2002 Mazda Protege problems
Owners have filed 133 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Mazda Protege. Seat belts is the most reported problem area, at 16% of complaints. After that come transmission (11%) and brakes (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 133 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Seat belts 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 19 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 23 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 86 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 | 22 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 18 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 86 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles. For seat belts specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (15 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 19 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 23 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 2002 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Mazda Protege with enough data (80 complaints in that window).
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.
Airbags did not deploy during a front end collision at 35 miles per hour. The front end was totalled and although the injuries were minor, there is a false sense of security.
The consumer rear ended another motorist while driving at 45 MPH. The frontal air bags failed to deploy upon impact. The driver sustained injuries when he hit the steering wheel. The passenger sustained injuries when she/he hit the dashboard. Both vehicles involved in the accident were totaled.
I was rear-ended, I was a passenger, a loose lug wrench came ,from the trunk, through the seat and cracked me in the ribs.
Whenever the vehicle is on a slight incline vehicle would roll backward when the driver releases the accelerator or the brake pedals. Dealer was not contacted.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mazda protege. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the brake pedal was applied and the vehicle lunged forward. The vehicle then accelerated up a hill and suddenly stopped. The contact had the vehicle towed to a tow yard. Later, the vehicle was driven to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the frame was bent and the fuel and brake lines were destroyed. The vehicle was unable to be repaired and was destroyed. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000. Updated 11/09/15