IllustrationTHE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT LATCH IS NO LONGER WORKING. THERE APPEARS TO BE BROKEN PARTS IN THE FEMALE PART.
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.
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
240–25K
1025–50K
1750–75K
1475–100K
17100–150K
7150K+
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
Seat Belts complaints
17 reportsI WAS PULLING UP TO MY RESIDENCE WHEN THE SEAT BELT POPPED OUT OF THE RECEIVER BY ITSELF.. I TRIED TO RE-LATCH THE SEAT BELT AND IT WOULD NOT LATCH. I ATTEMPTED A FEW MORE TIMES AND THE SEAT BELT RECEIVER COMPLETELY FELL APART.. *TR
THE DRIVER SEAT BELT WILL NO LONGER WORK. THE MALE END WILL NOT CONNECT TO THE FEMALE END. I LOOKED WITH A FLASHLIGHT AND THERE WERE BROKEN PIECES INSIDE. IT LOOKS LIKE THE BUCKLE CAME APART. I NOW HAVE TO USE THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE. *TR
WHILE MY SON WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON A HILL CURVE TURN HE LOST CONTROL ON ICY WET ROAD AND HIT A TREE HE DIED ON 01/29/2013 HE WAS 18 YEARS OLD HE WAS GOING TO SCHOOL AND WORKING. *TR
WHEN ENGAGING SEAT BELT INTO LOCKING MECHANISM, THE MECHANISM BROKE INTO ABOUT SEVEN PIECES. IT WILL NO LONGER HOLD THE SEAT BELT. *TR
THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT RECEPTACLE (FEMALE) ON MY 2003 MAZDA PROTEGE5 WILL NOT LATCH, THE VEHICLE HAS 147,000 MILES ON IT NOW AND IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MAZDA PROTEGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE COMPLETELY FRACTURED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO LATCH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY WAS REPLACED. THE CONTACT PLANNED TO NOTIFY THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIM…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MAZDA PROTEGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE COMPLETELY FRACTURED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO LATCH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY WAS REPLACED. THE CONTACT PLANNED TO NOTIFY THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 151,000.
FRONT DRIVER SEAT BELT SUDDENLY WAS INCAPABLE OF BEING BUCKLED. DRIVERS SEAT BELT COULD NOT CLICK IN RECEPTACLE AND WAS NOT USABLE. DEALER SAID IT WAS NOT COVERED B/C IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIR WHICH WAS ABOUT $100. *TR
2003 MAZDA PROTEGE LX DRIVER SIDE SEATBELT LOCKING CLIP INTERNAL PARTS SHATTERED AFTER 50,000 MILES. OUT OF WARRANTY NOW BUT I HAVE READ OTHER WEBSITES OF PEOPLE WITH THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. WHY HAS A RECALL NOT BEEN OFFERED FOR THIS HIGHLY DANGEROUS SEATBELT? *TR
SEATBELT BROKE WHEN I TRIED TO PUT IT ON. INSIDE THE FEMALE ADAPTER SEVERAL PLASTIC PIECES WERE BROKEN AND FLOATING AROUND RENDERING MY SEATBELT USELESS. I HAD TO PLUG IN MY SEATBELT TO THE PASSENGER SIDE.*TR
Official recalls
0No 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.