IllustrationWHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES ON WET PAVEMENT PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR, RESULTING IN EXETENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK
1997 Mazda Protege
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Mazda Protege do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 66.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Protege years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 3 of 66 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
15 crash reports2 fire reports10 injury reports
What owners actually said
66 reportsDRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SEAT BELT CABLE WILL NOT RELEASE FROM THE RETRACTING MECHANISM, CAUSING SEAT BELTS TO BECOME INOPERABLE. CABLE OF BELT IS STICKING OUT OF TRACK AND MOTORS HAD TO BE DISCONNECTED BECAUSE THEY WERE RUNNING ALL THE TIME AND RAN DOWN THE BATTERY. *AK *ML
CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION WHILE TRAVELING 40 MPH. UPON IMPACT, NEITHER DRIVER'S SIDE NOR PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
WHILE VEHICLE IS IN REVERSE AND THEN SWITCHES TO DRIVE, VEHICLE WILL JUMP WITHOUT A WARNING. ONE TIME RESULTED IN CRASH INTO A CEMENT WALL, DRIVER WAS INJURED. *AK *ML
ENGINE IDLED ROUGHLY. VEHICLE WAS UNDER WARRANTY. DEALER TIGHTENED ENGINE VALVES. 2 MONTHS LATER, WARRANTY EXPIRED. DEALER DISMANTLED ENGINE AND HAD TO REMACHINE THE VALVES. *AK *ML
WHILE DRIVING AT 50 MHP ANOTHER VEHICLE STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE CONSUMER PUMPED THE BRAKES AND THE VEHICLE SLID INTO THE OTHER VEHICLE, REARENDING IT. UPON IMPACT, DRIVER'S AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY UNTIL THE CONSUMER HIT THE STEERING WHEEL AND BROKE THE BIGGEST STERNUM BONE IN HER CHEST…
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WHILE DRIVING AT 50 MHP ANOTHER VEHICLE STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE CONSUMER PUMPED THE BRAKES AND THE VEHICLE SLID INTO THE OTHER VEHICLE, REARENDING IT. UPON IMPACT, DRIVER'S AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY UNTIL THE CONSUMER HIT THE STEERING WHEEL AND BROKE THE BIGGEST STERNUM BONE IN HER CHEST. ALSO, THE SHOULDER BELT DIDN'T HOLD THE CONSUMER. *AK
WHILE STOPPING AT STOP SIGN CONSUMER TURNED ON DEFROSTER, AND WITHIN FIVE MINUTES FRONT WINDSHIELD CRACKED SIDE TO SIDE (LEFT TO RIGHT) WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. *AK
WHILE FILLING TANK, FLAMES CAME OUT OF TANK, AND VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE. ALSO, CONSUMER WAS INJURED WHEN VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATON. *AK
ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON, AND GAS GAUGE MALFUNCTIONED. VEHICLE HESITATED WHEN STARTING/ DEALER REPLACED FLYWHEEL. ALSO, FUEL TANK WAS DISCONNECTED, AND DEALER REPLACED FUEL TANK. IN ADDITION, RPMS INCREASED BY 500 RPMS, AND REPAIRED WIRING IN JAMME DDOOR. ALSO, WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADES MALFUNCTIONED/ FUSE SHORTED OUT , CAUS…
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ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON, AND GAS GAUGE MALFUNCTIONED. VEHICLE HESITATED WHEN STARTING/ DEALER REPLACED FLYWHEEL. ALSO, FUEL TANK WAS DISCONNECTED, AND DEALER REPLACED FUEL TANK. IN ADDITION, RPMS INCREASED BY 500 RPMS, AND REPAIRED WIRING IN JAMME DDOOR. ALSO, WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADES MALFUNCTIONED/ FUSE SHORTED OUT , CAUSING RADIO, CD, AND OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS TO FAIL, AND REPLACED CANISTER. *AK
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. UPON IMPACT, DRIVER'S AIRBAG EXPLODED IN DRIVER'S FACE, CAUSING BURNS ON CHEEK AND SHEARING OFF CORNEA ON LEFT EYE. *AK
Official recalls
115V674000 · Electrical System:ignition:switch
Oct 19, 2015
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 1989-1998 MPV, 1990-1995 323, 1990-1998 Protege, 1992-1993 MX-3, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, and 1993-1998 626 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, grease applied to the contact points inside the ignition switch may become conductive and overheat.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the ignition switch overheats there would be an increased risk of a fire.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2015. Owners may contact Mazda Customer Experience Center at 1-800-222-5500, option#6. Mazda's number for this recall is 8715J.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.