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS premature rear brake wear both sides. both rear rotors (and their pads of course) had to be replaced at 20...	1 ~ 20240 miles
GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) > STEERING i have trouble with the tires on my 2003 mazda protege. first they told me i had to get used...	1
ACCELERATOR PEDAL > VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL the vehicle stalled on a continuous basis. the dealer was not able to duplicate the problem. there was also a	1 ~ 715 miles
SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE > FRONTAL > AIR BAGS air bag light illuminated while driving. vehicle had been to the dealer on three separate occasions. on each occasion within	1 ~ 20000 miles
WHEELS excessive wear in the area inside and outside in tires ... many several workshops can not correct the alignment fault...	1 ~ 8000 miles
PARKING BRAKE although the vehicle's emergency brake was engaged the vehicle rolled down a hill. *nm consumer put 2 month old child...	1
ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC while driving a flat tire. changed the flat and proceeded to drive. upon coming to a stop sign and depressing...	1
GLASS, SIDE/REAR > VISIBILITY 2003 mazda that was purchased with a damaged windshield.*mr the windshield appeared smeared although the consumer cleaned it. the consumer...	1
STABILIZER BAR > FRONT > SUSPENSION the front suspension on the 2003.5 mazdaspeed protege has a very bad noise which you can hear when passing over...	1
HEAD RESTRAINT > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEATS while driving head rest adjusted on its own. this caused the head rest not to adjust properly to height of...	1
CLUTCH ASSEMBLY > POWER TRAIN the clutch had gone out. then two of the tires had blown out. one tire had blown out from the	1 ~ 100 miles
UNKNOWN OR OTHER rpm needle jumps from 700 rpms to 3000 rpms when stopped for no reason and foot is on the brake	1 ~ 4071 miles
SIDEWALL > TIRES tread on the center rib of tires started to break off.*mr consumer noticed splitting on the outside of both front...	1

Torque wrench

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Mechanic tool set

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Tool box

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