IllustrationWHILE DRIVING AND SLOWING DOWN A TRUCK HIT CONSUMER'S VEHICLE AND PUSHED IT INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED.*AK
1999 Mazda Protege
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1999 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
10–25K
625–50K
1050–75K
575–100K
3100–150K
0150K+
25 reports with mileage · 63 unknown
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.
- Power Train. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Tires. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
21 crash reports1 fire reports15 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
21 reportsI BOUGHT A FORMERLY WRECKED CAR WITH FRONTAL DAMAGE. THE AIRBAGS HAD NOT DEPLOYED. I NOTICED THE PROBLEM ON OTHER 99 PROTEGES AND THOUGHT I SHOULD REPORT IT. THERE SEEMS TO BE A POSSIBLE DEFECT IN THE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT.*AK
MAZDA WAS CONSIDERED A TOTAL LOSS, AIR BAGS DID NOT DIPLOY IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION.
NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAG UPON IMPACT AND THE DRIVERS SEAT BROKE CAUSING INJURIES TO LOWER BACK. NLM
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 35 MPH WHEN ANOTHER VEHICLE COLLIDED HEAD FIRST TO CONSUMER'S VEHICLE, AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION AT 45MPH AND AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, RESULTING IN INJURIES. DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.
MY MAIN COMPLAINT IS THE AIRBAGS. THE ACCIDENT WAS SERIOUS ENOUGH TO CRACK THE CASING UNDER THE BUMPER. WHY DID THE AIRBAG NOT DEPLOY? PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH INFORMATION!!!
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION AT AN IMPACT OF 40 MPH IN WHICH BOTH AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT APRROXIMATELY 50 MPH ,DRIVER HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE HEAD-ON ,AND DUAL AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, CAUSING INJURIES. NO WARNING OF AIRBAGS BEING INOPERATIVE. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING AND AS A RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. NO INJURY TO CONSUMER. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATON. *AK
Official recalls
100V301000 · Equipment:electrical:radio/tape Deck/cd Etc.
Oct 5, 2000
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A PARTICULAR FACTORY INSTALLED AUDIO UNIT. IF THE VEHICLE IS OPERATED AT LOW SPEED IN A HOT AND HUMID ENVIRONMENT WITH THE WINDOW OPEN, AIR CONDITIONER RUNNING, AND AUDIO ON, CONDENSED WATER ON THE A/C DUCT SURFACE COULD DROP AND ENTER INTO THE AUDIO UNIT, CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF THE SHORT CIRCUIT OCCURS AT ONE SPECIFIC SET OF TERMINALS, THE REAR RIGHT LOUDSPEAKER CAN OVERHEAT AND, IN SOME CASES, CATCH FIRE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL AFFIX ALUMINUM TAPE OVER THE AUDIO UNIT TO PREVENT WATER FROM ENTERING.
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.