Used 1998 Mazda Protege Consumer Reviews

Timex Tin Can

The car has been very reliable as others have mentioned, however this is transportation at it's most basic level. This car is a noisy tin can on wheels. Radio must be cranked in order to overcome excessive road noise. Car lacks power even with the larger 1.8L engine and is really not that great on gas. I rarely take it on highways and my wife refuses to drive it at all because of the "Tin Can" feel. With that said, it is a reliable beater for local commutes but would not take this car on long trips.

Love my 5 year old Protege!

I have had my car for over 5 years now, bought it with 30 miles on it. I drive it about 11,000 miles a year. This car has been so good to me. I have only had 1 minor problem so far with it, the shifter froze one winter and wouldn't shift, but that was fixed years ago. This car has been so dependable, I would recommend to anyone.

Reliable, fun, needs more power!

This is my 5th Mazda, 2nd Protege. Fun to drive, but, even with the manual transmission needs more umph! The 13" tyres don't grip the road very well, so I replaced the wheels with alloys and used the stock LX/ES sized tyres of 185x65x14 and it made a considerable improvement in handling and braking. But, inspite of the manual transmission, its a loud vehicle; I installed Dynashield Extreme and other sound insulation products to kill the road noise. Reliable, has only needed regular maintance in 101,000 miles and a battery. Was totaled in a accident, so I looking for another to replace it.

Fun car

Bought the car at 71,000 miles. It's been trouble free with only preventive maintenance needed. The 1.5 is underpowered, but the 5-speed makes it fun to drive. This car also gets great mileage (30 mpg city/highway mix, 37 mpg all highway). Roomy car (I am 6'5"). Very very practical car.

The engine will last forever

I consider my 11 year old Protege to be young by Mazda standards with only 149,000 miles on it. My family owned a '91 Protege and drove it to 277,000 miles over the course of 8 years. The engine runs great and the car always starts in all weather. Manual transmission handles great in snow and ice, car is a bit unstable driving through deep mud and water. I get 37 MPG highway. Car is so little that it's not very comfortable on the highway. You feel every bump in the road and every wind gust. The body has lots of rust on it but the car lives in Minnesota. The suspension is giving out, likely due to rust. I love my little car but wish the suspension wasn't dead.

Protege... Reliable, but Needs Care

As long as one follows the recommended severe service maintenance procedures and performs needed repairs before they become a problem, this little throw- away car is probably good for 150-200 K mi before an expensive repair makes repair an uneconomical choice. This has not been a maintenance-free car, but for it's price, it has shown good reliability when compared to most other makes. My wife drives this car all over the Dallas area and I find that I don't worry about her being stranded with this Protege.

11 Years and Still A Great Car

I have owned my Mazda for eleven years. Purchased it from the showroom floor. After 150k mi it is still running strong. I am still getting 34 mpg, that is fantastic! I am just bumped they no longer make these cars! I can only hope the Mazda 6 is as reliable as my trusty Protege has been!

Great Buy!

1998 Mazda Protege LX has been my best used car purchase ever. I got a great deal on a clean model and other than changing the timing belt as a preventative maintenance item, I have had no expenses other than gas and oil. Smooth ride, adequate performance (even with the 4-speed auto), and good handling have made me a happy owner.

It's an O.K. generic car

Wife bought this new in 1998. It was overpriced and underpowered, but has been extremely reliable. We had problems with the plactic breaking off into the door locks. The exhaust manifold cracked and had to replace. Has been a good all around, "plain jane" car. Not much styling to it - looks like a jellybean like most other sedans of that year. Overall, a decent car.

Bare bones econobox

I bought this car with 125,000 miles a few years back, and it has been everywhere. It now has 190,000 and still runs same as when I got it, which is to say that it can barely get out of its own way, and doesn't have enough torque to open a jar of pickles...and if it were an automatic it would be a miserable car to drive. But fortunately my goal when I was looking was to find an old-school econobox with a manual trans and crank windows and power nothing, just pure driving experience and great gas mileage...which this car delivers, big time. Yes, it has 13" tires that feel every defect on the road. It also has a lot of road noise, but not horrific for an econobox of its time. It weighs well under 3,000 lbs so it does get shoved around somewhat by crosswinds and passing semis on the highway...but again, it wasn't intended to be a highway cruiser, although it gets the job done. It holds the road in a curve magnificently, I love throwing it into a curve faster than most people would consider sane, then downshifting and powering out like a WRC champ. Seriously, it has crisp steering and holds the road like it's on rails. In combination with rowing the manual gearbox, it's great fun. The [non-ABS] brakes are more than adequate, and the 5 spd box shifts nicely when rev-matched, but like a number of manual trans Mazdas of this era it has a pretty numb-feeling hydraulic clutch that never seems to quite keep up with me and makes shifts feel clunky otherwise. But it probably suits the average (slower shifting) driver well enough. The box itself seems pretty indestructible, and it still has the factory clutch at almost 200,000 miles so very robust, apparently. One thing I've noticed being a recurring issue is rubber rot, especially under the hood. I've had several check engine light issues along with rough idle that always traced back to split or deteriorated vacuum hoses, intake duct, etc. Guess it's just an issue when they hit this age. But it has been dead reliable, the only actual internal engine parts I've replaced were hardly internal, a valve cover gasket and grommets, and the o-ring in the base of the distributor. With those two things renewed, the engine is completely oil leak-free and oil consumption is less than 1 quart per 5000 miles, can't ask for better than that. It has the leather interior, and again, Asian cars of this age, I've noticed that while their leather was good enough, their stitches were terrible...the cord just rots and lets the seams open up after some years. You're better off with fabric in these. These cars have a pretty severe windshield angle and low ride height that makes them hard to get in and out of for bigger people...you'll probably smash your head on the A-pillar a couple of times before figuring out how to snake yourself in there. But once in, it's roomy enough, for its size. This car ALWAYS delivers at least 36 mpg, and I can coax 40 out of it with judicious driving on a highway trip. I hate to say it but the car seems to be built like a tank, surprisingly...I had a low-speed accident where I T-boned a much larger car, I had minor scuffs on the front bumper cover, he left the scene on a wrecker with a front fender and wheel packed in and tire flattened. I couldn't believe it. My headlights and front bumper cover and all survived it with not even so much as changes in the factory gaps. He couldn't believe it either, joked that it just didn't seem fair somehow, LOL. To sum up: Great fuel economy, fun to drive even though it's the slowest car I've ever owned in my life, very reliable, cheap to operate, and tougher than it has any right to be. If you just want a reliable rudimentary set of wheels that will make you laugh at rising gas prices, this is a good bet. If you want comfort or refinement of any kind, look elsewhere.

Time to move on

Worst car I ever owned

This is the worst car I have ever owned. The front end vibrated all the time, and no mechanic could figure out why. It idled rough and couldn't be fixed. The front brake pads needed to be replaced every 10,000 to 20,000 miles. The transmission stuck and when it did finally shift, it really jolted me. One of the four engine cylinders was low in pressure. The car had too small of an engine for the size of the car. All of this was from the beginning of ownership. It had only 40 miles on it when I bought it in Dec, 1998. I think I got a lemon.

Great Little Car

I did maticulous research for my very 1st car, and all leading magazines pointed to the Mazda Protege. I found the "ES" version much more appointing than the other trim lines; Plus it had a larger engine. It's been very reliable. I really enjoy this car; i slapped on a bra on the car; and it looks 100% better; some don't recognize my car without it!

Mazda Protege

4 years and just over 90000 miles, and this little car has never missed a beat. Very reliable, with very few problems during this whole time. Only some minor problems with body trim (ie. door lock)

Protege

Had this car for over 2 years. Put many miles on it, but now its leaking oil and a bunch of other problems. I needed to replace the serpentine belt 3 times in 2 years. Had to replace the battery once too. Don't buy this car if it's got more than 150,000 miles on it. Everything seems to go wrong with it when it reaches that mark.

Except for the Rust...

This is a pretty good car, except for the fact that the hood rusted all the way across the edge nearest the windshield. Mileage averages around 30MPG. Not as fuel efficient as 94 Civic w/auto that averaged 37MPG.

I love my mazda

I bought my protege with 109k. I love my car and I am upgrading the motor to the larger motor found in the ES version, same motor as in the miata. This vehicle is still strong and loving everything i throw at it, has 143k on it now!

Better than a Civic, just no hype

Better than my sisters Civic

Great Car

The only problem has been an annoying squeal from the rear shoe brakes - like finger nails scratching a chalkboard - cause - the shoes are glazed. The air conditioning has failed. Great to drive - I have put 14000 miles on the car in 5 months - no problems - no complaints - Fun to drive. Fred

wow

this car is really a all around car and is great to have if u have to commute in heavy traffic everyday to work in chicago i over all rate this car a 10

Mike's Protege

A sporty car under a sedan skin. It’s big enough in the back for 2 child car seats with room for a third to squeeze in too. It gets a little noisy inside at high speeds so be sure to turn the radio up loud. After 77,000 miles not a bit of trouble. In fact, I wound it to the red line through 4 gears coming off a stop light just the other day.

w/ sunroof & spoiler

The dealer always wants to rip you off, so find a good independent mechanic to complete services. I only have 34K and had to get the door locks replaced once, then gave up after the plastic piece broke again - at least I could get my key in the lock. Horn works sporadically; something clicks in the transmission; something rattles and squeaks in the left rear of the car. It's a tough little cookie, though - I drive it hard. Pick up has been slow as of late, and the check engine light comes on and goes off when it feels like it - had a mechanic check it out (for free - dealer wanted $80) & couldn't find anything.

high rate of value effeciency

I can't find any car better than this one at the level. It's nice, reliable, valuable and comfortable.

Mazda Protege DX 1998

Some hardwares and accessories broke down during the warranty period. For example, the front brakes were no good and made noises when backing up because they were poorly built. My dook locks were made of plastic components and it invited trouble that was reason why I had to replace both my door locks.

Never been impressed more!

This is my first car (used). I bought it at 53,300 miles, and currently at 65k miles, I haven't had too many troubles with it. I drive the car off road as well, most often without any problems. The fuel economy is good at 30 MPG city/highway mix. Overall, I am pretty impressed with this car. After spending over $1k in the past year over scheduled maintenance and/or parts replacements, (including 60K scheduled service) my mechanic says that my car is as good as new :).

Sweet car

My wife drives this car. She loves it since day one. It's as sweet as her. Everything runs great so far and she praises it more than me:( As the passenger (sometimes), I would like to complaint its comfortness. But I am not sure the discomfort is caused by the car design or my wife 's poor driving skills/habits... Anyway, I bought a Mazda later too.

Mazda

At 140,00 miles only the preventative timing belt and front brakes have been replaced.

Reliable

Bought it new. Now have 180k (yes, miles!) on it. Only oil changes (sometimes I forgot to do it). Replaced clutch plate twice (it is manual shift). Engine light goes on in wet weather from day one. Nobody knows why. Excellent, reliable small car. My two teenagers mastered stick-shift on it and it survived. Will highly recommend. Changed brake pads only twice.

Happy Owner

I purchased my Mazda brand new; it had only 10 miles when I drove it off the lot. One of the best cars I've owned, great gas mileage, fun car to drive, low maintenance just the normal wear & tear. The down side is needs more power especially on the automatic 1.5 liter engine. Still own the car it has only 82,000 miles!

Happy Owner

I am the original owner of my Mazda, had the vehicle now for 8 years; it has only 82,000 miles. For a compact vehicle it has a lot of leg and head room, it drives and handles well great gas mileage. It's been trouble free except for the normal wear and tear. This is my third Mazda, best vehicle I ever purchased!

Protege

The car is a nice car, but not too many upgrades out there to add on. Only one body kit and hardly no engine upgrades. An engine swap is almost a must in order to gain 200+hp.

Better Interior than Honda Civic

This car was the best handling and had the nicest interior. Doesn't look cheap and rattle like Honda Civic. Although, the 96 hp model I drove was a little low on power, it was great on highway and city.

Protege ES '98

The best experience ever. Roomy small car, which runs like new with over 47000 Miles. Car just feels as a "solid rock" every time I get inside.

Mazda Protege review

This has been a nice car for a high school grad. Very safe and easy to maintain car. It has all the features and the compact size is the winner.

10 years and still delivering

Bought the car new in 1998. Outside of normal maintenance, the car has been a joy to own. Since the car is ten years old, when I'm in the market for a new car, I will revisit Mazda first, as I like many of the newer cars.

Protege review

It is ok for a little car but the transmission starts to slow down after 98000 miles on the car.