2003 Mazda Protege engine and engine cooling problems
34 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the engine and engine cooling on the 2003 Mazda Protege — 28% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“My 03 protege has vics screws falling out and all issues that comes with it. My car has been parked in the driveway untouched because I cannot afford to pay for the repairs due to how many times my car has had issues and cannot pass emissions. So I have to turn my tags in within the month because…”
filed Mar 7, 2012
“The car suffered a failure of the intake manifold whereby the screws inside the intake had come loose and caused damage to the engine. It is unclear at this time if my car is covered under the current recall 3005 c. *tr”
filed Oct 30, 2011
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Engine and Engine Cooling problems in other Protege years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 Protege | 7 | 7% |
| 2001 Protege | 8 | 16% |
| 2000 Protege | 7 | 7% |
| 1999 Protege | 8 | 9% |
| 1998 Protege | 10 | 22% |
| 1997 Protege | 9 | 14% |
| 1996 Protege | 4 | 6% |
| 1995 Protege | 19 | 12% |
| 1994 Protege | 6 | 8% |
| 1993 Protege | 4 | 9% |
| 1992 Protege | 2 | 3% |
| 1991 Protege | 2 | 4% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2003 Mazda Protege
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.