1998 Mazda Protege Consumer Discussions

Mazda Protege Serpentine Belt

• Re: Serpentine Belt repeatedly breaking [elrjones]

  Written by: kshanso on Mar 16, 2008 7:02:29 AM

  I also Have a 1998 mazda protege with the 1.5 liter engine and this will be my second belt i put on within THREE MONTHS other than the belt my car has also been very reliable. I Agree With elrjones it is very frustrating. If anyone has any advice please respond

Mazda Protege Idling Issues

• Re: Mazda Protege idling [ann14]

  Written by: schmogca on Mar 16, 2008 2:39:26 AM

  Does anyone have any info regarding this. The same thing is happening to my 1998 protege.

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• Problem with idle?

  Written by: chewy62 on Apr 18, 2007 3:49:51 PM

  I have a 1998 Mazda Protege LX, after I had done a tune-up to it. I notice that on the hood it says the idle speed should be 750 rpm with the car set in park. I can get it to idle at 750rpm but when I put it in drive it idle low below 500rpm and when I turn on the airconditioning it idle around 100rpm. Sometimes it even turns ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• Re: 1998 mazda protege custom exhaust` [mazdaspeed98]

  Written by: maltb on Feb 22, 2007 9:11:56 AM

  '99 was a totally redesigned car. It's doubtfull that anything from a '99 will fit a '98.

• 1998 mazda protege custom exhaust`

  Written by: mazdaspeed98 on Feb 21, 2007 6:09:41 PM

  does anybody ever try to put a 1999 protege 1.6L exhaust on a 1998 protege 1.5L

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• Raspy Exhaust Note in 1998 Mazda Protege

  Written by: creon448 on May 18, 2006 3:08:44 PM

  After having my motor mounts replaced, my transmission failed and needed to be serviced. Since receiving my car from the mechanic, I have noticed that the exhaust note has become very raspy. Moreover, after coming to a complete stop, my car will hesitate breifly when I press the gas. I read on the net that when the transmission is removed for service, that the transmission mounts should be replaced. Is it ... Read More

• Re: 1998 Mazda Protege Touring Edition brake problem [protege98]

  Written by: alcan on Mar 15, 2006 4:16:17 AM

  Remove the retaining clips, tap the pins out far enough with a small punch to grasp the heads with pliers, and pull them out. Note the orientation of the anti-rattle springs. Clean the pins off with a wire wheel or sandpaper, and lubricate them with a light film of silicone brake lube before reassembly.

• 1998 Mazda Protege Touring Edition brake problem

  Written by: protege98 on Mar 14, 2006 6:46:15 PM

  My car has 4 wheel disk brakes, I am having a problem removing the pads from the calipers because their is a friction fit pin securing the pads to the calipers. Can any one tell me how to remove these pins. You can see a picture of these pins at: http://www.clubprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23200 Regards

• Re: trashed dash [mdaffron]

  Written by: gwestley on Sep 15, 2005 4:56:37 PM

  Is there a manual online for a 1998 Mazda protege ES (1.8)? Thanks, Greg

• Engine stalls with A/C running & in neutral

  Written by: mjezebel on Jun 13, 2005 6:36:24 PM

  I have a similar problem as the one in message 2365, with my 1997 Mazda Protege. The car & A/C work fine while in gear, but when I switch into neutral, the engine has a tendency to stall out on warmer days. My brother has a 1998 Mazda Protege, and he also has the same problem. Anyone else?

Mazda Protegé

• Fail emission test

  Written by: usino on Apr 8, 2005 7:29:06 PM

  I have a Mazda Protege lx 1998 and fail the emission with the following codes: P0421-warm up catalyst efficiency below threshold bank(1)(5) P0170-Fuel trim malfunction bank (1)(2) What is the meaning of each codes? Thank you

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• Marshall, here's some interesting reading ...

  Written by: mdaffron on Feb 11, 2005 9:13:35 AM

  Interestingly, the following article (which I found very easily by typing "canister purge valve protege" into Google) applies to the 1996-1998 Proteges:   http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQA/is_2_80/ai_718471- 87   BTW, I just called the parts department at my Mazda dealer and, playing the part of you, asked for a price on a "canister purge valve" for a 1997 Protege.   The response?   "Mazda doesn't have anything called a 'canister purge valve' on the ... Read More

• Mazda Protege loud squeaking problem

  Written by: andy_cummins on Jan 25, 2005 9:21:12 AM

  Hi,   I have a Mazda protege 1998. I bought it when it had 40 K on it. Following are the things I took care of when my vehicle was close to 45 K. I changed the transmission fluid and the tires. At around 58 K I got the timing belt changed and other associated repairs. Around 63K the car started to make a squeaking noise. The mechanic said that I ... Read More

• Transmission overdrive flashing light

  Written by: trx on Nov 11, 2004 12:49:35 PM

  Hello i just want some advice i have a 1998 mazda protege and once in a while the overdrive light on the dashboard starts flashing.The yellow check engine light also turns on when this happens with the overdrive light flashing,When this happens the transmission gets stuck in third gear after stopping the car at a red light,The overdrive light turns itself back on the yellow check engine light disappears and the ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• Saw an MZ 3 in front of my local Mazda dealer:

  Written by: carguy58 on Dec 13, 2003 11:32:44 AM

  I got a glimpse of the front end. It might sell well in Europe but here I don't know. It looks too playful on the front end to me. I really liked the 99-00 Protege sedan's before the refresh. The 01-03 Pro Sedan looked good but liked the the 99-00 exterior better. Also I am a big 02-03 Pro 5 fan as well. MP3 was a looker in 01 too. The ... Read More

• Nissan recall and Mazda

  Written by: bluong1 on Nov 6, 2003 4:17:17 AM

  fom http://europe.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=5024 [ ...  The defect was found inside a sensor in the engine that could lead to a short-circuit and stop the engine from working. There have been no reports of accidents caused by the problem. ... The recall affects many popular cars manufactured between 1998 and May 2003, including the Sunny, March, Cube, Primera, Presage, X-Trail, Skyline and Fairlady Z, as well as two cars built for Subaru-maker Fuji ... Read More

Mazda Protege5

• Nissan recall and Mazda

  Written by: bluong1 on Nov 6, 2003 4:09:33 AM

  fom http://europe.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=5024 [ ...  The defect was found inside a sensor in the engine that could lead to a short-circuit and stop the engine from working. There have been no reports of accidents caused by the problem. ... The recall affects many popular cars manufactured between 1998 and May 2003, including the Sunny, March, Cube, Primera, Presage, X-Trail, Skyline and Fairlady Z, as well as two cars built for Subaru-maker Fuji ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• About the 2.3 engine

  Written by: carguy58 on Aug 30, 2003 10:21:43 AM

  I don't think its a Ford Engine in the 3. Didn't Mazda 100% develop the 4 cylinder engine in the Mazda 6? So wouldn't the 2.3 engine in the Mazda 3 be the same engine used in the 6? I know the V-6 in the Mazda 6 is a duratec block but Mazda has finishing tocuhes on the Duratec. Also I read on interesting stat in the USA Today yesterday. The ... Read More

• no title

  Written by: anonymousposts on Jul 10, 2003 9:05:27 AM

  ashu: The Tribue and B-series are still Mazdas and should be counted against them much as the Passport and SLX were still counted against Honda/Acura. And even if you only want to count their cars you have to consider the Protege is 5 years old, the 626 has been made since 1998, and the Miata is essentially unchanged since it's introduction in 1991. Other higher-rated brands have had several new models ... Read More

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• Replies

  Written by: compensate on Apr 24, 2003 10:15:05 AM

  mdaffron, Yes, I remember you. Life has been a whirlwind of job changes and family events and I've had little time to visit Edmunds. The current job is so demanding I am about to lose my mind! About the alternator, I had it replaced by a non-Mazda garage. The alternator cost about $210, with about $75 labor. I also wish I had never traded my 1992 Protege! It was problem-free for ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• 1998 Mazda Protege noise at ONLY 70mph

  Written by: lovely13675 on Jan 5, 2003 3:58:28 PM

  Hi, I have an interesting problem. This 1998 Protege Dx has 87,000 miles on it. It's been a great car with no problems until now. This is annoying but does not affect the driving of my car in any way. No shaking and no vibrations. While driving along there is no noise until I hit around 68-70 mph. Then I hear a "chee chee chee" sounding noise. It sounds like it's ... Read More

• Recall notice I got

  Written by: chicagopro on Jul 25, 2002 6:57:38 AM

  Emission Recall Campaign #0702F Dear Mazda Owner: Mazda Motor Corporation has determined that a defect exists on some 1999 and 2000 model year Mazda Protege vehicles produced from December 1, 1998 through July 31, 2000. If you are a recipient of this notice, your vehicle is included in this campaign. What is the problem? On some 1999 and 2000 Protege vehicles equipped with the 1.8L engine, the driving performance may deteriorate, ... Read More

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• 1998 MAZDA Protege A/C problem

  Written by: deh_claw on Jul 8, 2002 7:36:52 AM

  I have a 1998 Protege with an A/C problem... On 6/28, I left my Protege at the airport L/T parking lot in Charlotte, NC. When I left, the A/C was working. When I got back, it started acting up. Here are the symptoms: A/C will work for 10-30 minutes and then quit. Or the A/C will not work at all. Have had the freon checked, it is fine. Compressor appears to ... Read More

• Protege ping

  Written by: nsbio1 on May 26, 2002 1:16:25 PM

  Hi, I have a 96 Protege with a 1.5L thing... been a good one so far (115K miles and still going strong). However, it does ping during hard acceleration unless I use 93 octane gas. The pinging is temperature-dependent: I can switch back to regular when it is below 50-60. Replaced plugs - same thing, it just keeps pinging. Oddly enough, I suggested a friend of mine to purchase a used ... 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

• " changing the tranny oil would be a waste of money ?"

  Written by: protegextwo on Apr 13, 2002 4:05:21 PM

  It's been a while since I have posted--I own a 2000 Protege LX with manual transmission. It has 61,000 miles and I have yet to change the transmission oil. I don't seem to remember any mention of changing the gear oil every 30,000 miles in the owner's manual. Unlike an engine, there is no combustion in the transmission and, as a result, breakdown of lubrication must be very slow. It seems ... Read More

• 2002 Protege LX Buying Experience

  Written by: brechbiel on Apr 1, 2002 1:42:32 PM

  I recently helped my 20-year-old daughter shop for her first car while she was home on Spring break. She bought a demo 2002 Silver Protégé LX Friday March 29th before the $1500 rebate ended. Her car had 5300 miles on it and was sold with the full 36 month/50K warranty. Options include auto, alloy/sunroof promo pack, mats, sunroof deflector, and wheel locks. According to the Mazda online inventory, there were four ... Read More

• OK guys, Larry asked me to do this.

  Written by: mdaffron on Mar 22, 2002 10:17:36 AM

  As you may or may not know, Edmunds used to archive discussions after a certain number of posts and start a new one. We had Mazda Protege 1 through Mazda Protege 6 prior to this new arrangement. I just went back and added up all the posts since Mazda Protege 1, whose first post was on January 4, 1998. To make a long story short, whoever makes post 10,000 will really ... 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

• Thanks for the feedback and no thanks on the Deathstar...i mean Windstar

  Written by: gandalf17 on Mar 11, 2002 9:47:36 AM

  Thanks to Dinu and all others who posted some feedback on the 98 Windstar that i had the opportunity to buy very cheaply. I have decided that the American's have a better chance at winning Olympic gold at ice hockey vs. Canada then i do of buying that Ford P.O.S. :) (that was mainly for ZoomZoom79 :) and Fxashun ) Dinu, you were absolutely correct. The Windstar has been plagued by ... Read More

• Protege

  Written by: hjr2 on Dec 29, 2001 4:35:33 PM

  mother in law has had a protege, DX, 1997 model, since June 1998. It has had the following problems 1)Heater died at 64,000 miles..just this week 2) radio replaced 2x other than this, it is a nice car(engine could be more powerful,like the newer ones are). My mother in law,though, swears that the car is inferior to her old 1992 Cavalier, which also had problems, like alternator left her stranded when ... Read More

• avironeur

  Written by: fowler3 on Dec 11, 2001 6:09:54 PM

  You can find a test drive report on '98 Protegés at http://www.newcartestdrive.com, click on 1998, Mazda, then Protege´and scroll down. fowler3

• Hey windowphobe!

  Written by: mmx6 on Oct 14, 2001 11:47:07 AM

  Are you the same Windowphobe on Yahoo? If you remember, I was LSC400 (now I'm CrunchyCookie98). Anyway, do you have any way to verify that? Because if the Protege ES's transmission has any of the same programming as the 626/MX-6, FORGET IT. As for the 626/MX-6, did its transmission EVER change since 1988? (or even 1982?) I noticed the same specific negative comments from everywhere about Mazda's automatic (which only came ... Read More

• newcar31...

  Written by: jstandefer on Aug 9, 2001 9:23:22 AM

  The Car and Driver article I am referring to is their first review of the '99 Protege ES. It is a November '98 article published just after the 1999 launch. I tried to post the link, but I get the error about posting more than 115 characters. Go to Car and Driver and in the search box enter "Mazda". At the very bottom of the results page is the link to ... Read More

• wickedmuslim...

  Written by: jstandefer on Aug 5, 2001 2:21:45 AM

  The '97-'98 Protege is an excellent buy with good reliability and fuel mileage. The best model to get is the ES with it's Miata-based 1.8L DOHC engine. Power and smoothness is outstanding, but it does sacrifice some fuel mileage. However, with a 5-spd you should still get 30-32mpg on the freeway. A/C systems should be strong on Protege models. Resale value on the Protege is not as good as the Civic ... Read More

Mazda Protege5

• Disappointed in Mazda Protege 5

  Written by: nemeca on May 14, 2001 2:10:10 PM

  I just went to look at the Protege 5, as I am in the market for a wagon soon. I am 5 feet 10 inches tall and had only 2 inches to spare in the driver's seat. My hubby is 6feet 3inches, so forget it for us. I opened up the back hatch and it has about the same room as my 97 Corolla, so no improvement there at all. I ... Read More

Mazda Protegé

• Maltb, Questions on Timing Belt Replacement

  Written by: hkchan on Apr 20, 2001 2:31:09 PM

  I was browsing Gates' web site and found a guide for timing belt replacement schedule. http://www.gates.com/shared/brochure.cfm?brochure=109&site_section=automotive It only goes up to 1998. For the 1998 Protege and 626, it lists the replacement schedule for both the 1.5L, 1.8L and 2.0L (626) as 60,000 miles but 105,000 miles for California. Is that consistent with Mazda's recommended schedule? Why's it longer in California? It also says the Protege engines are not interference engines ... 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

• Oil Changes and Fianancing Deals

  Written by: curt3 on Feb 15, 2001 9:11:19 PM

  I think that it is wise to take your Protege to the dealer for the oil changes during the warranty period. As crazy as it sounds, I believe that you have more leverage in the event that a surprise problem arises if you have thorough documentation of dealership oil changes and inpsections, at least during the warranty period and shortly thereafter. My local Nissan/Mazda dealership bought back a virtual lemon of ... Read More

• Talking About Impulse Buys...unmarkedcar...

  Written by: curt3 on Feb 14, 2001 8:23:07 PM

  Well, I am a happy owner of a 2000 Mazda Protege LX with A/C and 5-speed. I must say, however, that I have gone through a few cars in the last few years. I have actually kept the Protege for 15 months now and I have no plans for dumping it. I have well over 30,000 miles on the odometer but I just like it too much to trade it. Here ... Read More

• Impulse buy

  Written by: unmarkedcar on Feb 14, 2001 1:26:25 PM

  I have a serious problem with trading cars....I tend to get bored with cars quickly. Here is what I have owned: 1997 Bought brand new Toyota tercel went to: 1998 honda civic DX 3 door (brand new) gave old tercel to my dad..he took over payments. 1999 gave my dad honda civic and took tercel to dealer...traded in tercel and got 2000 HONDA civic EX 4dr. 2000 took honda to dealer ... Read More

Mazda Protege Maintenance and Repair

• Minor emendation

  Written by: windowphobe6 on Jan 27, 2001 7:52:38 PM

  Actually, what I had said was that Mazda had abandoned HLAs in the 626 engines for 1998, one of which is now going into the '01 Protegé - although the 1.8 (BP) Protegé engine has gone to manually-adjusted lifters as well (as the BP's sibling did in the MX-5/Miata), and the 1.5 (Z5), I believe, always had them.