IllustrationDRIVER'S SIDE AUTOMATIC RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAILED TO FUNCTION, TO EXIT VEHICLE, DRIVER MANUALLY PRESSED BUCKLE'S RELEASE BUTTON, IN EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, OCCUPANT COULD BE TRAPPED INSIDE OF VEHICLE. *AK
1990 Mazda Protege
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1990 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: 2 of 37 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.
- Seat Belts. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
3 crash reports0 fire reports4 injury reports
Seat Belts complaints
21 reportsAUTOMATIC SEAT BELT RELEASE BUTTON BROKE FROM MINOR PHYSICAL FORCE. *SD
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RESTRAIN OCCUPANT IN AN ACCIDENT. TT CONSUMER WAS INJURED IN ACCIDENT. *SLC
THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER LAP BELTS GUIDE, IS BROKE, SOMETIME IT RETRACTS BACK TOO MUCH . *AK
THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR DON'T WORK/RETRACT RIGHT. TT
THE DRIVERS AND FRONT PASSENGERS AUTOMATIC SEATBELTS DO NOT WORK AT ALL/DRIVERS FAILS TO RETRACT AND PASSENGER'S LOCKS UP IN PISITION. *AK TT
DRIVERS SIDE AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT DOES NOT WORK, IT JAMS WHEN DOOR IS CLOSED. TT
THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE RETRACTOR IT STICK WILL NOT RELEASE. TT
MOST OF THE TIME DURING COLD WEATHER PASSENGERS AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT AUTOMATIC RETRACTOR GETS STUCK IN BOTH FORWARD AND BACKWARD POSITION. TT
DRIVER SEATBELT BUCKLE WILL NOT BUCKLE, REPLACE BUCKLE. TT
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
2EA94039 · Auto Restraint System Fail
Opened Nov 30, 1994 · Closed Nov 26, 1997
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seat Belts
There is no summary currently available
PE94059 · Auto Restraint System Fail
Opened Jul 28, 1994 · Closed Nov 30, 1994
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seat Belts
There is no summary currently available