KnownCarProblems2002 Mazda Protege Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 98 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Mazda Protege, most often about the seat belts (20% of complaints, typically around 78,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Protege model year since 2000.
Complaints98
Recalls0
Crashes reported12
Fires reported2
Injuries reported14
Most common 2002 Mazda Protege problems
Seat belts
20 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 78,000 miles. Parts named most often: front, rear/other.
: the contact stated the driver seat belt would not buckle at all. There was no click when the seat belt was inserted in the buckle, and the belt did not lock into the buckle. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer, where the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the problem. A new part was ordered. The…
2002 Mazda Protege', in 2006 (under 60,000 miles) the driver side safety belt malfunctioned and began to stick. After a short time, it was no longer working at all. Mazda dealership replaced the safety latch at no cost. Just last week the same thing started happening to the rear driver's side safety belt. As this is…
Transmission
17 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 26,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission.
Transmission was slipping at higher gears on sat. (03/20). Would race to high RPM's as though looking for another gear. Husband took to service this morning. Problem became worse as he drove to dealership. Would "thunk" into gear, would race to high RPM's at 35-45 MPH. When arrived at dealership, they checked and…
Problems with tire equipment on the 2002 Mazda Protege 5. There was difficulty with placing suitcases or boxes into the trunk of this type of vehicle, the cd player skipped, the transmission displayed a loud clunk noise, there was a spare tire problem, there was a nail in the tire which could not be repaired because…
Brakes
11 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 22,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, disc, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, pedals and linkages.
Rear disc brakes with ebfd premature wear of one pad on one side of disc brake to 0% while opposite side at 30% and opposite brake at 50%
Problems with tire equipment on the 2002 Mazda Protege 5. There was difficulty with placing suitcases or boxes into the trunk of this type of vehicle, the cd player skipped, the transmission displayed a loud clunk noise, there was a spare tire problem, there was a nail in the tire which could not be repaired because…
Wheels and tires
11 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 103,000 miles. Parts named most often: rim, hub, tread/belt.
Tire: firehawk gt bl 205/50r16 87v 50k mile tire. Tread separation with only 13,582 miles on the tire. The vehicle was parked when the tire was observed to be flat. Attempts to inflate failed. Removed tire and noticed two places on the inward side where tread was separating - one spot was just over an inch and the…
Tl contact owns a 2002 Mazda Protege with goodyear american eagle -h tires 205/55/16. The contact stated that while his wife was driving, she noticed a rubbing, thumping sound. She stopped the vehicle and noticed blisters on the side of the rear driver side tire. She installed the spare and when she reached her…
Air bags
9 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 42,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window, on-off switch assembly.
(1) blinking airbag indicator light of Mazda Protege 5 - 2002 (2) diagnostic test performed ($116.) told of faulty passenger seat side airbag (3) dealership disconnected seat, told entire seat must be replaced at the cost of an est.$800
Airbags did not deploy during a front end collision at 35 miles per hour. The front end was totalled and although the injuries were minor, there is a false sense of security.
Body and structure
9 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 83,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
Rear hatch/lift gate props fail when lift gate/hatch is opened resulting in concussion as lift gate/hatch hits one in head. This has happened to US as each stay prop fails independently. Luckily none of our children were under the hatch/lift gate. Madza part numbers are: b25r-62-620c and b25r-63-620c.
1. Normal use of the vehicle. 2. The left front seat inside door handle (driver's side) broke off 1/28/09. Only way out is to craw over center console and exit passenger side. 3. The left rear seat inside door handle broke off 8/22/09. Child had to exit the opposite side of the car. 4. Google (no quotes) "Protege…
Electrical
9 complaints · 9%Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery, ignition, wiring.
2002 Protege heater fan switch malfunctioned and melted plug and switch almost caused a fire but it was smoking when it fried and caused the 4th speed of the fan not to work I had to splice a new plug in to fix the issue and to keep it from catching fire I have pictures if needed.
The car began to shutter and dropped from 50 to 25 in seconds. The check engine light (cil) starting flashing and the car began to stutter like it was going to die, I pulled to the side of the road and the car died. Started car again the cil continued to flash, it only would accelerate to 25 miles an hours even with…
Engine
8 complaints · 8%Parts named most often: engine.
: the contact stated while traveling 60 MPH, the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle lost power. After a few seconds, the engine regained power but the light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealership, where the EGR valve and catalytic converter were replaced, but the problem persisted.
I have a 2002 Mazda Protege. Were the upper passenger side motor mount attaches to the car body, the car body metal is severely rusted and starting to separate on the inside of the engine compartment. I did take the car to a Mazda body shop and they quoted me in the area of $1,000.00 to fix the issue. I do not feel it…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2002 Mazda Protege recalls
NHTSA lists no recalls for this model year.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
Questions about the 2002 Mazda Protege
- What are the most common problems with the 2002 Mazda Protege?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: seat belts (20 complaints, typically around 78,000 miles); transmission (17 complaints, typically around 26,500 miles); brakes (11 complaints, typically around 22,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2002 Mazda Protege have?
- NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2002 Mazda Protege. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls in case one is issued later.
- Is the 2002 a bad year for the Mazda Protege?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Protege model year since 2000, with 98 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.