2003 Mazda Protege Consumer Reviews

Best Car I have owned

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege DX 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I love my Mazda. I bought it used in 2004 with 25,000 miles on it. It now has 88,000 miles. I have only replaced brake pads, tires and one hose in addition to oil changes. My engine runs flawlessly. I get better than rated mileage. She handles great for a sub-compact. Has road feel instead of the numb feedback of a Toyota. The stick is smooth with shifts. Seats are comfortable. I will keep it until it dies since it has no resell value. I hope to get at least another two years.
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Never Again!

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege LX 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I bought this car with 29,000 miles on it. That was 3 years ago. It now has 90,000 miles on it. It has only had problem after problem - battery, multiple wheel bearings, tire links, brakes, alternator. The alignment is easily messed up. The car is not well made - it's cheap, lightweight and already starting to rust. It's a money pit. Do not buy it! Oh, and my Mazda is the automatic, not 5-speed standard.
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2003 protege nightmare

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege LX 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I bought this car with 15 miles on it. I've put alot of miles on it. currently i have just under 141, 000. I've had to have the front bearing replaced 4 times! on each side. i've had the alternator replaced twice. i've changes the oil tank because it actually rusted through, as well as the front exhaust at the intake manifold. i've changed both the oxygen sensor and the speed sensor. I've also changed the radiator twice. this is a car i've changed the oil and other scheduled maintained every 3-4k miles on it! I can;t believe it got this good of a reliability rating on Edmunds because mine has been a nightmare. plus mine is currently rusting to crap.....what happened?
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Poor MPG

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege ES 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I bought this car with 53000Miles on this car in 2008 and ever since it's had all four brakes(Everything) replaced,4 stabilizer bars,5 struts,belts twice,timing belt,Sparkplugs and wires,4 tires at $280 each and I rust proof and do oil changes with synthetic every 3000 Miles and am getting 14MPG and the A/C barely works and the fan makes loud noises and have gone way over what I thought was a reliable car that should at least get 20 MPG. I forgot the car is bad too because if you drive alot you will be very tired od hitting potholes and trying to merge onto highways with the automatic.
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I Love My "New" Mazda

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege ES 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I have owned a 1989 Mazda 323 hatchback and a 1994 Protege sedan. Most recently I was driving a 2006 Subaru Forester. I sold it and bought this Mazda Protege ES sedan with only 64,000 miles on it, same as my Subaru. I missed having a 5 speed and I did not like antilock brakes when they were put to the test on ice. I love my "new" car. It is fun to drive and it is very nimble compared to the Forester. Of course I gave up some cargo space but not much else. I get better gas mileage. I am averaging 29+ mpg with mixed driving. I am curious to see what I will get n pure highway driving when I go on a road trip.
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Best car I have owned, hate to see it go

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege LX 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

I have owned the Mazda Protege LX for seven years now, I purchased the vehicle in 2004 with only 20k for the mileage and I currently have over 195K on the vehicle now. Besides normal wear and tear parts that you expect to wear out, I haven't put more than like $100.00 into this vehicle. I always changed my oil regularly and did other minimal scheduled maintenance like filters, plugs, trans fluid, etc....and this vehicle owes me nothing. The gas mileage was good, I was getting about 28mpg on the highway and about 22 to 24mpg city depending on how fast I was driving. I also put sporty aggressive tires on it and it greatly improved the driveablitity, I put the Yokahoma "S" Drive tire on
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I wish I could buy this car again new.

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege ES 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

My brother passed this car on to me in 2005 after my car was totaled in an accident & he wanted to get a new BMW. He has regretted that decision ever since. I still have it today in 2010 & he has gone through about 3-4 cars still trying to find the right one. This car is reliable, does really well with gas, has good power acceleration to it, is comfortable and besides normal wear & tear with tires, the only thing that happened was a leak with the radiator & in the air intake hose there was a hole. I replaced both parts & runs like brand freaking new. Unfortunately, I have a small daughter so this car can feel tight sometimes but this is a car you will not regret getting. She's a beaut.
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Still reliable after all these years

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege ES 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

My fourth consecutive Mazda. Still very reliable at 112k miles, only routine maintenance performed thus far. ES model's 2.0 motor is peppy even with the 4-speed automatic. A major negative is road noise. DX & LX Proteges were already noisy and the ES model's low profile tires take it up a notch. That's why I only rated the car a "5" for comfort.
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Maybe the perfect "cheap" car

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege LX 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

A picture of this car should be alongside the dictionary entry for reliable. In 5 yrs the only unexpected repair was the main engine belt -and it was probably my fault. After owning a lemon it feels great knowing you can rely on this car. As far as routine maintenance goes you can DIY and save even more money. The interior materials won't be winning any prestigious awards but regardless for a car in this price range the interior is more than ok. I like to have fun when I drive and this is a good car for that; just don't expect to have great gas mileage this way. Sometimes I think the car may be boring but when I find an open stretch of road to let 'er rip I always end up smiling.
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gas tank leaking & rust

Vehicle

2003 Mazda Protege LX 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

This car Just over 5 years old, the gas tank was leaking, cost me $1400 to replace the pump, gas tank and etc. Complained to Mazda company, but they did not care. I will not buy any Mazda again. The Mazda company cut too much cost to build this Protege, not only the rust on the gas tank, but also other areas. I make a big mistake to buy this mazda protege. Gas tank leaking is a safety issue!! I can accept other problems, but not gas tank.
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