6th Jul 2006, 13:35

And I thought my problems were isolated. Wow. After months of misery and spending thousands of dollars, I'm thinking about getting rid of my 99 Protege with just over 144000 miles. I know that's a lot, but it's all highway.

I've had all these same problems and more. The rubber gaskets on the rear passenger doors. The key not working on the driver side. At least five check engine lights which resulted in two O2 sensors. A new alternator and a new catalytic converter. New breaks. I could keep going.

Finally I'm looking at what I think is a bad shock- the metallic clanking in the front of the vehicle, only mine is only on rough roads.

I'm never buying a protege again. I just hope I can get rid of mine soon and without loosing too much money. Anyone interested? =D.

11th Jul 2006, 14:57

I recently purchased a used 99 protege SE 5 speed with just under 100,000 km on it. The other day I was driving on the highway and the check engine light came on. At this point the cars accelerator would only respond if it was to the floor, giving the engine full gas. Needless to say the ride became very jerky. It only did this for 2km than started running normally. The next day the car was running fine and the check engine light was off. Does anyone have any idea what would cause this?

7th Aug 2006, 22:07

I have a '91 Protege with 1.8 L engine & manual tranny. Don't know if this is related, but I have found that once in a while the connector to the mass air flow sensor gets oxidized or something and the car will barely run. After a few minutes of sputtering idle the problem will go away. If I pull the connector off & put it back on, the problem goes away immediately & stays gone for several months. It usually happens on the first cold damp day in the fall. I've cleaned the connector & sprayed it with ignition spray & checked the wiring harness-can never find a problem. The first time this happened I was stuck in a deserted parking lot. I just wiggled all the wires in desperation & the car started running normally. Then it took a bit of detective work to find out which connector was the troublemaker.

17th Aug 2006, 15:02

With all the complaints and issues on here, I feel bad writing that I have had my '99 protege DX since it had 6 miles on it. The only problem I've EVER had is the O2 sensor, which was a company recall and was fixed for free! I'm now over 102,000 miles and no check engine light has ever come on. Wish everyone else had the same wonderful experience I've had...

11th Sep 2006, 09:08

I hate to say this, but just wait...102,000 miles is nothing. I ran my protege to 138,000 miles without any issues. Now my check engine light is on and my car jerks like crazy when moving from a stopped position in first gear. I immediately shift to 2nd, it jerks a couple of times, but then it comes out of it as I gain speed.

Does anyone have any suggestions. Is this the clutch or a few high dollar sensors?

21st Sep 2006, 12:10

The O2 sensor errors/lean mixture error is caused by a bad Mass Airflow Sensor. It will cause the car to almost stall when you go into 1st gear. Also, sometimes you will press the accelerator to the floor and the engine won't rev. I ran it like this (ignoring the Check Engine Light) for over a year, but eventually it was becoming dangerous to pull out into an intersection.

If you look at the intake tube (just after the box with the air filter), you will see a sensor. Unplug that and see if you car runs differently (better while driving, worse while idling). If so then it is definitely the MAS (Mass Airflow Sensor). There is actually a recall on this part (at least, for the 2000 Protege). I took it to the Mazda dealer and they fixed it for free.

21st Sep 2006, 19:33

I'm sure glad I surfed the web enough to reach this site! My beloved "Marie", 1996 Mazda Protege LX has had 2 instances with the check engine light. The first said it was the Idle control, which I didn't fix until my car started jerking and stopping. It cost a grip I must say. Now, at 115,000 miles, I got a P04 trouble code saying there's a mis-fire in the 4th cylinder. Anybody have a clue how to fix this? I bought it used 5 years ago at 70k miles and haven't had any major problems. The check engine light came on recently about 3 weeks after a major tune up. Any advice is appreciated! I've spent almost $2000 in the past few months on brakes, sensors, tune-ups, I'm getting tired!

12th Oct 2006, 14:57

I have a 99 Mazda Protege LX automatic and my engine light came on. So I took it shop about three times and they cleared it, and told me the O2 sensor wasn't going as fast as the computer wants it to go.

It has done this several times since, and they keep saying the same thing, so I replaced one of the sensors and my light went off for a day! Now they said my other one burned out and they're almost $300 a piece. So he told me it's okay to drive with them the the way they are; just let them burn out! Is this true; can I do this or will I end up stranded?

23rd Oct 2006, 00:28

I have a 2000 Protege. The check engine light came on around 25,000 to 27,000 miles. Since it was still under warranty I took it to the dealership at least twice. They never could find anything wrong with the car. I finally had the EGR valve ($300) replaced. The check engine light stayed off for 2 months. Sometimes when I am driving along at mid speed the car feels like it brakes all of a sudden. It is very very scary. Two days ago the car would not start. I got a jump the next morning and took the car to Advance Auto. They said the battery reads good. I replaced the original battery almost 3 years ago. Later that same day the car would not start again nor would it hold a charge. I had it towed. And tomorrow morning I'm taking it or should I say towing it to the mechanic's shop. Any ideas out there?? bhend114@aol.com.

25th Oct 2006, 19:00

Don't give up! About a year ago I bought a used '99 Protege, and the check engine light came on shortly after I purchased it. The car began hesitating, stalling and poorly accelerating. Based on computer codes I had both oxygen sensors and the Mass airflow sensor (MAS) replaced yet the problems reoccurred. But GOOD NEWS - about 4 months ago the problems were finally fixed by a Mazda dealer, who discovered the hose to the MAS was cracked, he also cleaned the carbon from the engine. Finally, the check engine light was reset and stayed out, and the car has been running great ever since!