Newbie

[Fries]

I just picked up one of the few remaining new 2003 Mazda Protege's. It's a loaded ES with the manual transmission. My previous car was a 2000 Ford Contour, and I don't want to say everything anyone has ever said about Ford is true but probably pretty close. I loved having the manual transmission with the V6, but the little "Ford" problems started to get to me. The last problem was the dash was started to warp and Ford wanted quite a bit of money to fix the problem. The best part was that they acknowledged it was their fault it was happening, but said they no longer had a program to cover the cost of fixing it. Now I realize all models have their little kinks, but it really seems as though I've taken a step up in quality to the Protege. As I start to put the miles on my ES are there any common problems I should keep my eyes open for?

[McCorkle]

The only problem I have had with my car as it gets more miles, is the fact I keep investing all my money into it. I just love the thing way too much. And I take every opportunity to make it better. The Protege is about as reliable as you can get. Good choice. And welcome aboard to the community.

[sam1]

welcome. i love my pro too. my 02.5 has almost 27000 in about 1 1/2 years and i still love to drive it. so fun. the wife almost has to beg to drive it=). anyways, this is a great site to learn just about anything mazda. see ya around.

[LantonBlathor]

I'm new to the community too, and these guys have been a great help so far. Anything you want to know is already. If it isn't already here someone knows the answer. I have a 99LX with over 100000 miles on it. Regular oil changes and proper maintenance and it still runs like a top. Enjoy

[Pro3ES]

Welcome to the club. I bought my 03 ES in Nov. & already have nearly 10k on it. It's the most fun to drive car I have ever owned. I'm lucky too, bcuz my wife refuses to learn to drive a M/T, so I don't ever have to share it!

[.Zero]

81,000 miles on my 99 DX. never had a problem besides normal tune-ups. don't think i've ever heard anything bad about the Protege's cept they lack a bit of a horsepower... well the dx model anyways. Event the ford/chevy muscle car guys admit the Portege is a great car. When i go to replace my car, it's going to be another 99-00 protege or a P5... maybe a BMW M3

[TheJackyl]

Ya I'm also new to the board, the site has helped a lot. Still got a lot of reading to do lol. I bought it friday picked it up this morning. I'm hoping it's as reliable as everyone else says they are So far I absolutely love everything bout this car! iz an 03LX btw. Caz thas what I need. My last car was a 98 Kia Sephia, it was nice, not bad at all surprisingly even tho you hear a lot of bad stuff bout kia mine was great til i hit ice

[smoomz]

yea the protege is a real reilable car i have 80,000 or so clicks on mine mow and it runs like a new car like proto2k says i still sink money in to mods to make it even more enjoyable cuz i can

["mazdachic"]

Welcome to the club man! Lotta good peeps up in here! Good info too!

[THEGOLDPRO]

WELCOME TO THE CLUB! have fun with the pro.

[redfyre]

Welcome to the club. Yes every car has it's little kinks but the Pro line are awesome cars. Enjoy!

[TheJackyl]

thanx guys

[RacerXProtege]

Welocme to the club.Glad to see another person from western PA here.I liked mine so much I bought 2.I got a 2001 ES first and drove that for a while and then my wife got to it and it was an automatic so she kept that and I got her van(SUCKS)!She went away for a weekend and I went and got my 02.5 ES that's a stick and now we are happy.The only problem I found is we both have about the same miles on our cars(under14,000) and we both notice the front end shakes a little when you get over 60 mph and that's on both car's.But living in PA ther are humongus potholes you can't miss so we are getting both cars alinged and will see what happens.Othe than that the Protege is a great car!Enjoy yours!

[redfyre]

Your brakes? You mean your steering? If that's the case, it's likely an alignment issue.

[MisterT]

No problems with my 2001 ES. Most complaints though are the dimming of the headlights (if you have a moderate system) because of the 70 amp alternator and the AC could be colder. I live in the south so it gets HOT!