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2003 Mazda Protege

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2003 Mazda Protege do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 66.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

89 reports with mileage · 31 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.

  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 34 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Seat Belts. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. 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.

16 crash reports2 fire reports10 injury reports

Electrical System complaints

3 reports
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Mileage unknown · Mar 1, 2011
Electrical SystemEngine And Engine CoolingSuspension

2003 MAZDA PROTEGE. CONSUMER STATES ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE AND SEVERAL OTHER CONCERNS *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THE LIGHTS STAYED ON AND THE ALARM WOULD SOUND INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ELECTRICAL MODULE. THE CONSUMER ALSO STATED THE ENGINE OVERHEATED DUE TO A WATER PUMP LEAK AND LEAKING RADIATOR, THE BA…

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2003 MAZDA PROTEGE. CONSUMER STATES ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE AND SEVERAL OTHER CONCERNS *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THE LIGHTS STAYED ON AND THE ALARM WOULD SOUND INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ELECTRICAL MODULE. THE CONSUMER ALSO STATED THE ENGINE OVERHEATED DUE TO A WATER PUMP LEAK AND LEAKING RADIATOR, THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED SEVERAL TIMES, THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF ALIGNMENT, AND THE CONSUMER HAD TO PURCHASE THREE SETS OF TIRES. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10385969

50,284 miles · Feb 24, 2011
Electrical SystemTiresFire

THE CURRENT ISSUES ( WHICH WE BELIEVE ARE MAZDA CORPORATE ISSUES) AND INHERENT TO THIS VEHICLE WHICH HAS LOW, LOW, LOW MILES HAVE CAUSED THE ENGINE TO OVERHEAT AND HAVE RESULTED IN AN ENGINE FIRE, TWICE, ON THE FREEWAY: 1)FAULTY ELECTRICAL PARTS: THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD THE SAME ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS SINCE THE FIRST DAY WE BROU…

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THE CURRENT ISSUES ( WHICH WE BELIEVE ARE MAZDA CORPORATE ISSUES) AND INHERENT TO THIS VEHICLE WHICH HAS LOW, LOW, LOW MILES HAVE CAUSED THE ENGINE TO OVERHEAT AND HAVE RESULTED IN AN ENGINE FIRE, TWICE, ON THE FREEWAY: 1)FAULTY ELECTRICAL PARTS: THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD THE SAME ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS SINCE THE FIRST DAY WE BROUGHT IT AND HAS HAD MULTIPLE REPLACEMENTS OF THE ELECTRICAL MODULE, BATTERIES, ALARM SYSTEM, AND OTHER ITEMS, WHICH HAVE PROVEN FAULTY BY MAZDA. 2)SHUTTER VALVE RECALL: OURS WAS INSPECTED, BUT NOT REPLACED EVEN THOUGH THINGS WERE OUT OF SORTS. IT WAS LATER DEEMED A PROBLEM. 3)FAULTY BELTS, DUE TO ENGINE OVERHEATING, WHICH TECHNICIANS HAVE TOLD US WAS FROM AN OVERHEATING ISSUE AND POTENTIALLY CREATED BY THE INHERENT PROBLEMS WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. 4)LEAKING RADIATOR TECHNICIANS HAVE INDICATED THIS IS DUE TO THE ONGOING OVERHEATING PROBLEM WE HAVE BEEN OVERWHELMED BY THE INTERCHANGES WITH MAZDA PERSONNEL REGARDING A ?LEMON? VEHICLE WE PURCHASED IN 2003 OR 2004. SUBSEQUENTLY, WE DRIVE IT MINIMALLY AND IT ONLY HAD 30,000 PLUS MILES ON T WITHIN THE 4 YEAR, 50,000 WARRANTY EXPIRED. THAT SAID, WITHIN 24 HOURS OF PURCHASE, THE CAR HAD ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. WHEN IN AN ?OFF? POSITION, THE LIGHTS STAYED ON AND THE ALARM SOUNDED ERRANTLY AND INTERMITTENTLY. THE CAR RAN HOT, AND HAD OTHER ISSUES WE MENTIONED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ELECTRICAL MODULE AND/OR ALARM SYSTEM. THE PROBLEMS PERSISTED. WE BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR INSPECTION MULTIPLE TIMES, AND RECEIVED MULTIPLE RESPONSES FROM SERVICE TECHNICIANS: 1)NOTHING WRONG 2)NEEDED ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, OIL, PLUGS, POINTS, ETC 3)MULTIPLE BATTERY REPLACEMENTS DUE TO DEAD BATTERIES AND DRAINING ISSUES 4)CAR OUT OF ALIGNMENT ( THE CAR HAD 3 SETS OF TIRE REPLACEMENTS AT 40K) 5)FAULTY BELTS ( WE PAID FOR REPLACEMENT) 6)SHUTTER VALVE ( RECALL WAS NOT REPLACED) 7)WATER PUMP LEAK 8)ELECTRICAL ISSUES NOT DEFINABLE, BUT BATTERY DRAINS 9)ENGINE RUNS HOT AND ROUGH 10) FIRE IN ENGINE ON FREEWAY. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10384300

Mileage unknown · Jun 4, 2004
Electrical System

WHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED VEHICLES UNEXPECTEDLY DIED. DEALER DETERMINED THAT COMPUTER NEEDED REPROGRAMMING. TWO MONTHS LATER THE ENGINE DIED AGAIN. *AK THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN IN FOR SECOND TIME WHERE THEY SERVICE DEALER COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM. ON ONE OCCASION THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE WAS REPROGRAMMED DUE TO THE …

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WHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED VEHICLES UNEXPECTEDLY DIED. DEALER DETERMINED THAT COMPUTER NEEDED REPROGRAMMING. TWO MONTHS LATER THE ENGINE DIED AGAIN. *AK THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN IN FOR SECOND TIME WHERE THEY SERVICE DEALER COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM. ON ONE OCCASION THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE WAS REPROGRAMMED DUE TO THE VEHICLE STALLING. *SC

NHTSA ODI #10071833

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.