1990 Mazda Protege problems
Owners have filed 45 complaints with NHTSA about the 1990 Mazda Protege. Seat belts is the most reported problem area, at 49% of complaints. After that come wipers, windshield & visibility (9%) and engine (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 45 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Seat belts 49% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What the data shows
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 6 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 85% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1990 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Mazda Protege with enough data (17 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While stopped, vehicle was rearended by moving vehicle that was traveling 35 MPH. Driver fell forward/backward, seatback reclined, left side of seat broke, motorized shoulder belt did not retract. Dealer replaced seat frame. Found no problem with seat belt. Consumer sustained injuries to the neck, upper back, right shoulder, arm, hand, and shoulder blade. *slc
Because of design of car there was no light or signal to indicate to the driver that the rear door was not totally closed resulting in a young child falling out of the car and being struck by the vehilce.(attorney for consumer).
The front automatic passive restraint seat belts system is inoperative because the rail is bad. The dealership refused to replace the rail as stated in the automatic shoulder belt rail recall 97v211000. There is conflict between the dealership and manufacture concerning what part in the passive restraint system should be replaced under the recall. The passenger side shoulder belt is stuck in the middle of the rail thus making it inoperative.