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Bought 97 Protege last night, hello check engine light this afternoon

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    Bought 97 Protege last night, hello check engine light this afternoon

    Good afternoon, Club members. I just found this board, and some of the things I'm reading are scaring me...

    I bought my 97 Protege LX (whatever that means) last night--seems to drive like a dream, although it looks like the air conditioning and one power window needs work. This afternoon, the "check engine" light started shining bright, and I seem to see more than a few references to this mysterious illness here in my short time browsing this and other forums...

    Honestly, I bought the car in part because it's rated one of the "Most reliable used cars" by Consumer Reports, but I'm seeing a trend in this and other forums of both "check engine" problems, which seem to be related to a computer problem according to some posts, and transmission problems, which scares the crap out of me, since my husband and I just went through a rebuild on our other car (a totally different make and model) for 1k and change. Should I be regretting my purchase so soon?

    #2
    Welcome to the club.

    Where did you purchase the car from? Did you buy it from a dealer?
    -- If you did then you should be able to take the car back and make them check it out. There are lemon laws.
    The protege is a very reliable car, but as with any company, there are lemons.

    Your 1997 mazda protege lx .. basically has a 1.5L engine with either a manual or auto tranny, depends on which you purchased. You would have power windows, and maybe a sunroof.

    .. once again I say best bet is to take it back to where you purchased it.
    If it was purchased from a person, then they should have told you about the window and the CEL.

    you can also get the CEL read for free at any autozone.
    Bruce
    photo album|photo album 2 (pbase)

    dbest1a AT yahoo DOT com

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      #3
      about the transmission issue i've never heard many complaints about our trans in fact mazda tends to make good trannys...
      In the Garage
      Black 93 MX-3 GS
      Bp powered
      GTR Drive Train


      The ProjectMx build thread
      MyCardomain[/SIZE]

      "Shut up, at least the bunnies are on fire!"

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        #4
        if the code is P1195 it most likely needs a new egr valve hehe. my car has had that code for awhile, gonna try to find the valve and take it off tomorrow.

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          #5
          If the dealer (seller) doesn't provide any assitance, stop by an Advance Auto, Autozone, etc and ask them to check the codes for you. It's typically performed free of charge. If you could report back to us with what trouble code was received, then we should be able to guide you with your next course of action. Honestly, since the car drives fine, I'm willing to bet that the problem is not a serious one.
          -Kevin
          -90 Miata 1- #80 CSP, '01 1.8L Swap w/ working VVT
          -90 Miata 2 - $2005/6/7 Turbocharged GRM Challenger
          -91 Tracer - $2008/9 AWD Converted Turbocharged Challenger
          -94 MX3 - #8 Hong Norrth LeMons/Chumpcar Racer
          -02.5 Protege5 - The Daily

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            #6
            my 05 LX has had that problem for a while.. some days its there, sometimes its not... I usually find it comes on when I'm getting low on gas, and its a warm day, or I've been doing a lot of stop and go driving (damn DC traffic). but after I refuel, and its off for a night the CEL goes away. sometimes it takes a full day or 2 before it goes away (still driving on it though of course). it hasn't affected its performance at all. still get great gas mileage and normal response. so have it checked at autozone like everyone said. and let us know

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              #7
              Thanks everyone for the replies, it's nice to have some folks willing to help.

              Ironically enough, I bought it at Autozone. I understand there are lemon laws, but I did buy the car "As Is", so I'm not sure how much recourse I have. Nonetheless, I have to go back to the dealership this evening to sign some papers they missed in the fray, so I'll see if they will at least give me an interpretation as to what the light means and will post here if I get an answer.

              Comment


                #8
                Well, just got back from the dealership, their service department was closed. The guy I talked to got very cagey when I asked about coming back for a reading of the "CEL", "ECL" or whatever. He gave me a name of someone in the service department to call tomorrow--not sure if I'm calling for permission or for the "you bought it as is, go away" lecture or what. Will try the phone call and see what's next.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by laurelei
                  Thanks everyone for the replies, it's nice to have some folks willing to help.

                  Ironically enough, I bought it at Autozone. I understand there are lemon laws, but I did buy the car "As Is", so I'm not sure how much recourse I have. Nonetheless, I have to go back to the dealership this evening to sign some papers they missed in the fray, so I'll see if they will at least give me an interpretation as to what the light means and will post here if I get an answer.
                  The dealer's name was Autozone? That's funny in a way. Here, autozone is a parts store.

                  Good luck with your meeting tomorrow.
                  -Kevin
                  -90 Miata 1- #80 CSP, '01 1.8L Swap w/ working VVT
                  -90 Miata 2 - $2005/6/7 Turbocharged GRM Challenger
                  -91 Tracer - $2008/9 AWD Converted Turbocharged Challenger
                  -94 MX3 - #8 Hong Norrth LeMons/Chumpcar Racer
                  -02.5 Protege5 - The Daily

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Holy cow, I bought the car at AutoWAY, not AutoZONE, what am I thinking?

                    How embarassing, can you tell I can't tell a belt from a bearing? I'm NOT a car afficionado or enthusiast, I'm a person who wants a reliable, boring car to take her from point A to point B without lights, bells, whistles and other distractions. I'm sorry if that means I need to be ejected from the club...I'm a boring old lady who needs reliable transportation and who could care less about rims, cams, dual exhausts, liters, and horsepower...who needs horsepower in bumper-to-bumper traffic--what's the point? I'm still trying to figure out when to down-shift on my manual transmission ;-)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by laurelei
                      Holy cow, I bought the car at AutoWAY, not AutoZONE, what am I thinking?

                      How embarassing, can you tell I can't tell a belt from a bearing? I'm NOT a car afficionado or enthusiast, I'm a person who wants a reliable, boring car to take her from point A to point B without lights, bells, whistles and other distractions. I'm sorry if that means I need to be ejected from the club...I'm a boring old lady who needs reliable transportation and who could care less about rims, cams, dual exhausts, liters, and horsepower...who needs horsepower in bumper-to-bumper traffic--what's the point? I'm still trying to figure out when to down-shift on my manual transmission ;-)
                      you have my respect for even knowing about the forum ....
                      good luck with your car.
                      photo album|photo album 2 (pbase)

                      dbest1a AT yahoo DOT com

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by laurelei
                        Holy cow, I bought the car at AutoWAY, not AutoZONE, what am I thinking?

                        How embarassing, can you tell I can't tell a belt from a bearing? I'm NOT a car afficionado or enthusiast, I'm a person who wants a reliable, boring car to take her from point A to point B without lights, bells, whistles and other distractions. I'm sorry if that means I need to be ejected from the club...I'm a boring old lady who needs reliable transportation and who could care less about rims, cams, dual exhausts, liters, and horsepower...who needs horsepower in bumper-to-bumper traffic--what's the point? I'm still trying to figure out when to down-shift on my manual transmission ;-)
                        lol, you're more than welcome to be here. You're here for the primary reason this site exists, information.
                        -Kevin
                        -90 Miata 1- #80 CSP, '01 1.8L Swap w/ working VVT
                        -90 Miata 2 - $2005/6/7 Turbocharged GRM Challenger
                        -91 Tracer - $2008/9 AWD Converted Turbocharged Challenger
                        -94 MX3 - #8 Hong Norrth LeMons/Chumpcar Racer
                        -02.5 Protege5 - The Daily

                        Comment


                          #13
                          The saga continues...I took the car to my regular mechanic, and he said that the "AC clutch" was seized and was burning up one of the belts. He's not an AC guy, and couldn't find just the clutch for sale without the compressor, so he's bypassed the clutch so I won't ruin the belt before I can get into an AC shop. Check engine light is still on, but I'm going to get the AC looked at on payday and see if fixing that fixes the problem. If not, I'll got to AutoZONE and see what's next.

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