19th Aug 2008, 12:58

I own a 2000 Protege ES. I've had several of the problems that I've read on this site, and all I can say is for everyone out there is to make sure you clean your sensors first before spending all sorts of money. I used a product called "Seafoam". Its sold in all auto repair stores for about $7.00. This stuff works miracles. My car runs like a top now with 125,000 miles on it. My check engine light has been reset, and has not came on since (2000 miles later). It's well worth the 7 bucks. Have fun!

8th Sep 2008, 17:43

I have a 2000 Mazda Protege that I just bought a few days ago. It worked for that day, then the engine light came on. My friend sat in the car and it went off, came on again today. I asked him to sit back in it and it stayed on.

When I drive on highway, it jumps when pressing the gas. I figured maybe fuel injectors or dirty sensor.

Then it idles weird at start up - jumps from 500 to 1000 rpms.

Also I have replaced 2 spark plugs; where the heck are the last two? I know it has to have 4 spark plugs. This is a go cart motor. Can some one please help me find the last damn spark plugs and ASAP. Call 214 783 1284

28th Nov 2008, 21:54

I have a 2001 Mazda Protege ES. It's been into the dealership several times this month. My check engine light keeps coming on and when it is in cruise control it suddenly it will accelerate or decelerate (I have a manual transmission). The mechanics cannot figure out what is going on, have put it on the computer, etc. Also there are times when I will try to start it up in the middle of the day and it just won't turn over. Any ideas what could be going on? It only has 87,000 miles, spark plugs have been replaced and they think it may be the catalytic converter, but won't fix it until they know what is causing the converter to act up.

1st Dec 2008, 12:44

Could it be like in the comment above about the coils? Mine never had starting problems, but maybe that's a cause of your problems?

22nd Jan 2009, 17:12

I have a 1999 Mazda Protege ES that now idles up and down when I'm at a stop sign or red light. When driving on the highway, everything seems fine. Also, my check engine light was on. I got it checked on the computer at my Mazda Dealership and it retrieved the code P1141 02 Sensor. Then, they fixed the engine light which is now off but my car still idles up and down when I'm on red lights or stops. Does anyone have an idea what might be the problem?

31st Jan 2009, 00:27

Wow, I know I've had some of the same problems. I now am scared to drive anywhere at all. It won't go past 40 on the way home, then when I got by my house, I was lucky to go 20 mph. I have a stick shift; does anyone know what I should do?? Please help donnabre@mchsi.com let me know if any suggestions...

8th Mar 2009, 13:05

I have a 2001 Mazda Protege ES - 112K miles.

My check engine light keeps flashing! I have had this problem for several months already. I only drive my car 1-2 days a week. I really don't know what's wrong and the mechanic is having a hard time figuring out what's wrong.

MAF sensor was replaced less than a year ago; spark plugs were changed; I think the oxygen sensors were changed also... and the light is still flashing!

He gave a list of like..20 possible solutions! Can anyone tell me what worked for the "flashing check engine light"? Thanks!

- MiamiGirl.

26th Apr 2009, 08:08

Just bought a used Mazda 323F (Europe...). It's a late 2002 with 60k on the clock. Love the car but having a few problems. Car was serviced at 59k.

The evening I bought the car the 'Check Engine Light' came on and the engine felt as if it was running on only 3 cylinders. Idle was very rough too. It returned to normal after 10 minutes. My mechanic found a P0300 code (Random Misfire Detected) logged in the computer. We both agreed that I should drive away to see if it happened again, as this fault may have been due to the car lying idle for a few months at the dealers.

One week later it happened 3 times in one day. Problem is very intermittent and difficult to diagnose. Mechanic told me the main things that go wrong with these cars are the coils packs and the Air Flow Meter.

I think I'm going to get the coils packs and spark plugs changed. Hopefully that will be the end of the trouble.

To anybody that has had catalytic converter problems. A mis-firing engine can damage the cat, so sort out sensor or coil pack issues as soon as you can.

From reading the above stories it looks to me as if engines have come equipped with more and more sensors and sophisticated computers. While this may help diagnosis and engine efficiency, it could be the cause of a lot of problems too!!

17th Jan 2010, 19:00

I have a 2000 Mazda Protege LX manual transmission with 120,000 miles, and have owned the car since it was brand new.

The car has been very good. The only issues are some that have been addressed here and are similar issues.

I had the engine light come on with a air fuel mix too lean error code, and this also corresponded to the car running underpowered and sometimes shaking on acceleration. It turned out to be an cracked air intake hose that looks like an accordion and goes from the air cleaner to the intake manifold. It was 37 dollars, and that took care of the problem.

A while later the code came back on and after reading the issues about the MAF mass air flow sensor I decided to take it out. It was dirty so I took some q tips and cleaned the little bulbous end that is readily visible, and then went in deep to where the wire was out of view and cleaned that area also. The q tips were fouled with grime. Then cleared the engine code with the reader. Car drove great with lots of power after that!!!

I would recommend getting one of those readers. I got mine on Amazon and it has saved me from being dependent on a mechanic or dealer. I got mine for like 40 dollars, and it even tells you what the error code is.

About 5 months later the engine was sluggish again and the code came back. I cleaned the MAF sensor again and all OK. I am surprised that it's becoming a problem with dirt, since I change the air filter regularly. I am tempted now to buy a new one and put it in, since I am assuming the older one in my car is not dealing well with the dust?

The other issue is the clanking noise from the front driver's side when going over road bumps. It happened after going over a really bad pot hole. I looked underneath and all looks fine. I changed the sway bar links, they had broken rubber boots. But the noise is still there. I also changed the tier rod end on that side cause the rubber seal was broken. But clanking noise still there. I banged on the suspension pieces with a rubber mallet, but can't recreate the noise. I had one bad engine mount that was changed when I had my clutch replaced recently. The clutch job cost me about 560 dollars and was expected since lots of city driving. It paid to call around and get three estimates. The highest was almost 1000 dollars. I learned early on to always get three estimates and never have work done at first place you take it without getting other quotes. Otherwise you are setting yourself up to be taken advantage of.

I saw a previous remark about the exhaust rattling. I will check it out. The shock and strut seem OK on the drivers side where the noise is coming from. I push on the car and it doesn't go up and down too much and I don't see any broken seals on the shock. Still trying to find source of noise.

A minor issue that I had was hard to put car into first gear at about 80K miles. One dealer said had to do a clutch job, took it to another dealer and it turned out that it just needed some lubrication on the linkage where there is a piston that pushes on a lever that goes into the clutch housing. Just needs to be lubed up and that took care of the problem. They lubed the end of rod coming out of the clutch slave, I think, and they sprayed up into the bell housing of the clutch through the square hole where the linkage went up from the contact point with the rod that pushed on the lever arm that pushes on the throwout bearing. Anyways it became a problem again at after lots of rain and going through big puddles. I assume water washed grease off, so I relubed it and it's been no problem.

I think these sites are great since same models tend to have similar problems, and it helps a bunch learning from others experiences.

Last thing working on now is a air conditioning compressor clutch assembly going bad, it has lots of vibration when AC engages. It pays to shop around. One place said they didn't want to change the assembly because they felt the compressor was compromised. I will give them benefit of a doubt since the I live in hot climate and AC has been used a lot. They quoted me a rebuilt compressor price of $850 with a total cost of get this 1600 dollars including labor. I looked online I can get a new compressor from autozone for 340 dollars and with some friend's help change it myself. I can't believe the markup they do on parts.

Anyways, just be careful out there.

The car has been great so far and very reliable. Never left me stranded in 10 years of driving. Even when the clutch was starting to go, the slipping allowed me to know what was going on and get home ASAP.