19th Jul 2010, 18:49
I too have seen both a front end accident and numerous repairs on my 2003 MP5. I love it to pieces though :) My Electric blue baby. Bought new and unfortunately have dumped about as much money altogether than it would've cost me for a Lexus. The only thing going Zoom Zoom is the black stripe along my debit or credit card at my local dealership! Mazda for Life!
11th Sep 2010, 02:30
I have a 2002 P5. Bought used in 04 for 14,900. It had 34,000 miles on it. It has been the best car that I have owned. I have been rear-ended in the car twice. Both times, the other person was going 20-30 mph. I received no more than a scratch when their cars, one a Nissan, and the other a Mitsubishi, had extensive front end damage. I barely even felt the impact. Aside from those two fender benders, I have not had any other problems until now.
I am now at 94,000 miles and I am about to have some work done. I too am having the problem with the rattling noise, but only when acceleration. A slight decrease of power on takeoff, correcting itself as speed increases. Then, idling low when coming to a stop, almost to stall. No engine light, no low oil pressure and no overheating are present. Is this something that the 90,000 mile scheduled maintenance will correct?
For those of you who have had the complete 90,000 mile service done, what was the cost? And... Have you had similar problems since the service? The car has been great and I will do what needs to be done to correct the problem. Just don't want to get duped by the service shop for work that may not even need! Any suggestions?
19th Sep 2010, 15:23
I bought my first MP5 about 5 years ago (a used '02 with 41,000 miles on it).
Unfortunately, because there was an aftermarket air intake on it, I sucked water into the engine and the car was totaled with about 96000 miles on it. I immediately bought another MP5.
This time I got an '03.
I solved the monumentally annoying headlight problem by buying an aftermarket HID headlight kit (have this professionally installed please).
Other than that, I have had almost no problems with this car. Except I had a problem with the OEM negative battery contact, which corroded so badly it caused the car to lose all power while I was driving.
I bought this '03 with 26,000 miles on it 2 years ago, and I currently have 96000 miles. I just replaced the brake pads, but to be fair, I mainly use the car for highway driving.
My next car will be a 2010 Mazdaspeed 3.
I love this car!
15th Feb 2011, 15:44
I bought a 2002 Mazda Protege for roughly $7000 in 2007. It had approximately 87000 miles on it. Just 4 tires, one battery and several oil changes later it has over 105000 and still runs like a top. With proper maintenance, I can see this car reaching the 200k mark easy.
13th Jul 2011, 21:36
I have owned my 2003 Mazda Protege5 for over 8 years now, and I've had similar experiences with my Protege5. I'm positive I bought a lemon as well. I've had something serious fail or need prematurely wear out every 2-3 years. Like your situation, I had the transmission give out (stranding me on the highway) just before I crossed the 60K mile mark (Mazda refused to replace it under warranty). The catalytic converter died shortly after that (literally 15 miles after I crossed 60K miles) - Mazda also refused to replace that under warranty. I only JUST rolled over 100K miles on it in December of 2010, and I've put at least $7,000 into repairs and replacement parts.
This car is a ton of fun to drive, and its interior quality is very good for an economy car, however I will NEVER buy another Mazda vehicle.
21st Dec 2011, 20:43
I have a 2003 P5 202,000kms on it. Purchased with 80km.
Replaced sway bar links, 30$ part, 20 minutes in my driveway to replace. Cut old ones with a grinder, replaced with new, tighten with Allen key.
If you run wider tires than OEM, you'll go through wheel bearings faster (not a driveway repair).
Rear caliper seized is half bulls**t. There is a small bolt on the back side of the caliper, and inside that is an Allen key to back out the piston. Grease the sliders regularly or they will seize. Many rear calipers are replaced needlessly. Rear brakes are almost never used in daily operation. Use the hand brake to keep the caliper moving. Brake/ABS light came on / went out, no difference in operation. Don't worry.
Bulbs don't last; sorry.
OEM stereo garbage; sorry.
Hope this helps.
28th May 2010, 21:44
Bought a 2002 MP5 new Jul/02. Now have 225K (mostly city driving around 30K/year in Vancouver, BC). Did all dealer maintenance until the warranty expired, and oil changes mostly right around 5000K.
After 8 years have had a few problems, but nothing I consider too major.
One problem that bugged me for a while turned out to be a burnt out coil at 165K. Engine faded out while driving on highway. On the gas pedal, but nothing happening... Then suddenly keeps right on going like nothing happened (didn't strand me on side of road, but the engine light is on). The engine light stayed on during subsequent trips but car ran fine. Took it to dealers, they got diagnostic "random misfire". They checked everything and after a second random misfire they replaced the EGR valve. Same problem kept occurring so I took it to my mechanics. He checked the coil, found 1 with problem, replaced both and no problems since.
I have a friend who had EGR valve prob in same car. Was covered under warranty.
OEM dunlop tires were bald at 55K. Replaced 4 with Yokohama Avid H4s from Tirerack... got 80K on that set and am a little better still on the latest set.
Burns oil... Starting at about 150K I noticed that the car was burning oil. Oil checks with gas fill-ups & still do regular oil changes... seems OK.
Have changed out all sway links. Still a little noise from the passenger side rear, minorly irritating.
Rear-ended a couple times and had my rear-bumper replaced twice (once in 05 and again in 06). Recently notice that trunk has water in driver side rear fender well. Suspect that rear seam under truck hatch or tail-light is leaking. Will be dealing with this one soon. Have read that this is a problem with these cars.
Resale value is so-so. So I will drive it until it's not economical or practical or enjoyable to continue driving it. Overall, still satisfied with my Mazda.