2003 Mazda Protege power train problems
12 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the power train on the 2003 Mazda Protege — 10% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“When engaging seat belt into locking mechanism, the mechanism broke into about seven pieces. It will no longer hold the seat belt. *tr”
filed Dec 19, 2012
“The 2003-2003.5 mazdaspeed protege poorly designed limited-slip differential has seen a failure rate of over 125 documented cases online. When this part fails, the vehicle does not respond to acceleration causing a safety issue at highway speeds and residential speeds. When this part fails, it…”
filed Mar 26, 2009
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related service bulletins
This Service Alert supersedes the previously issued SA listed below: The changes are noted in Red. SA-011/24 02/12/24, 06/06/24, 07/29/24 DESCRIPTION Mazda has developed factory recommended scheduled maintenance…
SA-029-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 21, 2026
Power Train problems in other Protege years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 Protege | 17 | 17% |
| 2001 Protege | 6 | 12% |
| 2000 Protege | 29 | 28% |
| 1999 Protege | 22 | 25% |
| 1998 Protege | 15 | 33% |
| 1997 Protege | 10 | 15% |
| 1996 Protege | 8 | 11% |
| 1995 Protege | 19 | 12% |
| 1994 Protege | 7 | 9% |
| 1993 Protege | 2 | 5% |
| 1992 Protege | 4 | 6% |
| 1991 Protege | 4 | 8% |
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.