1990 Mazda Protege Consumer Discussions

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• finikaria

  Written by: finikaria on Nov 10, 2009 9:50:29 AM

  Just to let folk out there know. I have a 1990 mazda 323(think it's called protege in the states).Had it from new. It has done 350,000 kilometers,and is just in for the 2nd replacement clutch.Exhaust has never been changed, Can anyone guess how many miles I am going to get from this engine(b3 1.3l)

• Re: 1990 Mazda 323 (Protege) will not start on a rainy day [coolpete]

  Written by: civiletti on Apr 30, 2008 8:02:07 PM

  I've not had this problem with my pro, but distrubutor cap cracks are a common reason for this problem. The pro also tends to go through sparkplug wires. I would replace them every 35,000 miles. Oh, it could also be a cracked ignition coil.

• Re: 1990 Mazda 323 (Protege) will not start on a rainy day [coolpete]

  Written by: maltb on Apr 28, 2008 3:22:23 PM

  Yes, it's easy to replace. The distributor mounts in the end of the cylinder head. Simply unscrew the two screws to remove the cap and move the plug wires to the new cap, one at a time. Re-install the cap the same way the old one came off.

• 1990 Mazda 323 (Protege) will not start on a rainy day

  Written by: coolpete on Apr 28, 2008 12:22:51 PM

  How do I locate the rotor cap on the Protege? Is it easy to replace?

• Re: 1990 Mazda 323 (Protege) will not start on a rainy day [coolpete]

  Written by: schesney on Apr 28, 2008 8:55:12 AM

  I haven't had that problem with my Protege, but I did have a mercury that if the engine got wet it would stall, turned out I had a crack in my rotor cap....so you might try to change the rotor or find some way to seal it with a moisture proofer to keep the moisture out of it.

• 1990 Mazda 323 (Protege) will not start on a rainy day

  Written by: coolpete on Apr 28, 2008 7:35:06 AM

  I have a strange problem with my 1990 Mazda Protege (323 - 1.8L DOHC) - the car starts up fine on a dry and sunny day but it will not start on a rainy day or if it has rained hard the previous day and there is some moisture in the air and on the windshield. It cranks but it will not start on these kind of days but on a ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• Transmission Woes

  Written by: aartsycraftsy on Jul 20, 2007 10:43:10 AM

  I am knew at this, have I said something wrong, lol. Looking for a transmission for a 1990 Mazda Protege 323, that has already been pulled. Thanks

• Transmission Woes

  Written by: aartsycraftsy on Jul 18, 2007 12:35:11 PM

  I am looking for a transmission for a 1990 Mazda Protege 323. Preferable in the central Florida area. Also would like to know if what I heard is true about having to change the carbuerator if you change the transmission.

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• Braking noise etc

  Written by: macfisch on Aug 27, 2005 8:06:36 PM

  New poster here, so I apologize in advance if this is redundant. I had a 1990 Protege that I loved...it lasted for 11 years. When it finally went to auto heaven, I bought a 2000 ES and have had multiple problems: radiator needed to be replaced after 2 years, fortunately covered by warranty; after 3 years and about 56,000 miles, found out the front struts were leaking--not covered by warranty; 1 ... Read More

• naggar

  Written by: jrdwyer on Feb 7, 2005 2:09:42 PM

  Here are some ideas for solving your problem.   Rough idle: 1. Vacuum Leak. Check all hose connections. 2. Leaking EGR valve. 3. Air Filter clogged. 4. Fuel pump not delivering enough fuel. 5. Leaking head gasket. 6. Timing belt and/or pulleys worn. 7. Camshaft lobes worn.   Engine hard to start when hot: 1. Air filter clogged. 2. Fuel not reaching the fuel injection system. 3. Corroded battery terminals, especially ... Read More

• Some recommendations please

  Written by: suydam on Jun 7, 2004 10:49:43 AM

  Hello, Mazda owners! I'm considering buying a 1994 Mazda Protege AT with 114,000 miles for my son who is coming home from Europe in a couple of months. I have owned a 1988 Mazda 323 and he had a terrific 1990 626 hatchback that he sold before he went to Europe, still running fine at 165,000 miles. Any of you still have older Proteges out there? Have they held up well? ... Read More

• Dinu01

  Written by: kaiserhead on Nov 13, 2003 9:59:14 AM

  You're exactly right, but the person responsible for maintenance was a firm believer in the "squeaky wheel" method of car maintenance. We found out that approach doesn't work when we tried a couple domestic cars. Now I know I'm going to take some heat for this, but I think the pre-1990s Mazdas were a lot better than the current ones in terms of overall reliability. We had an '82 and a ... Read More

• EGR Valve

  Written by: jrdwyer on Oct 20, 2003 9:08:00 AM

  No check engine light, just pinging under acceleration or uphill driving. With pinging these are the possible causes: 1. Incorrect grade of fuel. The Protege calls for only 87 octane and that is what I use. I buy gas from different stations in the area. 2. Problem with engine control system. Other than the pinging, the car seems to run fine. So my guess is that the car's computer is ok. ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• emnightingale--aim for a mid to late 90's Protege

  Written by: curt3 on May 17, 2002 11:11:19 PM

  The later the Protege, the better the car. The Proteges from the early 1990's are more prone to reliability problems than the 1995-1998 models. You may just find a high mileage older Protege with light options and an A/C for $ 3,000 at traderonline.com or even on eBay. Late-model Proteges, however, hold up well with the miles and are really quick to depreciate with high miles. This makes for a great ... Read More

• Back to tranny fluid changes...

  Written by: curt3 on Apr 13, 2002 2:24:54 PM

  When I was in college (the first time around) I had a 1986 Mazda 626 GT that I bought used in 1990--what a car! I sold it with 160,000 miles a few years back and never once had I changed the transmission fluid. Keep in mind that this car enjoyed being driven hard. I may not have always followed Dad's advice, but he made a lot of sense about mechanical things. ... Read More

• Of course with anything there will be those

  Written by: fxashun on Mar 31, 2002 11:56:27 AM

  who take the extreme. What I meant if you take a car that is in the same class and size as the Protege and stiffened the suspension and added 16" 50 series tires you could have a car like the Protege. That's what Mazda did with the MP3. Of course the MP3 handles great. It has even larger wheels and tires than the ES with even more mods to the suspension. ... Read More

• Cars I have driven...

  Written by: vocus on Mar 22, 2002 8:44:31 AM

  This is a pretty long list, but here goes: 1995 Explorer Eddie Bauer (co. car at the time) 1995 mercury Tracer (my other co. car) 1996 Olds Cutlass Ciera (another co. car) (I was a fleet mgr. for awhile. That's where the above vehicles came from) :) 1990 Pontiac 6000 (mom's old car) 1994 Bonneville SE (mom's car too) 1988 Dodge Aries America (my first car) 1997 Sentra GXE (friend's) 1994 ... Read More

• 100 000 Mile Protege's...zoomzoom79

  Written by: browntrout1 on Feb 27, 2002 4:56:25 PM

  Actually, we have a 1990 Mazda 323 in the family that has over 270 000kms on it. My father owns it now. We bought it used with 100 000kms. 323 and Protege were basically the same thing back then. Anyways, it runs perfect! Have never had any major problems with it...and this is good considering the total lack of maintenence we put into this car. Burns no oil, engine is smooth, ... Read More

• I agree with Mazdafun

  Written by: browntrout1 on Jul 21, 2001 9:15:08 PM

  I used to own an '85 Jetta Carat. It was a great car to drive...when it worked. It's probably faster than my 2000 1.8L Protege...or pretty close but the bottom line is that I put tons of money into it to keep it running. Granted it was an old car but we have a 1990 323 with 260000 kms on the odometer and it has far less problems. Engine runs as ... Read More

• Question on 1.8 DOHC engine

  Written by: pmon on Jun 10, 2001 5:05:32 PM

  I'm considering buying a 1994 Mazda Protege LX 5 speed with a 1.8 DOHC engine. My 1990 Mazda Protege SE has a 1.8 SOHC engine, which has been a good engine. The car is still running at 208,000+ miles. Before I buy the 1994, I'd like to know if the 1.8 DOHC is as good as the single cam? Any advice would be appreciated.

• no title

  Written by: jace1 on Jun 2, 2001 4:13:53 AM

  I'm considering a new pro to replace a 1990 Saab 900. Looking at the 2.o LX or ES 5 speed. I like the quality and handling of the pro and have owned Mazda's before (82 GLC and 73 RX2). The main competitor is the Civic EX but I'm wondering about build quality on the Honda as there has been some criticism. Sooo....DO you owners love your Proteges? Any problems showing up ... Read More

Mazda Protege Basic Maintenance Questions

• no title

  Written by: jstandefer on Mar 26, 2001 11:12:46 AM

  I remember having a similar problem on my 1991 Ford Escort GT. The 1991-1995 Escorts were built on the Protege chassis, but used Ford engines except for the GT. The GT's used Mazda's wonderful 1.8L DOHC based on the Miata's engine (basically the same engine used on the 1990-1993 Protege LX, and the 1994-1998 Protege ES). I will have to say that Miata-based engine was much smoother (particularly in the upper ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• New Protege ES in Toronto

  Written by: norcan on Mar 7, 2001 1:08:45 PM

  Got my new 2001 AS with auto, 6-CD changer and after-market remote-start/immobilize (dealer installed) on Feb.27. Zoom Zoom! My previous vehicle was a 1990 CChefCorsica, so perhaps you can imagine my enjoyment I'm having just going around corners! Of course it snowed 23 cecentimesust after I got it, which made me extremely nervous. Found no problems in ice/snow conditions. I've read with great interest all the previous posts, and I look ... Read More

• Oil Change stuff...

  Written by: browntrout1 on Feb 26, 2001 9:18:49 PM

  Personally, I would just follow what the Protege Manual says. Mazda built the car so I'm sure they know best what should be put into it. I go about every 6000 to 7000 kilometeres between oil changes, Mazda recomends 8000. I think it is a huge waste of time changing the oil at 500 miles...and it sounds about right what people are saying about synthetic oil. I'd leave the oil that ... Read More