1997 Mazda Protege problems
Owners have filed 103 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Mazda Protege. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 13% of complaints. After that come air bags (12%) and transmission (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 103 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 13% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 20 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 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: 20 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% 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 1997 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Mazda Protege with enough data (75 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.
Consumer driving and suddenly vehicle is out of control, fell into a hole head-on and rolled 3-4 times, all occupants were wearing seat belts. Neither air bag deployed.
While filling tank, flames came out of tank, and vehicle caught on fire. Also, consumer was injured when vehicle was turned off. Dealer has been contacted. Please provide further informaton.
Vehicle was involved in an accident. Upon impact, driver's airbag exploded in driver's face, causing burns on cheek and shearing off cornea on left eye.
After investigating "check engine light" over a period of 5 months, it was determined that a valve problem in the first cylinder was causing a lack of compression and poor engine performance. 2 oxygen sensors were replaced, as well as 8 valves and other parts, to solve the problem. We spent a total of $1791.78 before the car was fixed. We learned from our mazda dealer that a service bulletin was issued 6/10/98 that covered this problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mazda protg dx. The contact stated that after taking his vehicle in for routine inspection, the mechanic informed him that both the front and rear brakes were rusted. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that all the brake lines were rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000. Updated 02/11/11 updated 11/30/2011