2000 Mazda Protege LX 1.6 DOHC from Puerto Rico

Summary:

The worst car I have ever owned

Faults:

Bought the car in June 2012.

I didn't have the car for a month, and the head gasket blew without heating up.

Two months after owning the car, the A/C compressor broke down.

Had to rebuild the transmission 6 months after I bought the car.

Has very poor handling.

General Comments:

My last car was a 89 Corolla, and it never gave me problems like this, just routine maintenance.

I can't wait to get rid of this car.

It's very disappointing that the car has given me so many problems, considering the year and the mileage it has.

The only things I like about the car are that it saves on gas and is comfortable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 4th March, 2013

6th Mar 2013, 06:12

Dang, thought Mazda was supposed to be reliable...

My 1999 Chevy Lumina with almost 160k miles has given me no trouble at all, besides the intake gasket once. Goes to show that the widespread belief that American cars are inferior to Japanese is off target. Frankly, I think this myth undermines our economy, and is insulting to a lot of hard-working Americans from our engineers to assembly line workers.

Who builds our police cruisers, and the majority of taxis with hundreds of thousands of miles? The fire trucks & ambulances we count on to save our lives? Our public buses? Haven't seen Honda or Toyota making any of those. Where's the pride?

I don't hate imports; my buddy's Integra is a blast to drive, and Audi's Quattro design, first introduced in the 80's, is STILL second to none. But at this point we've made such leaps and bounds in technology and quality, that anyone scared away by the paint-peeled Chrysler or tranny-fried Taurus from the 90's, should come back & take pride in this new, & much more competent generation of domestic products.

13th Mar 2013, 08:48

Having to replace the transmission is a bummer.

The A/C compressor may still be fine. When the refrigerant pressure is too low, the A/C does not turn on in order to prevent damage. Try if a recharge makes it go again.

These cars handle very well. Steering is easy and provides feedback, they corner well with some under-steer, and hold their line under braking. If they don't, they may need a wheel alignment, suspension work or brake work.

It is a good idea to have a used car inspected prior to buying.

2000 Mazda Protege LX 1.8 from North America

Summary:

Good reliability and gas mileage

Faults:

Nothing out of the ordinary has gone wrong with the car. Usual maintenance items, brakes, tires, sensor, timing belt, oil changes, cold pack for distributor, repaired small oil leak, replaced A/C discharge hose etc.

General Comments:

I have a 2000 Mazda Protege with 255,000 miles on it. I drive the car daily back and forth to work. Every morning I am amazed that the car still cranks.

I have never had major problems with the car. I use synthetic oil, premium gas and platinum spark plugs. I must add that I do not roughhouse the car. I do not push it too hard. However, with the 1.8L engine, you can't take off very quickly. Once you get going, it picks up speed pretty well.

The car still gets 34-38 mpg, even with the high miles. I am taking it in for its 4th timing belt / water pump change. I have never had a car that lasted this long.

Oh yeah, the car is not a comfortable ride, and the seats don't wear well either. I compare driving the car to driving a go-cart. Some days I hate getting in the car. But I can't fault it too much, it is still running OMG.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd September, 2010

2000 Mazda Protege ES 1.8 DOHC from North America

Summary:

Overall a very good, fun small car

Faults:

Ignition coil. 35,000 miles.

Front windshield gasket. 45,000 miles.

Front sway bar end links. 105,000 miles.

Mass air meter boot. 130,000.

General Comments:

The ignition coil was replaced after the check engine light came on a couple of times and it was recalled.

The front windshield gasket was replaced when a high pitch whistling noise was heard at 70 MPH.

The front sway bar end links were replaced, because any time you hit a pothole or go over a speed bump, you could here a popping noise.

The mass air meter boot was replaced because the check engine light would come on and the car was running a little rough. There were cracks in the ribbed section of the boot.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th March, 2009