2003 Mazda Protege problems
Owners have filed 145 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Mazda Protege. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 28% of complaints. After that come seat belts (12%) and suspension (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 145 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 18 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 103 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 | 25 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 10 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 17 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 103 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 70,000 miles (35 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 18 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 84% 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 2003 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the Mazda Protege with enough data (86 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.
While my son was driving to work on a hill curve turn he lost control on icy wet road and hit a tree he died on 01/29/2013 he was 18 years old he was going to school and working.
Failure of side air bag to deploy. On date indicated the right side of my 2003 mazda protege5 struck a metal utility pole with sufficient force to cause the vehicle to be a total loss, yet the side curtain air bag did not deploy. This was a direct and not glancing blow the main force of which struck immediately over the right rear wheel. Interestingly enough, when notified, the mazda USA customer service representative stated that the insurance company (usaa) should initiate any required action.
While driving normally to my home after work the car stalled at a stop light. )when restarted there was a loud clanking/hammering noise from the engine for about 15 seconds then the sound went away, the cell lit up and the engine started shaking. When checked for codes a misfire on cylinder -4 was found. (the spark plug on cylinder 4 had been smashed flat by a foreign object that caused the hammering noise, nothing was found inside the cylinder , using a magnet.