2000 Mazda Protege problems
Owners have filed 126 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000 Mazda Protege. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 23% of complaints. After that come air bags (21%) and brakes (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 126 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 33 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 26 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 50 complaints with mileage
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%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 10 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 17 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 9 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 50 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 50,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 42,000 miles (12 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 33 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 26 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 96% 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 2000 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Mazda Protege with enough data (86 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.
Vehicle was hit from the rear at 50 MPH which caused driver's and passenger's seats to collapse backwards, also, air bags did not deploy, cause unknown.
While driving at 30MPH was involved in frontal collision, and none of the air bags deployed on impact, causing injuries.
Less than two months after purchasing my 2000 mazda protege new from the dealer I took the vehicle to the service dept. While accelerating, the car would jerk and buck as if I hit a brick wall. The car continued to do this. Each time I complained to the service dept. At the dealership I was told nothing was wrong. I also contacted mazda corp. To inquire if there were any other complaints or recalls. I was advised that mazda had not received any similar complaints.
Own a 2000 mazda protege dx w/auto & air, 41k miles that was purchased new. Upon driving for 45 minutes on the highway, the o/d transmission light starts blinking. When I bring to the car to a stop, turn off the engine and restart, the light is no longer flashing. I do not drive the car for more than a few minutes after the o/d light starts flashing before letting the car sit for several hours. The transmission fluid also gets dirty at an accelerated rate vs. What would normally be expected for a car.